Windsurfing

I learned about the Windsurfer, the original sailboard, about the time Hobie Cat racing at Spokane disappeared. It’s not hard to recognize fun when you see it. I just had to learn how to sail one of those.  [video: poor image, but an excellent overview]

Windsurfing ground school

Windsurfing is a lot like riding a bicycle or skiing. They’re all easy. You just need a little nerve, and one or three fundamental tips (there’s only one for skiing, for example). If you follow the tips, and keep trying, your body will “catch on” quickly. It helps if you know how to sail a boat, but a few tips will help get you going. If you don’t use them, you may never catch on. I’ll presume that you already have your Windsurfer/sailboard assembled and floating in the water.

The essential tips are:

2. Pick up the halyard (rope used to raise the mast), and raise the mast to vertical. Don’t worry about the sail itself. Just let it align itself with the wind.

You don’t need to use the nautical terms to succeed. 😀

Liberty Lake

Liberty Lake is small for a Hobie Cat, but just right for a sailboard. There was a nice launch area there too. I put my board on top of the Bronco, drove to the lake, and in 30 minutes I was enjoying high-performance sailing. Barb had a young friend at the lake too. Sometimes I used their lawn to land on, and carried my Windsurfer up the street.

The difference in experience between conventional sailboats and sailboards is similar to the difference between powered airplanes and gliders.  You feel the wind is directly, you have a direct connection with the water, and you are immersed in the task. It’s a lot like skating, skiing or bicycling, with the added elements of wind and water.

Hawaii 

The owner of our Windsurfer shop and his friend invited me to join them for a sailboarding week in Hawaii. Doesn’t everyone need to do that once in their lives? Marcia and I joined them and their wives, and we flew to Honolulu in a 747. We had a hotel on the beach, and we, the sailors, drove over to Lanikai Beach on the east side of the island to rent sailboards each day.

There is a big shallow bay at Lanikai and Kialua (15 feet). The swells were small and widely spaced, and the water was crystal clear. The most noticeable thing was the sea turtles there. Our first day was a disaster. The sailboards recommended by the shop were practically un-sail-able in light winds. They had an odd (narrow) shape, and we just couldn’t get going on them.

The next day we rented sailboards that were more conventional. We had no trouble at all with those. There was a first break out by a couple of little islands about a mile out that took the brunt of the swells, so we had smooth sailing in the bay. It was a little wilder out by the break.

I spotted many sea turtles lazing away. They quickly dived when they spotted me. We sailed in and out for hours. We also met a local on the beach, who took us to see what had been a beach house for a Hawaiian princess. It was mostly one big open room. I’m guessing we could have bought it for $500,000. Probably $5 million now.

Sandpoint

Like the Hobie Cat builders, the Windsurfer builders sponsored organized racing. There was no local racing at Spokane yet (actually never), but I did go up to Sandpoint for a Pacific NW championship regatta. There were maybe 75 Windsurfers there.

The wind was a steady 30 knots on the first day. That’s a moderate gale, and it was intimidating. I was able to handle the wind fairly well, but I could not sail to windward (upwind). The wind overpowered the sail, and I could not get the bow pointed upwind. I couldn’t even get to the starting line for the first race. But I was out on the lake (Lake Pend Oreille), and watching.

Somehow, most of the racers made the start and went skimming across the lake. The course was set on a beam reach (sailing across the wind, not into it). It was about three miles out and back, and they were moving at about 25 knots — the races lasted less than ten minutes.

As they came back, it dawned on me what they were doing. Their masts and sails were raked about 45 degrees into the wind. They had enough sail power in that wind to support most of their body weight, and they adjusted to gusts by adjusting the angle.

My approach had been too conservative. I had been trying to keep my mast close to vertical, which is what you do in moderate winds. My overpowered sail prevented me from turning upwind. Hiking way out to windward like they were doing moves the center of sail power so that the board goes upwind naturally.

That was the secret. It took a few tries, but I was soon hanging out on my sail very nicely too. It felt completely natural. Just adjust the sail power as needed using the boom. Might sound tricky, but once your body “catches on” your natural muscle instincts take over. You have a feel of smooth, solid control. I had a great time, skipping along on the top of the waves at a great rate of speed is magic.

I do not remember how I came out in the standings. Even though we got to “throw out” one bad race in a series, I probably finished somewhere in the middle of the pack. But I gained some valuable experience, which I also put to use while bicycle touring. [link: read the third paragraph]

This is probably my last last post on sailing, unless I take up kitesurfing.

After that Sandpoint adventure, bicycle touring nudged board surfing aside for. The travel, coupled with the challenge and satisfaction of being in top condition had me hooked.