Fancy a little competition? Of course you do!

Going to run an expression session or ‘slopestyle’ comp at a West Sussex beach near you soon! Exact format to be decided but will include: biggest air, biggest crash, best style – mainly jumping; looking for everyone to push their boundaries, have a laugh with mates and meet peeps that sail just around the corner who you haven’t met yet….

Judged by riders for the riders; might develop into a team event. Let me know if you’ve got any ideas.

Jamie Hancock at West Wittering - pic John Carter

SB jumps

To complete his Make Your Move series Simon Bornhoft looks at some inspiring training methods to start, improve and master your jumping skills. Photos: Karen Bornhoft / WindWise

Getting ‘air’ is far more achievable than gybing – what’s more, it feels great. So what are you waiting for? If you can blast comfortably on a sub-115L board you’re at a level to ‘pop’ that board off reservoir chop or a cresting wave. It’s been 18 months since we last covered the aspects of jumping in our Body Mechanics series, so I thought that with the spring breezes approaching we could work together to make this move a reality for you in 2011.

If you’re a fearless former motocross rider then simply sail flat out, lean back, and push on the back foot for take-off. If you have some sense of self-preservation, muscles rather than elastic bands, or limited time on the water, it’s imperative to build an understanding of what’s actually involved and look at ways to get the body to do what you want it to do. So, as ever, this is how you actually learn it, rather than just ‘how to do it’. A head full of tips is not as powerful as muscle memory achieved through easy skills training exercises, which enable you to apply the right skill at the right time.

WindWise Principles

To enable the board to ‘jump’ we momentarily reverse all the core windsurfing principles we usually rave about!

Vision: Look down at the trough of whatever size ramp is in front of you.

Trim: For take-off destroy this key principle by weighting the tail and un-weighting the mastbase.

Opposition: We heavily flex that front arm and pull the rig back TOWARDS the body!

Power: For take-off the rig is, momentarily, sheeted out to reduce mastbase pressure.

Stance: How often do you hear “stand upright and push down on the back foot”?

Click here to read WindWise 271 in full…

Jem gets laid back

In this instalment of his comprehensive series examining every aspect of wavesailing, Jem Hall helps you to get more laid back with your jumping. Photos: Dave White

Now that you’re all embracing the hands-free moments of joy in your top-turns, I thought I’d go back to some good old jumping this month.

As you will all no doubt agree, windsurfing is a path strewn with unique moments, and these are the freeze frames that we remember best in the future and enjoy most at the time. With this in mind, and with one eye on learning to push loop, I aim to inspire you to once again find comfort in discomfort as I ask you to commit to learning the layback jump.

This move was introduced to me by my good old mate and ex-testing colleague, Ian Leonard, who loved to look right back and check out the view on the beach as he was mid vertical jump. You can also witness the rubbery prowess of pro riders as they arch into some amazing back loops. (Alex Mussolini is a particularly deft exponent of the art.)

The layback jump is a move which, like so many moves, has no real function except that it feels both weird and great. It does however equip you with yet more in-flight control, and also gives you a head-start and view on where your vision goes in a push loop… Which you are all, of course, gagging to learn!

I will revert to my trusted formula for this move:

Who? This move is for sailors wanting to increase their fun quotient, enjoy a unique view and be ready for call of duty in push loop club.

Where? Off small to medium ramps with good space between them, and relatively steep in nature so you get more time to see what’s happening back there.

When? As for all moves, do it when you’re fresh – i.e. in your first hour of sailing after getting a couple of runs through the break under your belt to warm up. Have a session on it of 30 minutes and no more, and do one on every run!

Why? This is another stunt in your arsenal, and it’s a trigger move that will boost your confidence, in-flight technique, orientation, and ready you for push loops.

What? It’s a vertical jump in which you look straight back behind you as you’re going up so you can check out the beach action

How? Just jump, look behind you, and then land. Simples!

Click here to read Jem’s Wannabe 267 article in full…

Jem jumps

Jem Hall gives you a break from his fully frontside series to get you focusing on, believing in and enjoying the freedom of flight as he covers the basic jump. Photos by Dave White

As spring moves into summer l hope you’re all managing to get some sailing in – and, it goes without saying, doing so with passion. How are the tips working out? Are you working harder in light winds to get your fundamentals firing? What are the key tips that are helping you to be a better sailor? Have you considered getting equipment that will help you to improve faster? Are you thinking about travelling to get some much needed consistent conditions? Are you praying for some low pressure systems to ease your pain and put all these tips into practice? And finally, are you the pilot and not the passenger?

If indeed you are looking to move your sailing up, forwards and enjoy it more, then this article is for you as we’re now going to look at the basic jump. As you’re now looking to make changes to your sailing you will already have identified that you need to work on your mental preparation, tuning, gear selection, and, of course, application of technique.

If you’re not yet jumping then there’s no better way to take you out of your comfort zone then to get you airborne, and for those already getting it up regularly it’s time to do so more efficiently and with more height. There’s a great view to be had up there, and the higher you are the longer you get to enjoy it.

Many of you wannabe wavesailors may already be jumping a little when you flop off a wave or meaty bit of chop, but I’m now imploring you to put much more in, for what you reap is what you sow – and the more you sow the higher you go. Jumping higher and with more efficiency will give you more time and smooth your path to learn more radical jumps in the future. In some conditions making decent jumps is the difference between getting out the back and taking a beating – or a ‘learning experience’ as us coaches like to call it.

Jumping is one of the best parts of windsurfing; nailing your first jumps and getting fully confident in the air are memorable indeed. Chop-hops and wave jumps can be done before you’ve gained proficiency in many other moves (such as gybes and tacks), as once you have good speed in the straps on smaller boards you’re fully ready for some aerial action. Many lighter or younger sailors nail some sweet jumps but aren’t yet strong enough for some of the more powerful moves like carve gybes and hard-hitting waveriding.

Tuning

First up, your tuning is very important so be sure to check out my Jem’s Gems section. Your board selection should be 111L and downwards, and freestyle-wave, freestyle or a waveboard, as their rockerlines are more eager to take off.

Analyse this… and that

To get properly airborne a bit of a ramp is handy, so you’ll need to analyse the water for some juicy lumps and bumps. Just as wind awareness and really seeing gusts and lulls helps your stance and board speed, so too does seeking out the most suitable ramps. These observations are the first part of your journey into airtime action.

Fasten seatbelts and prepare for take-off

Your take-off will be slightly into the wind and with board’s tail in the trough, which brings the nose up and feeds air under the board. However, speed is your friend here so your sailing line shouldn’t be upwind for too long. More speed means more height and the more you put into taking off the more you get out. The board will not jump for you, so you have to be the pilot not the passenger and give the kit the technique that is required to get it airborne.

The biggest tip to get you off the water is that your stance should be quite different pre-jump to ensure that the kit’s in the right position for taking-off. This is the most major change you’ll make in jumping well, so forget about being outboard and motoring – think more about getting over the board and be ready to ‘ollie’ as you would in other boardsports. Read on for the nitty gritty…

Click here to read Jem’s Wannabe 262 article in full…