On Apr 18, 10:13=A0pm, sm...@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
wrote:
> I have to respond to my critics about using the back of the board to
> fly the sail. First of all, he's learning to waterstart--LEARNING. So
> what's wrong with making it easier? =A0The windsurfing instructors on
> Maui teach you to use the back of the board--no better instruction
> than that.
> Secondly, as stated earlier, I've seen a lot of people struggle to fly
> big sails, swimming to the top, poking the sail up, swimming it down,
> all the while trying to control the sail and board. If they're lucky
> enough to keep the sail flying while they work their way down to the
> board, they're so tired =A0they can only lie there like a dead fish and
> wait for a gust. And they think this is the way waterstarting is
> supposed to work.
> Nobody I've met who I've seen fly the sail the walk-down-the mast way
> -- NO ONE -- has ever complained about using the back of the board to
> fly the sail once I've shown them how, if they can do it; i.e, their
> boom is low enough. I would never advocate lowering the boom
> specifically to do this, but as we say in Hawaii "if can, can; if
> cannot, nevah mind."
> He wants to get a new board anyhow. Why not get one that helps with
> this important skill, can be had cheap, and is still plenty sailable?
> The new big wide boards are great; you can uphaul on them, but also
> get planing in some reasonably strong wind on them. But after that?
> You're not really ready for a true shortboard, and you won't need
> another widebody floater.
> I'm just trying to look at the logic of the situation--get what works
> and what makes sailing easy and allows you to develop skills easily,
> and hopefully doesn't cost an arm and a leg and then has to be dumped
> in a season =A0because you've outgrown it. I think it's windsurfing's
> failure to recognize this course that's helped lead to the downturn in
> the sport.
It's not that resting the booms on the board is a bad thing. Everyone
does it because it really helps. Maybe I'm old school at this point,
but breaking down the technique allowed me to connect the dots far
better than an entire summer floundering.
My first "real" waterstart came in the summer of 1982, on a stock
windsurfer with teak booms. I did what Pete did, learn the waterstart
backwards. I probably waterstarted sucessfully about 5% of the time.
Over the next several years I improved to around 50%.
I got my first true "modern" shortboard in November of 1986 and sailed
it on Thanksgiving day in a Nor'easter snowstorm. I HAD to waterstart
as uphualing a true wave board wasn't going to happen and I refused to
bail out in front of my windsurfing friend. I had just finished
reading Ernsfreid Prade's (SP?) "Perfect Windsurfing" that broke down
the waterstart into components as I summarized in my first post.
Suddenly, I was able to conrol my board in small, onshore shorebreak
without a hitch. I beach started, fell before getting free of the
breakers and simply waterstarted using the techniques I learned from
the book. I probably went to 85-90% sucess immediately.
Maybe it was the small board, maybe it was my adrenalin, but I truly
believe that not relying on the tail of the board made the
difference. I use the tail of the board whenever possible, just like
everyone else. And I don't begrudge the expert instructors who
suggest the student use the tail. In the long run, it probably
doesn't matter since controling the board comes eventually anyway. So
why nt make it easy, I guess.
SM, very good points.
Now, back to the front-foot/back-foot debate.
-Dan
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