Actually, it's the lack of schools to help people negotiate the learning curve that makes it so difficult. Schools can make it quite straight forward. I met a bloke once from a mob in Sydney called maybe Pirahna who said they did noob to instructor in 6 weeks. He may have been off his meds, of course.
Ski-ing is about the same difficulty, but has excellent schools (albeit supported by sufficient numbers) to get total nOObz up and ski-ing in no time.
Windsurfing is a jolly prickle of a sport to learn in Oz.
Have we not at one time all been beaten to a pulp by our gear, and loathed and hated every scrap of it with a bloody vengeance ??
Or was that just me ?
. After 6 months, I went from an old 330 Tyronsea into the shop to replace it with an Xcite ride 130. The guy said this wont be the last board you buy. My jaw droped in disbelief 
. Surely it will last forever? Now I have just bought my 4th board and got 4 sails. Boy, oh for the days when they invent the universal board and sail to suit all conditions. Maybe we are getting to specialised
)!
Let's face it, it's a horrible sport.
How about when a guy stops on the beach and asks about it.
You start explaining about the gear, and about 60 secs in, the expression glazes over, and ol' mate says, "Sorry mate, gotta go !", and bolts for the safety of something simpler, like cold fusion, or quantum mechanics.
The amount of assembly we all do every time we go out is quite unusual.
There are more complicated sorts, but they are equally low in participation.
One Design was simple concept, maybe they should start marketing SUP + windsurfing sail combo.
Windsurfing featuring in the new Flight Centre advert for Maui /Hawaii, everything will be all OK now
All this "because it is really hard to do" stuff dosent explain why numbers are dropping.
Was it easier to poledance in the 80's?????
When I started windsurfing in Sydney (yonks ago) there were atleast 4 or 5 places I could rent gear and or have lessons. So it was lot easier to give it a go and have the opportunity to get hooked. I got hooked after my first lesson in Rose Bay and then really got into it after a long weekend clinic at Smith's lakes.
Every now and again I have someone ask me at the beach, do they rent boards here. The only places I can direct them to is Balmoral of WSS in Longreef. But if you're 30-40 minutes drive from the nearest rental options then your level of enthusiasm is gotta be pretty high to go to the effort.
At least 2 more aspects were different.
Then, everybody would teach girlfriends, cousins, chicks, little brother, etc.
It was the thing to do, people did it and had fun. You'd see it at Balmoral often. Nowadays...
Secondo, in the Hawke era, for some reason people stuck at it. On those ugly and difficult boards, it would take 3-5 outings, but people stuck at it. And succeeded at learning (to various extents) - this is not the case now. You'd seldom see then the bratty episode "this-is-too-hard" after merely 5 minutes.
I have seldom seen a Windsurfer owner who couldn't sail at least a bit, and 500,000 were made. That means at the very least, not counting other brands, multiple ownerships, etc., about 500,000 actually learned.
When I started in the 80's, you had one board and maybe 2 sails. You put it all on the roofrack and you lost points if your car cost more than your windsurf gear.
The board was so big you could always go out on it, and it was a workout carrying it to the water.
Now, if you're not planing, you're complaining.
Its a lot easier to learn now if you use the specialised learning gear than it was in the 80's.
Now, you could buy one board, one mast, one boom and two sails, depending on what type of windsurfing you wanted to do and you could get a lot of sailing from that. Only problem is, you would probably need to be at, or able to get to, at least the waterstarting level.
Mast tracks disappearing from SUPs?? I don't think so. Starboard has them in almost all the boards they have. Naish took them out of the glide but they are in other models. RRD have them standard, a repairer I was talking to said his work on putting them into SUPs is increasing. SUPs this summer are going to be everywhere some with sails some without. I was sailing one all last summer and it's huge fun. Try it before bagging it
Sup sailing seems to pick up, last month "wind magazine" edition was all about it, and it seems most brands are doing it.
Truth is that most people just want to do something they are interested in. Look at surfing, biggest segment is longboards, why, because it's one board you take to the beach and be it 1 ft or 6 ft you can surf it. Job done. Sailboards, shall I take my free ride 120 or 140, maybe my slalom oh what about my FSW, now what volume? Sails lets see my 4.5 etc etc etc. Just cause all the bases need to be covered. SUP mmm 1 board and a paddle. Easy. WindSUP 1 board 1 rig and maybe a paddle if the wind dies. Once again easy.
I agree with you gregc, except that I don't think a WndSUP board is particularly versatile. Substitute it with an Exocet Kona, and you have a lot more bases covered for the longboard.
These are the most versatile board ever made - really I don't know why they aren't more popular.
The SUP is wider and hence easier to paddle. I had a Kona it was ok but really not a patch on the SUP for versatility. Don't get me wrong I love my sailing but if I had to make a choice the SUP is going to win every time. I live inland so the lake is the normal place I get to go during the week. The SUP allows me maximum water time either paddling or light wind sailing. If I go to the coast and it's light wind then it's windSUP no wind then SUP. I can plane on the SUP but that's not really what it's about, glide and fun.
That's because all sailboards are pop outs now and from a manufacturing sense having a single place make all the boards makes heaps of sense. Also the fact is that paying a worker in Thailand is significantly cheaper than a worker in a western country. The idea of soul surfers or sailors is long behind us, sports are a corporate pursuit pure and simple.
Sorry to seem cynical but time we all recognize the truth of it really. Will sailboarding survive maybe or maybe not.
I think in the end it all comes down to how easy it is to have fun. The harder it gets to have fun the more people you lose on the way. Windsurfing has a lot of barriers to having fun, wind, temperature, equipment other windsurfers back in the 80's with only one board and sail you could not see the potential of having more fun on a smaller lighter board or sail as there was not the choice thus you had fun with what you had cold, warm, windless or blown off the water.
Now if you are not having fun like every good sports person you blame your equipment or the conditions not helped by the bastard blasting past you on the latest gear.
Windsurfing needs to bring back the fun regardless of conditions or equipment to enable it to attract and keep more people into windsurfing.
Then again even back in the 80's I had a Div I a Div II and a funboard + a selection of sails!
I like watching the good surf sailors , freestyle etc 'extreme stuff' but I think if I was thinking of getting into it and watched that it would turn me off the sport..If I thought I had to be that good it looks too hard..too big a gap from first getting on a board and balancing to reaching those heights..too much effort.If your going to promote it .I think you need to show more average people just sailing along enjoying light winds or an occasional blast..And the social side on the beach.That looks more achievable.
I used to just sail and enjoy it but since I got back into the sport I've got too bogged down in the technical aspects and trying to get better to enjoy it as much.
I agree nothing like having a health problem that stops you sailing or makes you think you will never be able to sail again to renew your appreciation of the sport!
