Windy Saturday, Part 1

The trades were up and strong today, so we brought the kids to Pearl Harbor to get some windsports in.  First we dropped Noe and La off at Rainbow Bay Marina where Noe could go sailing.  Then I took Marlon to Hickam Harbor to learn how windsurf.

We brought the old Kailua sailboard and the iRig inflatable sail.  You may recall seeing this inflated on a post a while back - well it has taken this long but I finally got one of the kids on it.  I originally started teaching the kids on my smallest sail - an old Naish Hokua 3.75 m2 wave sail.  That sail on a mast and boom was a little too heavy for Noe and barely manageable for Marlon.  I got the iRig, but we've all been doing other things.  With the wind up, the surf would have been a little rough - Marlon was game while Noe opted for the Laser.  I took the rig out first just to make sure it all worked (this was the first time out).  I through on two foot straps and placed a SUP paddle through them just so if something did go wrong later, Marlon could paddle back.

He took off after a short lesson and was buzzing around powered up nicely.  He was doing so well that I setup my wind foiling rig (7'4" Starboard Hypernut, 29.5"+3" Go Foil mast, Maliko 200 and Maliko tail, Naish Lift 4.7 m2 sail).  I got up a bunch but the wind was on and off.  There was a wing foiler out (Duotone V1 wing and Kalama Performance foil board) - made me wonder if it would be easier to just wing foil....

Marlon and I both finished up around the same time - and we went off to pick up La and Noe (Part 2)

Nutcracker???

Hoping this will be the thing that cracks the windsurfing nut for La and the kids - this eliminates the rig weight factor from learning and keeps all the sail handling.

We'll see -

Teaching the Kids How to Windsurf

We had a free afternoon yesterday so we headed out for windsurfing lessons again (second time).  I had dug out the smallest sail I have - a 4.0 m2 Simmer Style X-Flex and rigged that up (mainly for Noe).

The wind was light (yes I did bring the hypernut and the Go Foil - but I figured it would best to focus on the kids), so we were able to focus on rigging, uphauling, and steering.  Marlon went out first -

Having a SUP out at the same time is handy for coaching and for switching out after we've drifted too far downwind.

Noe was next - since she is still light enough, I was able to stay onboard and walk her through the discussion points, instead of just talking about it.  Probably helps I've lost a few pounds ;)

We went back in I could get on the SUP and she could sail on her own.  Same drill after - swap boards - kid paddles in and I sail back upwind.  When we got back in, I had the kids practice uphauling and "drawing the sail across their body" to get into sailing position.  I probably should have started out doing that (and will do so next time).

So with the south swells pretty much done for this year, this (and foiling) has proven a great way to stay on the water.  Oh, and this truck... I can't say enough great things about this - seriously, three boards, a hydrofoil, a paddle and dry clothes for everyone - perfection!

A big MAHALO to La for taking pictures and being patient ;)

WIndsurfing 101

Marlon (and Noe a little bit) have been asking if I would teach them how to kitesurf.  I said 'not yet, but I'll teach you to windsurf and if you can do that independently, then I'll start to train you to kitesurf'.  They were actually more excited by that prospect than the original request.  I found an old Naish Kailua on Craigslist and we finally had the time to start lessons this past Saturday afternoon.  Originally I was going to take everyone to Kailua Beach Park, but La suggested we

Have I mentioned "We LOVE this truck!!!"?

The kids already knew most of the terminology and parts from sailing.  I only had to elaborate on the small things (downhaul and outhaul being a little different, and an uphaul not on other boats).

Both kids got the sail uphauled and were able to sail around.  And with a SUP I could stay relatively close and coach.

This sail (unfortunately my smallest) is just a hair too big for Noe, but she still handled it like a champ.  Next lesson is more practice on uphauling, foot positioning, hand movements to control the sail and tacking.  The neat thing about this... I learned here too - nearly 20 years ago.