Trying my best not to be a tiger dad but wondering about gear for future sessions. Daughter returned to WS after a long break.



She is interested in going faster lol, so more wind and/or bigger sail. She was on a 3.7 in that video.

I believe this kona surf will plane but we also have a starboard go that is about 1m wide

When should I add straps and harness?

I'd go with the Kona, the Go with a small sail just isn't great.

Agreed. The Kona glides better & is more positive feeling - while the Go may be stable, it will be harder to steer & get moving with small sails. When she starts to be able to handle more sail power & is near planing or starting to get her first planing runs, then introduce the straps & harness... IMHO.

The Go is more stable and less sensitive to feet placement, so it is a better beginners option, in my experience. Works well with e.g. a 4.2 - 4.7 sail, for lightweight sailors. I've used that while taking on kids, sitting on the board in front of the mast, works like a charm. :)

Harness will allow for the use of larger sails and better endurance, also in non-planing mode.. Foot-straps can wait until there is enough wind and control for planing mode sailing. So harness first, then foot-straps.

How keen is she? How soon does she want to go fast? Is she concerned about being embarrassed in front of her friends?
I'm always tempted to teach young fit learners the hard fast way. by pass the uphaul stage and go straight to learning water starts.
This teaches the very important stuff first, they can learn to uphaul later.
But at the start it's all counter intuitive, they need continual guidance.
There's no immediate positive feedback, it's hard work, and plenty of crashes. So patience, endurance and a disregard for "image" is required.
But, if your daughter can cope with this, she could be in harness and straps, flying along in a much shorter time than doing it the slow way on a huge board with small sails.

It's all down to temperament, keenness and fitness.

My daughter learned on a kona link but it took a trip to maui to get her in the straps on a short board

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decrepit said..
How keen is she? How soon does she want to go fast? Is she concerned about being embarrassed in front of her friends?
I'm always tempted to teach young fit learners the hard fast way. by pass the uphaul stage and go straight to learning water starts.
This teaches the very important stuff first, they can learn to uphaul later.
But at the start it's all counter intuitive, they need continual guidance.
There's no immediate positive feedback, it's hard work, and plenty of crashes. So patience, endurance and a disregard for "image" is required.
But, if your daughter can cope with this, she could be in harness and straps, flying along in a much shorter time than doing it the slow way on a huge board with small sails.

It's all down to temperament, keenness and fitness.

Starting people off with waterstarting may be great in WA, but in many parts of the world it means they'd wait for weeks at a time before being able to sail at all. In most places you just don't get that much wind very often.

The OP is from the USA where the water is often very cold. Having someone splash around for ages in freezing water is a great way to turn them off sailing.

It's not just down to temperament etc, it's also down to the conditions of the location.

I'm not sure how quickly you get young fit learners going, but we used to be able to get just about all of them going on the first session with big boards and small sails. Your way may be just as fast, or faster, in WA where the wind tends to be strong and steady but when we tried it in NSW, it just didn't work. And the sport isn't all about straps, harnesses and flying along.

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thedoor said..
Trying my best not to be a tiger dad but wondering about gear for future sessions. Daughter returned to WS after a long break.

She is interested in going faster lol, so more wind and/or bigger sail. She was on a 3.7 in that video.

I believe this kona surf will plane but we also have a starboard go that is about 1m wide

When should I add straps and harness?

The Kona will be much faster until the Go starts planing all the time; even then the Kona could be quicker.

The Kona Surf is likely to have a better top speed than the Windsurfer LT, which has a top speed of 32 knots. Not sure how that compares to the top speed of the Go, but it's not slow.

So sounds like stick with the Kona, no foot straps until she starts to plane a bit. Maybe add the harness just for non planning control

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Chris 249 said..

decrepit said..
How keen is she? How soon does she want to go fast? Is she concerned about being embarrassed in front of her friends?
I'm always tempted to teach young fit learners the hard fast way. by pass the uphaul stage and go straight to learning water starts.
This teaches the very important stuff first, they can learn to uphaul later.
But at the start it's all counter intuitive, they need continual guidance.
There's no immediate positive feedback, it's hard work, and plenty of crashes. So patience, endurance and a disregard for "image" is required.
But, if your daughter can cope with this, she could be in harness and straps, flying along in a much shorter time than doing it the slow way on a huge board with small sails.

It's all down to temperament, keenness and fitness.

Starting people off with waterstarting may be great in WA, but in many parts of the world it means they'd wait for weeks at a time before being able to sail at all. In most places you just don't get that much wind very often.

The OP is from the USA where the water is often very cold. Having someone splash around for ages in freezing water is a great way to turn them off sailing.

It's not just down to temperament etc, it's also down to the conditions of the location.

I'm not sure how quickly you get young fit learners going, but we used to be able to get just about all of them going on the first session with big boards and small sails. Your way may be just as fast, or faster, in WA where the wind tends to be strong and steady but when we tried it in NSW, it just didn't work. And the sport isn't all about straps, harnesses and flying along.

I agree. I tried learning waterstarts in NSW and it just didn't happen. Even beach starts were a pain, finding a place with shallow water but deep enough, and steady wind. It just isn't that easy.

I ended up going to Fiji on a wndsurfing holiday and spent a lot of the time in the shallows just learning the technique for waterstarts and had them nailed after a few weeks of decent windy conditions.

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Chris 249 said..
Starting people off with waterstarting may be great in WA, but in many parts of the world it means they'd wait for weeks at a time before being able to sail at all. In most places you just don't get that much wind very often.

Of course, granted. I forgot the conditions caveat.

Spring thru summer here, is ideal.
A young guy I taught in those conditions, broke a board learning to jump in his first month.

Find a spot thats shallow across a large area.
Use the gear shes on in the vid. Add 15 knots

Instant fun.

Dont hold her back in light beginner winds. Light wind is for basics. Get out when its windy too. Sure she will tire quickly but the fun is in stronger winds.

I had my son when 10 sailing in 30 knots. Full send out of contol fun.

Get her beach starting as soon as possible. Start in 5-10 knots. Beach start is the key. Uphaul is for no wind or when things go pear shaped. Once she can beach start and you are in a large shallow area, she can blast. Jump off. Turn around and beach start and blast again. That is THE key with kids.

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Gestalt said..
Find a spot thats shallow across a large area.
Use the gear shes on in the vid. Add 15 knots

Instant fun.

Dont hold her back in light beginner winds. Light wind is for basics. Get out when its windy too. Sure she will tire quickly but the fun is in stronger winds.

I had my son when 10 sailing in 30 knots. Full send out of contol fun.

Get her beach starting as soon as possible. Start in 5-10 knots. Beach start is the key. Uphaul is for no wind or when things go pear shaped. Once she can beach start and you are in a large shallow area, she can blast. Jump off. Turn around and beach start and blast again. That is THE key with kids.

On the other hand, we've got kids into windsurfing in a completely different way and they've got into it so deeply that they've done Youth Worlds and Olympic campaigns.

Light wind isn't just for basics, it's great fun if you do it well. Going back and forth is boring for plenty of kids.

Everyone is different so why imply that they are all the same?

Select to expand quote

Chris 249 said..

Gestalt said..
Find a spot thats shallow across a large area.
Use the gear shes on in the vid. Add 15 knots

Instant fun.

Dont hold her back in light beginner winds. Light wind is for basics. Get out when its windy too. Sure she will tire quickly but the fun is in stronger winds.

I had my son when 10 sailing in 30 knots. Full send out of contol fun.

Get her beach starting as soon as possible. Start in 5-10 knots. Beach start is the key. Uphaul is for no wind or when things go pear shaped. Once she can beach start and you are in a large shallow area, she can blast. Jump off. Turn around and beach start and blast again. That is THE key with kids.

On the other hand, we've got kids into windsurfing in a completely different way and they've got into it so deeply that they've done Youth Worlds and Olympic campaigns.

Light wind isn't just for basics, it's great fun if you do it well. Going back and forth is boring for plenty of kids.

Everyone is different so why imply that they are all the same?

There is merit in both methods. I first learnt on a OD in 8kts and then learnt to ride short short board in waist deep water in 15kts a year or so later.

Select to expand quote

Chris 249 said..

Gestalt said..
Find a spot thats shallow across a large area.
Use the gear shes on in the vid. Add 15 knots

Instant fun.

Dont hold her back in light beginner winds. Light wind is for basics. Get out when its windy too. Sure she will tire quickly but the fun is in stronger winds.

I had my son when 10 sailing in 30 knots. Full send out of contol fun.

Get her beach starting as soon as possible. Start in 5-10 knots. Beach start is the key. Uphaul is for no wind or when things go pear shaped. Once she can beach start and you are in a large shallow area, she can blast. Jump off. Turn around and beach start and blast again. That is THE key with kids.

On the other hand, we've got kids into windsurfing in a completely different way and they've got into it so deeply that they've done Youth Worlds and Olympic campaigns.

Light wind isn't just for basics, it's great fun if you do it well. Going back and forth is boring for plenty of kids.

Everyone is different so why imply that they are all the same?

Read the op's post. His daughter wants to go fast. Theres no mention of olympics or youth worlds.

But sure. If a kid wanting to have fun translates to Olympic campaign to you then....

First time she gets in the straps and planing, things will get expensive for you :)

Aint that the truth.

Select to expand quote

Gestalt said..

Chris 249 said..

Gestalt said..
Find a spot thats shallow across a large area.
Use the gear shes on in the vid. Add 15 knots

Instant fun.

Dont hold her back in light beginner winds. Light wind is for basics. Get out when its windy too. Sure she will tire quickly but the fun is in stronger winds.

I had my son when 10 sailing in 30 knots. Full send out of contol fun.

Get her beach starting as soon as possible. Start in 5-10 knots. Beach start is the key. Uphaul is for no wind or when things go pear shaped. Once she can beach start and you are in a large shallow area, she can blast. Jump off. Turn around and beach start and blast again. That is THE key with kids.

On the other hand, we've got kids into windsurfing in a completely different way and they've got into it so deeply that they've done Youth Worlds and Olympic campaigns.

Light wind isn't just for basics, it's great fun if you do it well. Going back and forth is boring for plenty of kids.

Everyone is different so why imply that they are all the same?

Read the op's post. His daughter wants to go fast. Theres no mention of olympics or youth worlds.

But sure. If a kid wanting to have fun translates to Olympic campaign to you then....

Read the op's posty. His daughter wants to go fastER than a 3.7m sail.

I didn't say having fun translates to an Olympic campaign and I don't know why anyone would imply I did. The point was that kids can get very heavily hooked on windsurfing in light winds and medium wind windsurfing, as well as strong winds. There's no reason to put restrictions on this fantastic sport.

Claiming that light wind is "just for basics" is just untrue, unless you actually reckon it's "basic" to beat Olympic gold medallists or sail like this;

?t=50

I was at a boat regatta in Brissie a few weeks ago that had about 60 kids sailing in light winds. They were all having fun. Maybe you'd have 60 kids windsurfing at one event in Brissie if we respected all areas of the sport instead of closing it down.

You could have a crack at answering the original post too. Just saying.

I did, on May 17. Just sayin'.

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thedoor said..
Trying my best not to be a tiger dad but wondering about gear for future sessions. Daughter returned to WS after a long break.

She is interested in going faster lol, so more wind and/or bigger sail. She was on a 3.7 in that video.

I believe this kona surf will plane but we also have a starboard go that is about 1m wide

When should I add straps and harness?

I just watched the video of her sailing, she already has all the basic's down pretty well, some fine tuning will help like remembering to put the centreboard down on the Kona, or practice tacking as much as gybing etc but she just needs time on water like the rest of us

I would let her use whatever board she prefers on the day, as for harness and straps, put the straps on now, she doesn't have to use them and she will know when she want's to try a harness.

Be patient, let her just enjoy the sailing, it won't be long before she's using all your gear and you can't keep up with her.