- Sun cream on the boom
- Blisters on the hands
- Teach your girlfriend/boyfriend how to surf
- Boards too small
- Camber sails when you don't actually need them
- Wrong spot
- The opposite of "good" is "well-intentioned"
- Pull flutter trousers over the neo
- Sandbank overlooked
- Leave the Neo zip open
- Online bargain hunting
Sun cream on the boom
Let's not get the wrong idea: Sun cream and UV protection are incredibly important on the water! There's just one place where the cream has no place: On the boom covering! The grease makes the boom slippery and is difficult to get back under, and in case of doubt, the rig will slip out of your fingers just before you complete your perfect dream jibe. In the surf test, it can cost you a cake if the test leader discovers white marks on the surface. It's better to wipe the inside surfaces with a towel or rub them briefly with a little sand after applying cream.
Blisters on the hands
If you sore your tender little office fingers on holiday, you will see raw meat after a few days - and we don't mean juicy steak. Especially in warm water, the skin softens quickly and forms blisters, which sooner or later burst. And anyone who has ever had to grasp the rope or the handle of the board bag with a pained face knows the feeling. It's better to take regular breaks and dry your hands thoroughly - after a few days, the much-desired calluses will form! After all, it's called windsurfing and not sore surfing!
Teach your girlfriend/boyfriend how to surf
If you really want to get into a fight with your partner, you should rather go to IKEA on a Saturday than ruin your holiday with a "private course". Countless relationships have been ruined by the exaggerated ambitions and below-average teaching skills of the surfing partner, or have at least put a lasting damper on the surfing day. Nothing against days out on the water together, but instead of a boyfriend shouting after his girlfriend who is close to tears, the route should lead to a good surf school.
Boards too small
In the evolution of windsurfing, boards are getting smaller; it's a long way from the school ship far beyond 200 litres to the 75-litre wave cut. But the biggest obstacle to windsurfing development is boards that are too small. They may look good on the beach and in the car, but nobody benefits from them on the water. Quite the opposite: bad planing, wobbling through the jibes and stopping in wind holes is no fun. It's not for nothing that the small boards used to be called sinkers. With a few litres of extra volume, you'll start to slide earlier, the jibes will be smoother and you won't park immediately even in weaker winds. And only professionals notice the advantages of slightly smaller boards anyway.
Camber sails when you don't actually need them
Do you want to make your life unnecessarily difficult? Then carry your equipment to the spot on foot, blow-dry your sail with the air pump after the session or volunteer to help the kiter untangle the lines. It all makes more sense than riding sails with camber when you don't actually need it. There are freeride and freerace sails up to the 8 square metre mark that also work wonderfully without camber. If you're not racing at the top level, you'll probably be happier without camber. The sail is lighter, rotates better and is hardly any slower - not to mention the incomparably greater effort required to set up and take down the rig. In particular, intermediates and pleasure freeriders are much better off without camber. And if a wannabe worldcupper does overtake you on the water, you can rest assured: You'll be sitting on the beach in the evening with a cold beer while he's still pulling the mast out of the sail!
Wrong spot
Hanstholm sounds better than Heidkate, Sylt looks better than St. Peter-Ording. But while you can just let the North Sea crush you at the supposed top spot, you could also hone your moves in more relaxed conditions and, in case of doubt, have a greater sense of achievement and less broken equipment. Let's not get the wrong idea: It's important to leave your comfort zone every now and then and push your own limits a little, that's the only way to keep developing. But if you realistically assess your own limits, you'll get more out of it than just looking at dream conditions from the beach.
The opposite of "good" is "well-intentioned"
"You have to pull the sail through the luff properly" - perhaps there is a noble thought behind this, namely to help other surfers and share your own - sometimes only perceived - knowledge. However, giving unsolicited tips on riding technique and sail trim on the beach is not everyone's cup of tea and can even be really annoying - so no "mansplaining" please!
Pull flutter trousers over the neo
Anyone who wears colourful board shorts over their neo is not in control of their life - as Karl Lagerfeld might have put it if he had been a surfer. The idea that this would protect your wetsuit is just as much nonsense as telling yourself that it looks cool. Not true, in terms of style a wetsuit may not exactly be glamorous, but a colourful swimming costume over it only makes it worse.
Sandbank overlooked
Wow, is that going well! You're speeding across the water at full speed and nothing can stop you! Except maybe the sandbank. And when, after a brief moment of pause, you heave yourself out of your shattered sail, groaning and swearing, you realise that it would have been a good idea to get some information about the local conditions at this new spot first.
Leave the Neo zip open
A classic example of forgetting to attach an important email: The sun is beating down on the black neoprene when setting up and wearing it in the water, and the zip is left open "for the time being" for ventilation. When the first water hits, the cold soup suddenly and unexpectedly runs down the back, and all too often the strap on the zip is also jammed in the harness. Speaking of the harness: forgetting it at home and then frantically rummaging around in the boot at the spot in the neo and in front of the finished material is also a classic.
Online bargain hunting
There is no doubt that you can get hold of used equipment at favourable prices on various online platforms. But only if you know your way around and don't blindly look for the cheapest offers. It's astonishing how eloquently some museum material from the last millennium is presented as perfect for beginners. In some descriptions, even disused racing equipment mutates into good-natured beginner equipment. The only thing to do is to inform yourself well before buying. Our equipment guide will certainly help you and prevent the odd bad purchase on the net.
