Make the most of your windsurfing holiday

The rig is the most important piece of kit to get tuned and ready. If you’re lucky
enough to be on a Neilson Beachclub holiday then the kit will already be rigged up for you, however you must remember it hasn't yet been tuned specifically for you.

Downhaul is the first thing to check, make sure that the back edge of the sail
will open up to help with any gusts of wind you might face. If you’re a shorter sailor then a bit of extra downhaul will bring the pull in the sail a little lower and make it much easier to handle.

Next up is boom height. When you’re out sailing, you’ll want the boom to sit roughly around shoulder height. If the wind is a little lighter then you can push the boom up a little, if it increases drop the boom slightly for more control.

If you’re struggling to do the boom clamp up STOP! This is usually a sign of there being too much outhaul on the boom. If you move the boom you must change the outhaul as this will vary as you move the boom up and down. If you’ve got too much outhaul the sail will often feel unstable or twitchy. This can be a real challenge when learning to use the harness or get going for the first time.

Outhaul wise you want enough that when you power up the sail touches the other side of the boom but doesn’t wrap round it. The windier it is the more outhaul you need, however pulling it on should require gentle pressure rather than brute force.

You can work out if you’ve pulled on enough by placing your elbow on the clew of the sail (corner by the boom) and pushing down with one finger in light winds, two fingers if it looks breezy and three fingers if you wish you’d picked a smaller sail.

The harness is the last thing you will need to adjust, as the positioning of the harness lines is dependent on the outhaul, downhaul and boom height.

The hands method has been around for quite a few years now. The idea that you put your harness lines one hand down the boom for every metre of sail. However with changes in boom shapes over the last few years this is highly likely to leave your harness lines too far forward.

A more accurate method is to find where the sail balances. Lay the sail down on the floor and pick it up from the boom using two fingers. Wherever the boom comes up level is a pretty good starting point to place your harness lines.Put them fist width apart and try hand to elbow as a starting length.

Once out on the water if you get too much pull on either hand, try shifting the lines towards that hand until you have a neutral feel.

So before you even look at the board, if you spend a few minutes tuning the rig for yourself rather than sticking with the pre-set you're much more likely to achieve your next goal.

Neilson Holidays are running a couple of coaching weeks aimed at intermediate and advanced windsurfers. Both weeks include all day tuition for the duration of the holiday in a small group. Together with ensuring you’re well tuned and have the setup to make the most of your time on the water, our coach, Sam Ross will be there every day to help develop your windsurfing as far as possible, including use of video as well as on land and water delivery. If your interested in getting involved in one of these clinics click here for more details.