Essential Improvers Tips
for windsurfing (PART 2)
LAUNCH TWIST THEN DROP. You carry board and rig
into the water together, let the board go and have to spend a weary
half minute hauling the rig into a position where you can manoeuvre
the board and do a beachstart - an expensive nightmare when faced
with a shore-break. The trick to getting away with speed, is to TURN
DOWNWIND before dropping the board - that way you find that, with
the clew flying clear, you're in perfect position to sheet in and
step on.
TACKING QUICK EQUALS SAFE. In a tack the board
grinds quickly to halt as it heads to wind becoming very less stable
as it does so; the more quickly therefore, you can step round and
sheet in on the new tack, the safer the manoeuvre. To hesitate is to
wobble.
ANTICIPATE. Short boards turn into wind so fast
that many get trapped and just fall back before they even have a
chance to step round; so anticipate the turn and the sudden loss of
pull by bringing your weight inboard and shifting onto the front
foot BEFORE you arrive head to wind.
AROUND NOT JUST IN FRONT. A quick short board tack
should be completed with just two steps. However, shuffles usually
occur because the feet simply get in the way of each other. So don't
just place the front foot alongside the mast, squeeze it right round
so the back foot has room to slide forward and take its place.
RIG OUT OF THE WAY. Many see the rig as some kind
of balance bar as they tack, holding onto it with both hands for
support all the way round. As a result it usually knocks them off or
at best the whole trick is just slow and stilted. So as you tack,
transfer the mast into the new front hand and LET THE OTHER GO. You
can then hold the rig back out of the way and use the free arm for
balance.
FLARE GYBES. AN EYE ON THE WIND. In the flare gybe
so much is going on that people forget what is actually turning them
- ie. the wind - and are surprised when it hits the wrong side of
the sail and drives them in. So be aware of where the wind is and
present the sail to it as you turn downwind and then sheeting out as
you turn through the wind.
FLARE EXTENDED. Of course the flare gybe relies on
you stepping back to sink the tail but that does not mean you heave
the rig down over your head with bent arms. As you move back you
should still manoeuvre the rig on EXTENDED arms.
MOBILE HANDS. Some flare gybes are painfully slow
because with their hands fixed in their normal sailing positions,
the culprits are severely restricted in their rig movement. The rig
is your paddle, the wider you can scoop it, the more turning force
you create. The ONLY way to get that width is to release your death
grip, get manually mobile and move both hands right to the back of
the boom.
SAVE TAT GYBE! Once you've got the hang of making
the board spin through the wind, the next challenge, especially on a
shorter board is stopping it OVER-rotating. Whether it be a flare,
slam or carve gybe, so many of them could be saved if only at the
end of the manoeuvre, the sailor stepped forward more quickly and
moved the front foot right in front of the mast. From there he can
always level the board out and stop it turning.
UNWANTED LODGERS. Facially hirsute folk, do carry a
small mirror in a harness pocket. It's very hard to take anyone
seriously who's talking to you with their most recent nasal
secretions lodged in their beard. The mirror of course allows you to
check its contents on leaving the water BEFORE any social contact
and therefore take corrective action.
GETTING INTO THE STRAPS. WIDE. To keep your weight
off the windward rail and so stop the board spinning into wind as
you step into the straps, make sure the straps are adjusted so your
foot fits right through and that means being able to see all your
toes. (or at least imaging seeing them if you're wearing boots)
POWER PLEASE. When the power of a big sail is
pulling you forward, moving back on the board towards the straps
should FEEL like the right thing to do. So be brave and take out the
bigger one!
BOOM UP. A low boom, say chest high or under, is
probably the commonest reason why people do not feel like stepping
into straps. For medium winds and big sails, just under shoulder is
the minimum.
THE FRONT FOOT DRAG. The best exercise to test your
'getting into straps' technique is to place the back foot between
the front and back straps and then try and sail along dragging the
front foot in the water. If you can manage it without heading up, it
means you have learned to swing your weight forward on the boom and
are balancing the power perfectly between back foot and mastfoot and
the key to moving slickly back down the board.
LET THE HARNESS WORK. So long as you are powered
up, you'll accelerate mare quickly if you hook in BEFORE bearing
away and moving back down the board - after all it's easier to sheet
in with your body than it is with your arms alone.
BACK FOOT BLUES. If the board goes into a frenzy
whenever you put the back foot into its strap, you're guilty of
moving too much weight onto it too soon. Assuming you're powered up,
stay across the wind (that way the rig doesn't heave you forwards)
and then ease weight onto the rig and the front foot as you feel for
the back strap. Once it's in, gradually ease some weight onto it
until you are standing with equal pressure on both feet.
NO SPEED IN A BLOW. It actually feels scary to even
think about moving the feet towards the straps when the board is
fully planing. When it's windy, the safest sequence is to move
straight into the straps BEFORE bearing away completely and BEFORE
the board is fully planing.
