WEIGHTY MATTERS Perhaps the most important action we take in windsurfing is not having too much weight on our back foot as this will sink the tail and lift the nose and make us go slow. As we progress through the sport we fully understand this, yet as we look to boost the core skills of early planing, and reaching higher speeds in more control, we should look to focus on getting more weight on our front foot. Furthermore, these two skills give us the keys to being able to learn and boost carve gybes.
Early planing starts with the front foot pushing the nose downwind in order to flatten the board and help it accelerate so we can get in the straps and fly. Acceleration then continues with the front foot, and leg, pushing down hard to flatten the board and lock down the rail to give us more speed and control.
Lastly, when the wind is decreasing and we are looking to keep planing we weight our front foot more, and move forwards and out, to take weight off our back foot to stop us sinking the tail and thereby losing speed.
Get on your front foot to boost early planing and top-end speed and you will boost your wind range, thereby putting you in a position to not only learn to carve gybe, but also have more attempts!
TACKING
This essential skill gives us a dry transition and helps us learn/improve gybes and gives us more options in a wave environment. One of the key aspects of nailing the tack is getting more weight on the front foot to allow us to shift our back foot in the foot change and thereby get ourselves round to the new side. If we look at the carving tack then there is a whole lot going on with the front foot; here are the key phases:
Denne historien er fra Issue 396 - August 2020-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
Denne historien er fra Issue 396 - August 2020-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!