i dedicated today to mastering the helitack. today i almost nailed it! 
normally i get knocked off the board as the sail goes through the eye of the wind and spins. but today i found if i let the sail powerup backwinded longer than i used to, so it pushed the nose of the board further off the wind my feet were in the right place and i wasn't knocked off the board.
question is.
is this the right technique? seems to work but i was surprised how far off the wind i needed to spin the board to make it work. i was wondering if there is any other ways to do them.
til you get used to your orientation then yes I think that is the best way because it gives you lots of room. Eventually they become like conventional tacks where you can just jump around and still pull them off (imo they are actually easier once you get them).
If you've gotten that far I found the final step is weight the new front foot this keeps board in right position and then doesnt really matter what point the sail spins too. My other tip is when sailing backwinded dont hold the back hand just push keeping your palm open that way the sail isnt getting whipped around.
they get frustrating, very frustrating lol.
One day i get them every time, then the next day i cant get any.
Dont forget to boomshaka, or you'll never end up on the otherside of the sail.
You're doing right, as it buys you room to manoeuver: room for foot, time to think, time to practice the pushing part. Agree too with the dude above: it's front-hand mostly, until it starts flipping. Sailing front-to-back is almost about spilling wind efficiently.
You're probably within very few outings of getting a good %. Once you get it, you'll be able to do it from a wider range of angles.
The most important is: practice on both sides! Like a bad habit, it's very difficult to master on the other tack if you don't do it early.
AND as you're getting a better %, start practicing holding the clew-first position after you flip. This one, start in lesser winds, then build it up. It adds to your repertoire, it's fun.
I thought I mastered the helitack once. 
I cant speak for others but I find I have to do millions of the buggers to keep the feel or I lose it. I guess its the same with hitting a golf ball or serving an ace down the line or a million other things. Gybing comes to mind
There seems to be a few ways to do them. Cribbie's technique has you stepping around and ending up pretty much in sailing position. It's good for smaller boards and moderate winds. For big boards and light winds you start with a foot in front of the mast and end up just behind the mast. I noticed on that local vid of Golden Beach from the early 90s that was posted just a while ago a bloke demonstrated a helitack done close to the wind with a really sweet rig flip.
Beat Stephan demonstrates a one handed rig flip early in his Karma Sutra vid. This is the rig flip for the Cowboy. If you can step around the front while planing and flip the rig like that you've got it.
I have only got it a few times but I haven't given it much attention. It feels sweet and easy when it works. Starting from stable lee side sailing (They seem to refer to this as "front to sail". I don't know why.) you let go with your front hand and step back through 180^. You briefly stand with your back to the sail as it pivots about your back hand. The temptation here is to sweep the rig forward but this is to be resisted. Let the sail pivot around your hand and as the mast comes towards you slip your hand up close to it and the rig will flip around the upright mast as sweet as your lover's legs. Its key in all rig flips that the mast is upright when the clew whips through.
thanks for all of the tips guys.
i'm sure i didn't look that in control but i kept trying and trying. basically sailed 30-40m tried a heli, then hoped back on and sailed back 30-40m and tried another one. just kept repeating over and over. it was kind of a fluke getting the board further off the wind. a couple of times i just tried sailing front to sail after heading through the wind and managed to get the rig in the right spot where the board spun, then i flipped the rig. it was a seminal moment with light bulbs flashing. still not finishing them but really feel like i'm 99% there now. (time will tell)
funny thing is i can tack from port to starboard 100% and even plane out of a few but really struggle to tack starboard to port. today trying heli's it was the starboard to port that had the most success. eventually the wind came up so i went for a cruise when i really should have kept trying them.
i'm glad i'm on the right path. i normally try 2 or 3 in a session and fail horribly. today was the first time i've given it a serious go.
Hi pierre,
i'll try a few clew first exits. i'm trying to translate these things from 10 years ago on one designs and find the smaller board really needs a lot more finesse.
i sail clew first on the smaller gear a lot in light winds though so i'm comfortable there but am not planning clew first yet. normally i flare gybe and hold clew first on exit. lately trying emulate my one design days of flare gybe into clew first into front to sail. on the small board i keep sinking the nose or shooting straight upwind when i pivot fronht to sail. guess i should just keep it going and tack 
other thing i've been trying is sailing along and duck the sail into clew first on the same tack. (boom to boom at the clew end) i notice a lot of freestyle guys do it via the mast. still i'll keep on trying it. problem on short board is the sail is loaded up way more than one design.
Any videos on how to do them? Do you need to be able to do a normal shortish board tack first ? Also I suppose you practise them in light wind but then youd have your big heavy sail up which would make it hard..
Hi SBC,
on light wind days i go small too.
5-12 knots i rig 5.8 kult with the freestyle board and 24cm fin. that setup for me planes in 15 knots even though i'm 105kg. there isn't really any need for a big sail. for freestyle, the smaller sail as the others have said is a LOT easier to throw around plus it's lighter which helps planing threshold.
depends what i feel like doing though, if i feel like blasting i rig the 6.4 Kult and it'll get me going in about 12 knots on the same board. if it's less than 10 knots and i'm on a long board or sup i'd use the 6.4 also.
yesterday for me was a prime example of how much fun can be had with windsurfing in light winds. it was so light even the kiters packed up as they couldn't get going.
`i htik the biggest tip other than small sail for learning lightwind freestyle is to pick somewhere very shallow and run a small fin. when you fall off you just jump straight back on and head off again. it really saves a lot of energy. i also struggle to uphaul the freestyle board, shallow depth means i'll never get caught out.
the other advantage with shallow areas is that when the board sinks it sits on the bottom allowing you to complete the manouvre without falling off. i learnt to tack this way. it buys you more time to figure out what to do with the rig. eventually you get faster and get your feet in the right place and the board doesn't sink as much.
if i were you i'd learn to tack first. it gives you an insight into backwinding the sail for ballance. tacking will also allow you much more flexibility i general sailing.
then practice sailing into the wind and backwinding the sail and holding it in that position. you get the feel for how to steer the board while backwinded and how to control the power.
then try your heli tacks. by this stage it is only the feet switch and rig flip left to do. i could already tack and the backwinding the sail control thing only took me about 1hr and it was becoming comfortable. as i have discovered the trick with the heli tack is to push the nose of the board off the wind by backwinding the sail prior to flipping the rig. this is somehting not mentioned in any tutorials i have found and personally i think that's an oversight. for me it made a huge difference to where my body was in relation to the board and rig.
hi scully,
nope, duck gybes i haven't done. to be honest in the last 10 years i have probably only tried 3. notwal however is the duckgybe king!
haha beat ya notwal :P
Hi scully,
duck gybes will need to wait, the 2 moves on the radar are the vulcan and the heli.
plus i'd like to try a shaka or shuvit although i know i ain't got the skill for those 2.
hi trousers.
i guess you could say there is a slow down with a planing tack. but it's only just as the board goes through head to wind. you head up into the wind and jump around the sail prior to head to wind while you are still mobile, then push through the front foot and hang off the rig you can really power out of a tack and you really don't notice any lose of speed.
buster,
not bored yet mate.
sort of but not really
a jump gybe hasn't got a slide component.
usually with a jump gybe the board is kicked 180 degrees while in the air. so you take your feet out of the straps while in the air and kick the tail around. like an aerial scissor gybe. so you finish in a clew first water start position. jump gybe you are horizontal and beside the board.
a vulcan is a gybe but your feet remain in the straps through the move.
you jump, spin the board 180 degrees and slide backwards finishing in switch stance. you also let go of the clew end of the boom.
vulcan you are upright and over the board.
on of the guys at VP jump gybes his 10'5" kona.
when are you joining me for a sail at VP>? Pierre can show you the secret spot..... 
I went out recently & the wind dropped to about 5 -8kts. I had my 6.6m sail on so it was a bit heavy but I decided to try & tack the board..Should have read Guy Cribb 1st but I managed most even if wobbly ( 125ltre board ).It really revived my interest in the sport, especially knowing I now had an extra trick up my sleeve so on those subplaning days where your work is really a reach..I can tack & not lose precious ground upwind.
