Hey Grumpy
I just got some new gear and hopefully I will be seeing you down at Melville waters.
I use to regularly speed across the river. It does get rough and the board hardly touches the water.
I am still having some difficulty nailing a carve Gybe but as others have said pick a day and just dedicate it to gybing.
I use to sail out to the sand bar and just before you hit the sand at Melville waters I would try to Gybe. If you fall in it is a few metres to the sand bar Stand up and try again.
Hope to see you.
Look for the White Isuzu and large blue lightning sail or the person swimming after the wind has dropped.
It is hard going when you are on the wrong side of 100kg and the wind drops.

MrCranky said..

Speaking of tacking shortboards. Are heli tacks doable in all wind speeds? They are very big on teaching them in Vass. (I managed to pull off a few after dozens of attempts but only on a big board and in light winds. Didn't even bother to try them in stronger conditions.)

Yes and no, mostly no. They seem to have their natural place in <~15kts but some heroes make a point of trying them at 20kts+. Think of them as a light wind alternative to a fast tack. But yes they are a good thing to learn not just because they are a practical useful tack but because learning things like that puts you outside your comfort zone and in the fun zone. It's very easy to get stuck in a rut bafing and gybing.

WOW!!

What an amazing supporting lot you guys are! Thanks heaps for the encouragement and tips!

So it has been nearly 3 weeks ago (actually less than 2 weeks for me as my board was in repair for a week). And following some of your tips and being encouraged, I have made some progress. I have now done about 35 out of 50 very slow ugly gybes in low wind (10 knots). And 2 out of 20 in high wind.

I have tried out sailing at different location (Safety Bay) and now am hungry to try even further (maybe Cervantes next). I have met more locals at Melville and Safety Bay and it is good to be able to sail closely with others (even if they keep blasting past me at great knots). I am also going to Guy Cribb's clinic in January.

As for forward loops, heli tacks, jumping waves and GPS, I think that will have to wait.

Maddog49, I think I chatted with you on Saturday at Melville. Tunes83, I haven't been to Pelican point lately, but will look out for you next time. Pyro, I'm not sure if I met you, but thanks for the Safety Bay suggestion - I enjoyed it yesterday from 10 till 4 and my arms are falling off now.

GrumpySmurf said..





So it has been nearly 3 weeks ago (actually less than 2 weeks for me as my board was in repair for a week). And following some of your tips and being encouraged, I have made some progress. I have now done about 35 out of 50 very slow ugly gybes in low wind (10 knots). And 2 out of 20 in high wind.

The temptation when learning to gybe is to slow to down to give you more control, but a board gybes better at speed. Don't worry about completing a gybe successfully, concentrate on doing the various stages correctly i.e work on perfecting the carve, don't worry about the rig flip or moving the feet. Once you've got that carve nailed, the rest is easy.

Hey there's something missing here, you've learnt to do all those things and yet there is no mention of getting pitched over the handlebars, Dude I've been doing this for about 10 years now and only just getting 95% of gybes in. There's lots more to enjoy than just the gybing aspect, though it does keep you out of the water more. Keep at it as long as you're having fun it doesn't matter what level you're at. Cheers Bob