9. When is it time to learn to waterstart?

9. When is it time to learn to waterstart?

Waterstarting is a key windsurfing skill, that will take you into stronger winds and onto smaller boards. But when is the ‘right’ time to learn?

Some people think you already need to be in the harness and footstraps, comfortably planing before you master this new move but that simply isn’t true.

As Simon Bornhoft says:

“The waterstart is a purely mechanical move, you can learn it well before mastering harness and footstraps.”

Clew first waterstart

Waterstarting is simply a deep water beach start, so if you are able to beach start then think about getting deeper and deeper; start with hip level water, then waist, chest and so on. This will give you the security of knowing you can still put your feet down when you need to, but you will have to work a little harder to recover the rig and then get up on your board. A good tip is to keep your feet of the bottom the whole time, even when you can put them down, the quicker you get used to swimming your equipment around using the wind then quicker you will be waterstarting!

Newsletter Terms & Conditions

Please enter your email so we can keep you updated with news, features and the latest offers. If you are not interested you can unsubscribe at any time. We will never sell your data and you'll only get messages from us and our partners whose products and services we think you'll enjoy.