GIVE US A CLEW

SAM ROSS’ 5-SECOND SHRED 

Quick Tips For Improving, Whatever Your Level

(This Technique feature originally appeared in the Nov/Dec 2011 issue of Windsurf Magazine. Print and digital subscriptions for readers worldwide are available HERE.)

Quite often when we are learning moves we come unstuck at the same point in all of them. Finally mastering one element is good news as, if that one skill’s sorted, then the door’s open for a whole host of moves to come together.

The rig-flip has always been one of these. The gybe immediately jumps to mind as so many times we come round, about to exit, and the rig gets ripped from our fingers. There are so many other moves at every level where this is also an issue.

Heli-tacks, clew first water starts, gybes of every flavor and spocks can all end in flames as the rig is pulled away from us.

The rig-flip is well documented and the tip of moving the hand to the boom clamp when flipping is one of the best out there, however there is something even more fundamental that could unlock all these moves.

Ask yourself the question ‘on which point of sailing do you have the most power in the rig?’ The answer is a broad reach. However what about when we are clew first? And the answer here is that it’s the opposite! The closer to the wind we are clew first, the more pressure is in the clew and if we release the rig the result normally ends in a crash.

So we need to flip the rig when we are pointing off the wind. As soon as we come round to a beam reach, in a bit of breeze, it will be incredibly hard to control. The heli tack is a great example as we often try and force the rig through the wind only to have it ripped out of our hands. The gybe is another as we hang on too long to stabilize but end up unable to flip the rig in control.

So it’s not just how you flip the rig it’s when. Stay off the wind for a no pressure rig rotation.

The more you practice this, the better your rig rotations will become and that should mean that your success rate with moves increases dramatically.

Until next time, happy flipping!

For more tips and coaching tricks, head over to www.sam-ross.co.uk

 

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Filed under: 2012, 5 Second Shred, Beginners, Clew, Freestyle, GYBE, Heli Tack, helicopter tack, rig, rig flip, sam ross, Starboard, technique, tips, tushingham, windsurfing magazine Comments Off