Home

About WWA

Events

Tips

Spot Guide

Weather

Articles

Forum

Tip and Tricks

General Where to buy gear Where to get lessons Injury Prevention Girls Perspective Choosing Gear From Experience Jumps Jump Basics Front Loop Waveriding Waveriding General Frontside Riding Backside Riding Freestyle Wymaroo Kite Surfing Kite Surfing General

14.07.03 The single most important factor in order to improve your sailing ability is: Get the right gear !!! For girls it is crucial that you set yourself up with gear that suits your weight, size and style. Most girls sail with boards which are too large and heavy ! (See opinion below) If you are considering wavesailing or jumping, get yourself a waist-harness ! Boom Diameter. 32 mm diameter booms which are standard for guys, are just too large for our hands. Go for a 30 mm or smaller, you will save heaps of strength. We're not as heavy as the blokes, sail size is more crucial. Be careful what you rig. A 5.0 m2 fully cranked down is not enjoyable if the guys are hanging on to it. You might have to be on your 3.7 ! BOARDSIZE: The last 8 days of gale force have let me try my new small waveboard, and I must admit it goes off ! The board is a 235 with approx. 55-60 liters, which suits my weight of ~ 48 kgs fine and definitely doesnt feel too small. The board suits Wellington conditions very well, I do not see a problem from a floatation point of view and I reckon its also sailable with 4.5 - 5.0 sails. The tiny board feels much lighter in the air, and it helps me jump definitely. The usual concern is when thinking of a small board, is "can I still gybe on it..?" I think this approach must be revised, as gybing is only one aspect of windsurfing. The gybe comes with time, but with a small board the sailing feels more lively and you can actuallly get some air, something I was always struggling with bigger boards. I therefore encourage all girls to go as small as possible with the boards, we arent as strong as the lads, and I definitely think we need our own "specialized" equipment which suits our weight and size. - Simone HARNESS: ......The other crucial factor for jumping was getting a wave harness. I dont know why technically, but with a slalom harness, I always felt like I was about to get catapulted. When I first tried a wave harness, I felt comfortable. - Ruth Narrow Boom diameter: Smaller diameter booms make a huge difference. The forearms and hands are much more relaxed and you can hold on longer to it. The handling of the sail is improved also.  - Bronwyn Here is a bit of encouragement for all you girls struggling out there ! It's a great sport, and I'd encourage any woman who likes water sports to give it a go, and just keep doing it. It doesn't really matter what you can do or can't do, as long as you're having fun and enjoying sailing. Recently I've been fantasizing about looping, and then I think: I'll never be game enough to actually give it a go. But thinking back I can still remember my first lesson in beach-starting at Plimmerton about seven years ago. It was hell! Just holding the mast in the air for more than a few seconds caused agonising pain in my arm muscles (because I didn't have any then!) and trying to keep the board pointing forward as the tiny miniscule little waveletts came in was an impossible task. I eventually got on the board and ended up floating down wind and onto the rocks and had to be rescued! For about three years I thought I'd only ever fantasize about gybing and never get to actually achieve it! I went to about four clinics and asked everybody on the beach for tips, and still I couldn't get it , then one day it just seemed to happen. So now I'm hoping, that if I just keep on sailing, one day looping will happen too! - Ruth (c) S. Hollenstein Lydia during the Wellington round of the North Island Race Cup 2000.

Hosting sponsored by The Kiwi Web Hosting Company