VANCOUVER ISLAND WINDTALK

The sun, stars, weather, wind and weekend finally aligned for me and I was able to get on the water on Saturday at Willows.

I am stoked! What an awesome way to spend an afternoon. Being almost a total noob I had a pretty rocky start, but finally was able to stay up and sail back and forth along the beach. Most surprising to me is what a full body workout this sport is. I could hardly move the next day! Must be all that uphauling.

Looking forward to spending more time on the water soon!

Awesome! Keep at it!

Wicked...good opportunity to start your sailing logs where you may also get info/feedback and track your gear usage etc, what rocky start? Maybe we can help? Cheers A


When I have a chance maybe we can set up some lesson/coaching at Nitinat

Awesome!! Good job slow learner. I remember those days well.
I was so out of shape when I started windsurfing just rigging up would leave me totally exhausted! It's such a nice feeling just getting out on the water though isn't it? Keep it up, I'm looking forward to hearing about your sessions in the future.

Sailing log... good idea, I'll add an entry.

As for the rocky start, well that was mostly just a comedy of errors - starting with trying to remember how to rig up, then realizing I didn't park near the stairs to the beach. Then it was trying to find my balance on the board and uphaul without falling in, then realizing I was drifiting back to shore and my fin was bumping on the sand, falling in some more.... getting up but then surprised by a gust of wind, falling in again... you get the idea. If nothing else I provided some entertainment for the people on the beach.

Out of curiosity, how do you guys get your board and sail into the water without dragging the sail along the beach? Is there a trick to it?

Kus - Thanks for the offer, I would definitely say yes to some coaching at Nitnat this summer if anyone has pointers!

generally, like this, <a href="/http://boards.co.uk/features/carrying-kit.html" target="_blank">How to carry gear to the water</a>, but a start is hard, if not close to impossible without footstraps.

If you're not going over rocks, starts are durable and can withstand a little sand/ dragging.

Or else carry the board and sail down to the edge of the water separately. Point the nose to the water, and lay the sail on the downwind side of the board with the wind blowing over the mast, so you can grab the boom and a footstrap.

Thanks for the tips Winddude. Will give that a try next time.

winddude wrote:generally, like this, <a href="/http://boards.co.uk/features/carrying-kit.html" target="_blank">How to carry gear to the water</a>, but a start is hard, if not close to impossible without footstraps.

love the demo photos, this wind boarding sport looks very appealing when you have the right crew on the beach

Yep, loads of coaches at the lake (some know almost everything), esp if you resemble that crew Winddude posted