Hey guys,
I'm pretty unexperienced with sailing in waves. Someone got a few tips how to keep control of the board/rig while planing?
What happens quite often is, that I end up in small jumps while crossing the swell which I'd prefer to avoid. In the end I loose track of the harness and struggle for some time to get back to a proper stance on board. Seems to me that the more experienced surfers just plane smooth though the waves. What am I doing wrong?
I looked for tutorials on Youtube but it seems like they only teach how to waveride the breaks, which is definitely not the first thing to learn.
Other videos explain how to blast through flatwater which is a lot easier to do... so no tutorials for my level/problem.
I hope someone can help me.
Cheers,
Christoph
try to go over the white water at a slight angle not straight at it, that's head a little bit more down wind, this stops your tail going sideways when your fins are trying to get grip in the white water, also if you have speed when you hit it try not to push down with you legs this will make you tail sink and you will smack into it and will slow right down, just pull up your legs a little toward your bum as you go over it, same as if you hit a big bump on a bike.
Yep, unweight the back foot put weight on the harness, use legs as shock absorbers when you hit the wave, this will cancel the jump, and keep you hooked in.
Agree with above. I'd add -
Long lines puts your bum lower and thus legs a bit more lateral and pushing the board sideways. So the freeride advice is not always good for waves - a bit shorter lines for upright stance.
Waist harnesses can ride up - same effect as above. A wave seat maintains the low hook and ability to get mastfoot pressure. The Flying Objects Transit harness transformed my wave sailing..... it really did.
Practice your chop hops. Lift tail up under your bum for a flat landing that is pointing a little downwind so u always plane out of them - and crossing a couple of feet of white water will be the same (as per PC Simpsons post about bearing away a bit)
If you deliberately jump each wave - even if only a knee high hop, then you are not losing trim and looking for the harness hook
Be prepared to change your line a lot heading out, losing 10m downwind to keep planing thru waves may then result in ability to hook upwind hard out the back rather than take a long rinsing....
Thanks for replying!!!! I just have to wait till I'm fit again. broke my index finger during my first sess in the waves... Still managed to do my first jibe in the waves so it's been great hahaha
One thing that happens when you take the expert advice given, to absorb energy by flexing the knees:
You will likely also point your feet, which presents the side and underside of the board to the wind, which I have found makes for very soft impacts. Alternatively, if the wind catches the top of the board because you are weighting your heels, each bounce becomes harsh. In the extreme, on a jump, if the wind catches the top of the board, you can do a most dramatic and even dangerous catapult onto the rig.
You never want white water to impact the deck of the board (from the top) only from the bottom. You can bear away as suggested but make sure to bank the board slightly away from the wave to expose the hull. If approaching directly, first raise the nose to be sure not to spear the wave and then radically bend those knees to absorb impact without getting bounced. One can get over quite strong closeouts with enough speed and wind.
If whitewater (or high wind) "grabs" your deck, you are toast; if not, you are in control.
Avoiding a jump on the water is the same thing as avoiding a jump while snow skiing using a pre-jump motion, which is just unweighting just before you hit the bump. Your full body weight comes back down on the board at the top of the small bump or swell, resulting in no airtime.
