Had a fantastic afternoon windsurfing today and I have one main question which arose from it. I tried waterstarting but found the rig to be quite heavy (not because the wind was backwinding the sail) and as such couldnt waterstart. Do i just have to man up or is it a technique thing?
It's a technique thing.
I'm sure Guy Cribb or someone similar has an excellent explanation somewhere, but I'll give it a go here.
Instead of trying to LIFT your sail out of the water, you should SLICE it out. This means you should go to the tip of the mast and bring it out of the water in one smooth slice.
This will help in the following ways:
1) It will get the wind under the tip of the mast and the wind will help lift the sail out of the water
2) The slicing action breaks the surface tension that can hold the sail to the water
3) You are not lifting any water
The key things to remember are:
Tip of the mast
SLICE
Once the sail is out of the water simply move down to the boom - the wind should hold the sail up quite effectively instead of you having to do any heavy lifting.
Orientation of the sail to the wind is very important. If the wind is coming from North on a compass face, your mast wants to be pointing approx NE or NW when you commence your slice.
NE or NW depends on which way your sail is facing. The luff (leading edge of the sail) should be closest to North.
Difficult to explain this in words, but I suggest getting out there and trying some sail handling as I have described in waist-deep water. You'll soon get the idea and the wind will do all the work for you.
Hi, Its nearly always a technique thing 
Im no expert but I get the rig out of the water with the mast pointing down the end of the board. This gets the wind under the sail pretty well if the board is on a beam reach.
Flippy has got it right.
I'll give you an extra tip. after you get the sail in the position flippy said, if the nose is pointing down wind simply push the back of the board under the boom and the board will do the lifting for you. The board will also now be pointing in the right direction.
I trust you have one foot on the board as you water start you kick with the other leg.
Here is a video of me waterstarting a couple of years ago.
Just learning to waterstart myself
There are some good videos on YouTube showing the sail handling techniques.
I also purchased the dasher DVD and this gives very detailed guidance
Cheers Jeff
Fair enough, in the video description I describe it as clumsy. If it can be criticised to improve technique then all the better. I threw this in to give a sailor eye view of both a water start failure and success.
No offense taken. I appreciate your comments and advice.
Everything else I can see in your video is basically spot on, if you haven't adjusted your technique already I suggest you try keeping that forward leg straight down in the water next time you're out, even give a little kick to stop that sideways movement, I guarantee you'll be surprised at the difference it makes. That sideways movement is basically the only thing that differentiates a deep water start from a beach start, which is easy right. In a beach start your forward leg as it is touching the ground stops that movement. I'm glad you took it constructively, as it was meant 
I think the "start at the tip of the mast" advice may be good, but honestly I've never done it. My advice is as below. BUT FIRST always do it in enough wind. Even better .... do it in too much wind.
A waterstart in 20kn is waaayyyy easier than a light wind waterstart on a small board - ask any wavesailor who has been stuck out there in 12kn. If you have to kick like blazes with your front leg to try and get lift then the wind is too light. So:
Good planing wind, verging on overpowered.
First thing - getting waist deep beach starts nailed FIRST will really help. Really help.
For deep waterstarts:
Have mast across the wind so nose of board is pretty much into the wind - about 10 to 20deg downwind is ideal.
Lift mast right where the boom joins on and at same time do a couple of frog kicks, on your back, to pull the mast upwind. It will fly easily.
If it is enough wind, the sail will fly like that without you having to lift it. You will not get tired maintaining that position.
Now - hands on boom, sheet in a little with the back hand and feel the extra lift (due to angle of attack).
Do that and also move mast towards the nose a bit - that will steer the board downwind. Same as on a beginner board when you used rig steering. Once you have the mast into the wind, and nose of board downwind, then start the waterstart with rear foot on centreline.
If you are doing it in enough wind it will be hard to NOT get lifted out of the water.
Remember as you get lifted up and are almost upright you can sheet out to avoid getting thrown over the board. Nothing bad will happen, you need power for it to happen, so stop trying in 8knots.
That is the non tiring method. Most people try to lift the mast tip, requiring treading water furiously and pushing up - not slicing - and they get buggered before they even get to fly the rig. I think working with a mast 90deg to the wind and forcing you to slice it upwind makes people get it quicker.
Some great advice above! I have to second the life vest/ jacket idea. I'm not talking those huge ugly yellow things, but a quality, snug fitting impact vest or the like. They're great for getting your shoulder under the mast to help lift it to the surface. Saves all that leg flapping and wasting energy. I wear mine anytime the water is over my head. Also keeps you warm in winter and save ya ribs in a stack. Anyway, here's the one I bought.
I found this article helpful, bevhoward.com/waterstarts.htm
I spent a lot of time standing in waist deep water practicing flying the sail then turning it down wind, letting the clew catch the wind and start flipping the sail and flipping my hands to the other side of the boom then bringing it back the other way over and over getting a feel for handling the sail, also pushing and pulling with each hand to get the board to move around and into position.
Then I had the sail drag me around with one foot on the board, you can actually sail and steer this way.
I found very strong winds frustrating and just worked up gradually from lighter winds with bigger sails into deeper water.
First few times you get pulled up out of the water you will go straight over the front then it will click.
Once you learn one direction you will have to learn all over again the other direction but it will be much easier.
Thanks for all the replies, i will be sure to think about this when i next try waterstarting. I always wear a life jacket windsurfing for safety and it just makes everything easier :D Thanks again!
Watch this small vidio on the web page, top R/H side of page.
www.easyuphaul.com/
I asked Guy Cribb and mentioned I have trouble waterstarting my large heavy cammed sails as they always seem to fall the downwind with the clew pointing at the tail. he said he just uphauls that type of thing as less hassle..
