Recommendations for light-wind wavesailing

[wm7203]

I am officially confused after reading various articles and comments about the proper sails and board for light-wind wavesailing. Where I now live we have MANY days when the wind blows at maybe 13-16 mph. It is almost strong enough for me to sail on my 9'0" fiberglass waveboard (which I purchased in the 1990s) and an Ezzy 5'7"wavesail. On the odd day, the wind is actually strong enough.

But every day the kiters are out, merrily kiting about. I have decided for many reasons and after a lot of soul-searching that kiting isn't for me. I want to work on wavesailing in light-wind conditions. Does anyone have recommendations as to the following issues: what kind of board? An SUP with a mast-base, a light-wind wave board? What size sail.

15 mph does not allow me to waterstart my 5'7"on the 9'0" board I have, which is a very heavy, somewhat waterlogged board, but it does perform very well in the surf. But I have seen videos that show guys out sailing in GLASSY CONDITIONS where the wind is even lighter. Are they able to waterstart in those conditions? Or do they uphaul? I don't even own an uphaul anymore but can get one and re-learn how to use it....???

The wind here is side/offshore at one point, but as you go downwind it becomes more sideshore and then side/onshore where the waves are bigger.

Any help will be much appreciated.

[cgoudie1]

I haven't used an uphaul line in years either (well on any sail 6.5 or smaller.
I am not much of a wave sailor, so my comments on a board and sail, should be taken in that context, but.......I can waterstart in 10MPH winds
with a 5.7 no problem, and 15MPH is even easier. Not sure what to tell you
about that, but sucking the board up into, and under your body with your leg/legs is
essential. In really light winds, you can try kicking with the leg that's in
the water for some additional thrust. Getting your sail as vertical as possible
helps, so stretching your arms way up (and unbent) helps, (some people
can water start using the foot of the sail and the bottom of the mast).
Using a rolling swell, or wave to lift you onto the board helps, and
usually if you miss that 1st swell, there is a second one building behind it.

If the wind is down around 7MPH (or lighter), uphauling a sinker is possible
(with an uphaul line), but quite a balancing act as the board slowly goes
under water up to your knees, or even hips. That takes quite a bit of
practice, but it's doable. No dillydallying with the sail grab and powerup.

You should consider a 100ltr or larger FSW board more oriented towards
the W. In my limited opinion , something in the 110ltr size and a Hot
Sails Super Freak in a 6.5, would do you right for your wind conditions,
and you can get a larger size sail than that in that model.

.02,

-Craig

[dllee]

You can go big, like a Exocet duck tailed, semi SUP longboard, and they make several sizes up to 11'6" or so, don't downhaul your sail at all old school to get the most power out of it.
You can go freestyle board, probably 105 liters, using a 5.7 sized sail with just enough downhaul to pull the batten above the boom even with the mast.
You can go cheap and buy a 200 dollar 130 liter freeride board, set up the straps forward, using the 5.7 sail with no downhaul.
Where do you sail, can you sail well enough to ride a small board, and why can't you waterstart with a 5.7 in 10 mph breezes?

[wm7203]

I sail on the Pacific side of southern Baja. Where I am, we have many days of strong wind during the spring and then days here and there the rest of the year when the wind is pretty strong. Places north, south and east of here get strong winds at different times.

I am dedicated surfer and love to sail in waves when conditions permit. I am a proficient waterstarter, even in pretty light winds. Perhaps it is my estimate of the wind strength that is somewhat off. But there are many days here when we have a seabreeze with perhaps a trace of whitecaps faintly appearing on the water, or perhaps there is not quite enough wind for any whitecaps at all. Plus there are cliffs here, and so there are wind shadows.

At all events, all summer long the kiters go out nearly every single day, on days where I clearly would not be able to sail at all and on many other days when I would be struggling to schlog, if schlogging at all.

My 5'7"and sailboard are great if there is a steady wind blowing at about 16-19 mph if I am not mistaken, and if the wind blows at 20 mph then I can sail my 5'3", but maybe I am oveestimating the actual wind speeds involved, since there is no sensor here, and I am just basing these figures on what I think the wind is blowing.

I have looked online at things like SUP surfboards with mast tracks, a Sea Lion (which looks pretty cool), and light wind sailboards. I repeat, my board is a fiberglass sailboard shaped by a surfboard shaper and heavier because it has taken dings over the years. It is the antithesis of a light-wind modern board. Could that make a big difference in our marginal winds? I have not sailed a 6.0 sail in years, but maybe that would make a difference too?

Thanks for whatever comments anyone can provide.

[dllee]

The reason poly glass windsurf boards don't exist in the windsurf world is the heavy weight's of those monsters.
Typically, a 9' glass board might be 22" in width, around 90 liters and weigh a minimum of around 21 lbs naked. Adding 3 straps, mast track, and fin push's it up to close to 25 lbs.
A modern, newer than 1992, windsurf board that floats you if you weigh less than 160 lbs. (90 liters again) would weigh in the 16 lbs range, if you procure it for less than 200 bucks. All up weight around 20 lbs, but it's width would be wider in the tail area, and probably get you out in 15 mph comfortably, to uphaul and tack as needed.
But that is not nearly what I'm recommending. I"m reco'ing either a 12 lbs board of 90 liters, or a 180 liter board closer to 10' long, or the SeaLion, which is 26" wide and lighter in weight than your poly glass wave board.
And it should be easy to waterstart a 5.7 sail in 15 mph winds....what kind and what year is it?

[dllee]

..and you Ezzy should not be rigged according to spec for those breeze conditions. It needs almost no twist, or loosness at the top, but maybe just half a panel's worth of looseness, positive outhaul so when you push on the sail's main power area, the sail just barely touch's your WIDE boom.
Key to uphauling is enough liters of volume for your weight. Around 25 liters more volume than your body weight is plenty for easy uphauling.
Waterstarting should be accomplished in winds above 10 mph.

[cgoudie1]

Slight caps sounds like about 10MPH winds, and should be waterstartable.

And yes, a lighter, wider FSW would definitely plane you up earlier than your
current board, but Kiters are almost always gonna be better off, unless
you're on formula gear and a 9M sail, which isn't conducive to wave sailing.

Zirteab's WSUP is a great idea for somebody who is a surfer. Slog your
way out to the waves and get some surfing long board style rides. I've never
ridden a Sealion, but I've seen video, and those things look great for light
wind short board style waves.

-Craig

[dllee]

Kiters seem to need a miinimum of 10 mph winds, or the kites start to fall out of the sky for the recreational kiters.
At 10, it's the minimum for quick waterstarts, so uphauling is needed if a set of waves is bearing down on you.
Easiest to uphaul with a big board, like 150 liters, but finding one with tail rocker enough for actual wave sailing is tough to find.
Then again, SUP boards of under 9' long can be fitted with a finbox, which is the mast track for windsurfing.
Budget is a problem, like you might need 500 bucks to find a used small SUP board that is suitable for wave riding.
Where do you live? Don't worry, we won't invade your private spot, we're all happy where we are.

[dllee]

Forgot to add.....
There's a guy on here who sails out of Santa Cruz's East side, a notoriously light wind area, on a wind SUP, and rides waves all around there, in winds of less than 10 mph, up to 18 mph.
He used to post a lot on the "where we windsurfed" site in SW Cal section.

[MalibuGuru]

I'm a big guy and ride an Exocet xwave 111 in light wind. For most guys the 101 model would work. I would not recommend a quad in light winds. There are plenty of 100+ liter wave boards available.

PS, Exocet makes a 129 liter wave board.