I was trying to learn to use the harness from days with very bad results. Then i watched your video last night and today I was planing for the first time. Thank you for your amazing tips, it all makes sense now 😊
Pukka tips shmukka. Always watch your vids for a refresh and to stop myself making bad habits after a few days out on the water. Many instructors out there are a little bit hollywood for me but you come across down to earth and easy to watch. Cheers
I have been windsurfing for six years and my new coach said that I should stop using a harness because I’m not good enough, it ruined my confidence and I haven’t gone for weeks since, thanks for this video, I love it!
I hope it helps you out! Keep trying and dont let anyone put you down. My only suggestion to you would be to stop using that coach instead of the harness! :) Good luck my friend!
really, get a new coach. My coach told me to use the harness after only 4 sessions of 2 hours. I had had a beginners course some years before, yeah, but no harness after 6 years to me seems ridicolous.
Went open ocean sailing for the second time yesterday! First time, no wind at all so easy. Yesterday, *way* over powered with a 7.3m. The 'Sit down!' trick saved my butt many a time in the 28kt+ gusts that came up suddenly. Thank you!!!
Today I had my first session with harness in planing conditions (learned to plane on hands alone first). Here's another tip: do **not** let go of the back hand while being catapulted, it's a good way to wrap your back around the mast. I let go and got hit with the mast one time under the ribs and then in the leg. Third time I held on and I think I did a flip around the boom and then my back hit flat on the water/sail, which didn't hurt at all, leaving both me and the sail intact. It was quite a shock to land like that. Lesson learned :D
Great video man, i started surfing 2weeks ago, done about 20hours,and today we learned harness surfing... For me the most challenging part is mentally, because i sometimes fall and then i think it will be hard for me to unhook, i fell 2times into the sail and quite easily unhooked myself in the water, but i fell BACK once and i got little panicky and thought i will not be able to unhook.. But i did in like 2-3 seconds with my arms... Its a great feeling to surf with a harness, a lot less stress on the hands and the balance is easier to maintain i feel, but anyway just wanted to ask you, did you ever had problems unhooking, my instructor just said not to panic and that it can always be unhooked in matter of seconds, did somebody you know ever had that fear of not being able to unhook? Anyway great video and Magic tip is great, will try iz soon 😁 keep up the good content 👍👍
The FEAR of not being able to unhook is very normal.. a lot of my students have the same problem and like your instructor said the best is not to panic. Realistically you will always be able to unhook. Like in most things, stress just makes things worse.
That's such a good video! The only question that remains for me is why I'm the only person who doesn't fall to the front or back but to the windward front direction, so the sail basically moves in the direction of the mast and then I fall into the mast with the side of the body. Every Single Time. Any advice?
Hey! I am glad you liked the video. What you are basically describing is a catapult or at least a variant of it. So its very normal to fall that way when your body is not in a position to counter the pull of the sail and also when you stand a bit too upright. Especially when you are learning you should stay lower on your legs pulling downwards on the boom and also you should always be prepared for a catapult even if you are in the light part of gust for example and feel no power. Basically, there is no way to stop a catapult but you can try to prevent it from ever happening. However, like I tell all my students, you have to catapult at least a thousand times before you know how to windsurf! :D Hope this helps a little!
Hello and thank you! I find your videos very good and inspiring! As a beginner (started windsurfing last year) it is nice that you cover basic stuff. Keep up the good work, subscribed to your channel and started following you on instagram too.
Thank you! If there is something else you are interested in learning let me know... I might be able to do a video on that as well! :) I try to cover the basics and then slowly move on to more advanced stuff! :) Good luck and have fun
@@kyriakosgiakoumaroswingandwind one thing that would be interesting would be sail sizes related to wind strength when talking about beginners! Of course there are other elements to the equation also. But sail sizes for beginners is something I have found very little information on. Thank you!
@@joakimyliruusi The reason you have found little information is because it is nearly impossible to give a direct answer! Like you said there are many variables, such as, wind speed, water conditions, your weight, your strength and your style of riding... and no one wants to give you any incorrect information, which is very likely if they dont know you personally and have not seen you ride! For now I would recommend use as much power as you can, while still maintaining control! It is never good to be over powered. However, if you want to send me your weight and average conditions you ride in then I could give you a rough idea about what size you are looking to settle to when you get to a good level. :)
@@kyriakosgiakoumaroswingandwind thank you for the answer, kinda guessed it gets complicated. But yeah I weigh around 75 kg and I'm 179cm tall. I would say I'm strong and in good condition. My board is Starboard Go windsurfer 175l, 268cm long 83cm wide with retractable daggerboard. My sail is a Synergy 7.3. I have 36" harness lines and a seat harness. This came as a kit. I am not yet comfortable using the harness. I sail on inland lakes, so waves are not a factor most of the time. Usually the wind is 5-7 m/s (gusts 10-12 m/s) when I go out. I have nearly been able to get planing but not quite yet. Maybe our next trip should be to Greece to your windsurfing school, my wife likes Greece also 😁 when all this covid-19 is over.
Thanks for the tips. Very clear and well explained. You would make a good flight attendant btw; feels like the mask and life vest wearing instructions. :P
Thanks for the video... I started to windsurf and tried using the harness and had diffcult relasing the hook in the water cause it was tensioned. Any tips to practice in water and get confident?
Hey! Glad you liked it! If you are asking for tips about the tension the only thing I can suggest that is probably what you are doing wrong is that when you want to unhook you shouldnt take your body towards the sail but simply pull the sail closer while keeping your body in the same position. By doing this you release the tension and if your lines are properly set then they should just drop out by themselves Hope this helps! :)
Thanks you and thanks for the recommendation! Have been trying to think of some video ideas and this seems to be highly requested! Will get on to it :)
Hey there, Thats a tricky one as its not so much about any special technique but more about timing the waves. However, make sure you check out my beach start video to have the correct technique down: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-rVlRTJW0494.html&ab_channel=KyriakosGiakoumarosWindsurfCoaching Now once you can do this, as I said it comes down to timing a lot. Meaning you have to be careful when you attempt to get up on the board. The best time is immediately after a wave has passed you and you have a nice flat spot before the next wave. Your goal with timing is to get up on the flattest part and be up and ready for the next wave. Something else to have in mind if you dont already know this, is that when you are prepared in your beachstart position (with both feet touching the bottom and sail over your head) keep the board pointing directly into the wave and give it a slight push forward into the wave whenever a big one is coming towards you. This will stop the waves from pushing you about while you are getting ready to get up. Once you picked your exact moment to get up after a wave you the quickly and confidently put your back leg on and steer the board down wind to make the sail pull you up. Of course all this takes good equipment control from you starting position so make sure you practice that, as many people tend to try and bypass that part as soon as possible because it is tricky and boring. I am sure you will be getting them out soon! Good luck and have fun! See you on the water!
Hey! Thanks for the feedback! I hope you found something that helped you! Yes, my home spot is Greece. Specifically Rhodes island. My family runs a windsurf centre called Windsurfers' World so if you ever want to visit don't hesitate to get in touch! At the moment however I am in Vietnam and that is where this video was made. :)
Hi. Thanks for you vids. My doubts... While I'm in the harnes lines do I have to sit down or lean back outboard ? I have experienced that on a hauled I can lean much back outboard. The sail sustain my weight (due to apparent wind ?). It seems to me impossible, on a hauled, to fall upwind under the sail. But on a broad or beam reaching I can't lean out; the sail will come over me upwind. On the other hand if I put myself on the center of the board I'll be unstable to fall over the sail or prone to catapult.
Hello! I dont exactly understand what you are trying to ask but here is the best answer I can give you for now... Your should both sit slightly down and also lean back at the same time. It really depends on the power of the wind as well... The more wind you have the more back you can lean! The less wind you have the more your should try to keep your body upright on the board so your weight is not being held by the sail and then sit down more in the harness for better control. The power of the sail goes both to moving the board and to keeping up your body weight. So in lighter winds you should try to keep your body weight supported by yourself and not by the sail. I hope that helps :)
@@kyriakosgiakoumaroswingandwind Thanks, for your reply. I mean that when in light wind I go upwind the sail support my weight and I can lean back a lot. On the contrary when I bear away on beam or broad reach I lost sail support and I have to stay much upright and on the center of the board This make me unstable and subject to fall on a gust or a a wave. I feel that in this situation I get more control hooked out.
You can also play around with boom height and harness length to get it right for you. But if you judge that the all around most uncomfortable or wrong feeling thing is your harness then change it. It is best to go and actually try some harnesses on before buying (even if you end up ordering online you can go to a shop first and see how it feels)
Nice video! How about a video on harness line position? I've seen several tips but there doesn't seem to be any magic rule that works for me - the optimal position seems to depend on the conditions but I honestly never really feel like I have it right. I've also seen conflicting information on how far apart the harness lines should be. Some say that it doesn't matter while others suggest that it does. What's your take on this?
Hi Matthew! Thats a good idea! I should definitely get a video out on that asap... But to answer as much of your question as I can now, I would say firstly that it does matter... and the higher your level the more every little thing matters in windsurfing. I think for the distance between lines I would say that you never want to have them more than a fist apart. Also I believe that the closer together you can get them while still maintaining the balance of the sail the better it feels, as it makes your sail feel looser and allows for many more small movements that can drastically improve your riding and allow you to feel more comfortable. As for the actual position, that is hard to answer (so you will have to wait for the video)! But I would say that although it might change with the conditions, those changes are quite small and not too important. Rather, it changes obviously with sail size and sail type and the rider. But if for example you use the same exact sail every session then you only really need to set them up once and only rarely change them slightly depending on conditions as we said before. Last tip I will give you for now and many may disagree with this is that all the different ways and tricks of checking the balance you may have heard of dont usually work that well. Then only real way is to have your sail up as if your are sailing, with power in it and try to get them balanced on the beach before heading in. Having the whole kite attached is even better! Hope I have helped at least a little! Harness line set up is tricky but you will get there... i will look into that video.
This is a good questions but pretty hard to answer on a comment! (maybe I will make a video about it) But the basics are that u want them in a position where you could let go of both hands and the sail remains up and in power (this part is important) without your help. Of course this is when you are in the wind not in a wind shadow. Also I always recommend that you never have more that a fist apart between the two ends of the line. Best way all around to try and find the centre is to set up your gear at the beach, in the wind and hook in like you are riding. Hope this helps a little.
Hi from Chile🎉 Got a doubt I do wave sailing and Im still missing the seat harness. The waist one at the end of the day bothers a bit. Finally we use the harness just to go outside upwind. What do you think about that?Should I back to seat? Cheers Master
Mine are 30' But it really depends on what you are looking for out of your setup, your style of riding and of course your height! So dont take it is as a set measurement! If you need any advice I would be happy to give you my opinion!
Hello, great video i know now some new tips :). Could you please make a video on the beginner boards with high volume and how to get in straps and plane on that kind of boards, because there is no video about that. I'm using a bic beach 225d, with 2 sails ''4 and 6 m2'', weight 64kg, it will be sweet if you could give me some advises thanks.
Hello Eni, It is always nice to hear from people and get requests! :) However, your request is quite hard and not actually something you should be trying to do. Beginner style boards can go planing but for most of them it would need flat water and it still wont feel super comfortable. There are certain types of boards with big size and volume that are made to do this (specialized boards) but if your board is an actual beginner board I would not recommend using it to get planing. It simply makes things harder. The 225 you mentioned is that the volume of your board? I will be happy to give you advice and info if you need. I will just need more info on your part :)
@@kyriakosgiakoumaroswingandwind Hello, thanks for your quick reply. I got your point about the board style. I'm mostly using it in sea and not flat water, and the 225 is the volume. i think that i will need to buy a new board with less volume, any recommendation? Thanks.
@@windsurf4222 That is a very big board especially if you are in choppy conditions. I would suggest a change of board both to get planing but also to progress more and faster, although the challenge is obviously greater on smaller boards. To recommend you a board I would have to know your weight and the average wind speed you sail in and sail size you use. If you want more information for stuff like that you can contact me directly on instagram: @kyriakos_giakoum If you dont use insta then feel free to keep the conversation going here.
