windsurf on maui Archives

March 23, 2017 — Comments are off for this post.

Four Seasons Unforgettable Windsurfing Week

Maui is already dreamy with it’s turquoise seas, swaying palm trees and a booming surf culture. Add the Four Seasons luxury accommodations into the mix and I think we’ve just gone to heaven. Waking up in Wailea’s calm south side beaches, breaking dawn with pastel colors, in our plush beds over looking the bay and the distant islands of Lanai and Kahoolawe was only the start of a perfect day. We were greeted each morning with a buffet of endless choices for breakfast, special juiced concoctions and stiff shots of coffee for those in need. By 8:15 we were all ready to hit the water with a bundle of hotel towels, beach chairs and gourmet packed lunches and surf gear on the racks. The windsurfing day started with Matt and Shawna going over all the safety issues with their guests, explaining the environment as well as going over the techniques of how to windsurfing first on the beach before entering the water. The gentle early morning breezes were perfect for all the beginners while Francisco got to enjoy windsurfing further off the shore where the winds funneled through the valley to create planning conditions for more advanced sailors. Under the shade of the trees we were able to set up our chairs and tuck into our lunches before heading out for a second session on the water.The fist day unravelled smoothly, like butter. Our guest were sun kissed, refreshed by Maui’s seas and ready to return to the hotel for some much appreciated relaxation. Some guest hit the Infinity Pool, others indulged in massages while a few just hit their rooms for a nap. Our group reconvened at 5pm to view the days video footage where Matt and Shawna were able to show their guest their best moments, fun shots as well as discuss how to improve other situations. Sunset cocktails were then enjoyed before dinner at a time where silhouetted palms trees waved goodnight to a blazing colored sky. We’d begin our evening meals under the blanket of a warm night sky. Guest had a choice to join Shawna and Matt for dinner or to have quiet meals on their own at any of the three stellar hotel restaurants. Ferraro’s Bar e Ristorante provides the best view of the sun dipping back ion the sea with delicious Italian food. Duo delivered a fantastic steaks, seafood and cozy atmosphere. Spago’s was a special notch of gourmet flash with one our very own Ho’okipa ripper, chef Peleg Miron coming out and explaining his meals before dazzling us with sizzling dishes. Stellar wines were poured and meals were devoured after full days of windsurfing, SUP and adventuring.

JAWS went off during our Four Season Unforgettable Event week. Jaws is one of the largest breaking waves in the world hitting up to 60 foot faces. The ‘Wave’ has made it on the cover of National Geographic’s as well as numerous other publications. Watching local heroes like Shane Dorian or Mark Healey launching themselves on to this skyscraper wall of water looking slightly larger than ants themselves is a once in a lifetime sight to see, especially from our private local perch on the cliff. That day was spent cruising through the north shores surf culture, weaving amongst surf board laden monster trucks, hair pin turns trimmed with jungly flora and fauna as well as mingling amongst local windsurf stars, local surf shops, cafes’ and their critters. Getting a taste of the true local Maui flavor is all part of holiday experience with Matt and Shawna.Besides windsurfing, we SUPed on knee high beginner waves in clear tropical waters surrounded by turtles. Our last night was celebrated in true style with a long table, many personal hilarious stories shared, a choice of meals and wine delivered in full ‘Four Seasons’ style. Pool races were enjoyed under stars, fountain puzzles found solutions, and early morning traditional canoe paddling was enjoyed to finish our last day along with one more large breakfast together before everyone caught different flights back home.

Shawn and Matt could not of conjured up a better dream team. All the guest were full of amazing experiences, life stories and humor. Everyone became closer friends after a holiday of immense action, pleasure, flavor sensations and beauty.
It was an ‘Unforgettable’ week.

[Photos by Adam Blakesley]

Testimonials

“This was truly an unforgettable experienced for both my wife and myself. I just can’t stop talking about it and there’s a permanent smile now on my face. Matt and Shawna are world class sailors and yet they are so accessible; highly skilled and yet so clear in translating that skill into something I could understand; patient and yet tremendously energetic to give me that extra push. And all of it wrapped around in boatloads of fun and interesting bits about life in Maui and the life of a windsurfer. The visits to Jaws and to the workshops where top of the line sails and boards are made in Haiku, were things that any 5 to 85 year old kid hooked ON water sports would drool about. And you can see the respect that Shawna and Matt garner from their peers. I am looking forward to doing it again. And next time, it won’t be just my wife, the kids are coming too!”
Francisco R. Rey
Corporate Finance – Global Head
BBVA Corporate and Investment Banking

"It was an absolute joy spending time with Shawna and Matt, as well as the great personalities that were attracted to this debut effort between Aloha Windsurfing Clinic and Four Seasons. In my relatively new world (two kids, what feels like 4 full time jobs, etc.) I’d been feeling like I recently “lost” what was so special about living in Hawaii. To be so close to my home (a little further beyond the Au‘au Channel) and be “treated” to 4 days in the water was just a dream. Add meeting Francisco and Monica, David and Mark, you two and Thomas and Adam… just awesome. I appreciate the opportunity to make these new friends. I look forward to seeing you all again. Perhaps in Spain! Much aloha."
Brian Berusch
Publisher, Hawaii Polo Life
B on Hawaii media services and consulting
Principal, Story House Hawaii productions

"On a rainy San Francisco morning I am still basking in the afterglow of an amazing trip to Maui. Shawna and Matt, thanks for creating an incredible trip and to all of you for creating some lifetime memories!
I look forward to seeing you all on the water! Cheers."
Mark Blake

Published by Shawna Cropas in Windsurfing Clinics

Tags: learn how to windsurf, maui, maui water sports, shawna cropas, windsurf on maui, windsurfing, windsurfing clinics

January 4, 2015 — Comments are off for this post.

Rescue Stance

by Shawna Cropas

Rescue Stance is the most stabilizing body posture and a ‘core skill’ that we use at many different stages of our windsurfing game. The Rescue Stance is a major contributor to smooth execution, easy take offs from the beach, exact landings of a move and general perfect form in windsurfing. It’s the key to coming out of our jibes planing and remaining in control after a fast tack on a short board is completed. It’s the stance to insure our success in light winds: When we need to make it out to a wind line or just get back to the beach should the winds ever just shut off ( We’ve all been there). It’s the body position we take up the moment we are on the board for the first time after a waterstart in order that we don’t get launched over the front in high winds or fall off backwards in light winds. It’s also useful in light wind wavesailing for slogging and for hovering on the spot while waiting for a desired wave to catch up.

Rescue Stance is used at any moment in the game where we’re are out of the harness and foot straps. Sometimes during a complex freestyle moves, jibes, tacks or simply used to launch off a tricky beach like Ho’okipa where the winds are light, gusty and off shore with a pounding shore break. Rescue Stance is the act of controlling the power of the wind in your sail by counteracting it’s force with the weight of your body. It’s the act of hanging from the boom to load up mast foot pressure rather than pulling in with your arms and killing it. I call it ‘Rescue Stance’ as it pretty much saves all your intended windsurfing goals and moves- And it literally enables you to get back to the beach if your ‘reliable’ wind shuts down completely to just a puff and a prayer. Using this stance at the end of a jibe or a fast tack is the equivalent to the perfect two foot landing of gymnast after a complicated double twist in the air.

Simply put:

Drop + Hang + Front Foot next to Mast Foot + Look Upwind = Mast Foot Pressure + Stability
Stand up + Yank sail in with arms + Feet close together + Look Down = No Mast Foot Pressure = The ‘Funky Chicken Dance’ before falling in.

How and Why:

We lose mast foot press whenever we stand up and pull in with our arms. We lose stability when we look down and when our feet are too close together. The front foot should step up to the mast foot (Especially on smaller boards). No muscles in anyones arms have enough power in them to counteract the constant ever changing force of wind. Any time a gust pulls the sail out of your grip you instantly lose mast foot pressure- Mast Foot Pressure (MFP): The force of your body weight channeling via your boom into the mast to keep the nose of the board down. Without MFP your body sinks the tail of the board. When we sink the back of the board the nose usually flies up into wind.

What, Where and When

We use the Rescue Stance during:

Jibes:

It’s the piece of the puzzle at the end of the jibe that allows us to plane out of our jibes as fast as we went in without getting our hair wet. It’s used at two very specific times during the planing or non planing jibe.

a) Just after we have stepped up to the mast foot and are beginning to let go of our sail to let it flip.

DON’T- pull in on the arms and stand up!

b) When we are catching our sails on the new side just after it has flipped. Our front foot is next to the mast foot, our weight is low, feet wide apart, front foot pushing the nose of the board down wind. Just hanging from the boom-

DON’T pull in with your arms! Kills MPF- How frustrating is it to cruise through a jibe and then fling yourself off just at the end with a hard yank on the back hand?

Tacks:

Rescue stance is used at the end of the tack when we have already jumped around the front of the board to the new side. Hopefully our front foot is near the mast foot. We are hanging, guiding the board off the wind with the ball of our front foot while pulling the back of the board with our back foot. Hang and look upwind until you are sailing away comfortably in the new direction.

DON’T pull hard with the back hand. Kills MFP.

Water Starts:

There is nothing that brings us closer to tears than swimming all our equipment around, getting our board and sail lined up correctly to the wind and finally getting enough wind to pick us up out of the water and thinking ‘YES’ as we get up on the board… Only for us to stand too upright, pull the sail in with our arms (killing MFP), sinking the back of the board and falling right back in! In a high wind situations the yank of the back hand would fling us over the front of the sail.

Let’s give all your efforts the chance of a successful waterstart. Once the sail has picked us up, let’s make sure your front foot makes it all the way up to the mast foot. Don’t pull in with your arms, just hang and look upwind until we have found our stability- Then adjust your stance accordingly. Ie: Stay low in high winds and sail a little more upright in lighter winds.

DON’T

Beach Starts:

Always leave the beach with back foot in correct position on the center line between the front and back footstraps and the front foot steps all the way up to the mast foot. Hang until you have gauged the wind directions and strengths correctly and change stance accordingly. Ie: Drop weight more in higher winds and stand up more in lighter winds. Look upwind for general wind awareness. Light wind take off’s are more difficult than high wind. Must never pull the sail in with your arms!!!!

The key to extremely light wind take offs from the beach is to step up with your front foot slightly ahead of the mast foot on the nose side of the board and the back foot goes slightly more forward too- Readjust footwork when you reach the wind line or if the wind picks up.

DON’T

Slogging and Hovering:

Hovering might be my favorite light wind thing. I love looking behind me and watching my chosen wave get closer to me as I push the back of my board so up wind that I stay in a stalled position long enough for the wave to catch up with me. I adjust my foot presses minutely. Like the feeling of balancing a nonmoving bike. Front foot in front of mast foot- adjusting pressure of each foot slightly and constantly. Keep sail upright and away from you.

When When slogging in super light winds on a short board. Front foot must go up to the mast foot. (Front foot goes in front of mast foot on the nose side of the board in crazy light winds.) Look upwind for balance and wind awareness. Keep the sail away from you. Hang if you need to- Chill out hard. Zen into a meditative headspace and enjoy the world moving by at a slower pace. You will eventually hit the wind line or reach the shore.

DON’T

Have fun on the water and enjoy the process.

ALOHA

Published by Shawna Cropas in Tips and Techniques

Tags: hawaii, hawaii windsurfing, learn how to windsurf, maui, maui sports, maui water sports, maui windsurfing, shawna cropas, windsurf clinics, windsurf on maui, windsurfing, windsurfing rescue stance, windsurfing tips

May 1, 2011 — Comments are off for this post.

The Low Down on Getting Low

How long should you go and what it looks like

Staying low and hanging off the boom when not using the harness in certain situations is the key to many successful maneuvers while windsurfing; such as getting going after beachstarting without sinking the tail and falling off backwards, getting up from a waterstart without getting pulled over the front or rounding up, successfully getting around a jibe or a bottom turn on a waves without stalling out or losing control . Getting low is the only way to handle a powered up sail when not using the harness, without letting out the back hand (sheeting out), losing mast foot pressure, and/or getting catapulted over the ‘handle bars’!

Getting low means hanging off the boom with straight arms as though you were a monkey swinging form limb to limb. Basically you want to hang without using a stitch of upper body strength by using the full weight of your body to counteract the power in the sail to keep sheeted in and remain in control. Your weight should fall back over the back leg while the front leg remains straight with some give in it to handle chop.

Getting low does not mean leaning back so you fall off backwards all the time. Your weight is down over the board, not the water and how low you go depends on how much power there is in your sail.

ABOVE PHOTOS: The photos show you what I mean by getting low. NOTICE: Where am I looking? How low under the boom am I? Are my arms strained or relaxed? Am I hanging off the boom? Is my weight over the back foot or the front foot?

Ideally your head should be looking up wind watching out for gusts or lulls….

Why get so low?

We want to use our weight rather than the strength of our arms to counteract the power of the wind in the sail and keep the nose of the board down with mast foot pressure (the result of your weight transferring from the boom putting pressure down through the mast so you don’t sink the back of the board).

Using your arms rather than your weight is futile… It’s the equivalent of doing pull ups rather than just saving energy and hanging … I can hang from a bar all day long.
Below are some of the problem you may have encountered by not getting low enough in certain situations.

Falling off backwards when you first get up on a windsurfer by sinking the back of the board.
Losing speed
Catapults
Spin outs
Slogging

When to get low

If the winds are moderate to high it is ideal to get low as soon as you jump on your windsurfer so you don’t get catapulted a mere five feet from shore.

Hanging low also keeps the nose of the board down via mast foot pressure so you don’t sink the back of board and fall of backwards the moment your feet touch the board. Get on your windsurfer and stay low until you are comfortable and stable while sailing away. You can eventually ease to a more upright position if the wind calls for it…. But who knows you might have to get lower if a gust is racing in your direction!

Staying low when you first get up insures you don’t just get blown over the front again. Waterstarts take time to learn on a good day, but there is nothing more frustrating than swimming all the gear around, getting the angles to the wind correct, pulling the sail out of the water and finally getting up on to the board only to be pulled right over the front by a gust. It’s exhausting and can reduce a grown man to tears to have to start the whole process again! Stay low over the board once you’re up! Not too much that you fall off backwards…. Though falling off backward is better than the latter, at least you fall back into waterstart position. Just imagine how powered up your sail has to be to lift you out of the water and if you don’t stay low you’ll be over the front before you know it. Once you’re up and stable it also helps to head up wind to de-power the sail.

It is best to head out on the broadest reach possible to get planing quickly. In doing so, the sail gets super powered up which means you are going to have to get aggressively low and/or sink down into the harness to get speed and keep sheeted in order not to do ‘bull riding impressions’, which as we all know ends with a graceless dismount. When you start using your arms and not your weight, gust of wind easily pull the sail out your back hand (loss of mast foot pressure) which lifts the nose out of the water and you lose control.

Staying low through out the jibe is one of the keys to getting around in full control. The lower you are the better your balance. Low mean maintaining the pressure down through the mast so the board sticks in the water through out the turn when not in the harness. It’s especially crucial to keep your weight down while flipping the sail as there’s an extra pull of power in the sail at that time. It also really helps to look back upwind while flipping the sail to bring the sail forward and into the sweet spot of balance rather than letting it drop behind you.

Tips for a Planing Gybe

When you’re riding waves the bottom turn is something like going into a jibe but just before you would be flipping the sail, you cut back at the top of the wave instead. To ride waves you unhook but your feet remain in the footstraps. As you can imagine when you’re unhooked heading in the same direction as the wind, along a wave, there’s going to me a lot of speed, and power in your sail. Getting low with our back hand way down the boom will be the only way to handle all the power in the sail! You don’t want to be spinning out on a wave ( which is caused by the nose lifting up due to a lack of mast foot pressure and air getting caught around the fins) and/or slow down as the board sinks and slugs through a turn.

Enjoy getting out there and GETTING DOWN!

Aloha,

Published by Shawna Cropas in Tips and Techniques

April 30, 2011 — Comments are off for this post.

Flow and Rhythm with the Wind Using a Harness

Rarely have I sailed a venue where the wind is truly steady. The majority of my experiences wind is a fluctuating force. Which is why it’s really important to learn to flow with the gust and lulls and use your harness and weight correctly to dance in rhythm with the conditions rather then join the windsurfing rodeo show. Similar to horseback riding if you’re not in sync you’ll get bounced all about with a potential of an unseemly dismount. The key to perfect rhythm is anticipating what the wind is going to do. The only way to know what’s coming your way is to start reading the wind before it hits you. Keep a steady eye upwind to see what your wind partners next step is going to be… Steady, a gasping lull or a heaving gust?

Next start preparing your stance for the change in wind force if there is one… For lulls lift your hips (weight) up towards the nose of the board to get in a more upright position and with a gust drop your hips (weight) down over the back leg without using your arms a stitch to control the sudden power in your sail. If you’re too upright when a gust hits you, you’ll be over the horns so to speak or you’ll sheet out (even if it’s just for a second, it’ll pop the nose of the board up as all your body weight weighs down the back of the board), swerve and/or spin out as air gets caught around the fin hence the ‘Bucking Bronco’ experience. It’s much more enjoyable and a safer ride if we learn how to tango correctly with the wind before we hit the liquid dance floor!

Lighter Winds

In lighter winds your stance looks more like the shape of a 7 as you’re more upright.

In high winds your stance looks more like the shape of a 6 as you crunch to sheet in with your harness. Not your arms!

The only way to know what’s coming your way is to start reading the wind before it hits you. Keep a steady eye upwind to see what your wind partners next step is going to be…

The photos below are examples to show you how the hips move when you’re hooked in shown without a sail so yo can really see the movement of the hips from up and towards the nose of the board in light winds and down back over the back foot in high winds. The arms only bend because you’re using your hips to to crunch in which means your head gets closer to the boom. As a by product the arms need to bend in order to accommodate that action, but you are NOT using your arms to hold the power in the sail. Your hips and legs should be doing all the hard work!

Light wind ‘offering it’, hips up.

High wind ‘sitting on it’, hips down.

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Light Winds and Managing Lulls

Hips up (with our bellybutton facing towards the nose of the board) while you shift your weight towards the front leg in effort to bring your sail in a more upright powerful positions which will enable you to sail without stalling through a lull. Lifting you hips up lifts the sail up.

Light Wind Sailing Stance

p.s. if you add more twist you head upwind!

High Wind Sailing and Managing Gusts

Weight drops down over the back leg and into the harness. Hips are facing forward (bellybutton points towards the nose of the board as much as possible). Head is looking where you are going even a bit upwind as it slows down the sensation of speed ( just like keeping your eyes on the road while cycling keeps you balanced rather then looking sideways or down). It also ensures a comfortable and in control ride. As you sheet in the sail via your harness you have to do a crunch like maneuver by pulling in with our stomach muscles which nears your head to the boom and bends your arms… Though the arms are not being using to hold the power in the sail. You should be harnessing that power through the harness via your hips and legs. Your thighs should burn from the effort! When you become an expert at high wind sailing you should be able to readjust your bathing suit bottoms with your back hand while you’re doing ‘mach four’ across the seas.

High Wind Sailing Stance

Neutral Sailing Stance

When you are perfectly powered up you are in a neutral position with weight centered over both legs evenly. Not too up nor down. Though you should always be facing forward eyes scouting upwind conditions in anticipation of wind fluctuations. I don’t think I’ve ever stayed in a neutral sailing position for long…. probably only in passing on my way to getting lower or lifting my hips sky high.

Lot’s a warm Hawaiian breezes,

Aloha

Published by Shawna Cropas in Tips and Techniques

Tags: hawaii, hawaii windsurfing, learn how to windsurf, maui, maui sports, maui water sports, maui windsurfing, shawna cropas, wind surfing, windsurf clinics, windsurf on maui, windsurfing, windsurfing clinics, windsurfing tips

February 1, 2011 — Comments are off for this post.

Basic Windsurfing Stance

Hip Action

If there is one tip out there that could greatly improve your sailing by as much as 50 percent it would be what I call the Hip Twist. If you are not looking around you probably don’t know what’s going on and are complexly unaware of your surroundings. You will be less in tune with the fluctuations of the wind and you may find yourself being catapulted or simply coming off the plane a lot. This is exasperated if your front knee is bent and you are looking at your hands, feet or just ahead of the nose of the board. This kind of stance feels uncomfortable or out of control. A slight hip twist with your bellybutton pointing slightly more towards the nose of the board will open up you viewing range as long as you are sheeting in with your harness and not your arms. This allows you to see more clearly upwind in order to read the wind strengths before they sneak up on you!

Perfect stance is the good posture of windsurfing. This standing position on your board with your hips facing slightly forward is ideal for the absolute beginner as it will allow them to fly faster through the tough learning curves of windsurfing with the correct tools. Improvers will find that the Hip Twist stance will make it that much easier to get in and out of the footstraps and harness while expert sailors will suddenly find sailing insanely over powered and getting upwind to catch those waves a cinch. The Twist is quite simple… Though perhaps like yoga it will take some time to hold the position if your flexibility and muscles need practice.

This stance is the most effective way to sail in control while being more aware of what’s going on around you, to sail slow and not end up miles down the beach. It’s your key to sailing and keeping balanced with the ever fluctuating wind without getting pulled over every time a gust or a lull hits you. Speed actually feels as though it slows down. You’ll be sheeting in correctly without even noticing it which makes for a less bumpy ride since when the sail pulls even slightly out of your hands or harness all the weight goes back on your feet and your board starts to buck like a wild horse and most likely ends in a catapult.

Finally incorporating this stance is absolutely the only way you’re ever going to get upwind making any effective ground. To achieve this stance you’ll need to twist your upper body slightly forward and towards the nose of your board.

The Twist is not useful for initiating the turn of the jibe, the bottom turn on a wave or for any other reason you might want to fly off down wind.

Position of Feet

To ease us into the twist of this stance we’ll start off with the feet. Front foot points toward the nose of the board in all positions!

Light Winds Out of the Footstraps

Feet further forwards toward mast track:

When sailing upwind in light winds the front foot moves more toward the outer edge and windward side of the board as well.

High Winds Out of the Footstraps

Feet further back down the board:

Planing in the Footstraps: Front Foot still points towards the nose of the board as much as possible.

The front foot points as much as possible towards the nose of the board whether your in the footstraps or not. Back foot remains across the board as the photos show above. If your front foot is not pointing forwards towards the nose of the board you will not be able to twist your hips forward. Experiment and you’ll see what I mean. Try twisting your hips forward towards the nose of your board with both feet facing across the board like the photo below. I bet you won’t be able to twist. Now try twisting you hips forward with your front foot facing forward like the pictures above. It’s much easier isn’t it? Again whether in the footstraps or not the position of your feet are the most important component for achieving the proper twist in order to have a pro windsurfer like sailing stance.

Less Effective Footwork

Twisting the upper body forward becomes almost impossible with the front foot position below! Better to point the front foot a little more forward towards the nose of our board by bringing your front foot heel inboard as much as possible.

The Hips

Simply twist your hips slightly forward and attempt to point your belly button towards the nose of the board as much as possible whether you’re in the footstraps and harness or not. When you’re fully committed to the harness the twist will be very helpful with keeping the sail balanced and sheeted in along with some commitment to the harness and some ‘hips up and down action’ to counteract the strength of the wind. High and light wind sailing is another article.

Belly button slightly toward the nose of the board:

A moderate hip twist action using no footstraps or harness:

… a harness only ‘Twist’:

The Hip Twist in the footstraps and harness:

…and to the extreme for going upwind.

When you twist to the extreme while planing in the footstraps and harness you’ll head upwind without a bother as long as you’ve got some pressure on the back foot as well. Just make sure you don’t head too much upwind as that will make you stall the board!

The Hips

The head should be looking into wind or just upwind from the nose of the board. Firstly the body follows the direction the head is looking starting with the shoulders. If you look way upwind you’ll head upwind, adversely if you look down you’re going to probably fall down! Looking through your sail is only good when you want to initiate the turn of a jibe or a bottom turn on a wave. Secondly looking upwind while you’re sailing is crucial for reading the ripples on the water so you know what strength o f wind is coming your direction in order to adjust you stance accordingly. Should you see a lull you’ll want to start lifting your weight up and towards the nose of the board and if you see a gust you’ll want to start sinking down over the back leg and into the harness in order to manage the gust so you don’t get pulled over. Even if you are completely incapable of reading the strength of the wind racing along the water towards you, by looking in the right direction upwind you will eventually start to connect the style of ripples on the water blowing towards you with the strength or lack of wind that hits you. Thus getting into the habit of looking upwind while you’re sailing will greatly improve your chances of not falling off your board due to fluctuating winds as you’ll be anticipating what’s coming your way.

Looking upwind in search of gusts on a reach to get going.

Head position while sailing in a straight line- Note the direction I’m looking while on a broad reach… Still upwind from the nose of the board but now by torso is more squared with the sail. This only because I’d heading straight downwind to get going on purpose. As soon as I get planing I will head upwind again.

Windsurfing with shoulders squared to the sail and looking mostly through the sail while sailing across the wind or upwind is the equivalent of driving a car and looking through the side windows. It makes the feeling of speed feel a lot faster and out of control, the opposite of relaxed. You want to be relaxed while sailing!

The DOs and DON'Ts of Windsurfing Stance

Sailing while not using the footstraps or harness…

DO:

DON'T:

Sailing while just using the harness.

DO:

DON'T:

Sailing while in the footstraps and harness.

DO:

DON'T:

Try and look at all the DOs and DON’Ts photos and see what’s going on in the photo. For example: What are the positions of the feet, hips, shoulders and head. Hope this helps improve your stance for now. Next I’ll be covering The Low Down on Getting Low.

Happy sailing,

Published by Shawna Cropas in Tips and Techniques

Tags: basic windsurfing stance, hawaii, learn how to windsurf, maui, maui sports, maui water sports, maui windsurfing, shawna cropas, windsurf clinics, windsurf on maui, windsurfing tips