Water Start
Beginner
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454 riders can do it
During a waterstart, a rider clears the sail of water and powers it up in the wind. The powered sail then pulls the rider out of the water enough so they could step up and onto the board.
How do it
The water start is the key to windsurfing, especially on waves and smaller boards. To begin training, you need to know how to do a beach start, and it’s recommended you know how to ride in a harness and large sails. It’s best to try out the water start with medium or strong winds, calm water and your usual kit.
1.
Go in waist deep, place your equipment in beach start position, raise your sail over your head and push off with your legs, trying to stay affloat.
2.
Supporting yourself with the sail power, bring yourself closer to the board, so that your body is between the front and rear straps. Push off the water with your legs and close the sail.
3.
Begin to move the sail upward and forward, while pulling the board up toward you with your back leg. Bring up the sail as high as you can, closing it with your back hand. Pull up forward to the sail joint and get up on the board, placing your front foot at the mast. Immediately shift your body weight backward, so you don’t fly out forward.
4.
The most difficult part of the water start is taking the sail off the water when you’re in the deep. To accomplish this, you need to grab the mast closer to the top of the sail, at shoulder width, and swim with the mast angled downwind. You’re trying to drain all the water off the sail, making it neutral, and turn the mast across the wind, so that you can use your front hand (which is over the boom) to take the sail off the water and bring it windward. When you’re swimming, always push off the water with your legs. Getting up on the board, if you’ve already in control of the sail, is actually very easy. Taking the sail off the water, in any weather, wind or chop, is the hard part. As soon as you manage to water start with a single tack, sail forward, lower your sail back onto the water and begin training your water start landward.