The second round of the UKWA freestyle tour took place at West Wittering and was sponsored by 2XS,  X-train and WWWC, Boards catches up with the team from the centre and some of the pros to find out more about one of the best freestyle events to hit the UK in a while!

Andy Bubble Chambers

Pics by Simon Bassett /2XS.

With a lack of wind the forecast mid week the event was nearly cancelled but Thursday morning after a wind abyss a 25 knot South Westerly forecast was predicted for all day Saturday.

The event started around 10.30am – the legendary Wittering Trench formed up at low tide and the contest began.  Julian Du Vall, Trevor Funnell and David Bradley were judging, it certainly wasn’t tropical conditions and the heats blasted through as the wind increased.  Heat after heat went through, in the end the beach event crew did four complete rounds.

The Pros had four heats, two a piece for Bubble and Max Rowe which led them into a fifth heat, which was known as the Super Final – both of them were sailing on top form and Bubble just pipped Max in the dying minutes.

This year the amateur fleet are pushing at a really high level with big moves coming from all competitors throughout the event – even the younger kids really going for big moves .

BUBBLE:

“Wow!! What an event!! Literally the best freestyle conditions i have ever competed in! The West Wittering trench was at its best! Great to see so many people on the water having it! The level of freestyle in the UK is getting better and better and with events in places like West Wittering i’m sure we’ll see the UK’s next rising stars coming up. Great competing against Max as it really pushes me! He was ripping on his new sails.”

Max Rowe

MAX:

“It was definitely the best conditions I’ve ever experienced at any contest. The trench is truly a world class spot so it was great to have a contest there. I was battling with Bubble all day for the first place and after winning two rounds each we had a sail off which he went on to win so congratulations to him as he was ripping. I was using the new 2014 North Idol ltd’s and the sails are feeling amazing which gave me loads of confidence.”

Saturday night in The Old House at Home, West Wittering,  there were plenty of tired bodies after a full day of competition and when Sunday came around it was decided not to run a tow in event as the previous day’s competition had been so successful.

Ollie Acton

Ben Lee

Up soon on Boards we will also have a full report from the weekend, so stay tuned!

UKWA West Wittering from Ben Page on Vimeo.

Max Rowe, image credit PWA/John Carter

Name: Max Rowe

Sail no: K 20

Previous best PWA result: 9th Austria 2011

Result at this event: 13th

Did you prepare any differently for this event? Not especially! I have been in Maui for the 5 weeks before so I’ve had plenty of time on the water. Also, sailing with Gollito everyday for those 5 weeks might of been helpful.

Were you feeling confident going into it? I was feeling pretty confident especially as it was looking we would get some strong wind. Once you’ve registered though and have a look through the elimination ladder its easy to get a bit nervous as the fleet is at such a high level at the moment.

Where were you aiming to finish? I didn’t really have an aim but getting in the Top 16 is always nice.

Who’s your biggest rival? Bubble!

What moves did you land that you think saw you through a few heats? Burners and air funnels were probably my stand out moves I did in every heat. I’ve been training them really hard so it was good to see that pay off.

Did you almost beat Gollito? Mmm I didn’t check the score sheets but I seriously doubt it. He was on fire!

Who’s your money on for the title this year? Steven? Gollito? Well, now that Gollito’s won the first event it’s pretty easy to stick with him.

Max in action in Podersdorf

What was the best move you saw landed and by who? Relatively simple but one of the Shakas I saw Gollito do was just ridiculous!

Worst crash you saw? Balz Muller always has the worst crashes. One pasko crash he had looked savage!

Who had a tantrum after they lost a heat? Scheffers wasn’t too happy after Beholz kicked him out of the single early on, he did go on to fight back to 5th in the double which was pretty impressive.

Who won beer pong on the last night? There’s never a winner in beer pong because if you win a game you have to stay on and play another game and carry on drinking… haha. Yeh the last night of any event is always pretty wild.

As well as competing on the PWA and UKWA tour Max will be coaching this summer at Club Vass, for more info on getting coaching from the world’s best head to clubvass.com

“Just a heads up – there’s a great opportunity to get reacquainted with windsurfing friends this coming weekend at the first event in this year’s UKWA Freestyle Tour. After months of cold and, for this part of the world, the wrong sort of wind, it’s looking like next weekend could be an Event to remember. Temperatures are due to increase to a miraculous 14 degrees C and the wind’s scheduled to swing round westerly.

Come and see why West Kirby is the UK’s top freestyle venue.  Sailing instructions and Notice of Event will be available very shortly. This year every event will count. You’ve got to be in it to win it.

If the wind doesn’t deliver there’ll be the jet-ski on hand to provide tow in action.  And, as last year, the local West Kirby Warriors T15 Club will be putting on a party at a local venue with more plentiful portions and a lower price on the Saturday night!  What’s not to like?”

Colin Dixon, flaka! Credit Richard Keaney

What are the top moves being performed at the moment: in UK competitions, in the EFPT and in PWA? 

COLIN DIXON: Air moves are the key, doing the whole move in the air is what’s winning! The higher you go and more you rotate the better.

ADAM SIMS: In the UK competitions I think we have seen air funnel into funnel, burner funnels, culos, skopus and regular konos (maybe some of those moves have only been done in tow-in). On the EFPT it is the same as the PWA pretty much, double and triple moves, push loops, etc… Maybe the PWA it is perhaps a tiny bit higher when Gollito gets in the zone in Fuerte, ridiculous one handed air chachoos, we’ve seen double forwards from Koester there before, I’ve seen Steven VB and Martin VO doing doubles and air chachoos outside of heats.

JOHN PALMER: UK Comps – Kono’s, Culos, Burners (By the looks of the footage I’ve seen of Max I’m sure it’ll be super high this year!) EFPT isn’t far off the PWA in standard. Best moves in the PWA at the moment for me are Kabikuchis, and Gollitos massive double air flakas and double burners.

MAX ROWE: The top moves at the moment are mostly combinations such as burner into burner or Culo into Spock. The PWA format allows more top moves to be performed as you get the chance to crash a few times so that makes a big difference. There a still a lot of top moves performed on the EFPT and UK competitions but you will never see them as frequently as on the PWA because of the format.

DANIELLE LUCAS: In the UK events there is a very high standard of freestyle, with some really talented younger riders coming up too.  Top moves I would say are Kulos and Skopu’s, whereas the top moves on the PWA are more like double or triple anything, huge ‘air’ moves. and combinations such as spock kulo’s and so much more!

PHIL RICHARDS: Biggest moves I have seen in heats.

UK: Burners, Culos, Konos and Skopus

PWA: Bonkas, Kabikuchis, Double Burners plus lots of combo moves.

The big difference between the two competitions is consistency, in the UK you see the big moves but the conditions play a big part in what you can and cant do. In the PWA although the conditions play a part in the moves that are seen, the best guys do all their stuff in all conditions light or strong.

Andy Chambers in Weymouth.

ANDY CHAMBERS: The top moves at the moment are being done all over the world.  A lot of the PWA competitors compete on the EFPT and also a few of us compete on the UK circuit.  The big move mainly are the combo moves like Spock into Culo or Burner into Funnel.  Also some no handed power moves aswell.  When the stunt ramps kick up like in Fuerte or Sylt then some of the older moves are being done fully in the air like double rotations, the ‘Pasko’ for example is an air flak into shaka.

JAMIE DRUMMOND: I didn’t do any of the UKWA events last year so can’t comment on the moves being done there. The move skill difference between the EFPT and PWA has narrowed slightly, but in the EFPT you are going to see a lot more moves per heat and this is due to the judging formats. The overall impression format means it helps to get down some Grubbies, Flakas, Spock and Forwards before smashing out a Burner or Skopu. Whereas the PWA Best Move format will see most heats being opened with Burners and Skopus and the more basic moves only performed if the wind is light.

How good do need to be to enter a UK amateur competition? 

COLIN DIXON: Don’t do what I did and wait too long! Every time you enter a competition it will give you experience .

JO WRIGHT: Ladies – seriously, if you can duck gybe you will be well up there!

ADAM SIMS: There is competition at the events for any level, just head along and get involved. You’ll leave the event knowing what you need to practice for the next one.

JOHN PALMER: Come a long no matter how good you are! You will learn something!

MAX ROWE: The UK amateur competitions are a great way to improve as you’ll be pushed by people of a similar standard. Even if you’re not fussed about competing it’s a great way to learn a lot and also have a load of fun.

DANIELLE LUCAS: You should just be up for going out and trying your best! Even if you cannot yet land anything getting out with other freestylers to train, and have a laugh is really helpful in pushing you forward, inspiring you and showing you its worth the learning process!

Danielle Lucas on the water.

PHIL RICHARDS: Freestyle can be anything, from sailing along with one hand, to a heli-tack , a duck gybe, a jump, vulcans, flakas and much more. Ability is not so important, as we all realise that we all have to start somewhere.

As long as you turn up and give it a go, you might not win, however, you will learn lots from it and be inspired to improve.

ANDY CHAMBERS: If you can do any kind of freestyle then you will be welcome at any Uk event.  The more events you attend then the more you will learn as well.  There plenty of people and Pro’s around to give tips on moves and how to sail heats.  As long as you can put a few moves together in a bit of a routine then you’re all good.  A Vulcan with some old school freestyle thrown in will be fine.

What is the best approach going into a heat?

COLIN DIXON: With moves that you can do, not moves you can land one out of ten, All the guys I have coached in the past for competitions I have told them to build the points up first then try the moves you can only land now and again.

JO WRIGHT: With a big grin on your face!

ADAM SIMS: I think the best thing is to do something the I learnt from watching the ASP pro-surfing events, build a house (not literally). Start at the foundations, do the moves you know you will sail away from then add the bricks, the moves you can land but a bit less frequent, then finally if you do all that and have time, throw a roof on and bust out something you may have only landed a couple times. If you still have time then I find competition is a really good motivator for new moves…

JOHN PALMER: Look at it like a timed free sail, and try not to think about the other sailor.

MAX ROWE: You should just go out there thinking about having fun as you’ve got nothing to loose. That’s what I did and then from there you’ll learn about yourself and how you need to prepare. I’m really enjoying the commentating for the live stream on the PWA tour at the moment as I can just jump straight out of the box and on to the water without over thinking before.

DANIELLE LUCAS: Just go out and enjoy it, think about what you do best and try to get it done first, then try your other stuff once you have something in the bag!  Also, try to stay upwind and in the area, this can take some getting used to in short heats!  It depends on how the competition is being run as to an exact way to approach it, but best to just try to enjoy it and take it as something to learn from however it goes!

John Palmer

PHIL RICHARDS: Go out try what you know you can do consistently first, If that goes well try some of the more tricky stuff.

Try not to be nervous, and remember why you windsurf in the first place. Because it’s fun!

ANDY CHAMBERS:  Main thing I think is to have fun with it and just go and sail like you would do normally for the allocated time.  Don’t panic or watch the other person as this will make you loose time and get you flustered when you see them bust out something good.  Sail your own heat and just concentrate on what your doing.  The better you get at heat sailing the more you will understand what you need to do to win.

JAMIE DRUMMOND: Make sure you are powered up, make sure you are in the correct heat and make sure your watch is set to the right time! Give yourself plenty of time to get upwind before the heat starts – if you’re in position in plenty of time you’ll be a lot more confident going into the heat.

It’s always a good idea to start out with some of your more basic or ‘safe’ moves. I try to avoid watching my competitor and just focus on my own thing. Play to what the conditions offer. For example if you really want a double jumping move where a good patch of flat water is ideal, don’t force it in a choppy patch – us the chop to boost a higher air or power move.

Check out parts one to three of the Freestyle Secrets series in the Boards Technique section here. 

Colin Dixon. Image credit Global Shots.

COLIN DIXON: No, it,s only water! Watch a motor cross crash section that should give you a kick up the ass and help you man up!!!!

JO WRIGHT: I used to be very scared, then I saw a 75 year old man going for vulcans, sometimes falling but every time coming up smiling. So I had a quiet word with myself and suddenly all my excuses for not trying became irrelevant! And I guess injury can happen to anyone, anywhere – even going over on your ankle walking down the street, so there is no point worrying too much!

JOHN PALMER: Always now… I remember learning to flaka and that terrified me. But, if you just try it a few times you will realise that the pain isn’t actually that bad! A bit of peer pressure always helps too. I’ve never really got over this kind of fear; have it with push loops now after seeing Dave Williams’ smashed up nose on Facebook a few weeks ago! You just need to keep at the move and the fear will go.

Max Rowe at West Witterring

MAX ROWE: I almost feel a bit ashamed of myself sometimes, I teach people how to Vulcan on land in the morning then they go straight out and try it that afternoon; I remember being very nervous about trying it and always found a good reason not to! I’m having a similar battle at the moment learning the wave moves and the best ways I’ve found of getting over it are to build up confidence first or to just get the first big crash out the way early on then you go for it a lot more.

DANIELLE LUCAS: I am definitely not very confident when it comes to learning some moves.  I’m not consciously worrying about injury but I guess that must be it, as well as smashing my kit up! To get over it you just have to do it, having friends or rivals about definitly helps, that’s how I learnt to vulcan…I had someone working for me who was not as good as me but started learning the vulcan and he was getting close very quickly, that really pushed me to go for it forgetting the fear!

PHIL RICHARDS: I have had problems with minor injuries in the past but it’s important to stay positive at this time and let your body heal. My biggest bit of advice would be to avoid injury by remaining fit and flexible. Do stretches. Also, look after your feet.

ADAM SIMS: Nope, more just afraid of the time off the water! The injury list is starting to build for me but it doesn’t set me back mentally, I just visualise what I need to do a lot and then go out and do it. One time I had a couple beers then went for a pushie session, that softened the over-rotated back slaps…

ANDY CHAMBERS: No not really, except possibly in very shallow water.  If you start thinking “that looks like it’s gonna hurt’ then it probably will as you have it in the back of your mind the whole time and will reduce the chances of you learning it. Don’t think it in the first place! Put it out of your mind if you can.  And if you can’t then wait until you are perfectly comfortable with the conditions, gear etc before attempting a new move.

JAMIE DRUMMOND: Yes! I’ve blown both my knees out (either ACL/MCL/Meniscus or all of them) in the last couple of years. The first time was just messing up a tack in shallow water (radical) and the second was doing a one-handed Ponch, which is sort of my trademark move that I can pull out anywhere! I’ve been lucky so far in that I’ve not injured myself when learning any of the new power moves, even though that’s where you might expect it to all go wrong. So, don’t think about it when trying new moves as you really need to be focused, but funnily enough get more worried trying some of the more basic moves.

Bar injuries? Sharks. Terrifying beasts.

Jamie Drummond

COLIN DIXON: Hard! You just need to try stuff with more power; a lot of people sail under powered so if you’re under powered you won’t go as high or as fast,

ADAM SIMS: They are all hard, the ducking is the hardest part but once you get past that then sometimes the move can be really effortless but still difficult. Maybe the culo and burner are not so hard if you are fully powered up. Any combo which requires power and sliding is normally very, very hard though and really requires a good balance between kit set-up and technique.

JOHN PALMER: Easy! haha, nah they are pretty tough! Coolest move I’ve seen recently is Dieter’s air kabikuchi. I’m pretty sure i’ll never be able to do them!

MAX ROWE: Anything that’s classed as “new” will always be hard because it makes you think it must be because it’s “new”. In reality some of these power moves such as the switch stance kono are becoming a lot more common place because they aren’t that hard, now people are learning them as their first switch move. Best advice would be to have a go and find out as what’s hard for someone else might be really simple for you or vise versa unfortunately!!

PHIL RICHARDS: Not as hard as they look,  they just require more commitment and for you to sail more powered up.

Bubble in Vass. Image credit Global Shots.

ANDY CHAMBERS: With the development of of the new gear (sails especially), the new power moves have got much easier than when we first started seeing them a few years ago.  The hardest part has always been getting the sail duck right, once you are a comfortable ducking the sail then the rest of the move doesn’t take too long to learn.

JAMIE DRUMMOND: The new power moves that are coming out are pretty tricky. Most of them involve a lot of setup before you’re even ready to take off – so getting solid at going switch and ducking the sail is an absolute essential. Practice really does make perfect in this case and repetition will help you get the feel for ducking the sail.

Combo moves are also getting much more technical, so just the SETUP of a move can involve doing a perfect, full-speed Spock, Forward or Flaka – a challenge enough on it’s own before adding a Culo, Flaka or Shaka onto the end!

In this second part we look at equipment and approaches to learning new moves.

What are you tips on equipment set up?

Phil Richards

PHIL RICHARDS: Get a  board with inboard straps around 80-110 litres in volume.  A freestyle board is not essential for basic freestyle but it really helps to learn the moves.

Set the board up with big straps, you should be able to see all your toes once you put your foot in the strap.

Get a decent freestyle fin!!!! Yes, you can can chop your old fins in half and learn some moves but a decent machined fin will be faster, earlier to plane, spin out less and give you more control! They can be expensive but so worth it; I would recommend the excellent Choco Starfish anywhere between 16cm and 22cm depending on body size and conditions.

DANIELLE LUCAS: Try it various ways, don’t think it has to stay the same.  Play around with moving your mast foot forward or back, your boom up or down and also moving or changing your fin.  Also, rigging you sail in different ways can sometimes have a big effect on success rates.

MAX ROWE: Big footstraps is crucial as they allow you to get over the board fully and also prevent injuries. Try moving the bolts closer together so the strap pinches the side of your foot a bit as this makes you feel more attached to the board and will still allow your foot to rotate in the strap.

JOHN PALMER: This obviously depends on the conditions. For advanced freestyle you really need to be used to your kit, and know how to tune it, so spend time trying different set ups and tweaking if it doesn’t feel quite right. A K4 freestyle fin will help too!

ADAM SIMS: The best is when you have the sail pulled tight enough on the outhaul that it rests a little bit on the boom when you are in the gusts, then it will go neutral really easily through moves. On top of that make sure you have a nice small fin, 18cm is pretty ideal, I use it the most but I also really like 17cm, it allows me to spin a bit more through double moves.

Jo Wright

JO WRIGHT: Once comfortable popping and sliding, don’t use a board that’s too big. I was lazy and used a 100 litre for far too long, having made the switch to a 90 litre at the end of last year everything became a whole lot easier.

Putting your deck plate forwards, can help engage the nose of the board when first learning the vulcan. And don’t have you boom too low, it kills power.

COLIN DIXON: mmmmm BIG footstraps! Definitely when you are learning we don’t want you to twist those ankles. Also try moving your deck plate a tiny bit forward when learning new sliding moves, this helps get you weight forward.

How do you go about learning a new move?

PHIL RICHARDS: I like to understand the move in my head first, I tend to study others who can do it and others who are trying it and compare the difference. Watching videos helps massively in the learning process, video of others doing it and if you’re lucky enough to get the footage, video of you too. Lots of visualisation helps, I’m often pretending to do new moves in my head or miming it out on dry land (this is amusing to watch but really helpful) and eventually dedicate a few sessions of giving it a go. Lots of practice, and remember do not get angry at your mistakes, learn from them instead.

Having a lesson can really help to get you getting those new moves, having someone who knows what you need to do and can spot where you might be going right or wrong, can save you untold hours practicing the wrong skills. Don’t be too proud to admit you might need help.

Danielle Lucas

DANIELLE LUCAS: Try it, get some feedback from an instructor, then keep trying it.  I watch others and know common mistakes and routes to success and keep that in mind.  I value regular breaks so I don’t get fed up and also throw in some moves I can do,  a duck gybe or jump etc, and sometimes try a move I think is way out of my reach too for a laugh!

MAX ROWE: I will have fully visualised it after watching it online and then go out and see what happens. Having people around you learning the same thing helps a lot, I learn so much more when I’m sailing with people better than me and of a similar standard.

JOHN PALMER: I think everyone learns in different ways but there are a few key things to consider. Really important to visualise yourself doing the move hundreds of times, watch it it online lot of times too. The more you watch it the easier it is to learn. Once you think you know the move inside out the most important thing is to only try and do one or maybe two things each time you try the move. For example if you are trying to learn to vulcan there is no point trying to learn to jump, spin the board round and flip the rig all in one go. I’d break it down to

1) learn to pop

2) learn to spin the board – focus on punching your front hand behind you and looking back. Once you do this right you should be sliding backwards…

3) then think about your hand change

4) lastly think about the end of the move.

John Palmer

Getting someone to video you is also really useful, you can then compare this to someone doing the move and see what they do differently. If you get angry with trying the move then stop for a while too! If you get chance sailing with people that can do the moves, or going for some professional lessons are a good way to improve quickly.

ADAM SIMS: Either I’ve seen a video or a visualise it a lot in my head. I really visualise it a lot, then at first I make drastic changes to what I’m doing during the move to see if anything helps a lot then I start fine tuning run by run. Really though, I visualise so much about the move that I feel like I’ve landed it before I even try it.

JO WRIGHT: Watch videos online. Ask others for their top tips. Then head out and try. The best way to improve is to get someone to video you and play it back. Also, getting others to try the same move as you helps as you can learn from their mistakes.

COLIN DIXON: Watch a lot on different styles online, get the move dialed in my head first then try, if you don’t know the move in your head then you have no chance!!! I’m a massive fan of muscle memory, try and get you muscles moving the right way on dry land before you try it on the water,

How long does it roughly take you to learn something new?

PHIL RICHARDS: Sometimes it has taken a few attempts, at other times a few weeks. Everyone is different and learns in their own way at different paces.

DANIELLE LUCAS: Anything between a couple of days and months.  It depends obviously how much water time I have!

MAX ROWE: It varies a lot between one session or months of frustration. I’ve now found the best thing to do if something really isn’t working and starts to frustrate you then just stop trying for a few weeks and re focus on it because if you do the wrong thing enough times you are pretty much learning how to crash it!!! I always stop before it frustrates me as I learn so much faster when I’m just having fun.

Max Rowe

JOHN PALMER: Depends on the move! Anywhere from a few days for more simple ones, to a few years! Also depends how much time you windsurf.

ADAM SIMS: At first it was weeks, months even years but now I’d be disappointed if I didn’t learn it in one session (so long as the conditions are right and that is the only move I am going for, I get distracted easily and like making the ones I can do even bigger). Perhaps a couple of the harder moves/combos would take a bit longer, a solid week in somewhere like Fuerteventura would be enough I think.

JO WRIGHT: I guess it all depends on the amount of time I can get out on the water. I learnt to vulcan in just under two weeks in Dahab. But in the UK I sail much less, so learning takes longer. But the learning time is greatly shortened if I am sailing with people who push me and I can get some feedback on what I am trying.

COLIN DIXON: Mmm all depends on the move and you, when I leant the vulcan I did it in three days, but then flaka took three months of trying every day,

First of all we look at what moves to start out with, whether to go carving or aerial and the next moves to progress onto.

Max Rowe. Image credit Global Shots.

How can I get started in freestyle? What move would you advise I try first?

ANDY CHAMBERS: The first thing you need to do is get yourself on a freestyle board.  This will make a huge difference when learning new moves.  They are designed to give you lots of pop and rotate easily, also the footstrap positions are inboard which keeps you on top of the board, this is important for all freestyle. If you have the wrong board or equipment set up it would be like trying to drive a bus around a rally course!

Andy 'Bubble' Chambers

The first move to learn is the actual pop itself, as you need to be able to pop into all freestyle moves.  Once you have mastered the pop so you can do it without thinking about it then it will open up a whole heap of moves to learn.  The vulcan is usually the first but as well as that you can try grubbies, flakas and forward loops in the beginning.  Don’t just get stuck on trying to learn one move.

PHIL RICHARDS: Just go out and have fun, for me freestyle is all about pushing yourself further in your abilities but it’s important to just try new stuff and make it enjoyable. It really helps to have some friends to get into it with.

I would recommend trying vulcans as they’re a good move to learn first of all and lead easily into others. I also suggest learning to loop, it’s easier than it looks and conquering this move will give you lots of confidence in your windsurfing.

It’s really important to keep improving all your skills, for example if you want to improve your freestyle, start nailing those heli tacks, up wind 360′s and other non-aerial freestyle as it will help massively with understanding the moves and make you a far better sailor.

DANIELLE LUCAS: Get out on the water and try new stuff, whether you start with a body drag, duck gybe, upwind 360 or straight in to a vulcan; the best way to get into it is just to go out and try something new! If you want to learn aerial tricks such as spocks, flakas and switch moves, learn the upwind 360 on both tacks and nail it, then once you get the jump and slide the end of the move, which is often an upwind 360 should be easy!

MAX ROWE: Have a good look around the internet for some inspiration or a video of something you’d like to learn. The vulcan is the first step for aerial freestyle but you don’t have to start there, even messing around on a big board in light winds is great practice for freestyle moves.

John Palmer at Baby Bay

JOHN PALMER: The best thing about freestyle is you can start anywhere, in any wind conditions. The first freestyle moves I learnt were body drags and heli tacks. I think heli tacks are a great place to start because they start you learning the skills you need for loads of moves – flakas, punetas, skopus, anything with a slidey upwind 360 bit in it.

ADAM SIMS: Most people will say to get on a wide board with a small sail and start spinning in light winds, but if you are already planing then yeh for sure do this also but just start chop hopping and then pick a move you like from the following and go for it (try it on both sides): vulcan, flaka, shuv-it or forward loop.

Also, if you are really serious about freestyle then I would suggest practicing the sail duck from the very early stages, basically when you are on that wide board with the small sail in light winds. On top of that the UK freestyle circuit is a great place to meet like minded freestylers and you learn a lot at each event, I still do and I’ve done a few of them now!

Adam Sims

JO WRIGHT: I think if you have been windsurfing for a while, it’s important to see freestyle windsurfing as a new, achievable challenge that will help you improve all aspects of your windsurfing.  My best tip for getting started, would be to sail around others who are freestyling, whether that be going on an overseas holiday, or heading down to popular freestyle spots such as Poole, Weymouth, Hayling etc. Ask other people for help and advice, set yourself achievable goals and remember falling is learning! Also, never forget the skills that can be learnt from going out in light-winds on a big board and small sail. Nailing heli-tacks, upwind 360′s, sailing switch stance, sailing clew first and many other moves will play dividends when trying to learn freestyle moves in strong winds.

For me, once I become a competent ‘freerider’ e.g. blasting up and down water-starting and carve gybing. I felt that my first freestyle move was learning to duck gybe; this gave me the confidence to try more ‘old school’ moves including the body drag, downwind 360′s and heli-tacks. Aerial moves had always looked to scary for me to try, but on a trip out to Dahab, seeing a variety of people going for vulcans and with the support of other windsurfers around me. I finally mustered up the courage to start trying vulcans and quickly realised they do not result in death! From there found my freestyle windsurfing really started to improve. Try whatever you feel comfortable with and build from there!

COLIN DIXON: Getting started….you already have! Freestyle is anything from sailing one handed to a chop hop, body drag or a forward loop, right up to a flaka. The vulcan opens the doors to new school sliding freestyle once you believe that it can happen (sliding), then its all becomes easy after that – remember keep your head over the mast foot!

Is it better to start with the old school or carving moves, or can I go straight onto trying aerial stuff?

ANDY CHAMBERS: I don’t think the old school carving moves help too much for the new aerial freestyle, except maybe for the Upwind 360.  Instead, I think it’s better to train some lightwind freestyle moves as this will give you more rig control for the planing freestyle moves.  As soon as it’s windy then start learning the aerial stuff!

Phil Richards, enjoying a chop hop!

PHIL RICHARDS: You can go straight in to the aerial stuff, but like I said above learning the non-aerial moves will help you progress and give you a better understanding of the moves.

DANIELLE LUCAS: As I said above you could go either way.  Carving tricks can seem less daunting and they feel great to learn, so may be a good place to start, but there are no rules.  Skills overlap though from carving tricks to aerial tricks and so it’s definitely worth learning both.  It’s also really worth learning moves on both tacks!

MAX ROWE: Personally I jumped straight in at the deep end and started learning aerial manoeuvres, coming from a skateboarding background made that a lot easier. Carving moves didn’t interest me at all back then but they are great fun and a really good way to build up confidence and learn skills that will help you with aerial moves later on.

JOHN PALMER: I think start with what you want to learn, or what you feel confident learning. At the start I’d been watching Harty’s ‘Turn for the Better’ and wanted to learn heli tacks and vulcans. I didn’t think I was good enough for vulcans so went with easier moves for a while until a few mates and I decided we wanted to learn them. There are some people (tend to be the freestyle kids) that can vulcan, spock and everything before they can tack, so it really is down to the individual.

ADAM SIMS: Aerial, that really is what freestyle is about so why not start when you can. If you are not at the point of wanting to take off then yeh try carving for a bit and keep working on those chop hops.

Jo Wright, enjoying the old school.

JO WRIGHT: There is no harm with trying a few old school moves to build confidence (and lets not forget they look very cool!) and then from there learning the vulcan will provide the key to the rest of the freestyle windsurfing world. In between all that, don’t forget to head out in light winds too!

COLIN DIXON: It’s your call really, some kids just learn to vulcan before they can gybe; what I would say is try everything, do not get stuck in a rut, everyone does that!! Keep trying everything and what ever feels more natural go for it!!! Don’t give up; if a move is making you mad then have a break, go for a sail and do stuff you can do, that will remind you what windsurfing is all about. Then, when you’re feeling refreshed go back to it.

I’ve got to grips with vulcans, spocks and that kind of thing, what’s the next move you would recommend I learn?

ANDY CHAMBERS: To be honest whatever moves that you can watch and see other people doing that you can understand in your head are usually the easiest ones to start learning.

The first switch move I learnt was a switch one handed flaka; I guess this was becuase I could already do normal flakas and when I was sailing along switch stance it felt like the more natual and easiest thing to try.  Switch stance moves open up a whole new variety of the moves you can already do.

Also, try small variations on the normal stance moves like one handed or ducking the sail at the end (diablo/cana brava).  Another big piece of advice is make sure you learn the moves on both sides, don’t be a one side wonder!

PHIL RICHARDS: Try some flakas, grubbies, some clew first vulcans and spocks and dabble in some switch stance moves like e-sliders and clew first puneta (switch spock).

If you can vulcan and spock make sure you learn it on both tacks (this is much easier to do as you are just getting in to freestyle and not set in your ways). Plus if you can’t already, learn to loop!

Danielle Lucas

DANIELLE LUCAS: The forward loop is always a crowd pleaser!  It really depends where you are learning and your learning style, but people usually go for flakas and switch-stance moves after the vulcans and spocks, most have been trying them at the same time as the spocks.  It can really vary depending on confidence levels too!

MAX ROWE: I think it’s really important to learn the grubby and flaka as these will open the door to switch stance moves. If you jump straight into switch moves from here you’ll be missing some really important skills that will make your life a lot easier.

JOHN PALMER: Start learning to shaka! They are a cool move and feel awesome. Probably a good time to start learning to duck the rig too for konos as it’s tough to learn.

Colin Dixon, flaka! Credit Richard Keaney

ADAM SIMS: Shuv-its and forwards, they are probably two of my favourite moves but also a move that I’ve been doing the longest. If you are passed that then try switch and then looking at ducking the sail for switch konos or air funnels.

JO WRIGHT: Variations such as spock 540′s, one-handed spocks then I guess grubbies, flakas etc.

COLIN DIXON: Go switch! People can get put off doing this; the hardest part is to learn to keep your speed when in switch. Once you have mastered this and the popping, or should I say catapulting, and can then land sliding normal stance will feel so much easier!

Check out more in the Boards technique section here and coming up in the next part of freestyle secrets we look at equipment advice and strategies for learning new moves. 

Another eventful week in the world of windsurfing has flown by! The competition is still going in Miami as RS:X competitors get close to the winner takes all final race, follow the progress of Nick, Bryony, El Carney, Izzy Hamilton and more here. Of course this week was dominated by another competition, the much awaited Red Bull Storm Chase, which hit Ireland early this week. Check out all the action here and we will have brand new interview with the only Brit to make the chase, Robby Swift, very soon too!

The week started off with an amazing video from Max Rowe in Brazil, as well as footage from a secret speed spot! Though temperatures are  not finally on the up, we had a few more ice and snow windsurfing videos for you too here. 

Ant Baker took advantage of the slightly warmer weather and took out his brand new North and Fanatic slalom set up out for a spin, just before North Sails released the official video and new information on the very same sail.

Another top slalom racer also looking to get ready for the BSA season is Ross Williams, who will be hosting some training and warm up clinics over at the OTC Puravida centre in Weymouth.

Our final note this week goes to Andy ‘Buzz’ Buchanan, another incredible windsurfer who sadly left us this week. RIP Buzz, hope you’re ripping it up with Mikey.

Max Rowe | Brazil 2012 from Josh Willmot on Vimeo.

Find out more about Max on Boards here. 

You just have to post your favourite pictures from 2012 to win a Fanatic Promo Shirt each week.

At the end of the contest the winner will get at Fanatic Boardcover (SUP or windsurf) of his/her choice to transport their board safely.

The contest is underway now until the end of January, so if you have a trip coming up in December you still have some time for taking some snaps.

Post your picture with the date and spot on the Fanatic Photo App on the Fanatic SUP or windsurf sites, so people can vote for it.

HTTPS://WWW.FACEBOOK.COM/FANATIC.WINDSURFING.INTERNATIONAL

Max Rowe

The shots feature the ever so talented Max Rowe who is out in Jeri ‘training’.

Some great piccies we’re sure you’ll agree…

Max Rowe at West Witterring

Just to remind everyone, this coming weekend (22/23 Sept), we will be at West Wittering for the penultimate event in the series and everything is still to play for in all of the fleets.

Bubble is leading the Pro’s with two event wins but Max, Adam or Phil could still make a late charge, Danielle Lucas is the top Lady at the moment and Nic Hibdige is looking pretty good in the Youth’s.

In his first full season Jamie Howard is on fire in the Junior’s but being chased hard by Ollie Bradley Baker and the Minim fleet has Ike Bradley Baker and Harry Davis on equal points, so that could go either way.

Andy Bubble Chambers

Don’t forget registration is from 09.00 to 10.00 on Saturday and in the evening we are planning on socialising at the Old House at Home Pub. Simon assures me that the food is really good there now but the entertainment is more civilised than it used to be in the early days of West Wittering events when it mostly consisted of fights between the windsurfers and the locals.

At the moment the weather forecast for the weekend is still unclear, it’s possible that ex hurricane Nadine could swing low and bring us plenty of wind or go high and give it to Scotland, so it could be big moves in big wind or Tow In behind the Jet Ski, either way we will have a great event at a great venue.

Looking forward to the final event in the Tour at Weymouth, the dates are 13/14 October and everyone should be there for that one. We will be based at the WPNSA and be working out of OTC but depending on the wind direction will be mobile to get the best point to sail at in Portland Harbour.

Registration will be on Saturday from 09.00 to 10.00 but early arrivals can register with me on Friday afternoon as I will be there all week at Weymouth Speed Week, why not come early and give that a try. The Slalom sailors will also be at Weymouth for the weekend so there is a big party being planned for Saturday night.

There’s plenty of accommodation in Weymouth/Portland but I’m staying at the Chesil Beach Holiday Park which has loads of facilities and is excellent for families, they are offering a special deal of any caravan for £199.00 for a 3 night weekend so check them out on www.chesilholidays.com