After a break (of about 25 years) I am sort of getting the urge to have another bash at windsurfing. I gave up because I got bored sitting on the beach waiting for the wind and because of family commitments.

I had a F2 Lightning WCR for the low wind days, a Sunset Slalom for force 4 to 5 ish and a Mistral Stinger for when the waves got up.

Looking at the new generation of boards it has all changed.

Where would be a good place to start (as far as kit is concerned)? Sails, fins and boards have all got bigger. While boards used to be defined by length and volume (shorter and less volume generally meant faster) what criteria do they use nowadays?

If anyone has come back to the sport after a long delay, is it like riding a bike? Can you just get on and be more or less competent pdq or do you have to go through the whole learning rigmarole again?

If you have stayed with me this long…..last question. My eyesight is rubbish nowadays and I’m pretty much blind as a bat without my third and fourth eyes! I’m concerned that a wipe out would wipe out my glasses, or see them at the bottom of the sea/lake. Any thoughts about this? How do you get around this one?

Just re-started after a similar break … skills are still there but a bit rusty. I have a old long board and a screamer, use the long board for a while to get used to things again. I’ve been 4 or 5 times and am just thinking about using the screamer in the right conditions. Chatting to folk, the new generations of boards and sails are much easier but old kit and new kit don’t work together, so don’t try and upgrade one and not the other.

While my eyes have given in to age, I still only need glasses for reading so can’t help with that one.

I’m hooked again at the moment …. till I get fed up waiting for the wind !

I’m hooked again at the moment …. till I get fed up waiting for the wind !

😆

Its all easier now .
Weather forcasts and the internet mean less time wasted on a windless beach.
New kit has bigger wind range than ever so you only need around 14 – 15 knots to plane .

New boards are lighter , wider , shorter and more forgiving . They are also frightenly expensive new.

Masts are thinner, carbon ( RDM V SDM ) and therfore stronger and ligher, ditto booms .

Sails are more stable, learger wind range , less twitchy , easy to rig , easy to sail, fast and light (

You need to be looking at kit
which 2010 and newer , do not mix old skool stuff

Croakies to hold your glasses onto your head

My 2p worth (as a lot of what I would say has been pointed out already)..

Free ride boards kit since 09′ has become wider and shorter with a lot of the volume of the board smack bang in the centre of the board where the mast track is. We’ve also dropped the “liter” and now explain boards as 260×65 for instance, where before it would have been something like 130ltrs.. Liters are still used, but it’s really the dimensions now that identify a board and in the main its characteristics. It takes a little getting used too, but think along the lines shorter/fatter boards are where it’s at. Fins remain 34/36/38cm for such boards, foots straps still have multiple positioning so still familiar.
The volume in the boards (as mentioned) is bang in the centre which means tacks and gybes are centred around a mid point, so rather than hang off the tail to gybe you’ll need to move forward into the board to keep it plaining.

Masts, well we’re still using SDM on adjustable mast extensions so no change there but Skinny masts are in too but you’ll need a skinny mast extension to suit. The benefits to skinny masts are the bend characteristics, and new sails are predominantly made to suit skinnys. This doesn’t mean everyone has changed to them, I haven’t, and it doesn’t mean sails are none comparable either.. It’s your choice, but make sure your mast extension fits your mast, simple.
Booms, still the same, more simple and effective ways of attachments to masts, and outhauls, and you’ll find a lot of booms cover a wide range of sails (so no need for multiple booms)

Sails, these have changed quite dramatically. The outline plan, shape, batten, cloth have been improved dramatically. There are a lot of adjustments now, so years ago you may have a 6mtr/7.5mtr and possibly a 5mtr in your quiver, these days a decent 6.5mtr will cover 15knts through 30 with some tweeks. Do try to choose a decent sail brand, a mast to fit it too, the ease of fitting and setup will be greatly improved.

The skills you’ve gained over the years will still be as important now as then. Water starts, up haul, tacking and gybing are all key to windsurfing. The conditions haven’t changed at all so you’ll feel as familiar now as back then.

In the main windsurfing has dropped in volume of participation, there are still many folks young and old blasting about so you’ll still see windsurfing going on at your local spots, and we’re all as friendly now as back then.

It’s a symptom of the market that new kit is bloody expensive today, boards (top end builds) are IRO £1600 then sails £5-600, masts £400, booms £250.. But there are places like ROHO (Robin Hood) et all that sell packages for £1200 all in, then there’s the secondhand market where most kit can be had for 1/3 – 1/2 it’s original value. If going secondhand then anything younger than 2010 onwards will be built around the “modern” designs.

It’s not a minefield as it may seem, just decide what style windsurfing you’re into and make sure the kit is fairly new in design. Then head to the beach and do some practicing, ask around to other windsurfers and go enjoy yourself.

HTHs.

Thanks @bikebuoy (and everyone else). Just had a peep at the RoHo site. Sort of got the juices flowing again. I think I’ll wander down to the local reservoir and have a chat with some of the guys down there. If I work towards having a try next spring (far too busy atm) I should have been able to sell a kidney and a lung by then! :o)

2nd hand certainly seems to be the way to go.

On the down side….my puny cycling arms are going to suffer like hell!

Can you really uphaul short boards then?

As a general purpose sail, for a 14 to 14.5 stone person, would I look to go bigger than 6.5m? A 6.5 used to be the go to sail for me, and would be good up until a mid force 5. If they exhaust better now, I guess a 7 or 7.5 wouldn’t be out of order, though that was strictly long board territory when I last sailed.

Short board uphauling is easy, as mentioned all the buoyancy in boards is now entered around the mast track area and this is where you get the widest part of the boards too. So, placing your body over the centreline here will give maximum buoyancy for uphauling. Yes it’ll be a bit wobbly, but nowhere near as wobbly as on old school 320’s with needle sharp rails.
Obviously it’s best to practice in benign locations first, just to get used to float/positioning but fundamentally nothing has changed over the years.

One thing I forgot to mention ^^ is harnesses. Over the last 8 or so years there has been a marked shift to waist harnesses, a move away from seat harnesses that you probably remember from back in the day. The fundamental shift here is mainly due to the flexibility of the sailor and the ability to do exaggerated moves. We’ve had a massive influence from freestyle (new school freestyle) where all manner of flexibility is required to perform moves you probably wouldn’t think doable. Well just do a quick search on YouTube for freestyle by the like of Gollito and the Tonk brothers to get your eyes popping out of your head. So back to harnesses, we’ve come back a bit into seat harnesses again. Everyone who tends to blast/slalom/race has been tempted to move back into seat harnesses. Obviously they have benefits over waist harnesses for these particular disciplines, and you shouldn’t be influenced by the fashion of waist harnesses unless you think they will suit your style of riding. Personally I have both, I use the waist harness for waves and freestyle and the seat for blasting and slalom. I do prefer the waist harness but that’s because I prefer waves and jumping, but I could do that in a seat harness too. So, what I’m saying is if you are comfortable in a seat harness, use that it’ll be familiar to you and suit your current ability. If you want o move to a waist harness, do that it’s the same sort of feeling just higher up your body and feels a lot less “locked down”‘(you’ll remember that feeling)

Sails, well where are you intending to sail? I’m on the south coast and we rig for the lulls. It’s easy to get overpowered in the gusts but the lulls are what take you off the plane so we always rig .5mtr bigger than most down here, or your perceived rigging size. So a typical(!!) day of 18knts will be the 7mtr and we’ll down haul/outhaul the pants out of it if it gets windier rather than bog around on 6/6.5’s. 14st ain’t heavy, most blokes down this way are easily that and they’re all doing what we do. I’d say if you intend sailing inland then another .5mtr up on sail size is the way to go. We all know about the long periods of lulls on inland waters only to be blasted by the gusts..

I would say it’s worth 1/2 day refresher courses by Simon Bonhoft or Jem Hall or Harty but I get the impression you kinda know what you are doing, you just need a refresh and practise. These guys will get you there quicker, obvz, but hey that’s another £100 or so.

Enjoy, it’s a great sport that loads of guys our age are returning to, thankfully.

I’d probably kick off at the local reservoir then move back to the coast. I spent most of my time off Felixtowe. Apart from a vicious shore break it was brilliant. A S/W would work well but you prayed for a southerly when it was (and presumably still is 😛 ) cross shore and you could just hook in, sit down and fly!

I found one of my old harnesses the other day…..manky as hell now. The salt water and the years had taken their toll! It hit the bin.

Every time a thread comes up on here about windsurfing it makes me think about getting back into it, then I go into the garage, look at the boards stuck up there and remember the hassle of getting them onto the top of the car, driving to a lake or the coast and waiting for the wind that never seemed to come. What I hadn’t realised is that inflatable windsurfers are now a thing – boards like this could well be a game-changer for us occasional windsurfers if they really work!

Why don’t you go down to a few spots and spend a bit of time watching and chatting to people. I have a hunch once you see the kite surfing you’ll want to be on that tack 8) Holiday options pretty cool too.

@Rio +1

I hate that video….it makes me want to get out and sail right now!

I had no idea inflatable boards were even a thing! As you say….brilliant, if they work!

Don’t go and do what I have managed after getting back into windsurfing after a few years of only occasional sailing. The sailing side came back probably to quickly, on the first time back I was blasting around making a reasonable proportion of gybes and generally feeling like nothing had changed.
2nd sail: even better, chop hops, made a couple of downwind 360s and having a blast. About to call it a day as was getting overpowered but went for a last run. Gybe went wrong but foot got stuck in footstrap, result I have torn lots of ligaments and dislocated bones in my midfoot. Something called lisfranc dislocation. Needed an operation last week and now in a cast & crutches with no weight bearing for next 8 weeks before can start rehab. Not happy 🙁
Have you considered contact lenses for windsurfing? I have (did) used them for many years without to many problems. Initially They would get lost if you wiped out but soon learn to shut you eyes before hitting the water. Use the daily disposables now anyway so less of an issue if you do lose one.

Ouch!

Contacts….no. Not sure how they’d work with a varifocal for long sight and astigmatism. I was always under the impression (from an optician) that this combo made it a no way Jose sort of deal.

My contacts are for short sight, I’ve only got slight astigmatism so dont need the toric versions which I believe are weighted so they sit correctly on the eye. How long ago was the optician saying you weren’t suitable? Contact lens technology has moved on a lot over the last few years. If used just for sports/windsurfing would the varifocal even be an issue? INAO by the way so get better advice than mine 😉 Lots of places will allow you to do a trial of lenses before committing.

If I didn’t have any current kit I’d restrict my sailing to shops’ demo days and hire centres when abroad. But I have got quite a lot of up to date kit and I reckon you need 2 boards and 5 sails minimum plus 2 wetsuits. With masts booms fins etc that adds up to £4000 buying good second hand stuff. And you’ll still not have the right board or sail on really big days. Whereas at a hire centre in Spain or Croatia it’s laid on for you.
As I need reading glasses as well as distance I use contact lenses of different strengths in left and right eyes. It works for me.

My big board is an RRD Firemove 130. 130 litres but 236 x 85 cm. I use sails 5.8, 6.5, 7.2 and 8.6 on it and they’re all fine. The 2 biggest are the most used. I got rid of my 9.6 as it was just too heavy and uncomfortable and the 8.6 picks up well. That could be due to the carbon 100 mast I upgraded to though.

Guessing there isn’t much demand for ~ 8 year old but still good condition kit. Can’t see the surgeon is going to clear me for windsurfing for quite a while (even to get back running is 6 mths). Got 3 boards, Fanatic Freewave 78, JP FSW 84 and Fanatic Skate 112. Quiver of Tushingham Rock’s from 4.0 to 5.5 in 0.5 increments and a Naish Boxer 6.2 + loads of high carbon masts & booms. How much difference would the newer stuff be if I did get back into it? For occasional sailing BigJohn’s suggestion of demo and holiday sailing makes a lot of sense.
Debating in my mind if it’s worth keeping some or part ex the lot for a sea kayak to keep me on the water in some form.

Kayaks….that is omething I have always wanted to do too. Makes note to look into it before I get too much older!

^^ my mate did Sea Kayaking as part of his 50 things to celebrate his 50th. I a bit broken but learning kite surf at 50+ is very doable

Figuring that after 8 weeks on crutches I might develop a bit of upper body fitness (that will be a first for me). Kayaking also shouldn’t put the foot under any strain. There is a kayak company near me (Solent) that does taster sessions, £45 for 3 hours.
Kitesurfing has never really appealed to me. People seemed to get to the stage where they could sail out and back reasonably quickly and then not have many other challenges. From then on it all appeared to be aerial antics.
Maybe(hopefully) its changed now but when I was down the beach regularly there was a bit of hostility between the 2 camps. Some beaches more than others.

Kiters & Windsurfers have kinda gotten used to each other now. Yes in the early days when Kiting was all the rage (about 10 years ago) it did get a bit fractious. But they are both different types of water sport where one needs room to manoeuvre and the other needs room to manoeuvre… Admittedly they do occupy the same space, but kites tend to like hugging sandbanks and low water spots, we’re not too bothered by that so long as newbys can touch the bottom to learn water starts etc.
Now, well it’s just kiting has kinda flattened off, the good guys appreciate good windsurfers and we chat on the beach. The beginners are tolerated in both sports and encouraged, because we know it’s good for the sport by encouraging folks.
Only real issue is if it gets windy, kites need more room to play in, lines get lower and angles to the wind tighter. We just blast around as we would if it’s marginal, so just think about that nugget when it’s windy on the beach. Also, it’s only experienced kiters that go out when it’s windy (+20knts) where as we get all sorts of abilities on the water at that time.
Most places these days have “kite zones” these tend to be controlled by a kite club who are strict and monitor use and ability, note that on certain beaches kites are banned but windsurfing isn’t (I can’t think of one beach where windsurfing is banned, yet 4 where kites are)
Thankfully gone are the days of crap teaching kiting. Gone are the days of blokes turning up and unwrapping badly packed gear across the beach, then launching 4+mtr too big a kite to be dragged downwind into the groynes to be impaled on the outer limit markers. It’s all contained now, they have a great respect for each other (as do we) and tend to help and assist themselves, police themselves and enjoy themselves. We on the other hand tend to rig alone, hack the waves to smithereens, get overpowered and come in and get shore dumped upon, yet still enjoy it.

I Could reduce my quiver to one board and 3 sails, but I won’t. 6 boards (7 if you count the inflatable) and about 8 sails (plus 2 kiddy rigs) will do me for some time 😀

PS 8 year old kit is still newer than most of my quiver and most of it still sails as well or better than I need 🙂

A few boards and sails in my garage are 2 or 3 years old. The rest are a good bit older but sails going back 20 years still feel more or less OK as long as they’re the “loose leech” generation. Last year I rigged my 1992 4.0 Pryde Combat (pre loose leech) and stuck it on my 1992 Tiga 257 at West Kirby when it was blowing a 9 and you know what? I enjoyed it just as much as I did back in ’92.

Just in case this thread has awoken somebody’s interest in sailing old kit I have 4 old boards that I’m going to take to the tip unless someone would like them. Tiga 257, HiFly 275 both these boards are indestructible poly construction. F2 Sputnik 290 and F2 Thomsen 305. No fins (powerbox) or footstraps but free to a good (or bad) home. I’m near Cannock Chase or Chasewater.

Kitesurfing has never really appealed to me. People seemed to get to the stage where they could sail out and back reasonably quickly and then not have many other challenges. From then on it all appeared to be aerial antics.
Maybe(hopefully) its changed now but when I was down the beach regularly there was a bit of hostility between the 2 camps. Some beaches more than others.

Loads of challenges in kiting, not just aerial stuff but wave riding, distance stuff, downwinders, different locations & travel, directional/twin tip/foil riding etc, etc.

Kited in lots of locations and never had a problem with windsurfers. All I’ve met have been friendly, chatty and happy to share a beer afterwards. The two sports although different, share a common love of wind, the waves and the ocean. The people doing both seem quite similar and many friends both kite and windsurf. Know lots that have gone from windsurfing to kiting, but not any who’ve gone the other way round. Not sure why though?