I first stood on a windsurf board in the spring of 2022. I’d been kayaking for over a year and thought I was pretty solid on the water. Saw someone gliding across the lake with a sail and figured, how hard can it be? It’s just a paddleboard with a sail, txoj cai?
Then I spent four hours in the water.
A buddy took me to a rental spot. The guy asked what size sail I wanted. I said, “Give me the big one.” 6.5 square meters. Mistake number one. Tried to get on the board — tipped over, chin hit the rail, went in face-first. Got the sail up — wind caught it, feet slipped, back of my head hit the water first. The whole afternoon was just “stand up → go two meters → fall in.” Total distance covered that day? Tej zaum tsib caug meters, yog koj ntxiv tag nrho.
Tab sis kuv tau rov qab mus rau lub lis piam tom ntej. Hloov mus rau a 5.0 sail — txoj kev sib zog. Lub sijhawm no kuv tau saib cov neeg tsis tu ncua li nees nkaum feeb ua ntej nkag mus. Pom lawv tsis yanking lub nkoj los ntawm brute quab yuam. Lawv tsa lub mast maj mam, cia cua puv lub nkoj maj mam, ces rub lub boom. sim nws tus kheej. Lub rooj tsavxwm txav mus. qeeb, tab sis nws tsiv mus. Ua nws tej zaum kaum tsib meters ua ntej cua hloov pov tseg kuv dua. Tab sis kuv tau los luag ntxhi - vim tias kuv tau * mus * qhov chaw.
Tau mus txhua lub lis piam tom qab ntawd. Xav txog ob peb yam ntawm txoj kev. Mus rau ntawm lub rooj tsavxwm - koj tsis tuaj yeem maj nws. Zaum xub thawj, ces rub koj txhais taw rau hauv. Coj kuv ib lub kaum ob sim kom tau qhov ntawd. Ib txwm tso lub daggerboard, los yog koj yuav tig zoo li saum. Thiab thawj yam uas yuav tsum tau ua thaum koj tig - cia mus ntawm lub boom. Kuv kawm tias txoj kev nyuaj, dai rau thiab tau rub sab xis thaum nqos ib nrab ntawm lub pas dej.
Gear-wise, Kuv ua txhua yam yuam kev. Yuav tau siv board rau 200 bucks tawm ib qho app - saib zoo hauv cov duab, tab sis hauv qab muaj ob lub qhov tob tob uas nqus dej zoo li daim txhuam cev. Muab nws tawm ntawm kuv lub ru tsev khib ib hnub thiab muab tso rau ntawm kuv tus ntiv taw. Poob tus ntsia thawv. Lub nkoj battens - Kuv tsis paub yuav ua li cas fold lawv kom zoo, khoov ob ntawm lawv mus rau hauv lub hnab. Plaub caug bucks txhua los hloov. Lub tsho cawm siav tsis tu ncua? Choj kuv lub caj dab txhua zaus kuv tig rov los saib lub nkoj. Hloov mus rau kayaking tshwj xeeb, hmo ntuj thiab nruab hnub sib txawv. Tshuaj pleev thaiv hnub? Tsis nco qab nws ib zaug nyob rau ib hnub huab - qhov kev xav ntawm cov dej kib kuv caj dab, tev tawm zoo li tus nab los ntawm daim tawv nqaij.
Kuv tsis muaj daim ntawv teev npe loj heev. Cov neeg pib tshiab yuav tsum ntaus cov pas dej uas muaj vaj huam sib luag - ntsiag to, cua ruaj khov. Reservoir tailwaters ua haujlwm ib yam nkaus - dej tiaj tus, cua txias. Sim ib tug ntug hiav txwv dej ib zaug - tsis tau xyuas lub rooj dej, tau tso rau hauv av nkos thaum dej tawm mus. Taug kev tsib puas yards nqa tag nrho cov rig, poob ib nkawm khau. Tsis txhob mus ze cov hav dej hav dej - cua funnels los ntawm lub pob tsuas thiab tig chaotic. Qhov ntawd yog li cas koj xaus qhwv ib ncig ntawm lub pob zeb.
Rov qab mus rau lub pas dej li qub hnub Sunday dhau los. Cua yog qhov tseeb - tsis muaj zog heev, tsis dhau teeb. Cruised rau ob peb teev, ces poob lub nkoj, zaum ntawm lub rooj tsavxwm, thiab cigarette. Lub hnub ntawm kuv nraub qaum, dej rocking lub rooj tsavxwm, ob peb kayakers txoj kev tawm ntawm qhov deb. Xav txog thawj tav su peb xyoos dhau los — lub puab tsaig busted, qhov ncauj tasting zoo li xeb, xav tias yog vim li cas leej twg thiaj li them rau qhov kev tsim txom no.
Tam sim no yog tias ib tug neeg nug seb nws puas tsim nyog? Yog lawm, nws yog. Tsis yog vim kuv zoo - Kuv tuaj yeem mus ncaj, ua ib qho yooj yim upwind tig, thiab kuv tseem ua tsis tau kuv qhov downwind jibe sim txog xya zaug ntawm kaum. Tab sis qhov kev xav ntawd - thaum koj ntaus lub kaum sab xis, lub rooj tsavxwm nqa thiab dav hlau, dej rushing hauv qab, cua ua haujlwm thaum koj tsuas yog sib npaug - tsis muaj lwm yam zoo li nws. Nws tsis zoo li khiav qhov twg koj tau gassed. Tsis zoo li kayaking qhov twg koj nyob nraum muscling txhua stroke. Nws tsuas yog koj thiab cua nyem rau ib pliag, thiab nws tsis muaj zog.
Tsis txhob yuav cov iav tshiab tawm ntawm lub rooj vag. Xauj ob peb zaug. Xyuas kom tseeb tias koj yeej nyiam ntub thiab ntxhov siab ua ntej tso nyiaj. Kuv tau sib sau ua ke tag nrho kuv cov teeb tsa siv - board, caij nkoj, mast, boom - tag nrho qis dua tsib puas bucks, tsuas yog lub tsho cawm siav uas kuv yuav tshiab. 160-liter pib board, 5.0 caij nkoj, aluminium mast. Ua haujlwm. Yog koj yog tus tshiab, nyob deb ntawm cov sails loj thiab tawv boards. Koj yuav tsis tswj lawv, lawv yuav tswj koj.
Yog tias koj nkag rau hauv, vam tias koj nqos dej tsawg dua li kuv tau ua. Thiab thaum koj ntim - quav cov battens raws lawv nkhaus. Tsis txhob yuam lawv.Kuv paub qhov kawg ntawm tus kheej.
