.I am a complete newbie who is a surfaholic...tho lately the wind has been getting up at Wanda and seen a lot of great fun boards...I know these are progressive windsurfers and not for the newbie but want something to start on and progress to the surf when its too blown out to board surf.

What I am ideally after is a package I could purchase which perhaps has a high volume board but with the rest of the equipment possibly suitable for wave surfing when I progress...I am not into going and jumping 5' plus waves...it would be more 2-3' onshore days when its too blown out to surf...have a good sense of balance...surf/skate/ski and windsurfed a few times perhaps 20 years ago on hols etc...also sailed laser 2's back in the day competitively. 90kg frame too...so something with buoyancy and perhaps an extra smaller sail to take the little tacker out on a calm lake (Conjola or something similar).

I realise from lurking in the forums that gear choice seems to be very personal..hence there are very little complete packages around. However, as a newb it can be a little daunting understanding all the technology. Not having a shop close by as well makes it hard to really understand it al.

Anyone got any tips or know of anyone who has progressed and wants to onsell quality entry to lower intermediate gear suitable for the above (sorry for the war and peace)

Hi,

not the best of equipment to learn windsurfing on in that eBay ad. However if the price is right and you are determined then it sounds like from your description, it is possible. The starting price is a bit expensive.

If the wind is up come down to Kyeemagh this Sunday, close to the airport. There will be a lot of windsurfers there. You can have a look at flat water gear which is what you need to sail on and get proficient at before you get into the surf.

first up welcome.

i think the general tone will be spend as much as you possibly can and you'll enjoy your entry into the sport a lot more. while you could do worse than that ebay board, that sail looks very ordinary and will give you a lot of pain while learning, and probably put you off after a few sessions.

okay so you're 90kgs, and want to sail coastal surf.

now give us the absolute most you'd shell out and I reckon the forum could recommend something for you off our own buy-and-sell that will serve you a lot better. you might even find people willing to donate some gear to a learner.

1. That crappy old ebay rig is over priced

2. The sail is too big for a beginner

3. Old designs like that are harder to learn on than newer starting boards

4. You get what you pay for, so as was mentioned above, give you're maximum you'd like to spend and you'll get way better options

But on the other hand, get out there and enjoy!

I feel a sense of deja vu with all the other newbie posts

I thought the responses would be similar...but its good to confirm my suspicions. Just hard to convince the missus....but I may be able to get up to around $2.5k.
It just seems a lot for entry level but that seems to be the minimum.

Have emailed for some quotes to a few of the shops around (its more than 1 hour drive to closest windsurfing shop).

Looking at demo or NOS on following models.

JP Funster 160
Starboard RIO M

Any others similar?

I realise that surf sailboarding will be a long way off but got to start somewhere I guess. Hey, I went from novice Laser2 sailor to state champ (hcp) many years ago in less than 18 months so anything is possible The positive side is WFH I can usually slip out for a few hours if the conditions are good during the week.

It is conceivable that you could be doing a bit of wave sailing within a year if you are dedicated and reasonably coordinated. You won't be using the same gear you started with though, or at least not the same board. The rig could be the same if you start with a wave sail, and wave sails are good for beginners.

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Windxtasy said...
It is conceivable that you could be doing a bit of wave sailing within a year if you are dedicated and reasonably coordinated. You won't be using the same gear you started with though, or at least not the same board. The rig could be the same if you start with a wave sail, and wave sails are good for beginners.

That was in line with my thoughts...thanks for clarifying this...cheers

Hey mate,

You sound like where I was at about 10 months ago- keen surfer but wanting to ride a sail board in the suds when the wind was up. If you're a quick learner (and it sounds that way from ya sailing experience) you could probably be hitting the waves within a year no probs. I'm talking chest-high stuff, but still doing nice surfing type turns- floaters, reos etc.

From being where you are now to surfing the waves with a bit of confidence will be a tough and very steep learning curve, and will see fly through the board sizes. Unfortunetly you'll have to start off with the BFG (big fat gear) but you should be able to down-size in 30 litr plus chunks every few months if you pick it up quick. So my view is buy a really good rig (sail, mast, boom, extension) to suit wave sailing (sail about 5.5 meter will be fine), and hunt down cheap-ish used boards till you get down to a size that will tear up the waves. Which I guess for your size will be about a 100 to 110 litre FSW (freestyle wave) or wave board. But that size will feel horrid and impossible to ride now. Your idea of a 160 litre starting board will be ok. Even bigger if you want to make things easier.

Oh, and get some lessons!! That was one off the smartest moves I made. Then go out every day (lake) when the wind is over 8 knots and practice all the basic turns you learnt during the lessons.

Have fun and ask the guys on here plenty of questions. And definitly look in the the Seabreeze Buy and Sell, there's some great gear in there.

Cheers

SUP with a mast track.
Perfect for small surf, low wind, learning.

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PhilSWR said...


Oh, and get some lessons!! That was one off the smartest moves I made. Then go out every day (lake) when the wind is over 8 knots and practice all the basic turns you learnt during the lessons.


Cheers

Picking up a board and Rig tomorrow arvo (Check)
Booked in for an hour after that with Balmoral for one on one lesson (check)
Ongoing lessons Southside (anyone know of a windsurfing school or lessons for adults and kids? Seems there is not much our way.

Perhaps time for a Gerroa or further south learn to windsurf school to rival all the learn to surf schools...BTW Learn to surf schools in Sydney are "regulated"...however, in talking to Pam Burridge a few weeks ago doing Surfgroms...its the "wild west" down south with no regulation....so there is a potential market there...thinking Washerwomans at Bendalong...now only need to get upskilled in no time with full course/certification and $50k for equipment and move down there...what a lifestyle change Dreaming

saturday there saying 15knt southerly, lake illawarra(primbee) is 1hr from where you live, theres a bit of weed so you mite need to head out from sure a bit ,but its still knee deep for a NM , what you need to do is just practice balancing the rig and getting going , at the worst you will end up at the yacht club

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keef said...
saturday there saying 15knt southerly, lake illawarra(primbee) is 1hr from where you live, theres a bit of weed so you mite need to head out from sure a bit ,but its still knee deep for a NM , what you need to do is just practice balancing the rig and getting going , at the worst you will end up at the yacht club

Lol....used to race Laser 2's there in the 90's ....funny story...similar to windsurfing...didnt know effall about sailing but wanted a mono hull with a kite to learn all the basics of dinghy sailing...did a little research (no proper forums back then)..never been to Lake Illlawarra...bought a Laser 2...rocked up to Oak Flats to launch (chose it by looking at the street directory)...and the club were all racing Laser 2's. Serendipity.

Anyway....yes...was thinking that but the mud is yucky in LI .....capsized once and got the mast stuck in the mud ....great bunch of "Working class" guys...salt of the earth...I miss em.


We would go down further South (Eoural Bay?) for socials and muck around solo on them..putting up Main/kite and JIB solo (Laser 2 are traditionally a 2 man crew when racing similar to Tasars) ....so no stranger to lots of funny gear etc.

Picked up the rig today...

JP Funster 160
Neil Pryde X35 460 SDM Mast
Pro-limit Freemove 160 - 220cm Boom
North S-Type 7.7m sail

All in excellent cond..headed straight to Balmoral..took a lesson using my board and their rig (4.7m? sail) cos I know that sail is a bit too progressive for me atm.

Going to look for something in the 5.?m range to learn on and use the 7.7 when I get better. Anyone got any ideas as to the best match for a 4.7 or 5.4m sail to suit the above Mast. What length Luff sail can I get away with for the 460 mast and matching...saw that graph the other day and it virtually said NP masts only match NP sails. (well all other brands I think were RED colour).

I was a complete kook today but have to start somewhere...it wasnt until 10 mins before the end that I got the hang (just)...I was subconsciously bending the front leg similar to surfing when its almost the opposite. Must have fallen off 20 times..but even the instructor was having a little trouble in the variable/light winds on it...however he did say that the board will be great after a few sessions just getting used to the lower volume.

Booked in again for next Friday and going to try and get out as much as possible in the meantime if the winds are not too strong.

Good on ya for getting out. And how friggin hard (different?) is it compared to surfing! I figured I'd just jump on a sailboard and be right- WRONG. Some things are simular, but most is all totally opposite. Anyway, good board choice, but a HUGE sail for learner. And the big SDM mast won't be too flash in the suds- but that's a fair way off yet. Just get all the basics sorted on the big board (slo-mo gybes, tacks etc) then down size as you progress. Not clued up enough on the sail choice for that mast but you ideally want a wave sail around 5.5 meters (with a 4.0- 4.3 meter RDM mast) as this would make life way easier now, and also transerfable later in the suds. But the big sail will be fun when you're ready to get up and planing, but for now may make life difficult.

Enjoy the learning curve mate- she's steep and challenging but the the pieces will all start to slowly fall into place and you'll be blown away by the speed and power.

What you would end up with would depend on your weight and height.

Most wave sails are used on 430cm or less masts. The biggest usually on a 430 being 6.2m and the smallest on a 430 being 5.3m. Someone about 6' 2" and 90 kg would maybe use them. Someone 5' 9" and 80 kg may have a 5.8m as his biggest wavesail.

Masts tend to get classied as soft top (like your Neil Pryde)
Constant curve
Or stiff top
And sails will work best on a mast with the curve characteristics the sail was designed for.

At the moment, you could buy an old sail of about 6m for small money and use it on your 460 soft top or flexy top NP mast.

There is a chart here showing which Sailmakers were making sails for the 3 different mast curves.

joewindsurfer.blogspot.com/2008/07/masts.html

Thanks for all the great responses....its quite daunting trying to work out what works with what.

Taking into consideration all the advice, my lack of knowledge and skill currently and budget the 460 NP and the 7m North sail will be put into storage for a few months.

However, I was able to pick up a few cheap items to learn on the Funster.

430 mast ($100)
5.2m Air Aerotech sail ($130)

This will be my "learning" gear for now. Rigged it up today and seems to work well.

Unfortunately cant go out as have to be back to start work at 5pm and seems like the breeze is a little iffy for the options I have close by.

Tomorrow at Kurnell looks good from around 2pm if the NE kicks in steady. Tried Darook late yesterday afternoon (a bit of a lug with the kids gear but a nice place to learn at).

Thanks to all the members who helped me out with advice and gear. Hopefully when I get more experienced I can assist others.