Tom, Jake and Jeremy were visiting the Launch Pad after a 2 week shift working the Coast Guard Inshore Rescue Boat with my daughter Katie. She and I had been out enjoying the strong early afternoon wind and they were interested in lessons. Luckily the wind was dropping a bit and I had 3 Fanatic beginner boards available.
We headed to the point with a trainer sail and I gave my introduction to windsurfing lesson. They were all quick learners and got the hang of the simulator easily. Jenemy even took a phone call while on the simulator!
Once they had the basic skills mastered, we loaded sails onto the boat and tied 3 boards out back. I towed them upwind to the bay south of the Launch Pad and connected the boards and sails. Tom was on the big Viper HD with the 3.2 Duotone Now sail. Jeremy and Jake were on the Viper 80s with my old NP 2.6m and new Fanatic Ripper 2.5m sails.
They all uphauled their sails and started sailing easily. I think they all had several dry tacks as well. Eventually their runs got longer and they were intentionally venturing farther out into the bay. The wind was a bit stronger there and there were a few waves that made things more exciting. Over time they did drift downwind, but it was perfect timing as they got closer to the Launch Pad, I taught them to jibe and they could then sail right down to the dock.
Richard who had a great session at the Launch Pad last year also wanted to get out on the water. I put him on the 3.5m sail he used well before but this time on the Starboard Go without a centreboard. He struggled to stay up wind so we'll get him back on a board with a centreboard for his next session.
There were lots of smiles as I shared beers with three new windsurfers. Apparently they were all talking about windsurfing for the rest of the evening!
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