This month Peter Hart dissects an old favourite, the push tack. It’s vaguely functional, happens on, rather than above the water, but still introduces elements key to many new skool stunts.
It was around the turn of the millennium and the old bull was starting to lose control of the herd. Younger, fitter bulls had infiltrated his well guarded patch and were turning heifers’ heads with their new twisty, slidey, unnecessarily flamboyant styles. Did he surrender his harem and wander miserable and alone into the undergrowth? Or did the wily old fellah have one last trick up his sleeve?
Okay – I’ll quit with the bovine allegory. I had just come back from Dahab (oh how we miss dear Dahab). The manager of the club Mistral centre, the hilarious Ronan, told me that I must be as bored with my same old same old routine of carving tricks as he was; and that he had a new one for me which could breathe a little life into my ageing repertoire whilst not placing too much strain on ligaments or joints. After three days and not a little humiliation, I cracked this hitherto unseen stunt.
Back on the home patch when the time was right and a small crowd of peers was dawdling in the shallows, I carved downwind … but before they could mutter, ‘oh here comes another bloody gybe’, I rotated body and head through 180° to end up back-winded clew first; then carved back the other way up and through the wind to end up clew first on the other tack.
“What was that?” They cried with one momentarily impressed voice. It did look good… not so much wildly spectacular as cunningly technical and unusual to the point where the young guns were persuaded to abandon their popping and sliding for a moment to try and master this new ‘old school’ trick, which of course they did. But not without a few hiccups, as there is more to it than initially meets the eye.
Denne historien er fra Issue 389 - September 2019-utgaven av Windsurf.
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Denne historien er fra Issue 389 - September 2019-utgaven av Windsurf.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
New School
Slingshot’s windsurfing brand manager, Wyatt Miller, has noticed that kids are drawn to playing with wings and puts forward an interesting case as to why he thinks this could help entice them and others into windsurfing.
Changes
Wave sailor Flo Jung reflects on our changed world during his lockdown in Germany.
THE LAST WAVE
Lockdown stirred the creative juices of reader Björn Alfthan, who peers into the future to present a fictional story set in the wild waves of Norway, five years from now.
STILL IN THE GAME
After a horrific fracture in his leg from a crashed aerial in 2018, Alessio Stillrich is back! John Carter talks to the highflyer from Gran Canaria about his move to the Simmer team, recovering from injury and how he learned to windsurf in Gran Canaria!
MOVE ON UP - GET ON THE FRONT FOOT
This month we look at how our front foot weighting can affect and improve different aspects of our main windsurfing moves.
SOUTH' KIPA
Nik tweaking it over home waters.
A NEW NORMAL
On a trip to La Tranche-sur-Mer in France last year, Tris Best estimated over 80% of the windsurfers were foiling. This summer in Portland Harbour, foiling activity has increased dramatically too he reports. With the market offering plenty of choice to recreational windfoilers, our test team check out some of the latest foil offerings.
TACKING – THE SEQUEL
Having given you time to practice, Harty concludes his tacking series by critiquing various tacking options, including the carve tack, as well as offering solutions to common slip-ups.
‘NO VAPOUR TRAILS TO SCAR THE SKY' *
Realising we may be about to enter an extraordinary period in our lives, Harty decided to keep a windsurf-centric lockdown diary. Here are some of his choice excerpts.
REDEMPTION DAY!
Renowned for its windsurfing and variety of spots to sail at, Kimmerdige Bay is a wave sailing jewel on the south coast of England. Timo Mullen gives a guide to its shores while reflecting on why a recent session there was a reminder that there is no place like home!