Well, that was an interesting 3 hours! Spent the morning down on the Hastings River with Mark Jordan from Jordans Boating Centre, and got a crash corse in sail boarding. Thankfully the winds were nice and light (about 5 knots) the board was huge and the sail small- the perfect combo for a total novice. After 1 hour I was crusing up and down the river, tacking, sailing down wind and jibing. Mark mentioned the bull sharks in the river so I only feel off twice...lol So was pretty pleased with that

We ended up up-sizing the sail and used the bigger model for the next 2 hours. Definitly a power increase there! Got a basic feel for that and was just about to jump on a smaller board, but jelly legs and sore toes ment that smaller board will be saved for the next lesson

So, after jumping on a sailboard for the very first time I can fully apreciate the skills needed to sail in a decent wind and remain up-right. Hats off to those blokes out there steaking along in 30 knts winds and jumping waves. I can see there's some real skills in that!

So all was good, had a ball, loved the feeling of momentum, wind in the hair and freedom. Now very keen to get my own board and practice.

Thanks Mark for all your help, you saved me many hours of wasted time and energy doing everything completely wrong See you again in a week or so.

Cheers,

Phil

Given your competitive surfing background Phil, I gotta say stick with it because the best is yet to come. Just imagine the day, not too far away, that you will be dropping down a wave and sinking a rail just like your surfing - except FASTER!!!!

That's good news all up mate, let me know if I can be of assistance with some pointers when you are ready. Given your sporting background and progress on day 1, by next season you will be well and truly in the groove

nice job man.
i have my first lesson the other day in far from idea weather conditions. Didn't do quite as good as u, i was down there for 5 hours and sailed for about 30 secs in total. But i guess sharks are a pretty good motivational to stay on the board . But good luck man.

Great to hear you had such a good introduction..Wait till the first time you plane!