A waterstart is a key windsurfing maneuver for recovering after a fall and getting back into sailing position by using wind. It is more efficient than uphauling the sail (standing on the board and lifting it by the rope, or uphaul), but requires a minimum level of wind to perform. Variations of waterstarting include the clew-first waterstart and the light wind waterstart.
During a waterstart, a sailor clears the sail of water and powers it up in the wind. The powered sail then pulls the sailor out of the water enough so they could step up and onto the board. [1] When the sail is first being lifted, it often helps to push the back of the board slightly underwater, and setting the front of the boom onto the board (near the footstraps). The buoyancy of the board will then push the boom upward, helping to lift the sail out of the water.
Waterstarting is faster and less tiring compared to climbing back on the board and uphauling the sail, but requires enough wind (about 14 knots or more, depending on the skills, weight and agility of the surfer) to perform. [2] Waterstarting requires flying the sail and getting the mast high enough so that the wind will finish in lifting the sailor's weight up and onto the board. [3]
Mastering this technique is imperative when sailing in high winds or in large swell, when uphauling the sail would be difficult or impossible. It is also necessary when sailing on smaller boards, when the board does not have enough buoyancy for the sailor to stand on it with enough stability to uphaul the sail. [4] [2]
Many sailors practice waterstarting in shallow waters, where it is easier to maneuver the board and rig into the correct position. When a beginner sails in windier conditions and falls in deeper water, there will be more opportunity to learn a "deep water" waterstart.
A clew-first waterstart is a variation used to start in the opposite direction from the one the board is initially pointing. It is very similar to a standard waterstart. The main difference is that once the sail is flying, the board is on the mast side of the sailor and points a bit further downwind, on a broad reach. The sail is flipped once the sailor is up and on the board. [5]
Waterstarting in light wind is also possible, but more difficult to perform, and may even require a different technique such as controlling the rig by the foot of the sail and lower part of the mast (i.e. controlling the sail at a point lower than the boom). [4] As such, it is considered an expert-level skill. Experts can waterstart in winds as light as 7-10kt. [3]
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Sailing employs the wind—acting on sails, wingsails or kites—to propel a craft on the surface of the water, on ice (iceboat) or on land over a chosen course, which is often part of a larger plan of navigation.
Windsurfing is a wind propelled water sport that is a combination of sailing and surfing. It is also referred to as "sailboarding" and "boardsailing", and emerged in the late 1960s from the aerospace and surf culture of California. Windsurfing gained a popular following across Europe and North America by the late 1970s and had achieved significant global popularity by the 1980s. Windsurfing became an Olympic sport in 1984.
A tack is a nautical term both for the lower, windward corner of a sail and, separately, for the windward side of a sailing craft (side from which the wind is coming while under way—the starboard or port tack. Generally, a boat is on a starboard tack if the wind is coming over the starboard side of boat with sails on port side. Similarly, a boat is on a port tack if the wind is coming over the port side of boat. However, confusion can result when a boat is on a 'run', with the wind coming directly from astern and the mainsail and jib/genoa are on opposite sides of the vessel. Therefore, the windward side is defined as the side opposite to that on which the mainsail is being carried. On a starboard tack the mainsail is carried on the port side. On a port tack the mainsail is carried on the starboard side. It is the position of the mainsail that determines the tack.
A jibe (US) or gybe (Britain) is a sailing maneuver whereby a sailing vessel reaching downwind turns its stern through the wind, which then exerts its force from the opposite side of the vessel. Because the mainsail boom can swing across the cockpit quickly, jibes are potentially dangerous to person and rigging compared to tacking. Therefore accidental jibes are to be avoided while the proper technique must be applied so as to control the maneuver. For square-rigged ships, this maneuver is called wearing ship.
Running rigging is the rigging of a sailing vessel that is used for raising, lowering, shaping and controlling the sails on a sailing vessel—as opposed to the standing rigging, which supports the mast and bowsprit. Running rigging varies between vessels that are rigged fore and aft and those that are square-rigged.
This glossary of nautical terms is an alphabetical listing of terms and expressions connected with ships, shipping, seamanship and navigation on water. Some remain current, while many date from the 17th to 19th centuries. The word nautical derives from the Latin nauticus, from Greek nautikos, from nautēs: "sailor", from naus: "ship".
A Bermuda rig, Bermudian rig, or Marconi rig is a configuration of mast and rigging for a type of sailboat and is the typical configuration for most modern sailboats. This configuration was developed in Bermuda in the 1600s; the term Marconi, a reference to the inventor of the radio, Guglielmo Marconi, became associated with this configuration in the early 1900s because the wires that stabilize the mast of a Bermuda rig reminded observers of the wires on early radio masts.
Sail components include the features that define a sail's shape and function, plus its constituent parts from which it is manufactured. A sail may be classified in a variety of ways, including by its orientation to the vessel and its shape,. Sails are typically constructed out of flexible material that is shaped by various means, while in use, to offer an appropriate airfoil, according to the strength and apparent direction of the wind. A variety of features and fittings allow the sail to be attached to lines and spars.
Tacking or coming about is a sailing maneuver by which a sailing craft, whose next destination is into the wind, turns its bow toward and through the wind so that the direction from which the wind blows changes from one side of the boat to the other, allowing progress in the desired direction. Sailing vessels are unable to sail higher than a certain angle towards the wind, so "beating to windward" in a zig-zag fashion with a series of tacking maneuvers, allows a vessel to sail towards a destination that is closer to the wind that the vessel can sail directly.
In sailing, a boom is a spar (pole), along the foot of a fore and aft rigged sail, that greatly improves control of the angle and shape of the sail. The primary action of the boom is to keep the foot flatter when the sail angle is away from the centerline of the boat. The boom also serves as an attachment point for more sophisticated control lines. Because of the improved sail control it is rare to find a non-headsail without a boom, but lateen sails, for instance, are loose-footed. In some modern applications, the sail is rolled up into the boom for storage or reefing.
The spritsail is a four-sided, fore-and-aft sail that is supported at its highest points by the mast and a diagonally running spar known as the sprit. The foot of the sail can be stretched by a boom or held loose-footed just by its sheets. A spritsail has four corners: the throat, peak, clew, and tack. The Spritsail can also be used to describe a rig that uses a spritsail.
A boom, in the context of windsurfing, is a piece of equipment that attaches to the mast, providing structural support for the sail. It completely encircles the sail, and is designed to be gripped, allowing the sailor to control the sail for normal sailing, and also for almost any type of maneuver. Early pre RAF/cambered booms were tied on to the mast using rope, but newer booms use a clamp mechanism for attachment.
The junk rig, also known as the Chinese lugsail, Chinese balanced lug sail, or sampan rig, is a type of sail rig in which rigid members, called battens, span the full width of the sail and extend the sail forward of the mast.
Land windsurfing, also known as “Terrasailing”, “street sailing”, “land sailing” and “dirt windsurfing”, is a sport similar to traditional windsurfing that is performed on land rather than water. A four wheeled deck, similar to a mountain board or skateboard deck, is commonly used in conjunction with a mast and sail in order to project the board across land.
A mast-aft rig is a sailboat sail-plan that uses a single mast set in the aft half of the hull. The mast supports fore-sails that may consist of a single jib, multiple staysails, or a crab claw sail. The mainsail is either small or completely absent. Mast-aft rigs are uncommon, but are found on a few custom, and production sailboats.
Jim Drake was an American aeronautical engineer who is widely credited with the invention of the sport of Windsurfing. He patented his windsurfing concept in 1968. Drake conceptualized, designed and hand built the first board and articulating sail rig prototype in his garage. He started the sport's first company, Windsurfing International. He produced multiple championship winning windsurfing board designs throughout his career, as well as created a popular offshoot of windsurfing with the world's first un-masted wing sail. Drake would go on to become an altruistic figure head for the sport he pioneered over the course of his lifetime.
Ljungström rig is the name for the sailing rig designed by Swedish engineer Fredrik Ljungström with double main sails and rotating mast, but without boom, foresail, forestay and shroud. The early models of the Ljungström sailboat had a stern stay but this was omitted around 1945, before the model 12.
A sail is a tensile structure—which is made from fabric or other membrane materials—that uses wind power to propel sailing craft, including sailing ships, sailboats, windsurfers, ice boats, and even sail-powered land vehicles. Sails may be made from a combination of woven materials—including canvas or polyester cloth, laminated membranes or bonded filaments—usually in a three- or four-sided shape.
This glossary of nautical terms is an alphabetical listing of terms and expressions connected with ships, shipping, seamanship and navigation on water. Some remain current, while many date from the 17th to 19th centuries. The word nautical derives from the Latin nauticus, from Greek nautikos, from nautēs: "sailor", from naus: "ship".
Wing foiling or wing surfing or winging is a wind propelled water sport that developed from kitesurfing, windsurfing and surfing. The sailor, standing on a board, holds directly onto a wing. It generates both upward force and sideways propulsion and thus moves the board across the water. The recent development of foilboards, which plane very early on a hydrofoil fin and thereby lift off the water producing low friction, represent the ideal complementary hydrodynamic platform for wings. This young sport is poised to become wildly popular.
waterstart.
waterstart.
