Issue 314 - APRIL 2012
KICK START
Guy Cribb Intuition
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APRIL 2012
Photo by John Carter
kick start Words: Guy Cribb
Springtime is officially here which means the unbeatable sport of windsurfing is back for Europeans and North Americans alike, time to hang up your snow suits, unleash your wetsuits and kick-start your summer!Â
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Guy Cribb Intuition Are you ready?
I went to a gym once in the 90’s to check out the girls, but I just do not understand how people think lifting heavy things is fun. I am flabbergasted when I see people jogging indoors on treadmills. Surely, this is just a phase the western world is going through?
Boom - does it still adjust? Carbon, alloy and hybrid booms are terrible for corrosion and getting jammed if they weren’t washed with fresh water last autumn. Releasing your corroded boom
Like most people in their early 40‘s I am well aware of my declining fitness, despite my profession, and until recently I opted for an early glass of wine rather than a jog. However, this has changed. In the last five years, I have had a few slow winters with ear and ankle surgery and felt my shoulders shrink and my stomach expand. I wanted a fitness routine that was intense, challenging and would keep my reactions sharp. I took up boxing. It was/is the best fitness I could possibly think of after windsurfing. The challenge, the threat, the tactics, the reactions, learning new things, everything about it is good for me. Now with three kids even the 10 minutes prep and 15 min drive to the ring equates to an hours journey. Add to that the actual boxing and I am gone for two hours. How many of you have two hours free? And if so, how many times a week do you have two hours free? So now I just go for a jog. I will do more boxing when I get more time. But boxing did improve my windsurfing and my coaching. Windsurfing - despite the fact that boxing primarily develops your triceps and chest muscles, the least used in windsurfing, the fitness, weight loss and reactions improved my sailing.
With clips undone, ram the boom into the ground, this breaks the corrosive seal.
Coaching - for me to be coached in anything is always very important so I can share the challenges my guests have.
Check your ropes at front and back end, and release them now - you may need to use pliers. Better to do that today than on a windy beach tomorrow.
Many of my guests ask me for fitness/windsurfing training advise, and there’s no doubt building up biceps, latts, calves and thighs are all good, but even the fittest of my guests, including professional athletes, all say “it doesn’t matter how fit you are, there is no training for windsurfing fitness!” You simply cannot beat a day on the water, light winds, strong a wind, even just rigging up in your garden and practising good old INtuition Muscle Memory, beats pretty much anything you can create in the gym.
Sails - if you washed your sails with fresh water last year, there is a chance mice have eaten the luff sleeves. An interesting fact I learned the hard way - mice do not eat sails with salt water on them. Also be warned that leaving a sail wet with fresh water may lead to mildew, but won’t with salt water.
Windsurfing uses all your muscles all the time, sends your brain into overdrive and makes your hands feel like they’ve had an acid bath. My advice for windsurfers is to increase cardio-vascular fitness by any means. Jogging, cycling and swimming are renowned, but rowing or SUPing is best for windsurfers. Forget strength training, there is little benefit unless you’re a pro, if you have an hour free for weight training then it is better to rig up your gear in the garden and practice tacking and gybing simulations. This will improve your windsurfing, have a surprising energetic effect and will keep your hands and head in the right place. If you have the INtuition Gybing DVD then you can practice/ learn the whole gybe in bite size chunks in the comfort of your own home or garden, and totally master it before you even have your wetsuit on. And as it’s springtime there is no reason not to get outdoors. Statistically we spend 80-90% of our time indoors. That is so wrong. Get outside! Four or five fitness sessions even just 15 minutes jogs are enough to kick start your windsurfing season, but best to add to this by leaving your gear rigged in the garden to so you can practice the real thing. (If you prefer to keep your winter beer gut, rest assured the best way to stop your harness from slipping up is tightening it below your beer belly, which is a wonderful excuse not to go for that jog).
Is your gear ready?
If your gear has been hibernating all winter then make these safety checks. Please also take note for storing them away next winter.
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APRIL 2012
To adjust, put your foot on the clew end and pull up.
Deck plate/UJ - check the rubber for any signs of tearing/splitting and replace if necessary. This is the worst thing to break on the water as it means risking losing your board. On that point, should your rig ever become separated from your board, swim after the board immediately, leaving your rig behind. A floating board will save your life, a sinking rig will assist your suicide. Downhaul rope - you know how much tension goes through this, if there are any signs of wear and tear replace it. This will make downhauling easier and of course prevent the rope from snapping. Downhaul rope should not even last a season, let alone two. Wetsuits - the last time you used your wetsuit it may not have been washed. A freshly washed wetsuit gives you improved flexibility so chuck it in the wash with no soap. Also, try the remarkable wetsuit shampoo called Piss Off. Harness lines - like most ropes, harness lines should be changed every year or two as they wear out from salt water faster than they wear out from usage. If buying a new set buy a longer pair than last year. Go for 28”- 30” which is best for 95% of windsurfers. Fins - does your fin still come out or have the screws rusted tight?
Is your social life going to rule you, or the weather?
Go to the family calendar and with a high-lighter pen cover each weekend and every evening from mid-April to mid-November with it, indicating to the Missus that you are already booked for that entire time before she invites the neighbours for dinner or accepts her cousins wedding invitation. Tell the boss you have a chronic disorder that means you have a doctor’s appointment booked every afternoon at 5pm so need to get away sharp..
On your first date
My biggest mistake was always getting too excited and in my fluster losing my Mojo. Therefore, to ensure the most comfortable ride on your first date with the worlds greatest sport this year, on a romantically breezy day with the clouds rolling by and some wonderful low spring sunlight, here’s how to enjoy the first days of spring. Mast track further forwards - this gives you more directional stability allowing you to be in control, rather than the ride having a mind of its own. More downhaul - crank it on and then some. This gives more stability in the leading edge and more twist in the leech, ensuring even the biggest gusts will not lift you onto your toes or catapult you. Use an inch more downhaul than you think. Take your bigger board - if you have the choice and you’ve not had a ride in a while go for the bigger one first. Ensure the fin is not excessively big by using this rough guide. Sail size x 5 + 4 = fin size in centimetres. i.e. - 6m sail (x 5 + 4) = 34cm fin.
Photo by Paul Beames
Summary
Your first windsurf of the year should have some preparation, but don’t let this hold you back. In mid Feb when the sun was setting at 6pm, I left my house at 4.30pm, drove forty minutes to Kimmeridge Bay and sailed for an hour until the sun dropped well below the horizon. Invigorating would be an understatement. My endorphins were electric, my mind lightning, but my body frozen. The opening spread is me wave sailing in Esperance, Australia, at the end of January 2012. This shot is from Kimmeridge, UK early Feb 2012. It was so cold I was pleased to be wearing my Neil Pryde Elite 2/5mm wetsuit and a neoprene hat. That would keep my body toasty and warm despite losing feel in my bare hands and feet. I absolutely froze. It wasn’t until the end of my session that I discovered I hadn’t done my suit up. First rule of winter windsurfing - do your wetty up! On to more serious stuff next month...
Guy Cribb INtuition
Guy is multi time’s British champion and the world’s leading windsurfing coach, delivering 18 week long courses all over the world this year that are already nearly fully booked with a truly international guest list. If you want to sail like a professional, sail with a professional on one of his legendary fun and intense INtuition weeks then join him. www.guycribb.com INtuition. Riding the world by storm. www.guycribb.com © Guy Cribb 2012
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