3 attempts to crack the carve gybe?

My wife has been trying to carve gybe for the last 9 years and yesterday we were very amused when our 7 year old son told her that he would teach her how to do it. We were stunned when, on his third attempt, he demonstrated it! Yesterday, he planned out of a carve gybe and has been consistently pulling them ever since. I still believe it is one of the hardest windsurfing moves and expected not to see him doing it until he was at least 10. But there you go....

In less than 12 months, at the age of 7, Alex learnt to:

uphaul
tack
beachstart
footstraps
planning
harness
waterstart
carve gybe
chop hop
sail fast
cope with strong wind and changing conditions
wave ride

There has been lots of discussion on the forums about when and how to teach kids to windsurf. It is generally thought that the age is much higher than 7. Even though the windsurfing industry is designing kids gear, a lot of it is more appropriate to over 10 year olds. We have found that they could improve in some areas to better cater for smaller children so they could allow kids to enter the sport at an earlier age. More kids could do it if they had the right gear. That's what it's all about. It's upsetting to hear about people considering using cut down adults gear - I can't imagine how anyone can think of a better way to turn someone off windsurfing than that. Kid's need to get a sense of achievement and adults gear will not allow them to progress fast enough to keep them interested. They need the lightest possible equiptment. They will not persevere like an adult might so even if you think that you were able to learn using an old Bombora tri fin don't think that just because you stuck with the sport that they will. How long do you think they'll be happy with no option of planning? The cost of kids gear is not that great when you consider there are packages around including mast, two sails, boom and uni for about $400. In my opinion, there is no better satisfaction than to be able to sail side by side with your son in 30 knots. I didn't want to wait 5 years and spend too much low-wind time at the water. My windsurfing goals for this year were to teach my son to windsurf, and learn to flaka and shaka and although I gave my freestyle little time this year, Alex can now sail competently and I reckon we'll be freestyle training together next year. The guys I windsurfed with as a kid are not around anymore -most stopped sailing in their twenties because of studying or partying, the ones I sailed with in my thirties gave up because of kids and houses and the ones in their fourties because of work commitments. I set out to create my own windsurfing buddy and now I have someone new to sail with who is enthusiastic and inspiring me to see windsurfing in a new light. Although I spent a lot of money and time teaching him to windsurf, I don't think there would be many happier windsurfers than me around at the moment. So, don't do it half-heartedly, if you want to get results you need commitment. If anyone, wants to share my experiences and get any advice I might be able to give to help, don't hesitate to ask - there was a lot to learn about teaching someone so young and some pitfalls to avoid.

errr meh.... The inverse is true for me :)

Buy your Minime a copy of Trictionary when he's old enough to read. On second thoughts that will be too late. You'd better stick to videos :)

Impressive - looks like he's sure enjoying himself - nicely timed thread as we head into summer and the season for getting my wife and kids back in the water

Ok first question - have a 7 year old that has used a 2.0m ezzy on a 160 funster big board - is using a big evo or big freestyle board with this rig worth persisting with or do you really think a young gun or something makes a difference

Question 2 How do you get them back on track when - for instance jumped of the board, landed his foot on a rock and he thinks everytime he gets off he will crack his foot again - hence won't get on

The funster is a great start for confidence but the 2 metre won't create enough mast foot pressure to tack it. You'll need a super small fin - maybe even cut something down to 10 cm. As soon as he's ready to tack try him on your 100 litre freestyle board. The Young Gun will only be required when he's pulling hard enough on the sail to be close to planning - you won't need it till then. But, it may be good to buy it and have it ready - does he have a birthday coming? If he gets a new board, it might help to get him over his problem with the rock. We gave Alex a Starboard Acid and hung it over his bed and told him that he could use it when he learnt to waterstart. It was a great incentive. He was dying to be taken somewhere to practice waterstarting. You could also try, taking him somewhere new and sandy and giving him booties so that he feels his foot will be safe and the issue has been addressed. It is unfortunate when there is a set back as you aim to avoid any bad experiences you can in the beginning but you can't control everything. Explain to him that it will probably never happen to him again and tell him how often it has (not) happened to you. I agree with the comments made by Windxtasy but don't leave it too long so that he builds it up in his head Sometimes bribery to give it another go works.

That is a really good idea.
I took my daughter somewhere with rocks on the bottom (for an onshore wind) and she hurt her foot and was saying she never wanted to go to "that devil posessed beach" again. She said she'd rather sail at our usual sandy spot even if the wind is offshore.
and booties help prevent shell cuts too...

Wow.Very impressive.Makes me want to have lessons..

Cheers - a few good ideas - funny thing was it was a sandy beach and it was the only rock for a mile.

I'll have to get a few friends that sail with their kids and get a bit of competition and mutual stoke happening.

Must say I am not the worlds most patient teacher with my own - something about teaching your own kids stuff that sometimes makes you a bad teacher.

Looking forward to summer and getting them out there - ever thought of putting it all together on a web page - teaching your junior burger how to sail - cause I need all the tips i can get.

Yes, the wind waves at the onshore wind beach made it hard for her to balance while uphauling.

The rope is a good idea.
The time before we went to "The devil possessed beach" my daughter drifted out deep and couldn't sail upwind to get back in and ended up having to sail across wind a kilometer or more to get to shore. She was very distressed until I pointed out how well she had done to think of doing that, and to make it that far.
That was why we decided to try onshore wind.

Amazing!
I wish I can get my 7 year old daughter into windsurfing or surfing but she is not that keen on the water unless its a swimming pool.
My 4 year old son on the other hand has alot more potential to start windsurfing as he already enjoys sitting on the front of my stand up paddle board and catches little waves with me.

Don't give up on her though - kids attitudes change. I guess firstly, she has to be comfortable in the water. Her issues need a bit of investigation. Maybe you just need to spend time with her doing fun things in the water that are not windsurfing related - paddling around, snorkelling and swimming in nice, friendly places. Keep trying, she might just feel like it more when she sees her brother trying it. Your son is a bit young and though exposing him to it and letting him stand on a board without a sail or paddling around on a board is helpful, by the time he is tall enough to reach the boom on a 1 metre sail she might be keen and they might learn together. Rivalry might make her want to stay ahead of him and she might get the attitude that she can do it better if he can do it. The time will probably soon come when they're fighting over whose turn it is to use the board!

I have a 130 l AHD with a soft top, and I take my boys (7 and 10) with me, they sit at the back or get dragged behind (they love it). When we go ok, they stand up, come forward and stand against me holding the [lower] boom. They love the speed.
Still a bit tricky to tack or gybe but they laugh. And I am sure that they get the feel of what to do.
I have a kid's kit but it's still a bit big (3.5m).
Can't wait to go soon now that we are in Sydney (from Hobart). I've tried Narrabeen lake on sunday, the muddy bottom will be perfect.

Hey KA360, do you think that putting them on a 130 l is too big ? The soft top makes it so friendly though.

Anyway, well done for Alex. Is his middle name Robby ? He reminds me of a kid in 1976 winning the world champ !

im 17 and only been windsurfing for 4 years now but i taught my self ... my dad showed me how to beach start the first day then let me do it my self ..... i found that learning from my own mistakes is a better proces than haveing some one teach me about thier mistakes.... i learnt on one of those 12foot long 1foot wide boards and a 7.5 sailworks race sail ( vintage) im now very confident that i know what feels right is often right because i have learnt what wrong feels like

Same here but i started when i was ten and am now thirteen and getting into shortboards. i learnt on a longboard as well on a 3.5 metre hifly junior pro. I found that this sail was the best for begginers and i thought it was the gun. i just found it very hard to go fast and was soon looking for something Bigger. My problem now is having to buy my own gear.

I tried using a kids rig on a big board for my kids but because the sail was so small it was hard to tack. Almost impossible in fact because the centre of effort of the tiny sail is so far forward even when the sail is raked back.
Buying a 88 litre starboard kiddy made all the difference (and the kids think it's a really cool looking board too).

Windxtasy, did you use your standard fin? If you use a really small fin it will work (may need to cut down a fin to around 10cm) and the slimmer the fin the better (a slalom fin would be best). By the way, I thought the Starboard Kiddy was around 100 litres.

I did use a standard fin. If I had been a member of this forum back then I might have learnt about cutting down a fin.

I checked and the starboard kiddy is 88 litres. I have edited my previous post accordingly.

Anyway I have no regrets about buying a special kids board. The deck is soft and grippy, the board looks cool and it's wide and easy to sail.

My son has graduated to a bic vivace now, but my daughter is still using the kiddy, and we use it to teach friends.