Tell me I'm not crazy

[dabigkahuna]

I'm a heavy weight (245 lbs), have been kitesurfing for the last 14 years, moved to San Diego last year and am thinking of selling all my kite gear and buy a windsurf rig for my Starboard Avanti SUP.  My wife thinks I'm nutz.  I'm wondering if she's right.

I just remember the "old days" when I first started windsurfing in Kailua during the early 80's.  It seemed that I could windsurf anywhere and in any condition.  From a boat, from a dock, in glassy light winds or howling nuclear winds.  Yeah, the gear is clunky and heavy, but I sort of miss it and my Avanti has a mast connection that seems to be begging to be used.

Am I nutz or what?

[supthecreek]

Hell no!
Go buy a rig... better yey, ask around the windsurfing community... they may have some older gear that they will give you. On the Avanti, you're probably not going to get to radical.... just a mast boom and sail.... and your off

You can dink around in any little breeze with the Avanti.

There were a LOT of funerals this weekend.... so hurry up!

[Dwight (DW)]

I went through the same transition a few years. I haven't pumped up a kite in over a year. Maybe two years!

I felt young again throwing a sail on my SUP.

That said, lets be clear on expectations.

1) You can get out on the water in anything, and feel the joy of it all again. But, you won't be planing in less wind than a kiter. So make sure you're not doing it to race any kiters back and forth. Do it for the joy of being on the water and maybe snagging a few waves.

2) Point #1 got me totally hooked on windsurfing again, so the next step became buying a real windsurfer. The new super wide and super thin ones fit me to a tee. Pure fun again.

Than kite may never see air again.

Side note: Putting a sail on a SUP made me fall in love with "strapless" wave sailing. I think the manufacturers missed an opportunity here. A specific, strapless windsurf board design. SUPs don't have the right rocker for this. Strapped riding is un-cool with kiters. Strapped windsurfing should be un-cool too. Strapless ups the fun factor under certain conditions.

[downwinddave]

i vote crazy ... for not doing it sooner    you might find  modern rig is less clunky than you think. 

[PonoBill]

If my shoulder wasn't all busted I'd be out doing exactly that this morning. I can't get worked up for serious windsurfing--too much gear, too much rigging, too fussy. But a 4.5 or 5.0 on my Starboard 12'2" -- nothing but fun.

[dabigkahuna]

Thanks gents.  Wife still thinks I should be fitted for a jacket that only ties in the back, but I'm gonna give it a go.  May have found a guy who is going the opposite direction (from windsurfing to kiting) so we may swap a few pieces to help each other out.

[lunchbox]

Do you really need to sell your kite gear? Just buying a sail, boom and mast shouldn't set you too far back.

I'm a kiter too and started windsurfing last summer. Haven't planned yet...just a couple of back and forths on a lake but it sure is fun. Once I learn how to water start, I'm gonna put a little sail on the SUP and give it a go.

I'm having a blast on all three but SUP is top's for me right now.

...I say keep the kites if you can.

[dabigkahuna]

@lunchbox - I'll probably just thin out the quiver instead of selling everything.  But the reality for me living in San Diego is that I probably won't use my kiting gear more than 3 or 4 times a year.  Heck, I used it more than that each week back in Hawaii.

I'm learning that the typical wind patterns here are that the winds peak around 8-12 mph each afternoon.  On rare occasions it'll blow more, that mostly during the spring / fall.  I weigh 240-245 lbs.  I have a monster 11'2 x 36" x 206 liter board.  I'm hoping that I can set up a windsurfing rig that'll work in those conditions.  Just putting around, non-planing.  Hopefully not drifting downwind (too much).  I've got my eye on a nice 6.0m sail / mast / boom.  I'm hoping that'll be enough to start. 

[SUP Sports ®]

It's one thing putzing around in the harbor...but, if you are even thinking of taking your board and rig into any kind of waves, you need to get a decent RDM (Reduced Diameter Mast) with > 50% carbon content...that Avanti will apply huge hydraulic forces on the mast in the surf zone when you get tumbled...broken masts will almost always lead to destroyed luff sleeves and ripped sails...look for sails built with Dacron and/or X-ply...durable vinyl windows...etc...monofilm won't last long...gets brittle quickly under UV exposure...you will also want a mast foot and mast base protector...helps to protect toes and rails...

Windsurfing is heaps of fun...especially, when you don't have to chase it much...we had an awesome Spring season, here in Santa Barbara, right in town...best in years...only had to drive a short distance just to change venues up a bit...

http://surfingsports.com/gallery_index_III.asp

[dabigkahuna]

Hey Wardog,

I saw the photos on your other posts and website.  Definitely motivational.    Unfortunately, we get conditions like that maybe once or twice a year.  The rest of the time it's blowing maybe 10-12 mph.  That's miles per hour, not knots.  Not enough to kite but, if the waves are small enough, maybe enough to putz around in the ocean (assuming I can get past the 1-2' shore break and the wind is not directly on shore).

[SUP Sports ®]

I know all about light air and waves...shlog, bob, and pump...it was a specialty of mine...I helped to push the envelope of light air wave riding boards and sails...even for bigger guys...Big Will was 250#...I got him dialed...and, SB isn't a high wind mecca...;-)

If you have sailing skills, it's fun to take advantage of them when opportunity strikes...heck, even in San Diego this Spring there were some planable days according to friends down there...

http://surfingsports.com/isla_vista_longboard/index.html

You'll do fine on your board...I'm just suggesting that when purchasing a sail rig, be a little proactive and avoid the buzzkill of broken gear by getting something with some durability...not, some monofilm sail that is ready to be shredded from UV exposure the first time a wave hits it...

[Tom]

Big K, I've got some stuff for sale, check you messages, Tom

[PonoBill]

Listen to the Mana'o of the Dog, he knows of what he speaks.

Superfreak sails, RDM mast, eurostyle universal (the bayonet release works much better than US spring-pin style for quickly disconnecting a sail under wind pressure). It all sounds expensive, but it's easy to find used (even superfreaks) and mega-cheap. My Hood River setup includes three masts, four sails, two booms and all the gubbins, and I have less than $2K into it. Trim it down to two sails, one mast, one universal and one boom and you're at $1k used at most. If not mostly free.

[dabigkahuna]

The wife has given me the ok to buy more toys as long as I sell some of my old ones first.  She's been around me long enough to know how easy it is for me to buy new water sports toys!  So yesterday I put my nearly new epoxy, carbon, bamboo, quad fin kite/surf board on the market.  It's a lovely board that I will rarely use and that money is better spent on my next addiction, supsailing.

I've been taking notes of all the great advice you guys have been giving me.  I hope to be able to put some of that advice to use here soon.  Mahalo nui loa.

[Dwight (DW)]

http://ncpaddlesurfer.blogspot.com/2012/09/wind-sup-south-end.html


Motivational image!