"Hey Carl, how late in the season do you teach?" Well since the Launch Pad is so new, I didn't really have an answer. "As late as students want to be out and falling in the water" would be a good reply?
Well today October 1st it was 23c at the Launch Pad. And 17 year old Cam was interested in learning. So we met at the Launch Pad and walked out to the point in our shorts. Cam was good on the simulator following instructions on uphauling, steering the board, tennis saves, getting going and tacking. After he had gone in both directions I added to the learning with a bit of practice balancing against each other. I think that really helped as he tended to lean forward while on the simulator. So I had him practice trying to pull me over and he did eventually start trusting what it feels like to have the sail pulling against you.
We launched from the slippery rock at the point and he swam upwind demonstrating his self rescue technique. The he was uphauling and heading across the harbour. A quick spill into the 20c water and he was up again and now holding the mast with his front hand and the boom with two fingers and sailing nicely.
I hopped on the SeaDoo while his dad flew the drone above us. Sweet, the first good student drone footage of one of my lessons. Thanks Richard for shooting and editing this great drone video of the lesson. Here are some stills from the video...
The wind had built a bit since we were on land and he was moving quickly but finding the waves a bit of a challenge. Especially when he looked down at his feet! After a quick tow upwind to an area with smaller waves he got going even better and did some tacks.
Cam stopped looking at his feet and started sailing steadily back to the Launch Pad. I could tell him where to aim and he would steer the board in the proper direction. His form started getting better as he stood straighter with his front leg and front arm extended. He sailed all the way back to the dock and hopped off - now dry from a very long last bit of windsurfing without falling in.
Amazing and I hope Cam will be back next year when it is warm again!
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