My first Launch Pad Windsurf Academy student of 2022 was pretty keen to learn windsurfing. Richard is a long time sailor and wakeboarder, so I figured he would be a quick study.
Richard on the simulator already showing good form
The wind at 12-15 knots was stronger than I would like for a first lesson. I had been out wing foiling and wind foiling earlier in the day. But with a nice stable Fanatic Viper 80 board (190 liters) and a 3.5 Richard was a superstar. We took him and the gear upwind in the big boat away from the waves at the point of the Launch Pad. He did his first uphaul, getting underway and his first tack was all dry. Then he consistently stayed upwind with an uncanny knack for beating upwind at the tightest possible angle. His sailboat skills were showing.
Richard sailing away from me on the big boat
I included some of what I'd learned in my recent Sail Canada/TWC windsurf course, like the "Safety position" and "twist to get going". I'm continuing to be a big fan of the front hand on the mast mode of teaching.
He did really well. It was all smiles when he returned to shore and I'm sure he will be back again to upgrade his skills.
A nice little video showing how windy it was!
Before and after my teaching session, I caught some rides myself. Normally I post my sessions to www.windsurfing-en-provence.blogspot.ca but I think going forward I'll post my own sessions here on the days when I've been teaching. Especially when my teaching allows me to go out and follow my student, a tip I'd received from David Zeni on my windsurfing course.
It was a good forecast - and Windy was right according to my Tempest weather station. I started with a good 8 km wingfoil on my Duotone Echo 6.0 and Fanatic Stingray. Then 2 Windfoil sessions (before and after Richard's lesson) for almost 10km with my Idol 5.6 and also the Fanatic Stingray.
Fun going around the islands!
I think the best part of the lesson was that after getting Richard sailing back and forth, I was able to go out and windfoil and do some freestyle and chat and provide tips. Here is a bit of video of us both out there. Thanks Katie and Jen for the photos and video.
My next students are booked for June 26-28...
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