I recently picked up a (very second hand) Windsurfer One Design to play with in light wind. One of my friends has been keen on trying windsurfing for a while so I took him to have a go on the weekend. Once there it became obvious to me that I suck at teaching. I know what to do, but not how to tell someone else how to do it. It wasn't ideal conditions as it got a bit choppier than I would have liked but he was getting to the point of uphauling and going to grab the boom but then almost always falling backwards. I tried getting him to uphaul until the sail just cleared the water and then try and hold it there and balance for a moment before going for the boom, as the sail becomes much lighter as it breaks free from the water I thought this was sending him off balance. He could stand there like that but was still having the same problem when he went for the boom. What are some tips from experienced teachers for this early early stage?

Next time I'll pick a better time to go when the water will be really flat, we just wanted something to do on this particular day. I have a 12'6" SUP as well which is much wider than the WOD but I'm worried about it getting smashed up with a beginner dropping sails and falling all over it. He's not really interested in becoming a windsurfer, just wants to have a go (already has enough expensive hobbies) so if I can just get him sailing along that will be enough. Who knows, maybe he'll change his mind.

I've taught a few people. Big tips are to have a big board and small sail. Bigger the board and smaller the sail the better. A windsurfer OD should be okay as thousands learned on it. Rig the boom low. Make sure there is a decent uphaul rope. Try to use a decent sail thats not baggy.

Pick the right day, very little wind, around 5 knots, flat water with a sandy, shallow bottom and little current.

Make sure they know where the wind is coming from and going to. Teach them to always have their back to the wind. Teach them as they uphaul to let the sail swing downwind as they hold the uphaul rope. Then teach them to do both rope tacks and gybes by swining the sail round and getting the board to do 360s. Get them to do 360s in both directions.

Then teach them to go from the rope to the boom and then they are away. As you have already taught them to turn around you just need to yell at them to turn around and come back every now and then.

In relation to teaching, demonstration is often the best way to teach.

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Mobydisc said...

. Big tips are to have a big board and small sail.
Pick the right day, very little wind, around 5 knots, flat water with a sandy, shallow bottom and little current.

^Those are the key ingredients.

and make sure you tell your student to uphaul using the legs rather than the back. So much less tiring and reduces the risk of injuring a disc!
Raise the mast only slightly until the water drains off the sail and then it will come up a lot easier. As the clew clears the water be ready to instantly ease off the lifting force or you will fall in backwards.
Until you have mastered turning only grab the mast or the uphaul rope, not the boom.

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Squid Lips said...
(...) One of my friends has been keen on trying windsurfing for a while so I took him to have a go on the weekend.

First and foremost, don't let anyone tell you one can't learn on these, or that it's much more difficult than modern, wide Gos. One can learn quite well on both.

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It wasn't ideal conditions

I teach newbies only in perfect conditions: light and on-shore winds, shallow waters, no waves, warm out.

Equipment-wise: booms at armpit (a.k.a. underarm) height, very important. No higher. If he/she is shorter than you, then lower the booms. Booms must be tight in place, else too wabbly.

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(...) when he went for the boom

Watch out, I find most people are too much in a hurry to grab said boom. I get them to wait for a few seconds, holding the uphaul, before reaching out. Slows them down, forces them to visualise before going for it. Must reach with opposite hand on those boards too, right?

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I have a 12'6" SUP as well which is much wider than the WOD

Ah, must be a Starboard with those dimensions. You must like them's big planks, huh?
Yes the size is comforting for newbies, but damn it's big. Also not very good for steering and upwind for beginners. Otherwise the padding is very comfortable for the feet.

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He's not really interested in becoming a windsurfer

I wouldn't do teach him then. It already requires enough stamina for those who really wanna learn.

Have fun mate, you got the right idea !

Forget uphauling... teach them to beach start from the get go, then move to water start.

The beach start gives an instant feeling as to where the sail needs to be positioned... you can help them set the rig to where it needs to be and they simply step up and off they go.
A few short runs/attempts at this and the student gets a real sense of mast/sail position and the forces at work.
Up haul as a very last option which they can use if the wind drops to the point where it's not possible to waterstart.
Once they attempt to up haul (after beach and water starting) they have a much clearer concept of what needs to be where.

my 2 cents

a couple of things,

they are falling backwards because they are holding the sail too close to their body.

uphaul with legs as already mentioned. ie, straight back, front hand needs to be at the top of the uphaul rope when the sail is fully uphauled. make sure the rig is away from the body as this allows balance to be achieved as the rig is a counterweight. if they uphaul and hold the rope close to their face they will fall backwards evey time.

then move feet

then top hand crosses over and grabs boom then pulls rig across and towards nose of board. again if they hold the rig too close to their body they will fall back.

one thing not mentioned above is that they need to move their feet to the correct position prior to grabbing the boom.

soback foot moves back and over centerline of board and front foot is placed beside or just behind mast and pointing forwards.

then grab boom etc.

once boom is grabbed sheet in slowly and lean back keeping front leg straight and back leg bent. arms straight and hips swinging in towards sail. remind them to keep the rig tilted forward towards the nose and don't oversheet.

so in steps.

1. uphaul, leges bent back straight. lean back to get sail fre of water.
2. move feet to the start position
3. cross hands sheet in and go!

it is normal procedure to teach turning by leaning the rig prior to teaching sailing.

Wow, there is a lot to learn. Anywhere I can get good lessons?

Thanks very much everyone for the advice, I really appreciate it. There is some great stuff here to try next time.