hey all, just wondering how i would get into speed sailing. im at an intermediate level, only just though... ive had a couple good sails where i got some good speed runs, for me anyway. I find that the 'speed' aspect of windsurfing is the most desirable for me so i was wondering what skill level should i be at to get into it properly. and perhaps some good spots to do it, i live in brisbane but go down to the train on the goldy to sail. but yeh, im new at windsurfing and want to head give speed sailing a go i understand that i probably wont be anywhere near good enough yet but it was worth asking

Join the Morton Bay mob team via the GPSTC, they will look after you, or if you have another team you prefere, go that way.
When you nominate a team, the skipper gets an email to lock you in.
Its free to join and good fun.

Good to see you getting into the speed sailing. When I started the best was to find your limits. I went out in at much wind as I could handle at the time with different size sails for so many sessions. After four years into the speed sailing I know how much wind I can handle and know my gear very very well. You want to be comfortable on your gear but trying to push the limit and find the right balence with your self and the equipment. Having a good fin will make speed sailing easier giving you confidence if you have to push through chop.

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alec95 said...


i understand that i probably wont be anywhere near good enough yet but it was worth asking

You're plenty good enough now, join a team like Mineral said and be part of great community, you'll have mobs fun

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firiebob said...

alec95 said...


i understand that i probably wont be anywhere near good enough yet but it was worth asking

You're plenty good enough now, join a team like Mineral said and be part of great community, you'll have mobs fun

You don't even need to be able to gybe...

I have done a couple of articles on it

www.redsurfbus.com/2012/01/how-to-start-speedsurfing-part-1.html

www.redsurfbus.com/2012/01/starting-speedsurfing-part-2.html

It is not as easy as the wave sailors and freestylers think and takes a lot of skill. Starting it though, especially by joining a team on the GPS team challenge will push you and give you a lot of support from the rest of your team in terms of kit and developing your skill. Each session gives you a different target to go for other than simple flat out speed.

Good luck

thank you all for your reply's, and especially redsurfbus, i read your articles and gained some very informative information. i think joining a club would be very beneficial although, im only 16 and still in secondary school so the only time i have to get out on the water are the weekends. im around 60-70 kilos and ride an f2 board (dont know the model) its around 130 litres or so. despite its size it gets me going and is appropriate to my skill. i have a couple of sails ranging from 5 metre to and 8.5 and im sailing comfortably with the 7 in 15-20 knots but then again im quite horrible at jibing and taking. i usually just blast from sand bank to sand bank bearing down wind slightly.

Just sign up for your local GPS team. They will encourage and mentor you. It doesn't matter how old you are or how good you are. The buzz of getting a PB and the encouragement and acknowledgement of other GPS sailors makes you push yourself harder than you ever thought you would. Not only that it introduces a whole new social aspect to a solitary sport and makes it twice as much fun.

sounds like a good idea, does anyone know of a gps sailing team in north brisbane/ the gold coast that i could join

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alec95 said...

sounds like a good idea, does anyone know of a gps sailing team in north brisbane/ the gold coast that i could join

Just register here gpsteamchallenge.com.au/sailor/register and the team captains in your area will be notified, have fun Alec and welcome

Come teams in Brisbane, new lad looking for a team to call home
Alec, if you dont hear anything, tomorrow morning, nominate on the site with Morton Bay Mob or Burram Heads mob. That will get you a quick responce.
PM me if you are not sure how to get onto system and nominate.
IF YOU WERE OVER HERE, WE WOULD HAVE SNAPPED YOU UP IN A BLINK

Regards
Mike

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mineral1 said...

Come teams in Brisbane, new lad looking for a team to call home
Alec, if you dont hear anything, tomorrow morning, nominate on the site with Morton Bay Mob or Burram Heads mob. That will get you a quick responce.
PM me if you are not sure how to get onto system and nominate.
IF YOU WERE OVER HERE, WE WOULD HAVE SNAPPED YOU UP IN A BLINK

Regards
Mike

You don't have to live in WA to be a Pinnaroo, do you Mike?
We could use a Queensland branch of the Pinnaroos - it would help us get our numbers up when there's no wind here...

Yep. And you will need to get yourself a GPS!

Overwhelming preference is a GT-31 but a second hand GT-11 is still a good choice.

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Windxtasy said...

mineral1 said...

Come teams in Brisbane, new lad looking for a team to call home
Alec, if you dont hear anything, tomorrow morning, nominate on the site with Morton Bay Mob or Burram Heads mob. That will get you a quick responce.
PM me if you are not sure how to get onto system and nominate.
IF YOU WERE OVER HERE, WE WOULD HAVE SNAPPED YOU UP IN A BLINK

Regards
Mike

You don't have to live in WA to be a Pinnaroo, do you Mike?
We could use a Queensland branch of the Pinnaroos - it would help us get our numbers up when there's no wind here...

I cant see why anyone would want to join a team thats named after a cemetery!
Unless of course there dying to get in!

or maybe its dead boring

sorry couldnt resist the pun... how much would one of these gps's cost by the way, and where can you get them???

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snides8 said...

Windxtasy said...

mineral1 said...

Come teams in Brisbane, new lad looking for a team to call home
Alec, if you dont hear anything, tomorrow morning, nominate on the site with Morton Bay Mob or Burram Heads mob. That will get you a quick responce.
PM me if you are not sure how to get onto system and nominate.
IF YOU WERE OVER HERE, WE WOULD HAVE SNAPPED YOU UP IN A BLINK

Regards
Mike

You don't have to live in WA to be a Pinnaroo, do you Mike?
We could use a Queensland branch of the Pinnaroos - it would help us get our numbers up when there's no wind here...

I cant see why anyone would want to join a team thats named after a cemetery!
Unless of course there dying to get in!

Hope all your sweated joints leak

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alec95 said...

sorry couldnt resist the pun... how much would one of these gps's cost by the way, and where can you get them???

Alec, here is the GPS most common that we use. Not sure who sells them over there. But they can range from $200-$300 with the top end coming with a card reader and SD card, and a Aquapac (water proof pouch)
www.locosystech.com/en/category/index.html

Alec, first of all thank you, it makes the writing worth while knowing that they help people.

A young lad round here has just joined our team (The Kid - Portland Pirates, he has written a bit of a diary on my site and should be doing an update soon as he got his first 30knot run (32.2 to be exact!), and is just about to kick most of our arses on his old borrowed gear. He is doing really well with it, and I think what us oldies class as ball size you youngsters dont even consider when you go flying over death chop without a worry in the world.....he flew past me one day completely in control, most of us had dropped in the shallows while a squall went through.

The gt31 is really the only one to go for in terms of GPS as mineral said.

Hi Alec just starting myself. I realise prices change but the best deals I could find a couple of weeks ago for new were www.windsurfingshop.com.au for the paqua midi and USA ebay for gt31. Usually try to support local shops but was $90 cheaper even with postage. good luck

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Cruiser1755 said...

Hi Alec just starting myself. I realise prices change but the best deals I could find a couple of weeks ago for new were www.windsurfingshop.com.au for the paqua midi and USA ebay for gt31. Usually try to support local shops but was $90 cheaper even with postage. good luck

Good work Kerry! Looking forward to seeing you post your scores.

Again, I'd mention it is worthwhile looking around at GPS prices, as the Aussie dollar is quite high at the moment, you can get them for a very reasonable price from overseas. I was pricing out GT-31s recently, and they were about $150 shipped from the UK.

This link: www.locosystech.com/en/index/index.html lists their distributors.

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sailquik said...

Yep. And you will need to get yourself a GPS!

Overwhelming preference is a GT-31 but a second hand GT-11 is still a good choice.

Alec you can have my GT-11 for $20. Works fine. Happy to post it for you. Send me a message if you like.

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alec95 said...

sounds like a good idea, does anyone know of a gps sailing team in north brisbane/ the gold coast that i could join

well you could join the Vikings, I sail at Queens Beach which isnt the best for speed but have fun anyway, Cruiser sails there to. The rest of the team is on the Sunny Coast

Hi Alec great to here your interested in Speed sailing.
theirs few teams around Brissy Im in the Moreton Bay Mob (MBM).
Most of us sail around Wello and few from the goldy.
If you need some guidance just come and ask one of us.
of coarse your welcome to join ours team as well.
cheers Vando

Thanks you guys, hope he has joined one of your teams

thank you everyone, dont worry ill join a team in the near future but for the next month or so i want to focus on general technique such as gybes, water and beach starts. i find that once i get going im fine, getting good speed but by a minute or two its time to get off an turn around so i think if practise gybing ill be able to have more time on the water which means ill learn faster. dont worry you will hear from me again regarding speed sailing, just not yet :)

Alec....I said the same thing when two of the Portland Pirates told me to join. I felt embarrassed about my ability and did not think I was good enough. By a stroke of luck in the first month I helped get a distance result for the team that counted.

A team needs people on the water, it does not matter if you struggle to get round a gybe, or cannot consistently water start quickly. I promise you that you will not regret it, it really adds another dimension to your session, and it was so nice to get welcomes on my first few sessions from a lot of you guys over the other side of the world.

As for sailing for a minute or two.....thats the whole length of our salty lake before we have to turn around, dont worry about it. You will progress quicker on the team as you will push yourself a bit harder and have more of a focus.

Go for it now! You never know what tomorrow holds. If it wasn't for that day on the beach for me, resulting in me joining up I would not have a growing website, and a huge amount of windsurfing friends online.

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alec95 said...

thank you everyone, dont worry ill join a team in the near future but for the next month or so i want to focus on general technique such as gybes, water and beach starts. i find that once i get going im fine, getting good speed but by a minute or two its time to get off an turn around so i think if practise gybing ill be able to have more time on the water which means ill learn faster. dont worry you will hear from me again regarding speed sailing, just not yet :)

As long as you don't get so focussed on the speed that you ignore your gybes you'll be fine. I'd say join now. Your team mates will give you lots of guidance to help you improve faster without developing the bad habits that creep in when you teach yourself.

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Bonominator said...

sailquik said...

Yep. And you will need to get yourself a GPS!

Overwhelming preference is a GT-31 but a second hand GT-11 is still a good choice.

Alec you can have my GT-11 for $20. Works fine. Happy to post it for you. Send me a message if you like.

Good on you Adrian, nice to see