Great to hear how well you are progressing. Also love the family attitude towards windsurfing you guys have developed. Puts a lot of us to shame.
Cheers

Gregwed's right! Great to read your updates Morgan and a great reminder of what got most of us into this sport in the first place. Keep up the good work mate and we'll see you on the water some time, Jack.

Morgan,
Light to moderate wind conditions, when learning, are the best conditions to practice and commit to muscle memory the fundamental techniques (hooking in, footstraps, bearing away, pointing to windward, gybing and tacking, that you need when the wind increases in strength. These techniques get harder as the wind increases, but the practice you are getting in lower wind speeds will help. Keep up the good work. It's fantastic that you are involving the whole family.

Greg, Jack and John thanks very much guys - it has always been our moto, the family that plays together stays together. We like to enjoy the water and love a challenge . Windsurfing is sooo much fun, a challenge, frustrating, good exercise, exciting and takes me (in my head) so far away from work I love/need it. Gives us as a family something that we all enjoy to look forward to together. We enjoy the sport and we enjoy the people.

Writing about our challenges and experiences is keeping us focused on moving forward - it's good to go back and reflect on our progress - gives us the motivation to keep going. It is the hardest sport I have ever tried to tame.

See you on the water

Have fun

Morgan, Anita, Ben and Jaye

Saturday 29th

Went to RQ beach at Manly a few pointers and off we went, nearly made it to Wello must be getting brave.

The focus of the day for me was the seat harness - so light winds around 7 - 8 knots Board Mistral Pacifico 200l - Rig 7.5m Neil Pride sail - severne boom. The monster seemed to be getting along ok until Cammd flew past planning like I was standing still man that looked so good. I must say he had a big smile. I lowered my boom (light wind lower boom so I can get in and out of the seat harness) worked a treat... Hang the expense I say so whilst I was hooked in (not planning) i took the front hand off and practised that both ways for most of the day. Quite a few stacks - seemed to get my hands caught between the harness lines and the boom a couple of times during stacks OUCH!!! fingers still sore today. After a few hours it would seem as though it was getting easier to get in and out of the harness. Proof will be in the higher winds. I must admit the pacifico is starting to feel like a truck to manoeuvre so maybe time to let go of my security blanket.

Tacks - 90%, Gybes - 25%, Harness - 90% - one handed 20%, Beach Starts 100% when shallow enough, Water Starts 0%, Uphaul 100% in deeper water, planing 0%

Jaye - Naish Kahlua 180l Severne 6m sail Jaye did the same as what I was doing really well. He decided that it was time for him to try some free style moves and threw down some down wind helle tacks - I am sure that is what he called them looked pretty cool but on just asking him the percentage of success was around 0-5% but looked good. Nice.

Doesn't look like any action today

Cheers
Morgan

Get used to higher winds in stages. Don't go from an 8 knot day to a 25 knot day. If you get used to higher winds in stages, you will feel more comfortable on the water.

Hey Morgan

A 11.0m sail, 70cm fin and 1m wide board help to get you planing early but even with all that I think I managed to plane for about 5 minutes out of the few hours I was on the water. In the end I sailed out to watch the racing. Jacob was in front at the bottom gate but made a tactical error for the second upwind. He went left and the others went right, he should have tacked straight over to cover them but he didn't and they got a shift and got in front of him which cost him a few places.

I could see yesterday you were controlling that sail much more with your hips as the day went on.

Next weekend Pat's setting a small course close to shore for all the new kids, hope you guys can make it I think Jaye might enjoy some battles with the others.

Yeah Cameron will be there - Jaye may have a couple of buddies from school that might come along.

Here are a couple of photos of the last two weeks down at Manly with Cammd




The Crew having a well earned rest between races



Cammd and Jaye heading out to the racing in manly last weekend



Jaye and Me getting our synchronised gybing on lol

A few good photos

Hey Morgan

Always good reading your posts, I see you had 20% for one handed, if I tried that it would be 100% in the water. I am trying the Burrum windfest this week but up till now not much wind. This is my first time sailing at Burrum, so hope the wind comes up for the last three days so I can have a good go on some of the great courses that they keep talking about.

Good Sailing
Ross(Hervey Bay)

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ROSSS said..

Hey Morgan

Always good reading your posts, I see you had 20% for one handed, if I tried that it would be 100% in the water. I am trying the Burrum windfest this week but up till now not much wind. This is my first time sailing at Burrum, so hope the wind comes up for the last three days so I can have a good go on some of the great courses that they keep talking about.

Good Sailing
Ross(Hervey Bay)

Hey really nice to hear from you Ross - yes I think I might be progressing ok for an old fella - it might be time to look at another board. A smaller one I am looking at the Fanatic Shark 165 for next stage in the windsurfing learning curve mmm time to progress from old favourite mistral pacifico. Time to get into the straps and harness at the same time.... we'll see. A few more decent stacks coming up lol.

I hope the wind comes up for the last few days at Burrum windfest so you get to have a good run. The photos look good anyway on the windfest thread.

Have a good one

Cheers
Morgan

It happened THERE IS A SHARK IN OUR BACKYARD!!!





Sold a couple of things some old favourites and a visit to Simon at Boardcrazy and hey presto there is a shark in the collection

It looks too good to use - I will beat the life out of the poor thing.

Saturday at Manly by the looks for the maiden voyage. At least see if it will hold my weight while I uphaul the 7.5m sail...

Not only is there a shark but we also invested in an upgrade for Anita a 4.3m severne synergy junior rig "I want to go faster" she says but can't uphaul the 5.3m adult rig - junior rig should be the answer

Have fun on the water
Cheers
Morgan

Morgan exciting times. Looks fantastic.

You'll have fun

Cheers Jeff

I'm impressed - you'll be keen to get back out asap.
Cheers - Good Sailing.........

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gregwed said..

I'm impressed - you'll be keen to get back out asap.
Cheers - Good Sailing.........

Sure am Greg but doesn't look like the wind is too much chop on the weekend though at this point - light winds will have to take the pacifico out wife might end up having first go on the shark with her new sail. I am keeping an eye on it in the shed though Greg lol cause not allowed to put in the lounge.

Cheers
Morgan

New toys sure are hard to keep away from,enjoy.
I met you at the train a while back,keep it up ,
With time it gets easier,the buzz gets better the list of friends gets longer.
A ship load to look forward to.
Cheers
Im lucky my toys are allowed in the lounge.

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monaro said..

New toys sure are hard to keep away from,enjoy.
I met you at the train a while back,keep it up ,
With time it gets easier,the buzz gets better the list of friends gets longer.
A ship load to look forward to.
Cheers
Im lucky my toys are allowed in the lounge.

You may as well hang your patrik on the wall mate, its a work of art after all

Morgan that board looks the business cant wait to see you out there on it!

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Dwbh said..

It happened THERE IS A SHARK IN OUR BACKYARD!!!





Sold a couple of things some old favourites and a visit to Simon at Boardcrazy and hey presto there is a shark in the collection

It looks too good to use - I will beat the life out of the poor thing.

Saturday at Manly by the looks for the maiden voyage. At least see if it will hold my weight while I uphaul the 7.5m sail...

Not only is there a shark but we also invested in an upgrade for Anita a 4.3m severne synergy junior rig "I want to go faster" she says but can't uphaul the 5.3m adult rig - junior rig should be the answer

Have fun on the water
Cheers
Morgan

The shark looks great.

I suggest you move your rear footstraps to the most inward position to start with. It will be easier to get your feet in. Once you have mastered this transition, then move them out progressively with each session.

Select to expand quote

Dwbh said..

It happened THERE IS A SHARK IN OUR BACKYARD!!!





Sold a couple of things some old favourites and a visit to Simon at Boardcrazy and hey presto there is a shark in the collection

It looks too good to use - I will beat the life out of the poor thing.

Saturday at Manly by the looks for the maiden voyage. At least see if it will hold my weight while I uphaul the 7.5m sail...

Not only is there a shark but we also invested in an upgrade for Anita a 4.3m severne synergy junior rig "I want to go faster" she says but can't uphaul the 5.3m adult rig - junior rig should be the answer

Have fun on the water
Cheers
Morgan

Great board Morgan! You''ll be flying along in no time. Good too you went to Board Crazy. I got great advice and really good gear at a great price from Simon recently (thanks Simon!). Hope to see you, Anita and Jaye on the water some time soon. I'm at Cootharaba Monday/Tuesday so hope the arrows stay green! Cheers mate. Jack.

Hey Jack thanks for that - yeah pretty excited about getting out and giving it a go.

We are heading to Cootharaba over the Easter weekend looks like we will miss you.

Fingers crossed for the green arrows - was thinking about Thompsons later but not looking good. We are keeping an eye on the flag next door.

cheers
Morgan

Thanks Curt - decided to take the plunge mate and step up to the plate - bigger sail next but wow have to get mast and everything to step up sails as the longest mast we have are 460 and looks like I need to get 490 might have to wait for that. We have our 7.5m neil pride should keep me out of trouble for a while - and it is hard enough to uphaul let alone going bigger.

Went to the gym the other day to muscle up for those bigger sails WHOSE IDEA WAS THAT - Wednesday evening and still can't move my arms - did pump class with the weights GOOD IDEA. LOL Shows I need to keep going I guess.

John 340 - I think the back straps are in the inner most holes (wait a minute another good excuse to go out to the shed and have a look at where the straps are lol - back in a minute or two) back - yeah they are the other holes are too close to the front straps in there current location. I wasn't going to take a lot of notice of the rear straps at this stage just focus on getting in the front ones. That is the plan anyway. At least I wont have to walk so far to get to them like on the Pacifico lol.

Interesting to see how it goes in 4 knot winds the forecast for today - Will keep an eye on that flag next door. I think Anita will be the one to christen it - Lucky girl Heading to Thompsons this afternoon SE to do whatever the wind brings us and there are toilets shower and water all the fun stuff that manly doesn't have.

Have fun on the water
Morgan

Good on you Morgan. The Shark looks sweet. Beat it will be nice to ride.

Yeah the big sails are the go, especially for our part of the world where most of the time the wind is 10-15kts. Windy days are pretty rare. I have heaps of lightwind kit and it enables me to sail most weekdays. My most used sail is the 8.1 turbo, and most used board is the light wind slalom is110, 75cm wide, or my phantom raceboard. The wave board has cobwebs on it in the garage.

See you on the water soon. I'll come say g'day.

Steve

^^+1 Steves on the money my 8.6 is my most used sail by far, most guys have a 7.5/7.8 that I know, might see you at Wello/Vic Point tomorrow if threes wind (probably just rain but fingers crossed)

First day Review on the Shark 165l
Location Manly behind the yacht club

Wind was around 8 knots when we got there NE so I rigged the Shark with the 6m synergy for Jaye all 60Kg of him and away he went no problems. The Shark is in the water. Nice - I think he liked it cause he kept on coming up to me and saying mmm its a bit hard for me to handle dad dont know how you are going to go......... suss or what. He stuck with it for a couple of hours gybing and tacking ok with harness

Anita rigged up her new 4.3m sail on the naish 180l only to find out it is a dud sail - the thing is no good. But the good new is, it is light enough for her to uphaul, of which she managed to do a lot of, but just doesn't get the wind right she said. mmmm might not be the sail. One exhausted woman at the end of the day and when we reflected over a beer later said it was kinda fun. GOOD NEWS :-)

Me I rigged up the Neil Pride 7.5m sail on the Pacifico and had some fun for an hour or so until one of the others wanted to give up their boards or swap.
Pacifico Stats - Harness 100%, Beach Start 100% in shallow water, Tack 100%, Gybe (only attempted 1) 100%, Water Start 0%, Planning 10%, Foot straps 0%, Stacks 0%

Anita was first with the Naish so I put the 7.5m on it and had a go - I seem to be able to handle this board pretty well these days.
Naish Stats - Harness 70%, Beach Start 70% in shallow water, Tack 100%, Gybe 0%, Water Start 0%, Planning 0%, Foot straps 0%, Stacks a 50% Plenty of uphauling that heavy 7.5m sail phewt who needs the gym lol

Eventually about 3.30pm, Jaye decided to head in so I am after him WHERE YOU GOING WITH THAT SHARK BUD.......... Hand it over. So put the 7.5m sail on it. Again he says oooooh not sure dad I am finding it hard to handle mmm I am sure he likes it a lot.

Well to my 105kg amazement, it took 3 goes at a beach start and WHAAAAAAAT!!, I was off woo hoo I can ride this bad girl and more to my amazement got into the harness and could steer it not for long though but could.
Shark Stats - Beach Start 40% in shallow water, Tack 0%, Gybe 0%, Water Start 0%, Planning 0.5% (it was close), Foot straps 0% (did stand on the front ones a couple of times and tripped on them and fell off once lol, Stacks many and often got thrown over the front a lot. I found it really hard work plus the wind had come up. Plus lost most of the skin off my knees on the sandpaper deck.

Mal was there, too another learner with his shark doing really well - good idea Mal the tape on your knees might have to invest. When Jaye was out it looked a bit like a Severne Fanatic day lol.

All in all a pretty good day - think we are going to head back there again today.

Morgan - good day yesterday. Ready to go again today. See you this afternoon. Mal

Hey Morgan

That board looks great and it seems you and Anita are going well, if you going over the front a bit, try and protect the noise I have had to fix mine about three times before I decided to protect it.

Happy Sailing

Sunday 6/04/2014

Went to Manly and there was enough wind for us beginners to have some fun.

Anita rigged up the new junior rig 4.3m sail on the Naish and did well today - she was happy with her sail.

Jaye - Set up the 6m Serverne sail on the Shark and went for a blast, after about half an hour comes in to me and says "not enough wind dad - can I have the 7.5 sail"

Me - I set up the 7.5m V6 Neil Pride sail on the Pacifico and was having a pretty good time of it - what do you do I am a dad - I ended up with the 6m sail on the pacifico. Wow it does make a big difference the sail size - size does matter. Did however have a go at the Shark and did manage a successful tack - until my knees couldn't handle anymore of being what feels like being sanded with 40 grit sand paper (no skin on knees now lol) time to learn how to water start i guess. Hopped on the Naish for a while until the wind dropped - do seem to have this one under control we will have to see next time the wind is up a bit more.

****Anyone got any ideas on knee pads or something as I am climbing up on the board 10 times in a matter of half an hour and it takes its toll on the knees for sure.

Malj was out there again with us and he is doing really.

Cheers
Morgan

Morgan I had a similar problem with the anti slip on my Kona.

Rather unglamorous solution is to use tubinggrip elastic bandage. I wear it on my legs up over knees and up over my elbows. Yeh I know - not pretty but certainly stopped the gravel rash.

There are wet suits and rashies with built in Kevlar patches to protect knees and elbows.

I get 2 different size tubigrip from chemist

Cheers Jeff

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ROSSS said..

Hey Morgan

That board looks great and it seems you and Anita are going well, if you going over the front a bit, try and protect the noise I have had to fix mine about three times before I decided to protect it.

Happy Sailing

Sounds like a plan Rosss - does anyone know who has some protection in Brisbane that I can get this week before Cootharaba. I see some on ebay but doubtful I can get one here by Friday. Might have to bungy cord a gym mat to the front of the board.

Have fun Ross and Helen

Cut up a pool noodle and tape it on.

Simon at BC will probably have a boom bra or pads for board.
An old wet suit cut in the right place will give u pads.
Cheers