GUY CRIBB INTUITION TECHNIQUE

Issue 311 - NOV DEC 2011

RIDERS ON THE STORM

Guy Cribb Intuition

Riders on the storm Words: Guy Cribb Photos: PETE BOX & Mark Lloyd

Last month we looked at some key points to improve your gybing in choppy water, this month here’s some INtuition Technique, Tactics and Tuning tips to improve your general blasting in chop, whether you want to sail aggressively or defensively.

INtuition Technique

Please refer to guycribb.com for more technique as this feature is bypassing all sorts of vital skills to just focus on a few key points for sailing in chop. Please also refer to the Tuning section of this feature, especially to harness line length and harness height, which blur Tuning and Technique together.

Ride Height

One of the most effective ways to sail fast in chop is to concentrate on keeping the rig still- the rig is your power supply and it is better to keep it at a steady 90% of power rather than fluctuating between 50-100% power as it disfigures bouncing in chop. Try this by relaxing the back hand to depower the sail riding just off the harness lines. This depowering will lose mast foot pressure which will let the board ride higher out of the water, literally just scuttling underneath you on its tail. Let the board rise and fall over the chop from its tail, but keep the mast foot height basically at the same altitude the whole time- the higher ride height is achieved by slightly depowering the sail/ reducing mast foot pressure. Please experiment with adjusting your ride height in any sea state. Don’t worry, this opening image is not the ride height I’m recommending, it is just me getting bounced in terrible Solent chop.

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Full throttle Cribby

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Guy Cribb Intuition

Front arm pulls in to depower and reduce mast foot pressure, allowing the board to rise over the chop.

Front arm extends to increase power and increase mast foot pressure to hit warp speed again.

Front arm control.

(depowering) and extend the front arm to sheet the back of the sail in (increasing power). This is the best way to control your power supply, in and out with the front arm for less and more power respectively.

You will often need to depower the rig in chop to help lift the nose of the board up to get over some nasty lumps. When you see a big bit of chop pull in with the front arm just before you get to it to lift the nose of the board. As you go over the top of it extend the front arm to get the mast foot pressure back on and ensure you don’t take off.

Tactics

- Explore to find the smoothest water- try a new venue renowned for flat water- like Portland Harbour in the UK, or Dahab or Prasonisi close to Europe, or Corpus Christi in the States. It is not by chance that I run INtuition Freeride courses at these incredible venues!

In overpowered or choppy water it is best to use an underhand grip as you can control the power of the sail easier- the underhand grip gives you more strength. Also when your front arm is bent, using underhand grip allows you to increase your weight onto the mast foot by pulling down.

To control the power of the sail, pivot the rig around your harness hook by pulling in with the front arm to let the back of the sail sheet out

- Sail in the groove- between the peaks of the waves, there are troughstry to position your board in these for the flattest water.

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High Hook = smoother ride in extremely choppy water.

TuRning

Generally the windier it gets the choppier it gets. Stronger winds means everything happens faster and choppy water means a rough ride, so retuning your kit to perfection makes a massive difference in these most testing of conditions.

-Harness hook height- the difference of your harness hook height effects the angle the harness lines support your bodyweight from the boom. For every small degree of change there is a tremendous effect on mast foot pressure. Imagine your harness lines were horizontal- there would be no natural mast foot pressure as the lines are not suspending your bodyweight.

- Harness line length- longer harness lines allow you to get your ass further out and lower down which enable your legs to extend horizontally from the board. If your legs are horizontal, when the board bounces up and down it won’t bounce you up and down, whereas if your legs extend upwards from the board, for example if you had very short lines, then you get bounced up and down on every bit of chop. Then you have to bend your knees as suspension which will massively reduce your board speed, cause hideous surges of power into your arms and result in your harness unhooking with a mind of its own. Bon voyage! My lines are about 2-4” longer in choppy water- in these pics they are 34” on 7m Neil Pryde RS Racing on JP 65/ 101 Slalom board. Please review the opening shot.

- Mast foot position- forwards for control, back for liveliness. If it’s choppy, you don’t want your board any livelier- move it forwards. On my slalom gear my mast track varies by about 5cm from flat to choppy water, please try the same- or further to find more apparent differences.

Low Hook = a rougher ride in chop but still has enormous benefits in most conditions If the lines were vertical then all your bodyweight would be swinging in the lines and therefore you maximise your weight onto the mast foot.

Generally it is crucial to keep waist harnesses low to improve mast foot pressure, but in choppy conditions wearing the harness higher is useful because when the lines are more horizontal, they act rather like a Formula One car suspension (horizontal rods.) Check out the photos- you’ll note there is only a very small degree of change in their angle, but that has a tremendous effect on mast foot pressure - try it for yourself.

- Boom height- a lower boom gets you lower and increases weight onto your front foot. Weighting the front foot naturally helps bank the board over onto its windward rail which helps heaps- see separate box ‘Banking Boom’.

- Downhaul- Downhaul must be correctly applied- there is basically one setting and it should be correct. Please refer to guycribb.com technique to work this one out. If you fail to apply enough downhaul, as the board stalls crashing into chop, the rig will probably send you catapulting.

Correct downhaul lets the rig twist off rather than you twist off. (Extremely advanced windsurfers using the correct amount of downhaul might also like to know that more downhaul = less mast foot pressure/ less downhaul = more mast foot pressure. Therefore in racing we use more downhaul in lighter winds to help get the board out of the water flying on the fin, and less downhaul in stronger winds to keep the board in the water! Please be warned this only makes sense when you are 100% sure you are using enough downhaul as I am talking about 4-8mm of adjustment…)

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Guy Cribb Intuition - Footstraps - outboard footstraps allow you to get lower and therefore maintain more control. If you have to use inboard footstraps, for example wave sailing or freestyling, then they will force you to stand more upright above the board- causing a bumpier ride. However, in wave and freestyling situations you will either be sailing upwind with the board banked over on its windward rail (smoothing the ride) or making a manoeuvre/ trick/ ride/ accelerating downwind which requires you to be more over the board and therefore the inboard footstraps are vital. At no point should you be sailing the board flat across the wind, so therefore you can get away with inboard straps.

Newcomers to footstraps should try to find flatter water, or, use out board straps as soon as possible- see www.guycribb.com for more footstrap technique.

-Fin size - I use smaller fins in choppy water as the radical surges of push into my normal size fin gives it too much lift for my ageing calf muscles to control. Try a smaller fin if you find you’re out of control.

Correct downhaul lets the rig twist off rather than you twist off.

Banking Boom

Here’s a good example of how to use INtuition’s ‘Tactics, Tuning and Technique’-

On the coast these are usually easier to get into when you are sailing back towards the beach, but on the way out you find you’re bashing straight into the chop. A good solution is to accept that sailing out is going to be choppier and awkward, so ride the board on its windward edge, slicing through the chop to make it smoother, but slower, and then just enjoy the ride on the way back to the beach instead.

-Outhaul- be careful not to over outhaul in choppy water. A fuller sail is more powerful and lightens the mast foot pressure a little, but it remains more stable if the rig is bouncing around than one with too much outhaul. Experiment!

Summary- Next time you stop for a rest think INtuition Technique, Tactics and Tuning’ and make some changes like adjusting your equipment. Consider where you’re windsurfing and if there is somewhere slightly better a few hundred metres awayafter all, the windsurfing God didn’t put the car park there, the council did. And think through what you’re going to try on your next run out. Hope you’ve enjoyed another INtuition feature. Any questions please email guy@guycribb.com

Guy Cribb INtuition

Tuning- -Boom height- a lower boom gets you lower and increases weight onto your front foot. Weighting the front foot naturally helps bank the board over onto its windward rail. Try lowering your boom by 10cm in chop.

Guy is the world’s leading windsurfing coach hosting the legendary INtuition courses all over the world all year round.

If you are serious about windsurfing and want to have a great time improving, there is no one else to consider. Guy’s credentials are 14 British Champion titles, 5x vice World Champ, former National Racing Coach, over twenty years of coaching and inventor/ founder of INtuition and producer of the INtuition DVD. Please check out guycribb. com for more info.

Tactics - Sail in the groove- between the peaks of the waves there are troughs- try to position your board in these for the flattest water.

INtuition. Riding the world by storm.

Copyright Guy Cribb 2011

Technique -Bank the board onto its windward side to give you more controllifting your toes into the footstraps and pushing down onto your heels will help pull it onto its rail. Banking the board over on its windward rail has two major beneficial effects- 1. The board slices through the water on its rail rather than slapping the flat underside into the chop- radically smoothing your ride (but making it a bit slower.) 2. The board acts like a ‘spoiler’- (the rear wing on a car creating down force to increase grip) with the wind blowing on the deck pushing the board onto the water.

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Board banked over slices through the chop and acts like a spoiler keeping the board on the surface.