Today I went out in that 20 knot northerly, got all set up, had a couple of schlogging runs, then the big winds hit, and myyyyyy goodness the board sat up, accelerated, and suddenly the surface of the water stopped being a liquid and turned into a lumpy solid! It was like skateboarding on uneven ice, almost out of control, incredible amounts of speed and power on tap, the board was suddenly very responsive, and the sound of the wavelets hitting the bottom of the board had to be heard to be believed! Like a mini machine gun tapping away on the board.

I realise now that when I thought I was planing before it was actually the 'almost-plane', where the wake makes a deep growling sound, another couple of knots of speed and the board sits up and skims across the surface.

Unbelievable!



I also got within a bees willy of waterstarting, but put my feet in the wrong spot and fell off after about 5 metres. This board is so small...

Every day I'm getting further along, another skill learnt.

In all I had about 20 planing runs, every single one of them was exhilarating in a scary sort of way... I alternated between thinking "I'm going to DIE!" with "Man this feels awesome!" Most runs weren't long enough to get back to the straps, but I got pretty close a couple of times.

I had to stop in the end because my hands were rubbed raw and bleeding, it's going to be a week before I can think about having another go, but it was sooo worth it

What did everyone else get up to in that big northerly? Hey Shimmy, how was the train?

Congratulations and commiserations ..you are now addicted for life.
Not that you have any control over it but try to keep this in mind when you waste countless hours of your life either thinking about windsurfing,analysing weather charts,watching the leaves rustle waiting for the wind to pick up with the most illogical optimism known to man ,visiting windsurfing shops even when you don't need any gear and when conditions decide
to favour you..gear handling and finally windsurfing.
Bet you don't wait a week for your hands to heal if the wind kicks in.
I can remember trying all sorts of bandages with raw hands.Eventually it just falls off and you continue oblivious until you get out derig and grip the steering wheel to drive home.Everyone you know who doesn't windsurf thinks you're nuts but you know better.......

Nebbian,
If there's enough wind to be really planing, you could try water starting with your back foot in it's strap.
Not many people I know do it this way, so may not suit you either.
I find it gives me more board control when starting, and when up all I have to do is just slot the front foot in and I'm flying.
Even do it in very light winds, I can really press down with the back foot with out it slipping off. but I have to quickly pull it out and move it forward, otherwise the nose is pointing at the sky.

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If there's enough wind to be really planing, you could try water starting with your back foot in it's strap.

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What volume board do you use? Mine is my weight + 20 kg's, which equates to just about a sinker. I can't put my foot any further back than the front footstrap when beachstarting, my other foot goes in front of the mast. Otherwise the whole board weathercocks around, points the nose into the wind, and me into the water . I figure I'll nut out beachstarting then try in progressively deeper water, figure out where I can't start anymore, then get a bit shallower and always start from there, then get progressively deeper until I'm starting in water I can't touch the bottom in.

At the moment this equates to my chest...

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... but I have to quickly pull it out and move it forward, otherwise the nose is pointing at the sky.

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(thanks Hardie )

Yeah it's not the board pointing in the wrong direction, it's the sail tipping over that's the problem. I get it out of the water OK now, haul up the rear of the boom like he-man, then sit at that critical angle waiting for a gust (if there's low wind) or the courage (if there is high wind) to pull the boom back towards me a bit. Then what happens is that the top of the mast slowly creeps forwards until it passes the point where I can't hold it anymore and the mast catapults over to the other side.
I then swim the board around to try the new tack that the sail is on, lean the boom on the rear of the board, get the sail out of the water, then watch it catapult back to the original side.

Repeat 6 times, until I have drifted to where I can stand up again. Oh well it beats my last solution, which was swim the rig to shallower water...

I'll try that rear footstrap thing next time decrepit, it can't hurt, I'll try anything at the moment! Perhaps it might let me stop the mast foot from slipping backwards and therefore catapulting the sail...

Shimmy I was thinking of emailing you telling you I was going to the lake today but saw you were going to the train...
Yep it was cabarita lake, absolutely no-one there as usual, so I could goof things up without anyone noticing

Next northerly above 12 knots I'll be out there, you should come down. What size sail were you running at the train? I've got a very old 6.2 that you could borrow, today I was on a 5.7...

Nice work Nebbian!
You will look back once you have nailed waterstarts and wonder what all the fuss was about. As the bleeding hands may suggest you are fairly determined, it will just happen one day and you will go "oh yeah, of course..."
Are you using a waist or seat harness? This will give you much more time on the water, making the planing runs a rest period for your bleeding hands.
Put the heal of your back foot between the front and back straps just before you push the sail up to catch the wind, then sheet in and lift yourself up putting all your weight through the boom head and down the mast to the centre of the board. This will turn the nose away from wind and not sink the back of your board...
Per Rustle's comment, Congratulations!!! You really are addicted now!!!

Good job dude just wait till you get confident with beach starting, water starting and using your footstraps. Then you'll be trying to get confident with carve jybes so you can head out into the ocean and tackle the waves (Me atm).

When i do my water starts its relatively easy for me as i only weigh 65kg, so if there is any wind i can get planing pretty fast. What i do is make the board face more down wind than up wind, so if i put too much weight on my back foot it doesnt turn dramatically and **** the whole thing up. I get down the end of the mast so i got more leverage and let it get caught in the wind (you obviously cant do this if the wind isn't coming from behind you), i adjust the position of the sail using the wind if it needs changing (same as beach starting), then i work myself down to the boom, position the board facing downwind more than upwind then put my back foot between the front and back foot strap. I then let the sail pull me up and quickly balance myself, if im in a dead patch (or whatever the reason is) and im not planing yet i face slightly to the front of the board (but with my feet still facing perpendicular to the front of the board) with my arms facing slightly to front of the board. I then wait till i am confident the sail has enough power behind it to offer some form of counterbalance to my weight and then i chuck my harness on and front foot, when im planing i then get my back foot in and then you are flying.

Dont take my advice to heart, i aint no expert or anything, just the way i do it and it works.

Good luck bro.

nebbian - i am up for the last suggestion here if you are around - i am footstraps, harness planing and chop hops, and concentrating getting better at gybes. Always happy to sail with other people - heaps more fun.

I remember my first planing runs - Sandy Point (i am perth based now). Deal flat, 25 knots, shocking old bombora plastic board that flexed in the middle like a thong - so much fun.

Cheers

Nebbian. If you would like, I could come down to cabba one arvo and get you waterstarting. Good to see someone so keen. 1st lesson free. 04 1997 2005