as some of you will know I still have problems getting into the straps, probably related to the fact that I don't get enough watertime due to the toddler needing mummy around lots ( I've told planesinafart this ). However, for the others out there who have the same problem, in the issue of Boards March 2004 there's a great little technique section on how to get in. I'm going to try it out this Wednesday 7/04/04. See you out there!

I’ve been struggling to get in the straps as well and read the Boards article as well as watching Peter Hart vids and various other bits and bobs of wisdom on t’interweb. I can sail standing on rather than in both straps reasonably comfortably, putting aside the insecure sensation of not being reliably attached to the board. This, I suppose, suggests that my stance is more or less OK. I can get in the front strap for a very short period of time but mostly have been luffing up and stalling which I’m now convinced is down to …



1. Not maintaining trim whilst fumbling for front strap and usually sinking the windward rail – fixable by making mental note to put weight on ball of rear foot not heal.

2. Boards makes the point that the rear leg should flex and the majority of you weight should be hanging off the harness with a relatively front straight leg. If back leg is straight you tend to put more weight on back of the board sinking the tail and taking the weight off harness thus losing mast foot pressure and with it the necessary speed and it all goes tits up that way.

3. The best point (their number 1) was to look forward which is kinda easy to forget whilst preoccupied with trimming flat, checking stance, trying to fully relax into harness, dealing with gusts, remembering to keep the rig at arms length, not take out any fellow sailors etc, etc, etc e.g. all the fundamentals that must be correct to stay on the plane / board. All that whilst you’re trying to locate the straps. I forgot this vital point whilst concentrating on all the details until some thoughtful sailor stopped me at WK to remind me of rule number 1 which was blatantly obvious to him but not to me. Hey isn’t that the first thing they ever tell you in RYA 1(!). It is also the best way to deal with new found speed and keeping it all together when flying along with all the speed but none of the safety of the straps. I would add to that not only to look forward but focus / fix on getting to a distance _object_. I know from snowboarding that you generally end up going where you focus on. Look right and you turn right; look left and you turn left – your body somehow magically sorts itself out I noticed the same when doing single track mountain biking runs that if you look over the edge of the drop you generally follow your eyes (ouch) and if you look at a mid distant point on the track ahead you almost always get there. Maybe a strange analogy but I reckon the same sort of principle applies to windsurfing and is relevant to getting in the straps cos you won’t get in them if your not planning and stay planning (by looking ahead) and not screw it up by looking down at your feet and promptly following them into the water beneath them.

4. Windy John also made the valuable point that if your fin is too big for board / sail combination then the tail wants to rise out of the water too much and this destabilises your board. I changed for a smaller fin, which helped because my board behaved more like a board that you could stand on and less like a bucking bronco.



Just some thoughts / sailors notes that I’m gagging to get out and try and might be worth thinking about cos it sounds as thought you're at a similar stage to me. I had a bit of a nasty football accident which left me almost completely paralysed for a few days but will be back out soon otherwise I'd be out there with you.



By the way have you checked out marine lake at Crosby; good apparently for a westerly and also north westerly. You get a similarly good long run in a NWN at Crosby as you do at WK in a SW’erly. Gives you more sailing options.



Let us know how you get on. Hope you crack it!