Strapped down

A couple of windsurfing milestones have been passed recently. Firstly, I can now waterstart. In fact, it wasn’t difficult at all; I decided on the spur of the moment to try one off Hillhead and managed it at the first attempt! I’ve been building up rig control skills by doing beach starts up to waist deep and equally importantly I’ve been watching the “Turn for the Better” RYA / Peter Hart DVD which explains it all very clearly.

Non-windsurfers might like to know that this is important for two main reasons:

In stronger winds and bigger waves it is extremely tiring and difficult to pull up the sail using the uphaul rope; it is very difficult to balance on a wobbly board without the pull of the sail to lean against and it the actual process of lifting the sail is extremely strenuous. Waterstarting is a lot easier in these conditions.
Smaller (and therefore faster and more exciting) boards may not actually float when not moving, so waterstarting is the much easier option. Once you can waterstart, you can consider getting a smaller board.

With new confidence I decided on Saturday to work on getting into the footstraps. After a few blasts across Poole harbour with the front foot in the strap I got both feet into the straps and flew across the bay on the plane. It feels great to be on the plane, in control and not worried about losing contact with the board.

The footstraps are vital because they secure your feet to the board and they therefore cannot be displaced by a wave and give you a firm foothold to resist the pull of the sail (which given half a chance will hurl you bodily forwards causing embarrassment and occasionally bruises). It feels like everything is coming together, after a summer waiting for wind and being catapulted over my board repeatedly when it finally arrived.