Windsurfing
 

Help me out.

Going to Brittany in a week and need a starter package for me, wife and 16 year old daughter.

I last did It 18 years ago. Other have never done it.

Maybe rent some kit? Several places do it.
Dad was a fanatical windsurfer for years and the amount of kit needed was insane!
Some nice spots around there though.

Something big and wide with smallish sail , but they'll be places to hire surely

We camped I'm Normandy last week . There was an older couple there heading for a couple weeks Seavets meet up in Quiberon

Id sooner buy my own stuff and sell later. The money I lose will save me having to rent out.

We can also choose where we go.

Totally up to you but a half reasonable setup will be well North of a grand - it would be a real shame if you decided you don't like it! Assume you're ferrying over? Boards plus flying = nightmare these days.

Good to see it making a comeback though - kitesurfing took over but the tide is turning back. A bit like skiing and snow boarding.

well first things first Davyboy,

if you haven't done it for a while, you will be pleasantly surprised

The kit is so much better for learning now, lighter, stronger easyier to use - with a gar greater wind-range

I started over 30 years ago, you can get pretty good kit on ebay - due to the "kit junkies" who must have the latest, or people who do what you want to do, buy and the sell on

most kit produced in the last 6/7 years is pretty good

and yes, once you progress the amount of kit can get pretty big

a recent trip to Hunstanton

https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.sco...6120339e50.jpg

my kit is quite "old" now - but the board was an ebay purchase a few years ago and is fantastic, I think £100

https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.sco...7c3bc66227.jpg

I'd only buy used stuff, not new.

What your views on this?

Ebay item 161757369499

then it gets out of hand!!!


https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.sco...3a6271039b.jpg

let me check that item no

yes that looks ok - Starboard have a good reputation and it is a modern design

and the rest of the kit is OK

one immediate issue is the mast - fiberglass, is pretty heavy - it must be quite old as they havn't made them for years

most modern mast have some Carbon content, they will lighter and stronger

(lightness is the key here - crucial)

something like the below

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/460-mast-c...item3aad6d9cd8

in general with sail design, it is getting "lower" so my Neil Pryde 6.2 sail set on a 4.30 mtr mast

a shorter mast mean less weight, my 5 mter set on a 4.0 mtr

Can't see much wrong with it as an introduction Davy , except if you don't win

If you can link to any other used equipment I'd appreciate it. The link I provided, I reckon I could get that for 200 which is not a lot of cash. I'd pay more, just don't have much time.

I'd rent for the "first" time, as others have said the kit is expensive and you may not end up doing it often.

I remember when my dad first put me on a board (around 9-10 IIRC?) I hated it and was crying but when you first get planing and you manage your first jibe you will be hooked.

I haven't done it for maaanyyy years either and miss it, my equipment will be obsolete by now I guess.

10 days hire could work out quite dear. Buying and selling and losing a hundred quid could be more cost effective.

I really don't need another expensive hobby.

Cycling and motocross have filled my garage....and emptied my wallet.

after a quick look, (search term "beginners windsurfing"), not much comes up

and out of the result your item is by far and away the most appropriate, and with beginners kit anything over 5 years old, is really only good for the skip tbh (imo)

it will simply be too heavy (and the boards with be too narrow)

are you planning on getting lessons?

there is a pretty steep learning curve for windsurfing - it is quite tricky to teach yourself without guidance

but the upside is that once learnt it is simply a sensational sport/activity
to do

flying along the surface of the sea at 20knots, with your feet in the straps and harnessed into the sail is simply breath-taking - with just the sound of the board slapping the tops of the waves

it was my passion in my 20's and 30's and it still fills me with wonder, 30 years later

this gives some idea from a POV perspective, of what is fairly easy to achieve



this takes longer

At least in Brittany you won't step off the board straight onto a sea urchin

Having them individually removed isn't much fun

Trouble eBay is the vendor normally just can't be arsed to suggest delivery ( even at your expense ) so a hundred quid board is almost unsellable

Keeping with the windsurfing and Subaru theme :)
The blue Mistral (276 Custom Flow IIRC) was a very old board (15+ years) which I left outside my storage room and it disappeared overnight, the person who stole it wasn't aware that it was worth nothing probably.
I grew up on F2s which I like :)
https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.sco...a8a47f82a6.jpg

I'd get a proper dirty transit if I did it again ,even decent sized estate you're getting seawater on the seats .

Yeah, this was during a house move (everything dry and clean!) I've never used the FSTi for carrying boards/sails as the car becomes a mess with sand etc.

We converted a small trailer to carry all the windsurfing stuff with my dad back in the days as his old Lancia had rust holes in the roof from the dripping seawater.

I've got a vito traveliner for motocross, so im sorted for transport.

yeah, transport is always an issue with windsurfing, I think that's one of the reasons Kitesurfing took off - you can almost get the train to the beach

historically I always had hatchbacks, and would put pretty much all my kit In the car - then tank it to the beach

the Audi saloon, was meant to be an estate, but I hate buying cars so got impatient and bought the saloon when it came up

my next car will deffo be an estate/hatchback

historically I was always Mistral - the one in the photo is an Eruption, although quite long by modern standards only 67ltrs so when it is really howling it is very stable and cuts through the waves/chop beautifully

my current board is a F2 Axxis, again a few years old but sails so well, for the amount of sailing I do these days is brilliant

(in fact I do more dinghy sailing with the kids these days)

Agreed a deal in principle.....however with me in Northamptonshire and him in Chard and the start of the school holidays, this causes somewhat of a logistical nightmare!

Poole - St Malo

Collect en route

Have you seen the price of that ferry?

Wow , no I didn't

We only spent Sunday to Friday , 2 adults ordinary car - Newhaven / Dieppe ( ~ 120 )

Why can't you use a courier

Either you arrange collection or they send

I have done both in my time, and an old friend seems to be continually buying kit of eBay

So much so that to avoid marital issues he gets them delivered to his offices

I was like that with MTBs for a while - constantly buying new kit. One year, the bike cost more than both cars to service/tax/MOT. Oops.

Surfing is way cheaper although I do it so much I'm getting through two suits a year now (one Winter, one Summer)!

My Dad was an obsessive windsurfer - a big reason we moved to Daymer Bay. I remember all the old kit - Lightwave (did my school work experience there), Black sails, cutaway sails, RAF sails, weird fins (toucan,fenced etc), boards that flexed at the back and so on. I got to water starting and gybing but that was it - just couldn't be faffed with the kit!

How about this, a bit tatty?

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/windsurfin...item3f5046fc80

The other guy has decided to let auction run, so limits my options a bit. I get a feeling I'm going to end up with nothing.