Embrace the Catapult.
Every time you feel you're going over, sheet in and bring the rig in and forward past your chest.
That way you can learn to forward loop easily without wussing out and fighting the feeling of getting catapulted.

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Stuthepirate said..
Embrace the Catapult.
Every time you feel you're going over, sheet in and bring the rig in and forward past your chest.
That way you can learn to forward loop easily without wussing out and fighting the feeling of getting catapulted.

Is that really how those easy looking , rolling on the water forward loops are done ? Im scared

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Stuthepirate said..
Embrace the Catapult.
Every time you feel you're going over, sheet in and bring the rig in and forward past your chest.
That way you can learn to forward loop easily without wussing out and fighting the feeling of getting catapulted.

I guess its a wussy question to ask, if you use this technique whether it causes more injury than not taking any action at all...it does sound like you may reduce board damage if you do so....but Ill tell you the times its happened, it was instant!

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Discus said..

Stuthepirate said..
Embrace the Catapult.
Every time you feel you're going over, sheet in and bring the rig in and forward past your chest.
That way you can learn to forward loop easily without wussing out and fighting the feeling of getting catapulted.

I guess its a wussy question to ask, if you use this technique whether it causes more injury than not taking any action at all...it does sound like you may reduce board damage if you do so....but Ill tell you the times its happened, it was instant!

I just hang on and don't let the boom go and I haven't hit anything yet ( other than water! ). One unhooked catapult I smashed my hand on the mast on the way past and couldn't use some fingers properly for 6 months.. I'd gone in for a gybe and got hit with a megagust and the rig was ripped out of my hands.

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sboardcrazy said..



I just hang on and don't let the boom go and I haven't hit anything yet ( other than water! ). One unhooked catapult I smashed my hand on the mast on the way past and couldn't use some fingers properly for 6 months.. I'd gone in for a gybe and got hit with a megagust and the rig was ripped out of my hands.

Sorry to hear what happen to you sboardcrazy. Those injuries are shockers. you must be very keen to still be in the sport!...Ill hold on to that boom!!!. Thank you for sharing your experience!

Hey Discus is this you? I first thought it was me but i don't have a sail in that colour. I am led to believe that forward loops are generally completed with the board

www.facebook.com/windzonerz/videos/999922153450266/

Haa, what a video clip!!! He's doing cartwheels in the air. Lol!!!

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Vince68 said..
Hey Discus is this you? I first thought it was me but i don't have a sail in that colour. I am led to believe that forward loops are generally completed with the board

www.facebook.com/windzonerz/videos/999922153450266/

Vince68, I can only pretend to aspire to such great heights of skill !!....good grief!

Discus,

Considering the gusty conditions you sail in, you've done well so far. Persevere. At some point your wind awareness will become much better and catapults will become infrequent. Then you will have another problem - you will become too good at reacting to the pull of the sail. Carve gybes are not forward loops, but you do have to go with the sail rather than resist it.

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Vince68 said..
Hey Discus is this you? I first thought it was me but i don't have a sail in that colour. I am led to believe that forward loops are generally completed with the board

www.facebook.com/windzonerz/videos/999922153450266/

Vince68, I can only pretend to aspire to such great heights of skill !!....good grief!

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MrCranky said..
Discus,

Considering the gusty conditions you sail in, you've done well so far. Persevere. At some point your wind awareness will become much better and catapults will become infrequent. Then you will have another problem - you will become too good at reacting to the pull of the sail. Carve gybes are not forward loops, but you do have to go with the sail rather than resist it.

Thanks for the encouragement Buddy.
I dont think anyone has windsurfed until in the foot straps, and I only just starting too! Im looking forward to building up on what I learnt last season and to jibe as well!

You're absolutely correct - windsurfing is a planing sport. That awesome feeling of skimming the surface of the water is what it's all about. It's unfortunate that the learning curve is what it is - many simply give up before they get to this point.

^^ sure is. Persistence is the key. I am self taught, i vomited every second day for 3 weeks learning. I learnt on a short board so i had no choice but to learnt to water start from day dot and ingested a crap load of water. But the thrill when you pull off a new skill is like a drug, you want more. then my road changed and stopped sailing. Then I returned to windsurfing a couple of seasons back from a 10-15 yr break. Still crash most of my gybes but i can water start. and i still often perform the best high speed unplanned dismounts....and they all have style but it's the salt in my veins that keeps my coming back for more.

Keep at it Discus

Agreed, this sport is one he'll of a drug. It totally consumes me all the time. When I'm at work, I glance at flags and trees out the window, check wind speed meters online, just to satisfy my craving for not being able to be out windsurfing that day.

It's when you get the skills down with your own special style that makes you one on one with your rig, that's when the drug kicked in for me.

But until you understand the limits of the wind on your rig, you will probably get injured here and there because you don't know how to respond and adjust to suttle changes and being thrown around the rig least expected. It's not until you get the skills down, you will then have wiggle room in every maneuver you do on the water, that's when the injuries eventually stop, or are slim to none.

When I learned, I hyper extended my knees, hurt my shoulder, pulled many muscles, had the mast fall on my head. Stick with it.

I feel Im amongst Friends!!!

"When I'm at work, I glance at flags and trees out the window, check wind speed meters online, just to satisfy my craving for not being able to be out windsurfing that day."

Magic Ride, I Feel like you do about the sport ... Now I know Im not the only one who is crazy!

Are your injuries permanent?

Hi Discus,

It's nice when all the hours of investment spent on the water finally become rewarding. But in regards to my prior injuries on the water, I am pretty much fine now for the most part. No issues with any head trama, when the mast hit me in the head. My shoulder is fine, I hurt that when learning how to waterstart, and hyper extended my legs when I Locked my knee in the water when standing in waist high water, the wave pushed my knee back and that's how I hyper extended my knee.

My knees are the only part I am careful with. I wear knee wraps when I'm windsurfing, just to give me more stability around the knee and I feel great and have no issues when I'm wearing the braces. Off the water, I still walk, run and lift weights with no problems.

My tendons used to kink up in my forearm from racing sailboats and and then would bother me when I learned windsurfing. The solution to that was buying tendon wraps. They work perfect, no more issues with my forearm tendons anymore. You learn to work around the previous injuries so they won't occur again.

Hi Magic Ride

Any chance about putting some pictures of the knee and tendon wraps you are using?

Hi bhc,

These are the knee braces I use. They are very flexible, but keep the knee more stable. I wear them underneath my wetsuit and when I'm wearing boardshorts. Got them 9 years ago at Sports Authority, and they are still holding together.




These are the tendon wraps I use on my forearms. Got these 3 years ago from Big 5 Sporting Goods. Very comfy to wear, but I only use them with a shorty wetsuit and with boardshorts. I don't wear them with a full length wetsuit because the material of the full length wetsuit takes the place of the wraps for me. But for the knee braces, the full length wetsuit doesn't take the place of the brace, so I wear the knee brace underneath the wetsuit

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Vince68 said..
^^ sure is. Persistence is the key. I am self taught, i vomited every second day for 3 weeks learning. I learnt on a short board so i had no choice but to learnt to water start from day dot and ingested a crap load of water. But the thrill when you pull off a new skill is like a drug, you want more. then my road changed and stopped sailing. Then I returned to windsurfing a couple of seasons back from a 10-15 yr break. Still crash most of my gybes but i can water start. and i still often perform the best high speed unplanned dismounts....and they all have style but it's the salt in my veins that keeps my coming back for more.

Keep at it Discus

Vince68, your a Legend Pal!!!...thanks to you as well !

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Magic Ride said..
Hi Discus,

It's nice when all the hours of investment spent on the water finally become rewarding. But in regards to my prior injuries on the water, I am pretty much fine now for the most part. No issues with any head trama, when the mast hit me in the head. My shoulder is fine, I hurt that when learning how to waterstart, and hyper extended my legs when I Locked my knee in the water when standing in waist high water, the wave pushed my knee back and that's how I hyper extended my knee.

My knees are the only part I am careful with. I wear knee wraps when I'm windsurfing, just to give me more stability around the knee and I feel great and have no issues when I'm wearing the braces. Off the water, I still walk, run and lift weights with no problems.

My tendons used to kink up in my forearm from racing sailboats and and then would bother me when I learned windsurfing. The solution to that was buying tendon wraps. They work perfect, no more issues with my forearm tendons anymore. You learn to work around the previous injuries so they won't occur again.

Magic Ride,
Yes its very satisfying to get pay-back for all the time and effort of getting nowhere and finally...the achievement!
A credit to You for your perseverance in spite of your injuries !!!

my 2c worth;
sailing today in gusty fresh wind, but very choppy Port Phillip, a couple of times I felt that gut sickening pull, but remembered an old technique from the 80s, which was to roll the windward shoulder down & drop low. The whole rig rotates down & depowers very fast. Sink into a crouch, re rotate back & hang on ...again!
nigel

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Magic Ride said..
Hi Discus,

But in regards to my prior injuries on the water, I am pretty much fine now for the most part. No issues with any head trama, when the mast hit me in the head.

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Magic Ride said..
Hi bhc,

These are the knee braces I use. They are very flexible, but keep the knee more stable. I wear them underneath my wetsuit and when I'm wearing boardshorts. Got them 9 years ago at Sports Authority, and they are still holding together.


These are the tendon wraps I use on my forearms. Got these 3 years ago from Big 5 Sporting Goods. Very comfy to wear, but I only use them with a shorty wetsuit and with boardshorts. I don't wear them with a full length wetsuit because the material of the full length wetsuit takes the place of the wraps for me. But for the knee braces, the full length wetsuit doesn't take the place of the brace, so I wear the knee brace underneath the wetsuit

Thank you for the pictures..Knee braces sound like a good idea to prevent issues with the aging knees.

Anytime bhc.

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blazing928 said..
my 2c worth;
sailing today in gusty fresh wind, but very choppy Port Phillip, a couple of times I felt that gut sickening pull, but remembered an old technique from the 80s, which was to roll the windward shoulder down & drop low. The whole rig rotates down & depowers very fast. Sink into a crouch, re rotate back & hang on ...again!
nigel

Thanks Buddy!

I know it's a couple of months after this post, but one factor that wasn't mentioned specifically (alluded to in passing) is when you don't have enough outhaul, ie a "baggy" sail, it tends to pull you over the nose into a catapult rather than create a nice laminar flow over the sail pushing you and the board forward smoothly... Can't stress enough how important your rig setup is - a few centimeters more or less downhaul or outhaul, a few centimeters forward or back on the mast track, it makes a big difference to your sailing. Best tip I can give is to make adjustments when you are sailing - stop in the shallows, or go out on the beach and make the adjustment, don't just keep sailing because it seems like an effort to stop and make the changes. And remember that the conditions changes over time while you are on the water, you should keep your rig adjusted to the conditions.
My 2 cents worth...