Hi,

I plan on taking up the sport on a Kona One board and live in an area with good year round windsurfing conditions in the US (Sandy Hook, NJ for those who are familiar). I am a college student with pretty good athleticism and a ton of time during the day to go out and practice. If I windsurf 2-3 days every week I was wondering about how long it would take for me to progress through the steps (planing, water starts, etc.). I also plan on taking 2-3 lessons in coming months to get me started but due to the high cost I don't plan on continuing taking lessons after I have learned some of the fundamentals.

Thanks,
Ryan

I would also like to add that I have extensive knowledge of sailing, so I'm not sure if the knowing points of sail on a boat would translate onto a board at all.

You are already ahead of the game with having sailing knowledge. Already understanding points of sail and wind direction is all out of the way for you.

Lessons will be great for you. I wish I would have taken lessons. Lessons will help with the balance of you on the board, while also figuring out how to keep the sail balanced or keeping the sail in equilibrium.

I had a lot of sailing knowledge before learning to windsurf. I ran a sailing and coaching program in my early 20s. I raced Lasers competitively.

But you will find many learning curves with windsurfing that are much different than sailing. You will begin to learn how to not fight the sail. Windsurfing rigs lean in a different direction when powered up and planning than sailboats do. Keeping yourself balanced while holding the sail might be the most challenging for you. As you know, the windsurfing rig doesn't have a mast step or shrounds holding up the mast for you like in a sailboat. The mast on a windsurfer is on a universal joint and rotates in many directions. That right there is a challenge within itself and understanding how to manipulate the sail as it's attached to the board.

For me sailing 1-2 days a week when first learing to windsurf with no lessons, it took me about 3 months to just learn to uphaul, tack and sail in variety points of sail, while not gybing yet. I learned on a very floaty slolom board, which may have not been the best choice at the time due to being overly narrow.

Good luck

Young guy, sailor, fit, 2-3 days a week.
That's not much practice time for getting better.
If you can actually achieve 2-3 days in winds over 15 mph, you should be waterstarting by your 5th day, planing just before that, and have the skills to ride a 100 liter board, if you're less than 80 kg's in weight. You won't jibe the board in planing winds, but easily in winds below the planing threshold of around 15 mph.
I was riding a 90 liter board within my first week of windsurfing, making all 7 jibes, but I went out EVERY day, started out as a expert level surfer on short boards, and had the added pressure of working at a surf shop that also sold windsurf gear.
Why only 7 jibes? It was at Crissy Field, San Francisco, the reach's just over 4 miles each direction, starting at 2:45, and the wind died on my last run around 4PM.

I just want to add that your progress will be faster if you sail where other more expert windsurfers go. You can watch them and they will try and help you. Windsurfing is hard to learn, but this is why it is so exciting. I started at 55 and it's been incredibly rewarding for my fitness, wellbeing and social life. Have fun !!

Ive been teaching a 30yo. After four 1.5-2hr lessons he can fast tack, gybe, beachstart and working on waterstarts. He has not been sailing outside these lessons.

If you get some lessons and practice you'll be planing in no time.

Having a sailing background is a huge advantage. After one lesson you will, in winds less than 8kts, be able to with a 6m sail and without a harness, up-haul, sail on both tacks, tack on your Kona One. From there its then basically time on water, lessons, getting used to progressively stronger winds, leaning how to beach start, gybe, use a harness, plane and get into the foot straps. If you sail 2 to 3 times a week, you'll have this mastered in consistent wind conditions (10 to 15 kts) and flatish water within a couple of months. This is just the start. Your next challenges are then, stronger winds, shorter boards, matching sail size to wind conditions, consistent planing, carve gybes, water starts, jumping etc. Basically you never stop learning. Get into it, you'll never regret it.

IMO, make learning to waterstart your top priority.

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LeeD said..
Young guy, sailor, fit, 2-3 days a week.
That's not much practice time for getting better.
If you can actually achieve 2-3 days in winds over 15 mph, you should be waterstarting by your 5th day, planing just before that, and have the skills to ride a 100 liter board, if you're less than 80 kg's in weight. You won't jibe the board in planing winds, but easily in winds below the planing threshold of around 15 mph.
I was riding a 90 liter board within my first week of windsurfing, making all 7 jibes, but I went out EVERY day, started out as a expert level surfer on short boards, and had the added pressure of working at a surf shop that also sold windsurf gear.
Why only 7 jibes? It was at Crissy Field, San Francisco, the reach's just over 4 miles each direction, starting at 2:45, and the wind died on my last run around 4PM.

LeeD, that was a painful, egotistical post- even by your standards... Seriously, the time frame you stated is ridiculous.

Ryan, it will take several months to get the basics sorted, like up-hauling, sailing (slowly) from point A to B, slow tacking etc. Then several years to learn how to carve gibe, fast tack, jump ect.

Make sure you start on a big board (say 150 litre up) with a small sail (4-5 meters) and go as much as possible. Lessons can be invaluable. Good luck with it.

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PhilSWR said..

LeeD, that was a painful, egotistical post- even by your standards... Seriously, the time frame you stated is ridiculous.

Ryan, it will take several months to get the basics sorted, like up-hauling, sailing (slowly) from point A to B, slow tacking etc. Then several years to learn how to carve gibe, fast tack, jump ect.

Make sure you start on a big board (say 150 litre up) with a small sail (4-5 meters) and go as much as possible. Lessons can be invaluable. Good luck with it.

People have different levels of ability. I don't have much talent and have to grind it out. I started windsurfing at club Vass a few years ago, spending every possible hour on the water. Beach starts - 6 days. First water start - 2 weeks and after 3 weeks I could do them reliably. Another guy could waterstart after 3 days. I have also heard of people planing in the straps and harness after 3 hours of instruction... only to never bother with windsurfing ever again.

i looked up Sandy Hook, NJ
it is ocean sailing and so salty water and potential for waves
i have seen the waves @ Jones Beach, LI and they are big and powerful enough to surf
if you stay in the Bay i guess there are less waves ...
the only reason I bring this up is - location, location, location ...
what are other people using in the area ??
like others say - wrong tools to start , based on person and location and ...
wish you lotsa luck and perhaps you can post on iwindsurf ??
windsurfing is not a sport , it is a passion ENJOY

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PhilSWR said..



LeeD, that was a painful, egotistical post- even by your standards... Seriously, the time frame you stated is ridiculous.

Ryan, it will take several months to get the basics sorted, like up-hauling, sailing (slowly) from point A to B, slow tacking etc. Then several years to learn how to carve gibe, fast tack, jump ect.

Make sure you start on a big board (say 150 litre up) with a small sail (4-5 meters) and go as much as possible. Lessons can be invaluable. Good luck with it.

Hmm, don't agree Phil, Your timeframe is close to how long my wife took starting at 50, with no sailing or surfing experience at all.
I've taught a young enthusiastic surfer, using the "water start first method".
He snapped his first board within a month or so landing a big jump flat. He was planing out of carve gybes in about 6 weeks, as he was only interested in wave sailing on sinkers he didn't bother learning to uphaul.
As said before, time frame depends on your ability.

Learning to get the wind to do the work, (and why learning to waterstart first is a good idea).
It's a mind thing especially with fit young males, they tend to use their strength to overpower the sail. That's your first obstacle and why some time frames extend out longer than they need. Getting the sail to do all the work, saves your energy and lets you go fast!
Windsurfing is more like learning to ride a bike, it's a reflexive balance thing, only you're using your arms to control sail power to counteract your weight. Starting with the uphaul in light winds, is easy, and will get you there in the end, but you'll have to unlearn any bad habits you picked while being able to overpower the sail with your strength.

So when I'm teaching first lesson is sail control, on the beach or any soft surface with reasonably steady medium strength wind, learn to put your weight on the boom, leaning out against the sail.
Next thing to learn is front hand/foot, back hand/foot. throw away right and left.
So front hand holds the boom, back hand controls the power.
Next thing to learn is that getting something on one tack doesn't mean you've got it on the other. You have to teach you reactions twice once for each direction.
Once you get in the water, learn to sail to shore first!!!! Unless you have extensive water not out of your depth.

Decrepit,
I think your kidding or you have talented individuals. Tacking, planing, jumping in weeks maybe but unlikely for 95% of us , but planing exit carve gybes???? That is seriously advanced windsurfing. You need to go in over 20 knots to get enough speed to stay planing, best over 25 so for a beginner to handle that is not realistic. To go in planing then get around coming off the plane momentarily ,then planing again maybe if seriously talented. most people will take years for this.
Let Ryanjh set realistic goals that he can achieve and feel stoked when he does.

I agree that Ryan has all the potential to advance very quickly.

I would add one more attribute that I feel is important for progression and that is the ability to receive and process physical feedback, leading to trial and error iterations.

For example, the nose of the board seems to be very flighty, I feel like I'm standing very vertical and the slot between sail and board is wide. Hmmm, what do I change? OK, lets move the mast base forward. Now what am I seeing, hearing, feeling? Did it improve or worsen? Do I move the mast base the otherway? What do I see/hear/feel. Does the mastbase position have anything at all to do with the phenomena I am expriencing? Should I be tweaking any of a dozen other different variables?

With no two locations, gear setups or riders ever being the same, you can't just go copy somebody else (although you can get some good macro pointers). I've had many a day where, mindlessly, I've set up as per my rules of thumb, hit the water, the rig has felt like a dog but I haven't been tuned in to the clues and sensations that something was wrong and suffered through a whole session without intelligently making the right adjustments to maximise performance.

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cameronil said..
Decrepit,
I think your kidding or you have talented individuals. Tacking, planing, jumping in weeks maybe but unlikely for 95% of us , but planing exit carve gybes???? That is seriously advanced windsurfing. You need to go in over 20 knots to get enough speed to stay planing, best over 25 so for a beginner to handle that is not realistic. To go in planing then get around coming off the plane momentarily ,then planing again maybe if seriously talented. most people will take years for this.
Let Ryanjh set realistic goals that he can achieve and feel stoked when he does.

Well, Decrepit did mention that the individual was talented and motivated. I think that being a decent shortboard surfer can help a lot - balance is not a big deal, and neither is foot placement. Even the idea to let the sail go light during the jibe is something that comes natural to a surfer. All that makes planing out of a jibe easier.
I have seen several windsurfers that went from never-ever to beach starting and starting to plane within a week. That was during windsurf clinics with good instruction, which definitely helps a lot. But none of the individuals were outstanding athletes.
My wife learned to waterstart in a couple of days; to jibe while planing in about three days (coming out with some speed, but not planing); and to use the foot straps in a similar time. All that was during windsurf camps; when she learns on her own, progress is usually slower.
At Bird Island Basin in Corpus Christi, I often see absolute beginners who get a 90 minute group lesson, and then spend the rest of the day practicing. They usually have no problem sailing back to where they started, and often stay out even when the wind picks up to 15 or 20 knots. I don't think I could do that without a harness, but I have seen it many times. Many of the beginners do not look very athletic either.
On the other hand, I have seen some "strong looking" young guys who were so convinced of their own talent that they rejected lessons wrestle with windsurf gear for hours, much to the amusement of onlookers. After two hours of hard work, one of them managed to figure out what the uphaul is for, and actually sail a few meters before falling.

So Ryan, get a couple of lessons to get started, and afterwards try to figure out what decrepit means when he says "get the wind to do the work". And start saving up for the ABK camp in Atlantic City at the end of September (www.abkboardsports.com/camps/details/403) - these guys are the best instructors around, and $400 for three days of instruction is money well spent.

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decrepit said..
Quoted for the truth

I agree. Windsurfing has surfing in the name for a reason - it's a planing sport. Slogging on a longboard beats watching TV, but if I had to do it for a whole year before planing on a shortboard, I would not have stuck with it. Unfortunately you forgot to mention step 0 of your training plan - move to WA or Maui (AFAIK, NJ is not very windy). I did the "waterstart first" thing myself, but I went to a windsurfing club in Greece for 3 weeks to get the ball rolling (and I did spend a lot of time pottering around on a longboard - not much wind in the morning. I don't know how much good it did me).

I can't tell you about the techniques as many here already have done so. However, speaking from my own struggles, I believe it is most important to learn and practice on reasonably ideal water. Being Ideal I mean flat water, steady wind, not too strong, and has shallow seabed to stand on. Also, the right equipment such as a floaty board and the right sail choice.

Never ever goes on offshore wind ! I learned that hard lesson. I also believe the right attitudes are important. Don't believe that you can pick it up quickly. You will have good days with some forgettable ones in between. Keep at it.

Every time I read one of these threads I think back to a period around 15 years ago.

Young 18 year old,forget his name working at Stuart Bell Sails decided to take up windsurfing.

I didn't think he was anything special for the first week or two,just another beginner.

By the end of the second week he was up and planing well.

Next thing he buys a 1000 dollar F2 270 Thommen Edition,around 80 litres from memory.

He was doing lay down gybes within a month and racing between the two outer posts at Melville he was the fastest by far especially in the turns!

He sailed till the middle of winter,so around 6 months total then disappeared,probably to his sand boarding.

Once you start to plane,you develop a feel for it and improvement can be dramatic.

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MrCranky said..

decrepit said..
Quoted for the truth

I agree. Windsurfing has surfing in the name for a reason - it's a planing sport. Slogging on a longboard beats watching TV, but if I had to do it for a whole year before planing on a shortboard, I would not have stuck with it.

Its also called sailboarding because its mostly a sailing sport. Planning a shortboard is certainly good fun but the sport is so much more than just mowing the grass across the same piece of water for hours on end.

Many of us enjoy the sailing, be it on the plane or off. "Slogging" a longboard to windward on the rail is a great feeling and the freedom of sailing on every angle possible all over your particular patch of water is great and something that is best indulged with friends but is still great alone

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cameronil said..
Decrepit,
I think your kidding or you have talented individuals. Tacking, planing, jumping in weeks maybe but unlikely for 95% of us , but planing exit carve gybes???? That is seriously advanced windsurfing. You need to go in over 20 knots to get enough speed to stay planing, best over 25 so for a beginner to handle that is not realistic. To go in planing then get around coming off the plane momentarily ,then planing again maybe if seriously talented. most people will take years for this.
Let Ryanjh set realistic goals that he can achieve and feel stoked when he does.

You're talking about tacking, there's no way I'd try to teach that on a short board, can't even do it myself.

I'm talking about learning on a board that's about 10 to 20 liters greater than your weight. It's hard work, but if the sailor doesn't mind not getting instant results, it can be far quicker than the slow step by step uphaul method.
Yep, the guy I'm talking about was indeed exceptionally talented. Seemed like he'd been hard wired to windsurf.
Learning the waterstart first method, you need to start in 15kts or more, he spent about 15mins on the beach, and he could hang his weight off the boom and cope with the odd gust. Didn't take him long to get the hang of pulling with his feet and pushing with his hands once in the water, while keeping the board across the wind.
He was in 20kt winds very soon there after, and you're probably right it took him a bit longer than 6 weeks to plane all the way round, but he was making a very high percentage of carve gybes at that time.

Yes and it certainly does help if there's reliable 15+kts wind.
If you don't have that you're going to be uphauling anyway, so you need to learn it.
WA wave sailors in the main don't use uphaul ropes.

The OP said he had good year round windsurfing conditions, perhaps this means different things to different people.
But any wind strength I have to uphaul in I wouldn't call good conditions.

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cammd said..

MrCranky said..

decrepit said..
Quoted for the truth

I agree. Windsurfing has surfing in the name for a reason - it's a planing sport. Slogging on a longboard beats watching TV, but if I had to do it for a whole year before planing on a shortboard, I would not have stuck with it.

Its also called sailboarding because its mostly a sailing sport. Planning a shortboard is certainly good fun but the sport is so much more than just mowing the grass across the same piece of water for hours on end.

Many of us enjoy the sailing, be it on the plane or off. "Slogging" a longboard to windward on the rail is a great feeling and the freedom of sailing on every angle possible all over your particular patch of water is great and something that is best indulged with friends but is still great alone

That's exactly what windsurfing is for me

Does anybody even use the word "sailboarding" outside of Australia? Heck euros even call it "surfing" full stop.

since the seventies it's always been windsurfing...."sailboarding" got around the patent, never ever cool bit like calling sailing sailboating or surfing "surfboarding" or 4WD "four wheel caring"

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decrepit said..

cameronil said..
Decrepit,
I think your kidding or you have talented individuals. Tacking, planing, jumping in weeks maybe but unlikely for 95% of us , but planing exit carve gybes???? That is seriously advanced windsurfing. You need to go in over 20 knots to get enough speed to stay planing, best over 25 so for a beginner to handle that is not realistic. To go in planing then get around coming off the plane momentarily ,then planing again maybe if seriously talented. most people will take years for this.
Let Ryanjh set realistic goals that he can achieve and feel stoked when he does.

You're talking about tacking, there's no way I'd try to teach that on a short board, can't even do it myself.

I'm talking about learning on a board that's about 10 to 20 liters greater than your weight. It's hard work, but if the sailor doesn't mind not getting instant results, it can be far quicker than the slow step by step uphaul method.
Yep, the guy I'm talking about was indeed exceptionally talented. Seemed like he'd been hard wired to windsurf.
Learning the waterstart first method, you need to start in 15kts or more, he spent about 15mins on the beach, and he could hang his weight off the boom and cope with the odd gust. Didn't take him long to get the hang of pulling with his feet and pushing with his hands once in the water, while keeping the board across the wind.
He was in 20kt winds very soon there after, and you're probably right it took him a bit longer than 6 weeks to plane all the way round, but he was making a very high percentage of carve gybes at that time.

Yes and it certainly does help if there's reliable 15+kts wind.
If you don't have that you're going to be uphauling anyway, so you need to learn it.
WA wave sailors in the main don't use uphaul ropes.

The OP said he had good year round windsurfing conditions, perhaps this means different things to different people.
But any wind strength I have to uphaul in I wouldn't call good conditions.

Maybe it is more about the who than the how. If the talent is there, then a much steeper learning curve is possible. For Joe average, who lives in a place where the wind is is off and on, I would say that they would need to know about uphauling and slogging efficiently. In any form of instruction there is a zone where the stress of new learning is noticeable but not excessive. You progress the fastest when this principle is applied. Naturally, we are all a bit different so there wil be more than one effective way of learning. Just remember that, training occurs off the water as well...so get a good DVD or two, and some magazine articles online. You can progress faster with this added homework.

Phil SWR.....
It's true, but I'm not the fastest learner by far, among my surfing friends.
Joey Valera was riding a 9'6", app 95 liter poly glass board the day after his first windsurfing lesson. He just bought the board at Wise Surfboards along with a complete rig, we drove to Half Moon Bay, and he rode across the inlet to a shallow sandbar, tried to turn but mostly dug a rail, and beach started back to the launch. He was jibing by his 4th day on that board, meaning his 5th total day ever. He'd never been on a sailboat.
Several other guys I taught also progressed around the same rate. We're all surfer's, not longboarders, but competitive short boarders, me a 4A in Northern Cal, so we're not your typical 3 days a week surfer. We all surfed at least 6 days a week, mostly on sub 6' boards.
Most of them didn't compete, but rode Crissy Field within the first 3 weeks of their first windsurfing lesson.
In my case, I was a development rider for Seatrend, Randy and Mel, by spring 1985, my first windsurfing lesson coming in August 30, 1983. Seatrend was starting to make lightweight styro epoxy boards around then, and Bob Cronin, the other rider, and I got to break over 5 9'x23x13" tail, 13 lbs slalom boards that were mostly custom, but the later ones incorporated production schedules along with custom layups.
Owner of Wise Surfboards, Bob, was riding a 8'10" x 22.5 poly glass slalom board by his 3rd day, and could plane across Oyster Point without falling and IN the footstraps. Since he only windsurfed once a week, it took him 3 months to be able to nail most of his jibes.
YOU might be a fat slob, I don't know, but guys in shape and used to riding SMALL surfboards could easily stand on a 85 liter board in any breeze from 5 mph up. That's guys under 170 lbs. NO, we couldn't uphaul in the beginning, and had to learn to waterstart if the breeze was whitecapping or over 8 mph.

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LeeD said..
That's guys under 170 lbs. NO, we couldn't uphaul in the beginning, and had to learn to waterstart if the breeze was whitecapping or over 8 mph.

Really? Learning to water-start in 7 knots is probably unlikely

How quickly can you become a competent windsurfer? Judging by the replies here, it reflects just how diverse we are. Some people claimed that someone they knew can do it without breaking out a sweat. Some, like myself, took forever to learn.

I like to emphasize that while it is good to tell us how easy it is for some to pick up the sport, I believe we shouldn't get carried away by painting windsurfing as easy, because it is NOT. But being overly optimistic, you raised the expectation. New beginners may just give up because they couldn't do it within the timeframe described by the optimistic folks here.

Let me repeat...It is NOT easy to learn. If you want a water sport that is easy to learn, try kites.

Can't ague with that Jupiter, it took me a few years, but I didn't have lessons, taught myself with the aid of books, and started on an old windsurfer one design with crappy old un-battened sails. I believe if I'd had today's gear and a good instructor that time would easily be halved.
My wife started at age 50, she stipulated that each session had to be fun or she'd give up. So it was slow step by step progress staying well within her comfort zone, took about 3 years before she was making 90% of her gybes on both tacks, (she even came close to planing out a couple of times). My wife enjoyed windsurfing for 20 years, only called it quits when she turned 71.

I think the point I'm trying to make, is, on the right gear with a good instructor, things go a lot quicker.
Windsurfing isn't very intuitive, it's easy to do things wrong if there's nobody there to correct you.

Some good points for Ryan about learning and just have fun is my favourite . There are many variables to progression in the sport and what even does that mean? I don't see many windsurfers doing double forwards at my local so how long should that take?? . Some go really fast and others do cool tricks. It is a diverse sport and attracts people who like a challenge but it is at your own pace.
Good luck finding a good instructor though -- when the wind is good they are all out windsurfing

Azymuth.....
I had to learn to waterstart in 7 knots, or almost 9 mph winds, because my board was 85 liters, I weighed 150, and wore a 4/3 wetsuit that sometimes get's wet, plus booties, swim trunks under, and a harness. Do the math, uphauling is not the easiest, and any wind that holds up the sail is plenty sufficient to waterstart.
AndyBrandt, at 195 lbs. can waterstart in under 5mph winds, or 4 knots. I don't claim his expertise, but I do know it's easy to waterstart in 10 mph winds (just whitecapping from wind), so it's possible in 8-9 mph or 7 knots of wind.
Of course, we'd place the sail into the wind, THROW the sail up to catch more air, and grab onto the foot and mast base to lever our torso's out of the water, while our legs straddled over the center area of the board behind the straps. Once the torso is up, it's simple to place the feet under you, regrip, and climb up to a standing position.

Another point to consider is how much of your windsurfing time you'd spend for learning as opposed to enjoying yourself on the water. I am windsurfing for the fun of it. When there's enough wind to plane I just go back and forth... Don't care too much about failing my gybes and tacks. So for me being able to blast in footstraps and to waterstart fairly reliably is enough to enjoy myself. It took me a few months to get there... I am always comfortable in the water and a strong swimmer... so I don't feel threatened in challenging weather. I go out on my 91l board and a 4.5m sail when it is even 30kn+ with huge chop...so long as it is not offshore... Not graceful, mostly survival but I love it... So not investing a lot of dedicated time to practice gybes and tacks... Just doing them as part of the blasting up and down sessions. Obviously this makes it slower to progress with them but I don't care. I enjoy pretty much every minute I am in or on the water.