I'm now 51 and haven't windsurfed for 30 years or so. My wife and I are moving to the Gold Coast on the Broadwater and I'm hoping I can still windsurf at least at an Intermediate level.
I wish to take advantage of our beautiful new back yard so I guess I'm looking for a reasonably long board for flat water.
My previous experience was actually an original Windsurfer with a laminated teak wish bone so this should give you an idea of where I'm at, back in the day our only tricks were riding the rail and running the board so no water starts or tricks you guys to these days..... just looking for a stable and fast board an old windsurfer such as myself can possibly take up again.
Looking for suggestions and advise, probably more from locals in the area, however all any advise is welcome.

......51 is not old......

Your old board, the Windsurfer OD was 190lit, 3.6m long and about 0.6 wide. It came with a 6.0m triangular sail with small batterns. It was easy to steer, relatively stable and easy to sail in up to 12kts. Above 12kts, the sail lost it's shape and became a handful and required a lot of skill to sail well.

The equipment these days has improved significantly since then. Learner and improver boards vary in volume from 180lit to 150lit (depending on your weight and skill level). They are much shorter (approx 2.5m) and much wider (0.7 to 0.8m). Sails are fully batterned with fuller shape and leaches that twist off in gusts. They typically are larger, more powerful, more stable and are much easier to sail.What you purchase will depend on a lot of things:
- your weight
- wind conditions you want to sail in
- whether you want to work to windward or reach backwards and forwards.
- Where you want to sail
- how much you want to spend

I got back into windsurfing 4 years ago after a 19 year break. I started with 20year old Mistral Superlight 11 Raceboard (3.6m long, 0.65m wide, 255lit) and 9.0m2 sail. I sailed this for a year or two before I bought a freerace board (2.4m long, 0.68 wide, 111 lit). I now own 4 boards (including the raceboard which I still use), 6 sails, 3 boom, 3 masts and a trailer to fit it all in.

Options you should consider:
- Second hand beginner/improver board: 2.4m long, 0.7m to 0.8m wide, 180lit to 150 lit, with centre board (eg Starboard Go)
- Second hand rotational sails : 6.0 & 7.0m2 (avoid camber induced sails at this stage)
- Mast, boom to suit
- Harness and harness ropes

You may find this gear in the 'buy and sell' tab in Seabreeze, You can also talk to either Surf FX (on the Gold Coast) or Board Crazy (in Brisbane). Both shops are excellent and very helpful.

There is also a very active group of improvers who sail on Morton Bay. Check out the 'Windsurfer Learning Curve' Topic under the Qld Forum Tab. They are a great bunch of guys and might even have some gear to sell.

If you are interested, I'm thinking of selling my Mistral Superlight 11 raceboard. Send me a PM (private message) if your are interested.

Welcome back to the fold and good luck. You wont regret it

51 won't be a problem.

The gear is so different now - in a good way - that if you liked it before, you will love it now.

You can still love doing what you did before, but I think you will like the new way of sailing too. Smaller lighter gear that goes in very little wind and works very efficiently.

It will be like learning almost from scratch and you will have to develop windsurf fitness as you go along, but it will be worth it if you stick to it.

You can get there by talking to the local windsurfers and teaching yourself, but a few lessons can speed things up.

The only awkward part is choosing the right equipment as it is quite a complicated mix of parts - some of which work very well when mixed and some not so good.

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Al Planet said..
......51 is not old......

I'll say, it's about average for windsurfers around here.
You've got to be over 70 to be considered to be even approaching old.

All great things to consider John.
To fill in a few blanks, *weight & height 100kg /1850, *wind conditions 12kn and over and ideally like to get good enough to go out in the heavier breezes as I progress, *not looking for close hauled performance just reaching speed for across the *Broardwater, *at this stage just looking for the right set up for me second.

What is meant by 'camber induced' ?

Yes heard Surf FX are the guys to see on the Gold Coast and think I'll take a couple of lessons to get me going, look a bit stupid out there seeing some guys trying to 'ride the rail' on a modern board I guess:)

Also will definitely look into the 'windsurfer Learning Curve' to gain more info, ill hold off on looking at your Mistral Superlight 11 raceboard just for now whilst I research a few more options but please keep me in mind down the track, should be moved and settled by the end of May.

Thanks heaps mate.

All great things to consider John.
To fill in a few blanks, *weight & height 100kg /1850, *wind conditions 12kn and over and ideally like to get good enough to go out in the heavier breezes as I progress, *not looking for close hauled performance just reaching speed for across the *Broardwater, *at this stage just looking for the right set up for me second.

What is meant by 'camber induced' ?

Yes heard Surf FX are the guys to see on the Gold Coast and think I'll take a couple of lessons to get me going, look a bit stupid out there seeing some guys trying to 'ride the rail' on a modern board I guess:)

Also will definitely look into the 'windsurfer Learning Curve' to gain more info, ill hold off on looking at your Mistral Superlight 11 raceboard just for now whilst I research a few more options but please keep me in mind down the track, should be moved and settled by the end of May.

Thanks heaps mate.

Thanks Terminal, yeah.... figure it will be like learning all over again, I'm hoping given I still sail and paddleboard this may help a little in terms of how quick I pick it up but only time will tell.

Camber inducers are plastic inserts in the front of the sail used to transfer high batten loads to the mast, thus inducing a full shape in the sail (i.e. camber). They improve power and stability (think large sails with an unbelievable wind range), at the cost of being stiff to manoeuvre, lifeless when underpowered, a little heavier and a bit fiddly to rig. Watch someone tacking or gybing - if they give an almighty heave on the sail followed by a loud "crack", that's them manhandling the camber inducers over to the other side of the sail.

BTW, don't discount longer boards - there are a *lot* of great options longer than 2.5m. I mention this only because there is an almost overwhelming bias (in the media, the retail market, and these forums) towards short high-wind-only boards, so you might get the impression that longer boards aren't a viable option. Just getting back into the sport, in a high-tide low-wind area like the GC, there's a lot to be said for a board that can get you back to where you started.

I'm the same age, been back in to it for about 18 months. my observations do far!

Boards have improved 50%
Sails have improved 500%
That feeling of flying that you get from flat water blasting is like a drug and highly addictive.
Modern gear makes 51 the new 31
I've spent a lot of money.

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33frupus said..

I've spent a lot of money.

Just remember. If you start buying lots of carbon gear, you wife might decide she's entitled to some carbon too, courtesy of DeBeers.

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Tiga90 said..

To fill in a few blanks, *weight & height 100kg /1850, *wind conditions 12kn and over and ideally like to get good enough to go out in the heavier breezes as I progress, *not looking for close hauled performance just reaching speed for across the *Broardwater, *at this stage just looking for the right set up for me second.

Based on the above, you are looking at what they call a freeride board. The size will depend on how much you remember. You'll get an idea once you take some lessons.

Don't discount the long board option in the short to medium term. There is a group that sails the Windsurfer OD up on the sunshine coast on a semi regular basis. They even have spare boards available to try out. Check out the 'Windsurfer One Design get together' topic in the Qld forum

I see, in the yachting world I guess we would call camber induced..... "draft or depth' of a sail, camber is do with hull shape. Love the idea of twisting off the leach in heavy air, the equivalent would be easing vang in the heavy stuff.

Thinking a long board for exactly that reason, particularly as it seems I'll be starting from scratch all over again.

love it

I started out with a BIC 380cm long board, a sail with one small batten near the top of the mast, a boom that you tied to the mast and then swung down to tighten the connection and a chest harness. I used to rail ride it, sail back to sail, inside the boom, helicopters, head dips.

The last time I sailed a long board was in the 1990's and it felt like sailing an oil tanker. It was strange to have a board that contacted the top of 3 small waves all at the same time.

Everyone is different and there are many types of windsurfer - all of them good.

I'm just pointing that out because you might spend extra money before you find the most satisfactory windsurf setup for you. Might be worth studying the different types of windsurfing and thinking about where you would go in choosing modern equipment. It may be that trying to pick up where you left off is the way that you prefer, but the other option is to try to identify where you will end up equipment-wise and get there in a more direct way.

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terminal said..
>>>
Everyone is different and there are many types of windsurfer - all of them good.

I'm just pointing that out because you might spend extra money before you find the most satisfactory windsurf setup for you. Might be worth studying the different types of windsurfing and thinking about where you would go in choosing modern equipment. It may be that trying to pick up where you left off is the way that you prefer, but the other option is to try to identify where you will end up equipment-wise and get there in a more direct way.

I'm not sure that the brain is equipped to make this decision. There's a few of us here were sworn die hard wave sailors, It was only by extreme pressure from matesand a month of absolutely no waves, that they managed to persuade us to put on a GPS and venture into some dead flat water.
Well what looked like a totally boring experience has turned into a serious addiction!! I guess being a part of the GTC is a big contributing factor, but I only ever get out in the waves on my big gear now, and only if the waves are good and it's not too crowded. 95% of the time I'm in the smooth stuff.

If I hadn't tried it first it would never have happened.

I think a freeride board for a start off makes sense, but some modern boards are very wide at the back with straps along way from the centre of the board. You'd probably find these very strange to start off on.

Hi Tiga90
I'm sure that you'll not regret getting back to sailboarding. I'd had 28 years out and have had such a great time relearning just how much fun it is. Flat water sailing with the Mandurah Mob in WA....Decrepit is my venerable skipper, 10 years older and I just cannot catch the bastard.....over the last 12 months has seen me start off on 2nd hand gear...everything is MUCH more user-friendly now and the boards are super light. I decided to get a free ride F2 Vento. 115 litre ( I weigh around the 87kg now that everything has gone lardy) as a utility board and 5.3m2 and 6.4m2 sails. All up and running, mast, universal harness and boom for around the $2000 mark from a reputable dealer in Perth...it turns out he gave me totally good and honest advice. Many thanks Steve Stratfold !!
In short, I had totally forgotten just how much WOO-HOO fun sailboarding is.
The theory on fins will be a real mystery on your return from the 80's. Back then the windsurfer fin was as limp as a stick of asparagus. Not now however! You'll find it surprisingly easy to do the basics again; even water-starting I did 1st time. Wow, I thought. How easy is this? Well, you might hit the same wall that I did as the newer boards are very frisky and they head off downwind at light speed and it's all a bit scary. Crashes hurt more than when I was in my 20's and I know I'm never going to get my old athleticism back or break any world records. But, hey, what a buzz and you'll be with like-minded idiots every time you sail...all going " Woo Hoo!" as you pass each other at speed. How good's that!!!!!
My advice?
1 : Talk to the local Gold Coast sailors about gear.....they'll talk your ears off and love it.
2 : Go see Surf FX in Southport and have a look at gear and have a talk with them too.
3 : Get back into it EASY....I buggered up both my shoulders on my first couple of sails by "forgetting" that I wasn't young any more and I am recovering from rotator cuff surgery as I write....do some basic stretches, gym or whatever beforehand. Please! Hanging off a boom uses muscles and tendons that will have been lying dormant.
4 : Have a great time in the Broadwater and drop in to see us in WA sometime

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33frupus said..
I'm the same age, been back in to it for about 18 months. my observations do far!

Boards have improved 50%
Sails have improved 500%
That feeling of flying that you get from flat water blasting is like a drug and highly addictive.
Modern gear makes 51 the new 31
I've spent a lot of money.

Oh if only I had some to spend.. ( less sailboarding more work needed)

Hi tiga90 welcome back to the sport

You are more than welcome to join us anytime - I Usually put up where and when we are heading

Lessens are definitely the go if u get the chance.

Cheers
Morgan

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WazzaYotty said..

1 : Talk to the local Gold Coast sailors about gear.....they'll talk your ears off and love it.
2 : Go see Surf FX in Southport and have a look at gear and have a talk with them too.
3 : Get back into it EASY....I buggered up both my shoulders on my first couple of sails by "forgetting" that I wasn't young any more and I am recovering from rotator cuff surgery as I write....do some basic stretches, gym or whatever beforehand. Please! Hanging off a boom uses muscles and tendons that will have been lying dormant.
4 : Have a great time in the Broadwater and drop in to see us in WA sometime

This.

And be really careful of the sandbanks in The Broadwater. Depending on where the sun is you'll be able to see the bottom going one way, but not coming back.
Hitting the bottom at speed is probably the worst accident you can have. Catapult plus hard landing. I say this because I've done it a few times and it hurts both your body and your wallet.

If you didn't know already 'The Train' is the place to get back into it again, although I think everyone has moved a few hundred metres north since I was there last (I used to have that run to myself). Lots of flat water there, sometimes glass table smooth.

Freeride board your weight + 40 in litres I reckon.
While I lived on the Cold Toast my most used sail was a 7.2 coupled with a 110 freeride.
Second most was a 5.4 on a 100 freewave.
I am 80kg, a scorpio, and like listening to the rain.

Also checkout the sand island north of Wave Break Island. You can sail across from Biggera Waters/Lands End. Work really well near the top of an incoming tide, it's shallow, and a N/NE'r. A huge area of perfectly clear, waist deep water perfect for nailing water starts and carve gybes. I stress incoming tide and a N/NE. You don't want to go out the seaway.