The sun shines and it’s windsurfing time again!

The sun has peeked a couple of times from behind the snow clouds now and the less hardy of us may just be considering dusting off our windsurfing gear for the first time this year.

But just as you would get your kit up-to-speed to get the most out of your time on the water, you shouldn’t overlook what you can do to make sure your body is equally ready to really optimise the time and physical impact of your windsurfing this year.

RYA Physiotherapist, Matt McGovern, looks at the simple things you can do to make sure you don’t spend the summer nursing niggles or watching on frustrated from the shore.

Windsurfing is an extremely physical sport. It requires significant cardiovascular fitness and the full range of body movements from toe to head.

Windsurfers are continuously on it; there are very few off periods during a sail and as the wind changes so do the demands on the body. Lighter winds equal more exerted pumping, while when the wind gets up the focus switches more too muscular strength and endurance.

Many of the actions in windsurfing are the exact opposite to things we do in everyday life and windsurfers are in a half-squat position for much of the time, on an unstable platform, meaning balance is never split 50:50 between each leg.

A good aerobic base is really important as injuries happen when you’re getting fatigued, so the better your cardiovascular fitness and muscular strength and endurance, the longer you can windsurf without tiring and the less likely you are to pick up injuries.

Nick Dempsey in action. Olympic windsurfers are some of the fittest sports people around.

Because it is a repetitive movement sport, we see lots of muscle imbalance and overuse injuries. So what can you do to get fit to windsurf?

Cycling – a lot of the top windsurfers, like London 2012 silver medallist Nick Dempsey, are big cycling fans because it uses the same main leg muscles groups – quadriceps and hamstrings – as you need to hold a constant squat position in windsurfing. It’s also excellent for aerobic fitness.

Rowing – is a really good cardiovascular work-out but it also replicates the windsurfing actions of pushing with the legs and pulling with the arms.

Swimming – is non-weight bearing but it’s a full body sport, like windsurfing, and the rotational element of freestyle and backstroke especially produce very similar trunk movements to windsurfing.

Weights and exercises – pulling and extension-orientated weights and exercises using the full body. Try to do exercises that use the opposite arm and leg at the same time, to replicate the balance needed in windsurfing. The best exercises for each person will be prescriptive for them, but generally lateral pulls, single leg squats, and planks are all good.

Gym training, credit Richard Langdon

You’ve done the legwork to get fit, but even though you may feel raring to go there are still a few things to consider to really get you physically ready before you go afloat.

Get a good breakfast inside you before you head out. Bananas, porridge, anything that’s going to slowly release energy during the day, and also make sure you’re hydrated well. Hydration is absolutely critical.

Being sufficiently fuelled and hydrated are really important in delaying fatigue, and as we’ve already noted, injuries are more likely to occur when you’re getting tired.

It’s not easy taking supplies onto the water but slip a few quick release energy gel sachets into your buoyancy aid to keep you going when you’re afloat. If you do have a small bag, nutritional energy bars are good too.

No-one’s expecting you to do a full 30 minute shore side yoga routine before you go afloat but doing five minutes of mobility exercises and stretches is definitely a good idea.

The most common windsurfing injuries are lower back pain, shoulder strains and overuse injuries and tightness in the wrists and forearms, which comes from gripping the boom.

To warm up wrists and forearms ‘prayer stretches’ and flexing the joints will just get things loosened, while things like arm circles, hip rotation, arm extensions and knee bends will warm up the main joint groups. Remember, windsurfing is a head to toe sport, so start at the head and work your way down to make sure you don’t forget anywhere.

The first 10 minutes of a session, when you’re sailing out, should also be used as a warm-up opportunity. Go through a number of tacks and gybes and do some light pumping to gradually elevate your heart rate and warm your whole body up.

Gym training, credit Richard Langdon

Its sheer physical nature makes windsurfing a great sport for being really fit.

The key to getting increasingly fit is being able to delay the onset of fatigue, meaning you can work harder for longer.

There are loads of drills you can do afloat to challenge yourself. Factor in things like long upwind or downwind legs to give you scope to increase pumping and do lots and lots of tacks and gybes. Do longer sessions or intense short, sharp sessions to the point of fatigue.

You can also work in certain heart rate zones. The most intense periods in any windsurfing race, where you’re working at 90-100% of maximum heart rate, is off the start line or at mark roundings. That can only be maintained for four or five seconds. However, you can improve your ‘anaerobic threshold’ – the point of exhaustion – by planning drills during which you work at 70-80 and 80-90% of your maximum heart rate.

Like warming up, cooling down is really important in injury prevention.

Your sail in is your first chance to let your body gradually return to normal then priority number one once ashore is rehydrate and have something to eat. Ideally you would do some passive stretching – holding stretches for 30 seconds – straight off the water, but if you did a thorough stretch off later that evening that would be okay.

The most important thing is to keep it simple!

There are so many little things you can do on and off the water to make sure you stay fit to windsurf and really enjoy whatever Mother Nature may decides to throw at us this year!

Matt McGovern – in action at RYA Dinghy Show

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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!

Check out more technique from Boards here. 

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,

Get ready for your next windsurfing session, where ever it may be!

Words by Lagoon Watersports coach, Lucy McCormick.

I am first going to touch on why, as windsurfers, we need to warm up and cool down before and after our windsurfing session, and the importance of getting the right food inside our bodies.

WINDSURFER’S WARM UP

Most windsurfers aren’t too keen on the idea of warming up, prancing around on the beach doesn’t appeal to everyone, but it should as the benefits are massive and an effective warm up only needs to take five minutes.

The main purpose of a warm up is to prepare your body for your windsurf session, as well as reducing the risk of injury and helping to improve your performance on the water.

During the warm up you will increase the blood flow to your muscles and raise your body temperature, this will mobilise the joints and make your muscles more supple, leading to improved reactions and coordination. It will also help you prepare mentally, and put you in the right mind set to nail that new move.

An effective warm up will:

• Increases the blood flow to muscles, enhancing the delivery of oxygen and nutrients.
• Prepares your body and heart for your increased activity, whist you’re on the water.
• Prepares you mentally for your session.
• Warms your muscles, making them more supple and ready for action.
• Prepares your heart for an increase in activity.
• Prepares you mentally for the upcoming exercise.

The warm up video below can be used pre-windsurf session or before taking part in any physical activity. REMEMBER TO CONSULT A DOCTOR BEFORE TAKING PART IN ANY PHYSICAL ACTIVITY.

WINDSURFER’S COOL DOWN

It is as important to cool down, as it is to warm up and again doesn’t need to take up a huge amount of time. The main purpose of a cool down is to promote recovery and return the body to its pre-exercise state.

During our session our bodies will have been worked, certain muscles more than others, an effective cool down can help reduce muscle injury, stiffness and soreness, which will help you to be ready for your next session!

An effective cool down will:

• Assist your heart rate to return towards resting levels.
• Aid the removal of waste products from your muscles, such as lactic acid, which can build up during activity.
• Helps prepare your muscles for your next session, whether it’s the next day or in a few days’ time.
• Reduce the potential for delayed muscle soreness.

The cool down video below can be used post windsurf session or after taking part in any physical activity. REMEMBER TO CONSULT A DOCTOR BEFORE TAKING PART IN ANY PHYSICAL ACTIVITY. 

WINDSURFER’S NURTITION AND HYDRATION

To perform your best on the water and have an effective windsurfing body you need to consider what you are putting into your body to fuel your sessions and in turn give you the energy, as well as helping you recover after.

A healthy balanced diet is a great way to keep in shape, no windsurfer wants too much fat, the lighter we are the sooner we will plane and the more manoeuvreable we will be. Our meals should consist of a good balance of fruits, vegetables, carbohydrates, protein and good fats, to ensure we get all the necessary vitamins and minerals our body needs.

To help you in the right direction here’s quick guide to what is best to eat pre, during and post windsurfing.

Pre Session

Most windsurfers will go for the quick energy fix – chocolate, coffee and sugary drinks are all easy to grab but are not effective in fuelling our body.

What we need to eat before our session depends on intensity, length and type of session you are going to do. Exercising on a full stomach is never a good idea; you will feel uncomfortable on the water and won’t perform your best. To avoid this make sure you eat your meal enough time before your session – this could be one to four hours, depending on what you eat.

Carbohydrates are the main fuel that powers us whilst on the water. So make sure your meal is rich in carbohydrates, and easy to digest.

If the wind hasn’t appeared and you starting to get hungry or you feel your energy levels are suffering then about 30 minutes before your session, grab an easily digestible snack before you hit the water. This could be a piece of fruit (banana is a great option) or perhaps a cereal bar.

During

It is important to stay hydrated whilst windsurfing. Coming off the water every 30 – 45 minutes to drink some water is a great way to stay alert and be at your best whilst on the water.

If you are having a long session then you may need to replenish your energy levels with a snack such as fruits or nuts.

Post Session

This is the time our body needs to recover and we can aid it by putting the right things into our body. Our post exercise snack is critical to recovery and assists us to get ready quicker for our next session.

It is important to consume a snack 30 minutes after getting out of the water; this snack should include both carbohydrates and proteins to be most effective. A good snack could be a protein filled sandwich, such as tuna or chicken with a banana.

Check out more fitness and technique features here on Boards. 

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. 

Thomas Traversa, known for his super high stalled forward loops! Image credit PWA/JC.

When I did my first forward loop I was 11 years old and windsurfing in Brandon Bay, Ireland. It was pretty light with waist to shoulder high waves coming through the bay providing some nice head on ramps. I was pumping onto the plane and just chucking myself into them when all of a sudden one just clicked, it felt so easy, all my kit went really light and just came round so smoothly and gently. It was the best feeling I have ever had and I have not been able to stop doing them since, the forward got me hooked on windsurfing all over again.

Aleksy Gayda – BWA Amateur Champion 2011

I started forwards with a lot of determination, perhaps too much as I went through some serious back slaps and lung abuse. After a few pointers from Jem (Hall) I started trying wymaroos, getting the rig across my body and my backhand all the way down the boom, which soon had me landing my first flat water spin loops, even on my weak tack. Through watching movies I then picked up how far off the wind I needed to go for big clean forwards, which is especially difficult in onshore conditions. I also found there was a balance between trying to be on the right kit (where you don’t feel too overpowered) and just having a ‘go for it’ attitude.

The best craic is going for forwards with a bunch of mates, where you can all push each other, keep an eye out and have a lot of fun. I still remember landing my first clean loop and sailing away; it was a sweet feeling and left me smiling for days.

Will Barrett - BWA amateur competitor

I started trying loops in Margarita off about waist high waves, I landed on my back a lot and it was so bruised, but I was super hyped! The next day I tried again with a life jacket, but then I popped my eardrum as I forgot to look back…oops! I decided a little self preservation was in order, so I stopped trying for a while. After trying again in the UK, it was in Brazil that I finally landed one; I was so happy! For a relatively simple move it took me a while, but I think it was because I kept closing my eyes so I couldn’t spot my landing and open out the sail so I always got stuck in the same place. I then went to Pozo to learn on the other tack, trying them on a 3.4 in really onshore conditions improved my spin loop technique, and I began landing them on port too.

Sarah Bibby – BWA 2011 Ladies Champion

With forward loops there was no real breakthrough point that I can remember as every attempt is different and you can hardly expect to come out fully planing on your first go (keep wishing)! So here are just a few key points that almost certainly helped me get to a point where I actually enjoy them; weird I know! NEVER (ever!) let go; if you hold on you are way less likely to land in a heap on your kit. Only let go if you really, really have to.

Do practice in light winds; practice catapulting yourself over the front (without your feet in the straps – obviously) over and over again until you are landing on your back or in the waterstart position before you try in strong winds.

Learn with someone; if you’re competing for that all-important win, then your brain doesn’t mind doing stupid things! Good luck and if you can get someone to video your attempts it will provide you with endless amounts of entertainment!

George Shillito – BWA competitor and man in the know at the Polkerris Beach Co.

My first forward loop was during my first season at Club Vass, I landed my 3rd one! I remember I was on an old Neil Pryde Soul 5.8, sailing towards the beach on port tack and I bore right off the wind and jumped off the back of a piece of chop, nose dived and looked behind me over my back shoulder, waterstarted up and hey presto!

Andy Bubble Chambers - Freestyle and wave competitor and windsurfing coach

My very first forward attempt was pretty pathetic. My best mate from school and I sailed into the middle of Brogborough Lake, did a tiny chop hop and flopped onto our sails. I don’t think it really counts to be honest! My first proper rotation however I still remember clearly. I had been trying a few more forward attempts in lighter winds but without much luck, never getting enough rotation and generally crashing face first into the water. The next properly windy day on the lake, I was flying around full power on a 4.0. When I tried my first forward this day, everything happened so much quicker. Instead of crashing into the water like normal, I did the full rotation and slapped down on my back. I can’t even remember if I sailed away or not, but I can still picture the exact spot on the lake and still have the image in my head of the rotation. It was so fast, but at the same time I can remember it all in super slow motion, with the sky, water and land, all flying by. It was such an amazing feeling.

John Skye – PWA competitor and British windsurfing legend

The full issue of the Spring Summer 2012 Boards Annual is still available for purchase here. 

Have you mastered the carve gybe yet?

My first carve gybe was around the rescue platform in Dahab, in the winter of 2006 while my brother captured the whole thing on video! I think I had been having problems with the step and the rig flip, doing them together instead of one after the other, therefore dropping off the plane and being totally unstable when trying to flip the sail. Counting out loud between the step and flip really helped with this, and made me hold onto the rig for longer before I flipped it. When I sailed out of the first gybe I was overcome with amazement, plus a little relief!

Amy Chambers – Windsurfing instructor, personal trainer and former top Diva for Club Vass.

The carve gybe had always been the ‘elusive’ move I had wanted to learn from about the age of 11. I remember spending years engaging the inside rail, getting the board to carve a little bit and then flailing the rig, limbs and board in an effort to come out dry, thinking this was a carve gybe. This changed when I got a few helpful hints down in Coverack, Cornwall. The big thing that made the move ‘click’ for me was vision. It’s really easy to say “yes I’m looking through the turn”, but it was only when I fully exaggerated the vision, looking right past the end of the boom that my foot-change and rig flip became so much smoother. It felt amazing, and still one of the biggest buzzes I have ever got from windsurfing.

Jo Wright – Slalom, freestyle and wave competitor, sponsored by Tushingham, Starboard and Sam Ross Windsurfing.

My first carve gybe happened when I was sailing at ‘Speedy’ in Dahab a week ago. I was on my 4.7 Ice and my 99 litre Chilli. It was the first windy day since I arrived in Dahab the week before and even though it was a bit off and on, it felt good to be powered up when I hit the gusts. I hadn’t been trying carve gybes that long and it was something I wanted to crack quickly too open the door to more carving manoeuvres. My main issue when learning was keeping my weight forward allowing the board to stay flat through the turn, instead of almost sinking halfway round due to my weight being to far back. Unfortunately my first one wasn’t caught on camera, but I was sailing with friends who witnessed the historic moment. Like many manoeuvres in windsurfing, it can take a lot more work to get them completely consistent, and I’m still working on getting my carve gybes to this standard. But that first feeling you get from bearing away into a carving turn, and the feeling when you finally get your first carve gybe drives me forward to continue learning.

Edd Seater – Recent windsurf addict, working and improving in Dahab, Egypt.

I had happily entered myself into the first youth ‘freewave’ camp at Christchurch with the rest of Team AirBorn when it suddenly dawned on me one of the prerequisites for the camp was to be able to carve gybe! “CR*P!” there I was studying a Jem Hall article on how to Vulcan and it hadn’t even occurred to me that I had to be able to carve gybe! The next few days quickly turned into a case of do or die as the last thing I wanted was to be booted out of the camp (in front of the lads) for not being any good! It was a super warm summers day down at Daymer bay (on the Doom bar side) and the outgoing tide meant the bay was waist deep and flat producing ideal carve gybing conditions. My dad was stood in the water taking pictures of my brother and I windsurfing, whilst at the same time doubling up as a very handy gybe mark. Convenient as it sounds it soon became annoying as with every failed attempt I went round him he would shout, “faster, get low and lean further forward!” For about an hour I thought my dad was a bossy, know it all, loser, who simply didn’t understand! Unexpectedly though it all suddenly clicked when, to prove a point, I threw myself as far forward as I could whilst going as fast as possible and in doing so, fully expected to crash and give my dad the ‘idiot’ look that kids do so well. However in attempting to over exaggerate, I adopted the correct stance and burned through a perfect carve gybe to come out planing! I had made it, my dad was a total LEGEND and what’s more I wouldn’t be kicked off the camp; AMAZING!

George Shillito – BWA competitor and man in the know at the Polkerris Beach Co.

I’ve got to be honest and say I don’t remember my first gybe, but I do remember my first planing one. I used to watch Peter Hart’s “Towards the Limit” video all the time and there is a section in that which breaks down two of Bjorn’s slalom gybes. One where he is overpowered, needs to dump the power and therefore lays it down, and one where he keeps the rig forward and uses all the power to drive the board through the turn. This second one was the key for me and when I tried to emulate it, suddenly I held my speed all the way through the turn and came out fully planing. It probably looked nothing like Bjorn’s version, but in my head it was exactly the same!

John Skye – PWA competitor and British windsurfing legend.

The full issue of the Spring Summer 2012 Boards Annual is still available for purchase here. 

How To Get Out Through Waves

Laure Treboux. Image credit Dani Miquel.

Laure Treboux

“Always have a good look at the place before heading out. Observe where and how the waves break.

To launch over the shorebreak: there are always gaps in between sets, so make sure you chose the right time to leave the beach. Wait for a set, once the set has come through you usually have a bit of a calmer moment when you can head out.

Once you are out, if it’s windy enough to get planing, make sure you have as much speed as possible, it makes it easier to go over the whitewater. As you are about to hit the white water, give a little pop to your board, so you lift it out of the water slightly. The board will go over the whitewater smoothly this way and you will avoid a catapult. Non-planing, the key is to have as much wind in your sail as possible, and just before the whitewater hits you, push down on your back leg so the nose goes up and over, push both your sail and board forward at the same time.”

Jamie Hancock. Image credit PWA/JC.

Jamie Hancock 

“Launching is really hit and miss, every spot has a different launch and even the best of us receive a fair bit of occasional humiliation. I have in the past been pinned under my sail praying nobody was watching. Getting out through waves becomes part and parcel of wave sailing. Every time you catch a wave to the inside you always have to go back to where you came from. Experience is key as it is all about reading the break, timing and always a fair proportion of luck!”

Robby Swift

“The main thing to remember is to have the nose of your board pointing at the wave. If you have it side on, the wave will flatten you with its power. If the nose is facing straight at the wave, you will penetrate easily.”

Ross Williams. Image credit PWA/JC.

Ross Williams 

“It’s always best to give yourself enough room, so my top tip would be to start far enough upwind that if things don’t go to plan you have enough space and time to get out of any trouble that you could be heading for.”

Ben Proffitt

“Take a bigger sail as it means you are more likely to plane, which means you spend less time in the impact zone and can pick and choose when to go out.”

Check out more technique here in the Boards technique section or head here to purchase the print magazine and read the Ultimate How To: Wave Edition in full.

ARE YOU A PARENT LOOKING TO INTRODUCE YOUR KIDS INTO WINDSURFING?

Answer…..START EARLY!

You're never to young to get involved in windsurfing! Image credit Thorsten Indra.

Venturing into windsurfing at a young age is the best way to ensure rapid progression and become part of a sport without limitations! If you’re young and want the opportunity to try the best sport in the world, get your parents to sign you up for a windsurfing lesson NOW!

You’ll pick it up so quickly that you’ll soon be way better than Mum and Dad! You’ll impress all your mates, get fit, strong and the rush windsurfing gives you is better than any other sport or video game. There’s some amazing user-friendly kit around to make your whole experience on the water sensational. You have to give it a go.

You too could learn to blast fast, do tricks, maybe compete, ride waves and impress your friends. If you’ve got parents who don’t windsurf, join a local windsurfing club, they can help you with kit and you’ll meet and sail with others of your age and ability. So whilst your mates are wondering what to do in their spare time, you’ll be screaming about on the water with an awesome feeling of independence and a rush adrenaline running right through you. It feels even better than all the amazing pictures in this magazine!

Jumping! Image credit Thorsten Indra.

PARENTS

More then ever, windsurfers from the 80’s & 90’s are getting their kids into windsurfing. So if you’re a parent, what’s stopping you? It may even increase your own windsurfing opportunities. Saying, “I’m just off to the beach” on a weekend can be a tough call, but take the kids with you and it’s much more likely to happen. Yes initially you might become an under-appreciate caddy, but the long term benefits of getting the family involved has to be a good thing for everyone. But, it’s really important to go about it the right way, otherwise those wetsuits will only be used once and Facebook will regain control of their lives.

Here’s our BOARDS BASICS guide to get and keep young people windsurfing in a fun, safe and enjoyable way.

Parents FAQ – on page two.

Kids Kit – on page three.

In this third part we will cover tuning, training and why people compete. 

BSA slalom action.

Tuning and Training

Simon Pettifer: When I go for a sail I try to have some sort of aim, this could be gybing practice. I’ll find two buoys close together (easy in Poole harbour), and gybe a lot, keep going until I cannot gybe any longer, this is the only way to improve – keep doing it! It’s also good to do this exercise with other sailors, if you make the two buoys really close together it makes for some fun sailing.

As for tuning I just try different things, maybe try a couple of different fin combinations to see which is faster; you need someone else to judge your speed against, or a GPS unit where you can go home and download your tracks from the day and see at what points you were going fastest.

It could be the downhaul, try a little more or less see and what happens. Once you find the sail at its best for you try to note where your downhaul is set to, so that next time you sail you can rig it just how you like it. The outhaul is the easiest to play about with, the adjustable outhaul systems let you sail around changing the settings all the time, letting you see where you want your outhaul for the appropriate wind strengths.

Sailing on your own is great for some things but to improve your speeds I think you need to sail with other people. We all know it sucks to be passed by other people so we try harder, if you get passed by your mate, go in pull on an inch of downhaul go back out and see if you can beat him; if doesn’t work try changing your fin – put a smaller one in – it’s all about finding out what makes a difference.

Simon Pettifer

Simon Cofield: Sail – I use a lot of downhaul, this allows you to accelerate in big gusts whilst the sail twists off. It’s important to have an adjustable outhaul. When the wind is up and down I’ll be adjusting my outhaul between heats, so I’m fully powered in the race. Board – You need a good fin, I have my straps as far apart as they go for control, deck plate position as above.

I do a bit of fitness training in the winter, on the water I do some practice racing around some of the marks in Poole harbour with Si Pettifer.

Kev Greenslade: Downhaul I rig dependent on the wind but always enough to get a nice amount of twist in the sail, I use very little outhaul until I get completely stacked but by then probably thinking about changing down. It’s also really important to find the right fin for you, your board and the conditions.

It’s really hard to replicate the conditions whilst racing as you would almost never sail that fast that close to that many people, when it comes to gybing you have wakes going in all directions space to find etc etc. So the best form of practice is to race. There are fun slalom series being run at Hayling, Poole and Weymouth now so get involved, and if they are too far away get your own going, it’s so easy. There is always a buoy to race around and if you do it in pursuit style, kit and ability doesn’t matter, everyone has fun.

Ant Baker. Image credit Dave White.

Ant Baker: As a chubber I like lots of downhaul and not much outhaul, this means I get great twist and a nice full body to hold my board down.

As I have to work pretty much everyday I get very little time to practice, in fact the last year I have only sailed slalom boards at events

James Dinsmore: When it comes to tuning your sail the single most important variable is the amount of downhaul you put on. It is really important to experiment and try to learn to feel what it is like to have too much or too little downhaul. If you have too much downhaul the sail tends to feel heavy and too powerful and when a gust comes you may feel as if you are getting lifted uncontrollably onto your toes. With my current iSonic board and Severne Reflex sails combination I notice that if I am under-downhauled it feels as if the nose of the board is being pushed down into the water. It feels ‘sticky’ and as if it might catch on chop. If I put a small amount of more downhaul (may only need as little as 5mm) the nose rides higher, the stickiness completely disappears and the board feels like it will make it’s way over even the nastiest bit of chop. When you have cranked on too much downhaul the sail starts to feel gutless and has poor acceleration. You may feel yourself over sheeting and the sail tending to drop backwards. Ideally with each of your sails you need to spend a session during which you start with the sail under-downhauled and then incrementally increase the downhaul until the sail is over-downhauled. It is a useful exercise as you will learn to recognise too much or too little downhaul and you will also be able to find the sweet spot of your sail.

If you don’t have one already then do get an adjustable outhaul. They are very easy to use and put at your fingertips the ability to massively increase the wind range of your sail. You will enjoy your sailing much more if you have one. Try to work towards sailing kit big enough that means that you are powered for the lulls rather than the gusts. An adjustable outhaul allows you to sail much closer to your limits. It may be more beneficial to have a very physical 30 minutes session quite over-powered than 90 minutes of cruising. It is a key skill to learn to get round a course while overpowered Make use of any buoys that may be in the water to practice gybing and starts. You will be forced to gybe whatever the water state is like at the mark, which is the same as on the racecourse. Otherwise it is only too easy to choose to gybe where it is flat and you will struggle in competition.

Racing at Weymouth. Image courtesy Dave White.

Why I Compete

Simon Pettifer: I compete because it keeps me keen, always trying to do a bit better than the previous event. The feeling I get when I’ve had a good heat and beaten someone that usually beats me feels great, you can’t get the same feeling from sailing down the park. When you do one slalom heat it may only last about three mins but it’s knackering, so much is packed into three minutes and the whole time I’m fired up, it’s hard to explain, something you’ve got to try.

If you want to try it, get down to your local spot and do some light hearted racing with your friends. Poole have a Poole slalom, Weymouth have the same thing going on, as do Hayling Island, all these places are ready for newcomers to turn up and give it a go, all abilities are welcomed. Any gear can be used, at Poole we do a handicap system where by the person that wins the first race starts last in the next one, the person that finished last starts first and so on, this means that the racing is good for all, there is always someone to catch up with or try to stop passing you.

I would encourage others to give competing a go because it will improve your sailing,  it’s definitely the best way to get better quicker, improve your gybes and go faster. Also you meet great people at events, all with the same thing in mind, windsurfing and maybe a couple of drinks – if there’s no wind of course! I’ve met some of my best friends at windsurfing events over the last 20 years even with a 15 year break in the middle.

Simon Cofield: I enjoy the challenge of racing against the top guys.

Kev Greenslade: I have been very fortunate to have been racing from a very young age, I have travelled the country and some of the World with my best mates doing what we all love. Doing well is just a bonus (a nice one though).

Ant Baker: I love the feeling of winning! The race course is a great place to practice your skills and gain some bragging rights over your mates!

Check out the other parts of the series here:

Simon Bornhoft blasting in the footstraps.

FOOTSTRAPS

Being secure in the straps is wonderful feeling and the basis of stronger wind windsurfing.  At first it can be a pulse racing experience to actually get your feet in them. Problems are rarely due to the movement of the feet it’s almost always down to not maintaining a counterbalance. Hence our prime mantra when going for the straps – Body moves one way, the rig moves the other. When you combine this with weight in the harness you’ll be able to move your feet more freely.

KEY PRINCIPLES

Vision Look forward, not down at the straps!

Trim Place the feet close to each strap before trying to get into them.

Stance Form a strong 7-shaped stance, with weight in the harness before and after going for each strap.

POSITIONING

If you’re new to straps use the ‘inboard’ settings.

Once mastered, move the straps to the more outboard settings.

On narrow boards, use a single back strap. On wider boards, use a double back strap.

Getting into the front footstrap 1

Getting into the front footstrap 2

Getting into the front footstrap 3

FRONT STRAP TECHNIQUE 

Rig Forward & Body Back 

Sail across the wind in controllable conditions or slightly upwind in more challenging winds.

Sit back and over a bent back leg to un-weight the front foot. As you do so, extend the front arm to keep the rig forward.

Simultaneously slip the foot into the strap. Once in the front strap, ‘lock out’ adopting a 7 shape stance.

Don’t go for the back strap yet, just sail.

Getting into the back footstrap 1

Getting into the back footstrap 2

Getting into the back footstrap 3

BACK STRAP 

Rig Back & Body Forward 

Getting into the back strap is usually the big stumbling point in marginal or rough conditions, when the back foot seems fixed to the board.

The best way to create that safe and all-important ‘opposing’ environment, is to head UPWIND before going for the back strap.

Through out, it’s vital to weight the harness and pull down on the boom.

Head slightly upwind, by leaning the rig back.

This enables you to then lean the upper body forward un-weight and slip the back foot into the strap.

Once in the strap, put the rig forward re-establish a good 7 shaped stance, steering downwind if you’ve lost speed.

BACK STRAP PROBLEMS

• Excessively pulling on the arms is a harness and footstrap killer.
• Don’t stab at the footstrap slide the foot in smoothly.
• Getting catapulted? This usually means you’re too far downwind when going for the straps.
• Keep heading upwind? You’ve leant back, stood up or pulled the boom too close.
• If you’re going too fast, head upwind slightly by digging the heels, raking the rig back and sinking harder in the harness.

SIMPLE SUMMARY

On the water, a lot seems to happen all at once, so weight that harness and follow your mantra.

Look forward and form a decent 7-shaped stance before and after hooking in.

Rig forward and body back when going for the front strap 

Rig back and body forward when going for the back strap 

We’re going well now, next up how to get some extra blasting control!

Check out the rest of the Basics section for more technique and advice for getting into windsurfing, plus head to the technique section for online coaching across all levels.