Hi I'm an ex-windsurfaholic,

I've only recently found this forum and this is my first post and apologies for it being LONG but I have lots to say as I'm keen to return to windsurfing and enthusiastic. I recently tried out my old gear but I literally sank.

I have been reading up for the last 4 months on what has happened to windsurfing during my 17 year absence. I've got some questions which I will ask at the end and hope for some guidance from "youse" lot.

But here's a quick background of me, I started windsurfing around 1981 and quickly progressed from around 1982/83 to mainly wavesailing/jumping on Sydney's northern beaches till about 1991. I did mainly big wind type sailing (up to 30-35 knots) in both flat and surf with more time spent in the latter. I was very much "expert" but far from pro standard, hard-core may be a better description.

I went through 2 used f'glass boards and eventually had an 8'10" Wave/Slalom custom made for me (more wave spec than slalom), it was a new style of board back then and I was happy with it. I had a quiver of 3 Gaastra Wave Foils and a couple of Ampro masts. I still have the lot and all in good nick till recently (...read on). I was 85kg back then (now 100kg-105kg) and the last board was a semi-floater leaning more to a sinker, waterstarts was the norm, gybes were OK (70% success) and jumps were 80%-90% successful going out or in no matter what wave height with my best trick being a table top (woohoo...big deal!).

I gave up the sport due to me losing free time (new job, new career), no wind when I did have time, and then I got married, had 4 kids, moved to the country...blah blah blah and that was the end for my sailing.

Then...sometime last month I dropped off my youngest son at the beach for a surf, it was 20 knots and around 3-4 foot and a couple of kiteboarders were out and a sole windsurfing guy rigging up. I had a quick chat to the sailboarder and it was my first close look at modern windsurf gear for 17 years! He had a JP wave board (265?) and flat top sail (JP was a grom when I was sailing). Wow, lots of new tech. I watched him head out, I was inspired.

My son decided the wind stuffed up the surf and wanted to go home, along the way home I decided to go back with my windsurfing gear that I have lugged from house to house for 17 years. Son decided he wanted to watch me. So on the roof went the gear and we were off to the beach again, I was excited.

I rigged up and headed to the waters edge, carried the gear assembled and on my head like I used to...funny it felt lighter back then. I was surprised I remembered how to do everything. Put the board in the water and waited for a gust for a quick beach start. I waited, it became gusty and was weakening, a gust came and I couldn't get the board pointing right or the sail at the right angle. Tried again, and again and again and finally got on it and to my surprise it went straight under like a rock and I was in thigh deep water. Damn, I'm 20kg heavier so I'm not surprised it sank. I had another go, the gust blew and this time the sail ripped out of my hands the wave went over the top of it wedged the board between the sail and boom and CRACK! Can I say 'fark' on this forum? Well I said it a few times on the beach, one side of the boom snapped and a 20¢ size piece of f'glass on the tail's rail caved in.....aaaargh! I sulked while my son looked at his feet.

Hugely dissapointed in myself is an understatement as I've never ever broke a boom, masts yes but never a boom or dinged my board especially this one. Nor have I ever let go of a sail in under 20 knots...I packed up and we went home. All beginners mistakes....sheesh, it's been a long time between drinks me thinks.

For a few years now I've threatened my family that I would sail again but knew I needed a larger board. I have pledged to myself that I would get out there again. That little escapade recently only has fueled the fire and was a step in the right direction and gave me a reality check, but me thinks I need to change some gear to something more floaty and a larger sail to suit lighter air (15 knots) to get more water time which I need desperately.

I have very limited spare funds (thanks to a biggish family) and I want to get a cheap and used larger volume board so I can get my sea legs again. Something that planes reasonably quickly and can hold speed at higher winds. What volume I'm not sure, rope starts not necessary as I'll try to remaster waterstarts but definately need a floater. But I don't want the size to restrict my re-growth as I can imagine it will become my primary board for a long time, so big is good. We don't have a sailable lake or bay just surf beaches so I'm looking at a slalom size of board for small surf days and just be able to blast around the ocean. Surf is optional but would be fun.

My 8'10" will be reserved for when I get better again. I'm imagining boards from the late '90s to fit my budget and it will still work with my quiver of sails (largest is 5.8), boom and mast I've been told, is this true? I know I will have to get a used larger sail (min 6.5?) to suit the larger board as I'm hoping to get out on it from around 15+ knots so reserving some cash for that. I might need a new mast as well as the Ampro has a very large tip diameter.

So, thank you if you have read this far, and now my questions.

Can anyone give me some ideas of brand names and models of boards to look out for and recommended volumes that would suit me (100kg-105kg)? I want to make a list and keep an eye out. I'm not sure if the first generation wider tail and further back mast tracks would work with my sails, however these could be out of my budget. For example from 1997-99, will the F2 Xantos 325 like bumpy ocean sailing? Will the Tom Luedecke derived Bombora's be OK..although I'm not keen on polyetheline/polyurethane?

If any of you still have some old boards and gear for sale please feel free to contact me if you want to move 'em. I'm on the mid north coast of NSW but willing to travel to find the right stuff, I travel to Sydney often and have family as far south as Warilla, NSW.

Thanks again for reading this far.

There are 2 really good scenarios for you. One is to check out the buy and sell section right here on Sea Breeze, the other which I think is your best bet is to give the guys at Wind Surf N Snow a call or drop in and see them next time your're in Sydney. They are the last remining Windsurf retailer in Sydney and are located in Collaroy on the northern beaches, somewhere I am sure given your past you are familiar with. They also have heaps of used gear and would no doubt be able to set you up with some late nineties gear quite cheaply I would imagine.
Good luck :)

first up welcome back. we've been waiting for you.

nosinkanow said...
Do you or anyone know when older sails no longer worked with the newer shaped boards? Did they start getting fat around the tail in 2000 onwards?

I don't think the sail/board combinations are necessarily incompatible, just sub-optimal. It's true that learning sailing has got easier with the newer gear, but I still see people blasting on gear that looks ten-year or older.

As mentioned your immediate problem is buoyancy, so get a larger board (roughly your own weight in kilograms plus 20 for a wet rig; that should float you comfortably, you can probably get away with less in salt water). "big" boards are very controllable even in big conditions these days.

the second-hand market is reasonably strong, so sniff around for something in your budget, then take your gear and son down and soon you'll be showing him your table-top-into-forward-loop. hopefully then we'll get another convert...

That's encouraging to hear that you too have returned to the sport. Probably the reason I have hung on to my gear but was starting to look like a case of hanging on to a pair of good jeans hoping I'd fit into it one day when I lose some weight! Pity my gear is for high winds only otherwise I would have been out there a couple of years ago. I knew I was going to sink but hoped the wind would get me going...brain knew what to do but body did not respond unfortunately!

Finicky winds over here was the main reason for my loss of interest compounded by things in life that most of us go through as we get older. However due to the big winds we were getting a month ago got me thinking seriously about returning.

I have been scouring Seabreeze's for sale section for a couple of months and there are only a couple of boards to suit my weight and use but both are out of my budget or location, eBay has had some however I missed out for one reason or another. But I shall persevere, I've now got all of winter to search...I've even prepared for winter with a new steamer if I find one!

I'd like to get my kids involved however we don't have a suitable location close by. Longboards appear frequent and it would suit teaching my teenage kids. However I need to decide which is more important now, me or them! I think after 17 years it is 'me' time!

Penski said...

Hey Nosinkanow,
I was in your boat about a year ago although I wasn't as wise as you in deciding to ask questions before I went scouring Ebay.

I'm an eBay junkie and being impoverished makes one buy smart...having said that fark I've wasted money on buying some dogs! If I make a mistake on this one my wife will ask her dad to take me out of his will!

sails that required an SDM mast (I had no idea at the time that mast diameters had shrunk so of course then had to go out and get a new(-ish) mast. Windsurfnsnow were excellent.

I've noticed that windsurfing products have changed lots in terms of mixing this with that. I don't want to replace my sails just yet and will have to deal with that when I get to it. I've researched SDM and other new acronyms hence my decision not to splurge just yet. Slowly wins the race me thinks.

I've stuck with my original board (an AHD Omega: Tom Leudecke design) which isn't fancy by comparision but seems to keep me at speed with most although I'm told everything would be easier with a newer board. The biggest change I've noticed is the fixation on fins - and boy does it make a difference. So ask about your options on this front too!!

What vintage is your AHD Omega? Is that anything like the Tyronsea Elite 295 which is another Luedecke design?

Fins. Fark me dead, have they become strange looking things or what, wave ones still look similar but racing and slalom ones look so...so so farking straight and long! Who came up with the idea that one needed half a dozen lengths to go sailing?!!! They must've made a small fortune by now. A fin for every sail size? C'mon, no wonder the sport had a decline, people must've died of starvation paying for new fins rather than eating!

They make sense though, why didn't someone come up with them when we were stuffing around with footy, canards and slotted fins to stop cavitation for one. I just accepted that without a centreboard trying to point upwind was a wasted slow exercise, the truth has been in the length of the fin! Wow. Finboxes must've been needing lots of strengthening though.

Don't ask me what I think of the current egg shaped boards...I was ROFL when I first saw them. I'm sure they do their job well but having never seen one it was a shock...beauty lies in the eyes of the beholder I s'pose. I've never raced or have an interest in that discipline of windsurfing so who cares what I think.... they remind me of the table top on our 6-person outdoor setting.

Anyway not here to make enemies before I make friends so I'll shut up now. Honestly, I'm not the only bugger that thinks they look funny?