Hey guys!

I recently came across a list by Boards Magazine on the top 15 mistakes windsurfers make. boards.co.uk/technique/15-common-windsurfing-mistakes-solved.html

I thought I would do a similar list on my site on the top 8 windsurfing mistakes I see over and over and over again. As usual I would love to hear any feedback and maybe some ideas of what you think should be included in this list :)

You can check it out at howtowindsurf101.com/windsurfing-mistakes/

Thanks in advance for the feedback!

I agree with both articles and will add a few more.


Dont use a wave board or freestyle board on the river for sailing back and forth. And no wave sails or like for river sailing.

Will limit your planing time---so buy a slalom sail and board.

And definitely no weed fins when there is no weed.

It will limit your upwind ability and general speed.

Too much outhaul is the single biggest mistake I see,along with sailors not powering up their harness--- using their arms to resist the power of the sail.

Point 5.

That's why I swapped the europin for a US cup. The europin caused me so much grief as a beginner, as I often had carry my gear back up wind and disconnected the rig from the board to make it easier.

Number 12 should be the first one. Every single windsurfer in the world does that every single time.

Looks like I have been one of those kooks unrolling my sail downwind. How embarrassing!

Select to expand quote

petermac33 said..
I agree with both articles and will add a few more.


Dont use a wave board or freestyle board on the river for sailing back and forth. And no wave sails or like for river sailing.

Will limit your planing time---so buy a slalom sail and board.

And definitely no weed fins when there is no weed.

It will limit your upwind ability and general speed.

Too much outhaul is the single biggest mistake I see,along with sailors not powering up their harness--- using their arms to resist the power of the sail.

Got to agree with Pete on the weed fins- don't use one unless there is actually weed present while sailing....
i have witnessed MANY (and bandaged up a few) major leg/shin lacerations because of razor sharp leading edges protruding
past the tail of a board.

I can't believe no one has said it yet....... not enough downhaul!

#16 Kitesurfing

Select to expand quote

HTW101 said..
Hey guys!

...

I thought I would do a similar list on my site on the top 8 windsurfing mistakes I see over and over and over again. As usual I would love to hear any feedback and maybe some ideas of what you think should be included in this list :)

You can check it out at howtowindsurf101.com/windsurfing-mistakes/

Thanks in advance for the feedback!

It's not a mistake as such but, choose your sail for the gusts and your board for the lulls. i.e.. Small sail so you can handle the gusts and big board so you can float through the lulls. Get the combination right and you're planing and having fun the whole time.

Select to expand quote

petermac33 said...


Too much outhaul is the single biggest mistake I see,along with sailors not powering up their harness--- using their arms to resist the power of the sail.

Petey's right on this one too. Gotta keep the weight in the harness, and not hold the weight of the sail with your arms. It's an easy habit to hold onto from learner days.

(Guilty as charged)

If you can't sail round one handed or even sail no hands briefly then something needs changing.

Good links. I'm a flyweight but my early planing technique is lousy. I use the excuse of age and lack of fitness ( don't want to pump). Those techniques are great so I will have to put them into practise.
I know my worst habit is that bent front arm - one I've got from survival sailing and also sailing underfinned.. I just feel safer with it closer to the mast as I feel I can unhook / depower earlier and don't feel safe to push on the fin and hang out.. a point to work at for 2016 ..

#2. Not so long ago the tick and the cross were the other way around on safety grounds. If you can see your big toe and no more, so the argument went, it will rotate out at the 2nd joint from the front as you trebuchet forwards. Harty demonstrated this on the beach in one of his videos. But all crashes are different and those two, having dabbled in freestyle, have done more crashing than 50 of us old timers all put together.

Select to expand quote

sboardcrazy said..
Good links. I'm a flyweight but my early planing technique is lousy. I use the excuse of age and lack of fitness ( don't want to pump). Those techniques are great so I will have to put them into practise.
I know my worst habit is that bent front arm - one I've got from survival sailing and also sailing underfinned.. I just feel safer with it closer to the mast as I feel I can unhook / depower earlier and don't feel safe to push on the fin and hang out.. a point to work at for 2016 ..

No offense, but you can plainly see that in your avatar, along with a bent body. A better technique will lead to a better avatar.

Select to expand quote

Ezric said..
Looks like I have been one of those kooks unrolling my sail downwind. How embarrassing!

Where was that tip? I'm guilty of that. What do they say to do?

Select to expand quote

Mastbender said..

sboardcrazy said..
Good links. I'm a flyweight but my early planing technique is lousy. I use the excuse of age and lack of fitness ( don't want to pump). Those techniques are great so I will have to put them into practise.
I know my worst habit is that bent front arm - one I've got from survival sailing and also sailing underfinned.. I just feel safer with it closer to the mast as I feel I can unhook / depower earlier and don't feel safe to push on the fin and hang out.. a point to work at for 2016 ..

No offense, but you can plainly see that in your avatar, along with a bent body. A better technique will lead to a better avatar.

I know I want to improve my stance but I'm confused. I went to the Guy Cribb stance and he said arse out / nose near the boom / straight legs ( not bent arms like I have though)..so for ages I was aiming for that and in the course he held me up as the stance to aim for .. Now I'm told I should have straight arms and legs?

Still confused as to what is a good stance ? ( For speed sailing..) Does it vary between B & J and speedsailing?
2016 is the year I aim to improve stance and gybing.

Select to expand quote

petermac33 said..
I agree with both articles and will add a few more.


Dont use a wave board or freestyle board on the river for sailing back and forth. And no wave sails or like for river sailing.

Freestyle boards do plane early and the river is a perfect spot for freestyle. Not eveyone is there to try and go fast. A very blinkered view. Even for BaFing (Backwards and Forwarding) they can be fun.
It's like saying no slalom boards in the ocean as its choppy and only bump and jump boards should be used.
sail what you want, where you want and enjoy!

Select to expand quote

petermac33 said..
Dont use a wave board or freestyle board on the river. And no wave sails or like for river sailing.

Not sure I'd want anything except those on the Hood River.

Select to expand quote

sboardcrazy said..

Mastbender said..

sboardcrazy said..
Good links. I'm a flyweight but my early planing technique is lousy. I use the excuse of age and lack of fitness ( don't want to pump). Those techniques are great so I will have to put them into practise.
I know my worst habit is that bent front arm - one I've got from survival sailing and also sailing underfinned.. I just feel safer with it closer to the mast as I feel I can unhook / depower earlier and don't feel safe to push on the fin and hang out.. a point to work at for 2016 ..

No offense, but you can plainly see that in your avatar, along with a bent body. A better technique will lead to a better avatar.

I know I want to improve my stance but I'm confused. I went to the Guy Cribb stance and he said arse out / nose near the boom / straight legs ( not bent arms like I have though)..so for ages I was aiming for that and in the course he held me up as the stance to aim for .. Now I'm told I should have straight arms and legs?

Still confused as to what is a good stance ? ( For speed sailing..) Does it vary between B & J and speedsailing?
2016 is the year I aim to improve stance and gybing.

Sue, totally agree with you, Cribby maintains the bent low stance approach to put maximum leveraged pressure on the rig particularly in chop. I have used this technique extensivley since the boot camp and it is very effective. I now use a combination of various stances, sometimes bent/leveraged, and somtimes straight. This is also great for doing big k's as you can vary your stance and reduced tired muscles and cramps. This fact sheet covers it, you may need to register your email to access

www.guycribb.com/userfiles/documents/downforce.pdf

The thing with windusrfing is that there can be a lot of styles and techniques to acheive the same goal, find the one the is right for you !

Having a chat before and after is all part of the social fun.

Can't agree with the foot strap positions, maybe for freestyle. At best I can see my big toe through the strap.

But I am colour coordinated

Select to expand quote

petermac33 said...
I agree with both articles and will add a few more.


Dont use a wave board or freestyle board on the river for sailing back and forth. And no wave sails or like for river sailing.

Freestyle boards make excellent river board's, same rocker line as a slalom board, but with more playfull shape. Great for improving,

Select to expand quote

Haggar said..

sboardcrazy said..

Mastbender said..

sboardcrazy said..
Good links. I'm a flyweight but my early planing technique is lousy. I use the excuse of age and lack of fitness ( don't want to pump). Those techniques are great so I will have to put them into practise.
I know my worst habit is that bent front arm - one I've got from survival sailing and also sailing underfinned.. I just feel safer with it closer to the mast as I feel I can unhook / depower earlier and don't feel safe to push on the fin and hang out.. a point to work at for 2016 ..

No offense, but you can plainly see that in your avatar, along with a bent body. A better technique will lead to a better avatar.

I know I want to improve my stance but I'm confused. I went to the Guy Cribb stance and he said arse out / nose near the boom / straight legs ( not bent arms like I have though)..so for ages I was aiming for that and in the course he held me up as the stance to aim for .. Now I'm told I should have straight arms and legs?

Still confused as to what is a good stance ? ( For speed sailing..) Does it vary between B & J and speedsailing?
2016 is the year I aim to improve stance and gybing.

Sue, totally agree with you, Cribby maintains the bent low stance approach to put maximum leveraged pressure on the rig particularly in chop. I have used this technique extensivley since the boot camp and it is very effective. I now use a combination of various stances, sometimes bent/leveraged, and somtimes straight. This is also great for doing big k's as you can vary your stance and reduced tired muscles and cramps. This fact sheet covers it, you may need to register your email to access

www.guycribb.com/userfiles/documents/downforce.pdf

The thing with windusrfing is that there can be a lot of styles and techniques to acheive the same goal, find the one the is right for you !

I was getting so confused.. I'll chase up some stuff re speed sailing stance and practise that when I can and maybe stick with what you do for chop..

Select to expand quote

kato said..
Having a chat before and after is all part of the social fun.

Can't agree with the foot strap positions, maybe for freestyle. At best I can see my big toe through the strap.

But I am colour coordinated

Love the green colours I saw you with in pics..

boards.co.uk/how-to/the-best-stance-for-top-speed.html

or too much downhaul and outhaul...

Select to expand quote

sboardcrazy said..

Ezric said..
Looks like I have been one of those kooks unrolling my sail downwind. How embarrassing!

Where was that tip? I'm guilty of that. What do they say to do?

How are you supposed to unroll / rig your sail?

The ultimate speed stance from the Slow One!

Select to expand quote

lao shi said..
The ultimate speed stance from the Slow One!

Ok. Thanks. so pretty upright...

Select to expand quote

lao shi said..
The ultimate speed stance from the Slow One!

Pfffft. What would he know

Select to expand quote

Gorgo said..
It's not a mistake as such but, choose your sail for the gusts and your board for the lulls. i.e.. Small sail so you can handle the gusts and big board so you can float through the lulls. Get the combination right and you're planing and having fun the whole time.

Great comment!

Select to expand quote

Jacko51 said..
boards.co.uk/how-to/the-best-stance-for-top-speed.html

Thanks.Cripes you wouldn't want to crash that close to the wall!

Select to expand quote

N1GEL said..

petermac33 said..
Dont use a wave board or freestyle board on the river. And no wave sails or like for river sailing.

Not sure I'd want anything except those on the Hood River.

That's for sure! (except that is the Columbia River)

The Hood River is best kept for kayaks.