ok windsurfer wannabes.....first things first what is the board volumes? it should be marked on the boards and it is usually measured in liters. for beginners, the bigger the better. hopefully, they will be 180l or bigger. it makes learning much easier. secondly, need to know your weight. that determines board volume needed.

i taught myself but man if i had not bought new equipment, i probably would of quit after the first thrashing i took.

do not try and learn to windsurf on a windy day!!! i know it sounds contrary but it is true. 5-10mph is best and on flat water. light wind is best how to learn steering. you use the mast position (forward to bear downwind and back to go upwind). sounds easy but add wind and waves and the fact there is no tiller.

to get the sail out of the water. there is thing called an uphaul that should be attatched to the head of the boom. when the boom is attatched to the mast, the loose end is mounted to the bottom of the mast. while standing on the board, you should have your feet on the centerline of the board shoulder width apart and one foot on either side of the mast. reach down and start to lift the sail with the uphaul. the sail will orient itself downwind (the mast tip will be just off the water and pointing downwind). the board will be 90 degrees to the water. at this point, finish picking up the sail. as the sail comes off the water the end of the boom will fall away downwind and you will have the mast close to you. by lifting with the uphaul, it allows the sail to rotate. there is no power in the sail as the sail is perpendicular to the wind. this is called neutral position as the board will not be moving at all and even in a 20knt wind there will not be any pressure on the sail.

to get the board moving. place one hand on the boom close to the mast and the other a bit further down. the one farther down the boom is called your back hand. with your back hand sheet in (as in sailing pull the boom toward you). you will feel the sail power up and the board will start forward.

for steering remember this for the rest of your windsurf career.

mast forward = downwind
mast back = upwind
mast straight up and down = perpendicular to the wind

hopefully, you board has a dagger board. if so use it.

windsurfers suck when it comes to going upwind, especially for beginners. when you learning, make sure you dont pick a spot that finds you in open water and no way to get back. swimming your rig to shore sucks big time. try to find a small cove that has a point in it that is upwind.

the guycribb website has lots of good info about rigging and technique once you get your basics over.

once you get steering down, gradually add wind. as you add wind the pull of the sail on your arms will get heavy. at this point, get a harness and learn how to use it. this single device makes windsurfing with any kind of wind possible as it takes the load off your arms and allows you to use your body weight to control the load a la "hiking" on a boat.

you think the catamaran community is small, the windsurfing community is crazy small. i live in the dfw metro and there probably is less than 40 people that windsurf. point is if you can find someone who windsurfs, find them and ask them to teach you. i learned all on my own but man the learning curve is steep. kinda like skateboarding.

be ready to become and addict. after the first time you windsurfer gets up on plane you will be hooked. it so affected me that my hobiecat has been out of the backyard 3 times in the last 4yrs. when the wind is blowing the performance is amazing.

i am coming back to the boat a bit though. in winds 0-15 planing the windsurfer is difficult. the boat provides better mobility and "fun". 15-30 is the domain of the windsurfer. as everybody is running for there lives off the lake, im heading out. conditions like this are unreal as most people have never been out in 30mph wind. the waves are crazy in a good way.

suggestions for the both of you is to list your equipment and specifications for sails and boards and we can give you an idea of what to expect and when to use what sail combo.