Hi guys,

In the past I have done some sailboarding on a longboard & more recently on a Starboard Go.
My question is I really want to get into sailboarding but how do I get going here in Sydney.
I would like to buy my own gear, but what type of board & do I buy new or second hand?
Secondly as none of my friends windsurf, what is the best way to learn / progress?
Any advise is greatly appreciated as it is all getting a bit frustrating at the moment.

Thanks Rick

Hi Matcham,

I can get to the Northside, but Botany would be the easier / preferred place to go.

Thanks Rick

Rick, you're at that awkward point where any board you buy now you will probably grow out of pretty soon! if you're still uphauling, that narrows your board choices a lot, and once you start waterstarting, you'll probably find the bigger board too big to be fun.

It's pretty hard to hire stuff in sydney (unless that's changed recently), so unless you can take a week off to go and improve somewhere like WA (you'd be amazed how much you can improve when you're sailing almost every day), you're stuck with buying your own stuff.

sails, boom, mast are pretty easy, as whatever you buy now you can probably keep for a while, as long as you have a rough idea of what sort of sailing you think you mind end up doing (wave, flat and/or race). if in doubt, go for "Free-ride" labled stuff, as this is considered "all-purpose" equipment. the people in the shops will point you in the right direction.

board-wise, i'd try to pick something up second hand/demo at one of the shops, that's big enough to stand on to uphaul, but will still plane when it's a bit blowy. (I've tried to find something like this for my wife, with so far limited success, as this style is still fairly new, and there's not much on the S/H market it seems). I think they call these types "Improvers" boards.

that way, you can work on your skills with a proper sail/mast/boom, but still have "the float" if it all goes pear-shaped and you have to paddle it back to the car park.

skills-wise, concentrate on waterstarting and sailing in the harness and straps, as these skills are the key to shorter boards, higher winds, jumps... all the fun stuff!

location-wise, anywhere flat and where the wind is blowing in the direction of somewhere safe is the go. Botany is cool if you don't mind the occasional Jelly (which is not ideal if you're trying to learn to waterstart!) and the jet traffic.

hope this helps a bit, I'm sure people will have differing opinions which are equally valid. basically, don't do what I did... buy a sinker and a 4 cambered sail and attempt to learn how to sail it in a 3 knot current. But luckily this is not 1987 and learner gear has never been better.

oh, and have fun! apparently that's the point.

Matt

Thanks everyone,

I think I am going to see if I can do a few lessons with Southside Sailboards & in late January I think I will take the option of going on a weeks holiday & doing a weeks sailing & lessons as suggested. That way I will have a better idea of what board to buy. The only problem is it is still a while off but thats life I guess.

One question regarding buying gear, when I buy my own gear, is it better to buy new the mast, sail, boom etc or is it better value to see if I can pick up newer second hand gear??

Thanks Rick

quote:

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Originally posted by ricster66

Thanks everyone,

One question regarding buying gear, when I buy my own gear, is it better to buy new the mast, sail, boom etc or is it better value to see if I can pick up newer second hand gear??

Thanks Rick

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Rick, the shops are perfect for this, as most have a good range of "good condition" sails and booms, and know exactly what goes with what. I personally tend to buy "last season run-out" stuff, as I find retail prices a bit hefty and franky I never notice much of a difference from one season to the next, though I'm sure the better sailors say different. also, when buying sails, you have a good chance of getting a couple of sails "within" the model range (say, Pryde Soul or whatever). this is handy for tuning your rigs and gives you a feeling of consistency. i don't know the rules here so I won't recommend my favourite shop, but I can't recall having a bad experience in any store in sydney. one thing I would say is get a new harness, it'll mold to your waist/bum and end up fitting like a glove. I also fancy new booms but that's personal, try a couple in the shop.

having said that, the stuff has improved a lot over the last 5-10 years say, so don't buy anything too old or you won't be getting the most out of your gear, and for an improver, that means "easy to rig and sail".

one thing I forgot to mention last time is that, if you can't get to a proper lesson, some of the instructional DVD's are really good. I like Peter Harts' ones. that way, you can watch the skills, commit the steps to memory, and hit the water to give it a try. waterstarting in particular is a bugger of a skill if you don't have someone correcting you along the way, but a DVD/video is a pretty good start.

best of luck with it. WA is a blast, hope you have fun!

matt