Video

Lift your sail out of the water

This is how you start windsurfing with a large board and start your ride

First steps in windsurfing, This video tutorial covers the basics of getting up and riding in light winds. Your ride starts with lifting up the sail out of the water.

You can practise lifting the sail on a simulator or simply on land (if you place the board on a grassy area or beach without the fin and daggerboard).

First align the board so that your back is facing the wind. The board floats on the water and nose points in the direction in which you want to ride. The feet are placed to the right and left of the mast base, then the sail is slowly lifted up with the uphaul line and swung out to leeward.

The front hand grips the mast. This allows you to keep the sail neutral, as it swings like a flag in the wind without generating power. By applying weight to one foot or the other, you can correct the orientation of the board, i.e. turn it exactly in the desired direction.

Now power control comes into play. This is the back hand. This hand controls the power that the sail generates. You grab the boom with your back hand, but still allow the sail to swing out neutrally.

If you now pull the back hand towards you, you pull the sail into the wind. This builds up power in the sail, which sets the board in motion. You can easily stop this by letting go of the boom with your back hand and holding the mast close to your body with your front hand.

Practice this power control a few times with the sail places on land, this allows you to concentrate fully on the sail and disregard the balance on the board. Instead of letting go with the backr hand, it remains on the boom when opening the sail. This allows you to get used to the simple sail control.

Then it's time to put your front hand on the boom. This also allows you to let the sail swing neutrally to leeward, but you already have more control over the entire rig.

To use the power of the sail, you have to hang into it. To do this, stretch both arms. The back hand also works like a power control. Too much power in the sail, it's pulling you downwind? Then immediately give way with the back hand and control the sail with the front hand only (the rear hand simply remains on the fork without pulling on it).

If you can manage this, then you can step behind the mast with both feet, first with the back foot a little closer to the end of the board, then also place the front foot behind the mast base. This is the normal riding position for windsurfing.

You can find out more in this video tutorial from Duotone.

Beginner Lift up your sail Level ★☆☆☆☆☆ Text: Jürgen Schall Photos/Videos: Duotone DE

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