Hard to comprehend how difficult this is. I'm operating at about 1%.

1:50 and 2:20 - What the F%&$

Wow. If you're not doing combos you're not in the game.

Why the hell would you do any other sport when it keeps progressing like this. Mindblowing.

Awesome

Curious. At risk of sounding negative, I really can't understand why anyone wants to do this stuff. It's legitimate branch of windsurfing certainly, and the skills are just mad, but it leaves me completely cold.

^ I think it shows supreme control.

I do not have good control.

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ikw777 said..
Curious. At risk of sounding negative, I really can't understand why anyone wants to do this stuff. It's legitimate branch of windsurfing certainly, and the skills are just mad, but it leaves me completely cold.

I sort of agree, I was slated a few years ago when I said we could potentially have a world champion who can't gybe. So I feel your redthumbs pain lol

But if you get bored going back n forth and don't have waves....... that would be the best fun you could have with your pants on.

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ikw777 said..

Curious. At risk of sounding negative, I really can't understand why anyone wants to do this stuff. It's legitimate branch of windsurfing certainly, and the skills are just mad, but it leaves me completely cold.

This is a stupid comment, why do windsurfing at all in the first place??? It's not like anyone uses it as a serious method of transport.

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ikw777 said..

... I really can't understand why anyone wants to do this stuff. ...

He looks like he is having fun to me - and that's all the reason you need!

Does anything else matter?

Looks Awesome! Wish I could do that!

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ikw777 said..

Curious. At risk of sounding negative, I really can't understand why anyone wants to do this stuff. It's legitimate branch of windsurfing certainly, and the skills are just mad, but it leaves me completely cold.

You could say that about any sporting discipline. At heart it's about fun and it develops from there.

It's interesting that when freestyle was introduced to the PWA schedule old guys doing mostly old tricks carried the day for about five years. I think Dunks actually won the first one. Then Ricardo hit the comp and the old school blokes all dropped out because it was too much work to catch up and keep up. Most of them went back to the simple pleasures of racing and wave sailing.

In a way it's a shame because old school freestyle is still relevant to the average sailor, or it could be. Now it's all about jaw droppingly impressive trickery that's impossible for anyone who hasn't been sailing 5 hours a day since they were 4 years old. There's a vid made by Dr Beat that includes a snippet of Gollito at ~12 throwing a forward.

I still intend to learn some old school tricks because it's challenging and satisfying to learn stuff.

This link of another freestyle video was recently posted. The guy in the middle section is Hugo de Sousa - not bad!

?rel=0

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Mark _australia said..

ikw777 said..
Curious. At risk of sounding negative, I really can't understand why anyone wants to do this stuff. It's legitimate branch of windsurfing certainly, and the skills are just mad, but it leaves me completely cold.

I sort of agree, I was slated a few years ago when I said we could potentially have a world champion who can't gybe. So I feel your redthumbs pain lol

But if you get bored going back n forth and don't have waves....... that would be the best fun you could have with your pants on.

Yes +1 for me. Can absolutely appreciate the effortless skill, but for me, I just love blasting as fast as I can, getting good jumps and nailing great gybes. But that's just me. I'd love to be able to sail where these guys sail mind you, strong wind and flat water sound pretty good to me.

I'm a guitarist also, but had to leave a Steve Vai show, it was just too much.

I don't mind the red thumbs. I expected them. I took pains to state this it was just my opinion and that I recognised the skill level involved, but I knew people would red thumb anyway.

I personally just don't get the appeal. I much prefer the idea of a good open water blast, charging flat tack in big swells with a few buddies.

To each his own though.

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ikw777 said..

Curious. At risk of sounding negative, I really can't understand why anyone wants to do this stuff. It's legitimate branch of windsurfing certainly, and the skills are just mad, but it leaves me completely cold.

I have no great urge to do much beyond the essentials of windsurfing, but I understand that when you get to the stage of doing 360's and duck tacks, you don't just say "Well that's where it ends".

A lot of these moves may end up being done on waves.

Strictly personal take:

I like the moves he does off chop when he gets more air... the switch foot, bouncy moves off flat water leave me cold even though they must be insanely difficult to pull off.

Combining a forward with ducking the sail seems incomprehensibly difficult for me. Kind of like the Koster back loop that he somehow turns into a forward... Probably just getting old...

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ikw777 said..

I don't mind the red thumbs. I expected them. I took pains to state this it was just my opinion and that I recognised the skill level involved, but I knew people would red thumb anyway.

I personally just don't get the appeal. I much prefer the idea of a good open water blast, charging flat tack in big swells with a few buddies.

To each his own though.

Maybe if I could do anything that remotely resembled any of his moves, deliberately, I would get the appeal. It leaves me dizzy and confused. My brain doesn't talk to my limbs that quickly. Awesome stuff, though.

several years ago i made a bunch of short video clips available to over 200 video editing students to use for a small assignment. There were wave sailing clips, freestyle clips, and footage of slalom sailors speeding along in the ocean jumping off waves or blasting along on speed runs - i chose what i thought was the best of the best footage available at the time.

The students got to choose which ever clips they wanted to use, and to my surprise almost all of them chose the slalom/speed clips and they thought they were awesome - there was almost no interest in the wave sailing or freestyle, including giant loops etc. I guess the average person just cannot relate to the more complex stuff and explains the general marketing by the manufacturers

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Haircut said..

several years ago i made a bunch of short video clips available to over 200 video editing students to use for a small assignment. There were wave sailing clips, freestyle clips, and footage of slalom sailors speeding along in the ocean jumping off waves or blasting along on speed runs - i chose what i thought was the best of the best footage available at the time.

The students got to choose which ever clips they wanted to use, and to my surprise almost all of them chose the slalom/speed clips and they thought they were awesome - there was almost no interest in the wave sailing or freestyle, including giant loops etc. I guess the average person just cannot relate to the more complex stuff and explains the general marketing by the manufacturers

Tell me YOU didn't get a woody over watching that though. As soon as I saw it I thought about how much you would love it.

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Haircut said..

several years ago i made a bunch of short video clips available to over 200 video editing students to use for a small assignment. There were wave sailing clips, freestyle clips, and footage of slalom sailors speeding along in the ocean jumping off waves or blasting along on speed runs - i chose what i thought was the best of the best footage available at the time.

The students got to choose which ever clips they wanted to use, and to my surprise almost all of them chose the slalom/speed clips and they thought they were awesome - there was almost no interest in the wave sailing or freestyle, including giant loops etc. I guess the average person just cannot relate to the more complex stuff and explains the general marketing by the manufacturers

Maybe they were lazy? A lot easier to edit speed or slalom than wave or freestyle?

Just blasting in a straight line on a windsurfer is such a unique feeling. Thankfully the best part of the sport is accessible to all.

Wow, I wish I had 0.1% of the skills on show here!!!

There is just so much to that you can do on a windsurfer - I love guys who push the boundaries.

Now back to learning how to gybe properly.

I feel too old to do freestyle now but it did once interest me. Its a akin to doing tricks on skateboards it could still be a way to get young sailors into the sport. Lot of respect for the skill level involved.

my son nailed this one in an afternoon practising, and I still can't nail my racing gyges after 4 years....
oh to be young again..

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albentley said...

ikw777 said..

Curious. At risk of sounding negative, I really can't understand why anyone wants to do this stuff. It's legitimate branch of windsurfing certainly, and the skills are just mad, but it leaves me completely cold.

This is a stupid comment, why do windsurfing at all in the first place??? It's not like anyone uses it as a serious method of transport.

This is not true Al when I was a kid I used to windsurf to the windsurf shop and also to my friends houses as I wasn't old enough to drive..

But if this did leave him completely cold I think he should stick to watching tennis.

hi All
This links to the discussion on general about how do you get people into windsurfing. I showed this video to my kid and he was in awe and now is busting to get out and have a crack at these manoeuvres. I explained that it takes a lot of time and pain to get even some of these tricks down but it is the general level of enthusiasm that this bring out that is great to see. To see him or any young kids so stoked on a sport that I have been into for years is great bring on the cool videos they get a great response. He has now been sending this link to his non sailing mates who want to have a crack at windsurfing. Bring it on

IMO, I believe certain people (myself included), feel threatened by this level of windsurfing skill level as it moves further away from where most recreational windsurfers are at.

From my perspective, the gateway moves are the forward loop, back loop (you most probably need waves) and the Vulcan.

How many windsurfers do you know that have achieved that! (on both tacks, as well).

I suppose it gets down to how much enjoyment each individual gets out of the sport.

Maybe people should stop posting videos so that we all remain in ignorance of the development of this sport!

The relevance of freestyle to people like me is that it develops boards like the Fanatic Skate BGS and freestyle sails. Both of which can make it easier to get planing in light winds and learn things like duck gybe, tacking, helicopter tack, sailing front to sail easier than on most FSWs.

It allows you an alternative to getting a big board and 9m sail for light winds. Especially if you have only flat water and light winds.

That's why freestyle is so popular in Bonaire. Its a lot more fun than the windsurf alternatives in those conditions.

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qldnacra said..
Tell me YOU didn't get a woody over watching that though. As soon as I saw it I thought about how much you would love it.

i had some myocardial infarctions

I think anyone who says it looks boring hasn't actually tried it or is suffering an inferiority complex.

The problem with freestyle is it takes a lot of practice and patience to learn. Sure the level of Gollito is unattainable to most of us but anyone who can do a chop hop can realistically learn to spock, the thing is, only a very small percent have the dedication to keep trying to learn or put it in the too hard basket. And basically that's the crux of it, imo

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ikw777 said..

Curious. At risk of sounding negative, I really can't understand why anyone wants to do this stuff. It's legitimate branch of windsurfing certainly, and the skills are just mad, but it leaves me completely cold.

and it helps your general sailing, any sort of freestyle you learn/try has a benefit to your sailing, wavesailing, blasting or even slalom!! (dont know exactly how on the last one but i will find an!! answer)