The elusive jibe...... for many, the thought alone causes a brain freeze that only a hope and a prayer can fix! Some people have 37 rules you have to remember, 18 do's and 23 don'ts.... No wonder it can be so complicated. The focus for these ladies was on 3 things. That's it. Just 3 things to think about. When these 3 things are actioned, success happens...... Check it out!
Another year gone bye...... what a great one it was! Now it is time for those resolutions, what's it gonna be for you? A lot of people want to master their jibes, so start thinking about that now!!! Even if you are in the snow, you can visualize and walk yourself through them in the living room. Here is a video of Leo getting learning some tricks on Maui.
My buddy Neil who is an instructor down at Vela Baja has a great story that he tells to jibers..... It goes a little something like this-
“Imagine that you are approaching a small town (Jibeville) by car. You have been on a major highway going as fast as you wanted- In this town there is a rule that says you cannot leave your engine running. There are signs posted outside the city limits warning you of this rule- you have plenty of time to prepare for it. You are able to coast through the town as fast as you want but no engine noise is permitted. The road is on a slight uphill and the distance your engine has to be shut off for is about ½ a mile. If you do not make it through the town by coasting, you have to pay a fine of $10,000. You are not allowed to push your car or have it towed. As soon as you stop, you are instantly subject to pay the fine or spend life in prison! Ouch."
The moral of the story is that in order to make a great jibe, you have to have speed. Speed is what gives you the freedom to “COAST” through the transition zone of the jibe (also know as the town Jibeville).
As you “COAST” through Jibeville, this is the time to make your move and transition your feet and flip your sail. If you have your speed, you have stability and can easily maneuver the sail to the new position to head on out of town. If you slow down and stop “COASTING” flipping that sail and changing your feet is going to be a lot more difficult- Chances are you are going to be subject to a $10,000 fine.....So keep your knees bent, your ankles bent and your arms LONG!!! Don't pull in and back on your arms!!! This causes your legs to straighten up and the game will soon be over!
The time is now to start thinking about speed into your turns. Hopefully the little story above gives you a better understanding of our goals. Obviously the flatter and smoother the water, the easier it is going to be. The windier and choppier the water, the more you have to bend your knees and be ready for a bumpy road. Speed is still your friend in all cases, in fact it is more key the windier it gets. Stay low and look where you want to go!
See you on the water in 2015!!! Happy New Year
Can you believe December is already halfway down.... YES, I love this time of year. Christmas time is my favorite.... Maybe because the kid in me still loves getting PRESENTS!!! And giving them of course... but I LOVE surprises! The windsurfing on Maui has been few and far between, if you are really on it, you can find it. I have been doing a few lessons all with great success stories and lots of things to share! Had a good session with Alex here and he had some notes he asked me to go over with him and I thought you Bloggers might be interested to get in on it! My comments are IN CAPS! In case you are wondering if I'm shouting, YES I am.... ha ha
From Alex: It was great to have the lessons with you last week. I appreciate the insights you shared with me. I hope for more in the future. YES, LET’S KEEP IT UP!! MAUI IS VERY CLOSE TO YOU…. AN EASY FLIGHT!!!
I'm following your advice to take notes for future reference. It looks like it will be a while before I get back on water and those notes will come handy indeed. It is windy in Oregon, but oh-so-cold. COLD IS DIFFICULT!!! YOU GOTTA BE TOUGH AND GET OUT THERE…..
Setup:
- Center of gravity on the boom and two fingers front/back for harness line positioning FIND CENTER, THEN 2 FINGERS EITHER SIDE OR A FIST IN BETWEEN THE LINES!
- Alternatively, back of the harness line 1/3 of the way from the front edge of the sail YES
- 30 cm lines YES
- Do not drop the boom. There is enough control in long lines already. Drop the butt. Boom at shoulder height YES!
Stance:
- Wider. Back foot closer to rear straps. Control tail sinking by putting weight on harness lines and driving through front foot, near mast foot YES!
- Relax, weight on the harness, no weight on arms YES
- Do not look at the board/feet/turtles. Look where you go YES YES YES!!!!
Jibe:
- Do not look back at the clue when initiating the turn, it's too early. Look at the apex of the turn YES, LOOK WHERE YOU ARE GOING…. ALWAYS- SEE THE BUMPS, BE READY
- Look through the triangle formed by the mast and the nose of the board - this ensures weight forward and carving off the front foot YES
- Practice foot work on dry land YES, GET IT IN YOUR HEAD, VISUALIZE YOURSELF DOING IT!!
- Practice balancing on my toes, not heels. Practice standing in balance in the tack position: sail back AND AWAY, body forward, counterbalancing. Toes on the center line. Get stable in this position
- Scissor the board into the wind. Beginner tack: get board as far as possible onto the new tack before switching sides. This way, when I switch side, I can power the sail and it will help balance JUST FOCUS ON KEEPING YOUR BODY WEIGHT OVER THE CENTER OF THE BOARD AT ALL TIMES…. MOVE THE SAIL OUT OF YOUR WAY RATHER THAN MOVING AROUND THE SAIL.
- Really wrap front foot around mast, get toes and foot further to the other side YES
- On transition, slide the new front foot VERY close to the mast foot and step far enough back YES, STEP WAY BACK AND DROP INTO THE SUMO STANCE, NICE AND LOW READY FOR ANYTHING…
- With front hand REALLY through THROW the sail across my back shoulder - this will create space for me to move and will make it easier to balance YES KEEPING YOUR BODY CENTERED OVER THE BOARD AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE. FAST FEET AND FAST HANDS MAKE IT HAPPEN. KEEP THE HEAD LOOKING UPWIND, NEVER NEVER EVER AT YOUR FEET!!! LOOK DOWN= GO DOWN!
*Winner of the 2013 Defi-Wind Film Competition*
Kevin Pritchard's latest sport short features Graham Ezzy windsurfing on Maui, Hawaii. Here's Graham's take on working with Kevin:
"Kevin Pritchard has 8 windsurfing world titles and also makes films about windsurfing. Being the subject of his latest sport short, “Take 1”, makes me one of the happiest pro windsurfers on and off the water.
When Kevin showed me the first edit, I got goosebumps (or as they say in Hawaii: chicken-skin). It was surreal to see one of windsurfing’s heroes making a short about me. Some of my earliest memories of watching windsurfing events involve seeing Kevin boost 50 feet in the air before rotating into a delayed forward rotation. Or, when I was 16 and competing as the youngest pro on my second year of the professional windsurfing tour, KP added yet another world title to his collection.
Being filmed by a legend has benefits beyond the cool factor. Windsurfing is one of the hardest sports to film, according to every filmmaker I have ever worked with. The first take is the only take. Each wave breaks differently than every other wave. Framing can't be planned but must be improvised. The strong winds vibrate the camera and the long lens required to keep a tight frame on the windsurfer half a mile out to sea.
There is only one take for every shot. If that take is blown, the whole shot is gone.
When nothing is planned, having an 8x world champion behind the lens makes a difference. He can read me as I read the waves, anticipating my maneuvers. It’s like a dance to an unfamiliar song with a familiar partner.
KP doesn't have to imagine what its like to jump 50 feet into the air or drop into a 50 foot wave at jaws. He has done all that and more. When I take a foot off my board during a back rotation, I know that he was the first one to do it, winning a world title off that jump in 2002.
And even with Kevin's skill, shots still get missed. By some version of murphy's law it seems that the best moves escape capture and must live forever as a memory. Making a short like this, even just 4 minutes in length, takes a few months of filming.
My favorite part of Kevin’s edit is that it feels really honest: the feeling it gives reminds me of what it is like to be on the water."
Had a great day with Nick from San Fran the other day- he called me up and said, "I want to learn to hit the lip! Never done it before but I have always wanted to"..... well on Day 3 the mission was accomplished. A skilled surgeon by trade, you could see this guy pays attention and knows how to LISTEN! Not just to listen, to transform the listening into ACTION! That is what it is all about! The most difficult thing about teaching is connecting with how each individual learns things. It is an art to figure this out, a challenge and sometimes you can get it right off the bat and sometimes it takes a couple session- Nick and I connected right away! Some of his take homes were to REACH way back (approx 10- 12" further than normal grip) on the boom before he dropped into the wave, allow the RIG to go more forward over the NOSE of the board to drive the front rail into the bottom turn, Roll back onto heels, CARVE off the lip with HEAD, HIPS and HEELS (Look with your head, Twist your hips back to the beach and weight your heels to push some SPRAY). Always remember your body follows your head and I say this a lot..... LOOK where you want to GO in all you do! Here are his results in the video! Nice job-
Filmed with GoPro Hero3 at 1080 60FPS
Here you can see some action from our 2012 Aloha Windsurfing Clinic in October! If you are thinking to come to Maui and want to learn some great stuff, we have an awesome program that will take you to your next level! Don't be shy, any questions feel free to ask away! See you on the water.
Aloha Windsurfing Clinics from Pritchard Windsurfing on Vimeo.
Baja BOUND!
Punta San Carlos has called my name once again. I LOVE this place and can't tell you how great it is, you have to see for yourself. I'm on my way- I'm pretty spoiled flying in with Solo Sports- they handle everything…. well almost, you have to shower yourself off and feed yourself the amazing food they prepare for you and figure out what size sail you want to ride…. a little bit of thinking never hurts to keep the brain in shape!
Here is what I'm bringing down with me:
2012 Pocket Wave 85 with single fin option
IQ 4.5/5.0/5.3
Chinook Carbon 135-185 Boom
30" Harness Lines
No Limitz 400 Skinny Bottom/ Sumo top
Streamlined Carbon Skinny extension (new product)
Short Arm Camaro Wetsuit
Long Arm Camaro Wetsuit
Da Kine NRG with 12" bar
That covers the basics!
Other essentials are:
UGG BOOTS
DOWN JACKET
LIGHT CAP WATER BOTTLE (www.sollight.com) This little gem saves me in all sorts of predicaments…. Don't go without one. You can store you water in it, pee in it, read by it, stumble home with it and whatever else needs to be done!
Copyright 2020, Pritchard Windsurfing