myiW Current Conditions and Forecasts Community Forums Buy and Sell Services
 
Hi guest · myAccount · Log in
 SearchSearch   ProfileProfile   Log in to check your private messagesLog in to check your private messages   RegisterRegister 
Bought a new freestyle board
Goto page Previous  1, 2, 3
 
Post new topic   Reply to topic    iWindsurf Community Forum Index -> Northwest USA & Canada
View previous topic :: View next topic  
Author Message
philodog



Joined: 28 Apr 2000
Posts: 209

PostPosted: Sat Mar 16, 2013 3:10 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I`m with Kevin on trying them hitting a piece of chop upwind. That way you can work on the board rotation/ sail flip first while not worrying about the pop. Work on rotating the board and flipping the sail at the same time. It`s easy to develop the bad habit of flipping the sail late. Like a really sweet fast tack the body and sail go at the same time so when you land the sail is already right where you want it and you`re perfectly balanced. The pop for newcomers is the hardest part, unlearning normal jump habits, so leave that til later. For working on the pop just do them on their own, sailing on a beam reach. Pop a couple inches off the back foot, land nose first with the front foot, working on keeping your weight (and the rig) neutral or slightly forward, never back. Keep up the crashing! Vulcans open up a whole new world of windsurfing. Now can someone tell me why Flakas are so hard for me? Two years, hundreds of tries, and very little progress. Evil or Very Mad
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
philodog



Joined: 28 Apr 2000
Posts: 209

PostPosted: Sat Mar 16, 2013 3:39 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

And if at all possible sign up for the ABK Freestyle Camp at the Gorge. If Andy can`t help you, no one can! It`s a bargain.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
kevinkan



Joined: 07 Jun 2001
Posts: 1660
Location: San Francisco

PostPosted: Mon Mar 18, 2013 12:29 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

let me know what kind of problems you're having with the flaka, and I will try to help. you can also call me on the number on my website, and i'd be happy to help you that way if it's easier.

flakas are pretty tricky and somewhat counterintuitive, so it's easy to run into a wall... however, it's a relatively compact move (technique wise), so it's possible to start doing things correctly and have big breakthroughs. definitely fewer moving parts to the flaka than the vulcan or spock.

the most common problems w/ flakas are jumping to the inside of the turn instead of forward, backwinding the sail too hard, and going into the move with too little speed relative to the wind (screws up all the apparent wind angles). Best condition is just powered, going into a nice lull w/ good speed and a little bump to time your pop. You want to be going fast for the given wind speed.

_________________
Kevin Kan
Sunset Sailboards, San Francisco CA
http://www.sunsetsailboards.com
https://www.instagram.com/sunsetsailboards
http://www.facebook.com/sunsetsailboards
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Visit poster's website
brettn



Joined: 22 Nov 2000
Posts: 114

PostPosted: Mon Apr 01, 2013 11:58 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Perfect dat for freestyle Saturday, 3/30. Powered 5.3 and waist-deep water. Tried 50 vulcans. By the end I was consistently getting 180 degrees around, with both hands on the new side of the boom.

I'm still mashing down hard onto the stern of the board, burying the stern, and falling backwards into the water. Something is causing me to have tremendous forward rotation with my upper body, like a forward loop. I wonder if I'm sheeting in too long. People doing them correctly on you tube seem to be leading the slide with their heels first, their torso over the mast base, and their hands stretched out on the far side of the mast base. The closest thing to the mast base is my feet, then everything else is further away.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
bericw



Joined: 07 Mar 2006
Posts: 90

PostPosted: Tue Apr 02, 2013 10:45 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Sweet progress!

I flounder, so could be all wrong, but check
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A3lPQaOW-ec

Only have "success" when I do the same on that dealio as what instructions are for on the water; e.g. popping the sail away, weight over mast base...
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
brettn



Joined: 22 Nov 2000
Posts: 114

PostPosted: Sat May 04, 2013 12:43 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I waterstarted out of a vulcan. Which is not to say that I did one, but that I went into the drink softly enough to keep the sail flying and my feet in the straps. Since it was as close as I'd been to one, I claimed it, and looked around to see if a fish or some seaweed had seen it. Being the only human within 10 miles.

The latest thing I'm thinking about is trying to kick myself in the butt with my back heel. This seems to jab the nose into the water nice and early, and spin me around before my jump comes crashing down. I'm still falling into the water in the original direction of travel, ahead of the gear. But not immediately, like before. I'm now able to stay over the board for a decent amount of backwards sliding. I may just need to take off leaning a tiny bit further back so I can land with some weight over the foot thats closer to the mast. The fin seems to spin the board out of alignment, during the slide. I assume a smaller fin would help, but also assume that landing with my weight on the front leg and the stern slightly out of the water instead of 4 inches under it would fix this problem.

Every 3 or 4 sessions I feel like I get a bit closer to doing one of these dry. Having this goal has really recharged my stoke for windsurfing and flat water and lightish wind.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
kevinkan



Joined: 07 Jun 2001
Posts: 1660
Location: San Francisco

PostPosted: Wed May 08, 2013 2:46 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

that's awesome Brett! congratulations!
_________________
Kevin Kan
Sunset Sailboards, San Francisco CA
http://www.sunsetsailboards.com
https://www.instagram.com/sunsetsailboards
http://www.facebook.com/sunsetsailboards
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Visit poster's website
philodog



Joined: 28 Apr 2000
Posts: 209

PostPosted: Wed May 08, 2013 7:41 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

What size fin are you using? I don`t think you`d want anything longer than 21cm. Try cutting an old fin down to super small just for the Vulcan sessions. And I don`t think leaning back is the answer. Keeping your weight forward on takeoff will make the pop easier and the rotation tighter. I try to visualize the nose hitting first and keeping my upper body over the mast base.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Display posts from previous:   
Post new topic   Reply to topic    iWindsurf Community Forum Index -> Northwest USA & Canada All times are GMT - 5 Hours
Goto page Previous  1, 2, 3
Page 3 of 3

 
Jump to:  
You cannot post new topics in this forum
You cannot reply to topics in this forum
You cannot edit your posts in this forum
You cannot delete your posts in this forum
You cannot vote in polls in this forum
You can attach files in this forum
You can download files in this forum

myiW | Weather | Community | Membership | Support | Log in
like us on facebook
© Copyright 1999-2007 WeatherFlow, Inc Contact Us Ad Marketplace

Powered by phpBB © 2001, 2005 phpBB Group