Hey Guys,

I can waterstart once I have the sail out of the water and in position. Meaning in can get the sail to get me out of water while i am swimming with the board. However i have heaps of trouble getting the sail into position and cant really get the sail out of the water after a stack (or failed jibe attempt). Anyway I am sure there is an easy way to get get the sail up so offer up advice please.

And on a side note, I had a great sail yesterday at pelican point . Thanks for the advice on bigger sails and being over powered.

Cheers

Hey Davea

I've just recently learnt this one myself. Simons advice is spot on as usuall. I swim out to the top of my mast then face the luff/mast into the wind , then while treading water furiously, walk your way back down to the boom letting the wind get under the sail lifting it up. Remember, wherever you can,let the wind do the work for you.
Then just make sure the boards facing the right way, get underneath, push your arms towards the sky and away you go. Sounds too easy hey.
It's always really hard work when the sails underwater and facing the wrong way. Thats why I go right out to the top of the mast, you've got way more leverage and once the luff is out of the water facing into the wind it just picks it up and takes all the weight off you.
Hey, What sort of rig do you have, coz I was down at peli point yesterday as well with a heaps bigger sail(7m) for the first time.
Makes such a huge difference being fully powered up!!!
I was on a White/purple Mistral Screamer with a red Neil Pryde V8 Streetracer 7.0
Might see ya down there one day, see how the water starts are going
Cheers

Brett

BC

Hey Simon

Nah, Not a new screamer, think it's a late 90's model.
You Gave me some advice a while back on getting back in the footstraps on this board. Ya said it didnt have much volume down the back which makes it a bit harder to get back down to the straps.
But you also said to be persistant coz it'll be well worth learning to ride it.
Well that i have done. Along with getting a bigger sail so now i'm fully powered up, back in the straps and tearin the water apart and lovin it.

cheers

Brett

BC

Hey peoples, this is my first post on this forum. Its always good to see some constructive use of it ;)

Dave, if you are not a strong swimmer or are having problems clearing the luff of water, an alternative method to those mentioned is:
Align your rig so that the mast is somewhere between 45 and 90 degrees to the wind, and have the back of the board on the windward side of the mast. Push the back of the board under the widest part of the boom and it will gradually pull the luff out of the water, purely by the floatation of the board. Having cleared the luff, continue with the waterstart as per Simon C's instructions. Although you will use this method less as you improve, it can help a lot in extending your endurance while learning (takes no effort ;)

-Simon M

Hey davea
Were you one of the guys who sailed untill dark on monday.
I was out till about 7:15, My first episode of night sailing, very exiting(and scary and fun and awesome)
I vaguely remember a bright yellow sail as i was rocketing in and out
cya out there

brett

BC

davea,

I know how you feel as it's not too long ago I still spend hours in the water doing circles and trying to get the sail out ... I guess my longest single waterstart attempt was probably 20min or so. The biggest mistake with that is trying to waterstart on to small a sail or not enough wind. As I got more confident I just went out in stronger winds with a bigger sail and - huh - you pull the sail a bit and out it comes already.

I put the sail a bit forward and the boom a bit down so I could rest it on the tail of the board to lift it out the water, just as SimomM suggested. Your boom may look worn out soon but I guess it's worth it before you waste your day swimming. Was extremely helpful to learn the routine.

Also, I'd line up the board square to the wind and the sail straight downwind, so you catch some wind under the sail to get the water off and pulling in hard it should come out.

Never had any success with the low-wind-grab-mast option yet ...

Good luck!