Hole in board: Finally, the most common and most annoying of all windsurfing breakages we’ll experience, the crash that puts a hole in your board. Any time you put a hole in your board, you should IMMEDIATELY return to the beach. Foam sandwich boards like to suck water and the smaller the hole, the more water the board will suck. Don’t finish your session, get to work on fixing your hole! Place the board upside down with the hole facing down to drain water. Using a wick or a piece of string push in to the hole with a pin you can drain water overnight as the moisture in the wick will help pull water out of the board. Take your board to a repair shop immediately or use some ‘ding-stick’ quick repair if the whole is small. If your board gets water in it, it will delaminate so it’s important to get off the water as soon as you make a hole!

The best prevention is to always check your gear for wear every time you go sailing, but something is always going to break so enjoy these tips for on-water rescue and get back out there.