#Windsurf UKWA | FOIL RACING UK

UKWA | FOIL RACING UK

2019 has witnessed an explosion of UK Windsurfing Association (UKWA) foil racing; Rod Davis of the UKWA gives us an insight into the competition series.

Words  Rod Davis // Photos  Dave White

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Rod Davis – “Foil racing is offered at both our slalom and course racing events. In the slalom series, foiling races are held when the wind speed is between 7 and 11 knots, if it’s above that, then sailors switch to slalom boards. At present there are many more sailors who simply only race slalom, but the number of foilers is creeping up as it provides the alternative of actually racing rather than sitting on the beach waiting for the wind speed to reach 12 knots. At our course racing events, a separate foiling fleet has now been created in which sailors only use foiling boards and do not switch to conventional boards when the wind gets above 11 knots, unlike in the slalom series. Here foiling seems to have taken over from the Formula fleet, most of whose members have now taken up the new discipline, with the added spice and expertise from some of the young RS:X sailors who are currently making the running. There are no kit limits at the moment in either series, anything may be used with no restriction on how many sails or boards. To date, competitors are mostly using sail sizes of 7.0 to 10.0 and foil ready slalom boards or specialist foiling boards. 2019 boards and sails demonstrate a clear advantage over even 2018 models, so obviously kit is still developing at a fantastic rate.

Racers have to wear mandatory safety gear of a helmet and high-viz vest. There is a lower age limit of 17, but those under 17 may be admitted by applying to the UKWA where their experience will be assessed.

At the UKWA Cup Series course racing event at Christchurch over the weekend of 20/21 July, the wind blew for the whole weekend, producing what UKWA Chairman Bob Ingram claimed was one of the best events ever. Antonio Cozzolino from New Zealand, who had not raced a foil with the UKWA before, almost swept the board with seven first places, winning by an overall margin of 5 points from Henry Bloodworth with four wins. The remaining win went to Paul Sibley in race three when half the fleet retired due to having sailed the wrong course! Third overall was Norwegian sailor Jakob Ruud who finished one place above Guy Cribb.

At the end of the year there will be a winner from each foil series in slalom and course racing. So far Scotty Stallman leads the foil series in the slalom fleet after winning all three events, with James Dinsmore second and James Faley third in the rankings. After four events in the course racing Cup Series so far, Henry Bloodworth occupies the top slot followed by veteran racer, Dave Coles, and in third place is James Harvey.

The next course racing events for 2019 with a foil fleet are Aug 24/25 Pwllheli and October 5/6 Herne Bay; and for the slalom fleet the next events are September 21/22 Tenby, Oct 26/27 Christchurch and Nov 9/10 at the OTC in Weymouth. If you fancy taking the plunge, joining the UKWA brings with it inclusive third party insurance up to £5 million, plus discounts off comprehensive insurance rates. Annual membership is £45, family membership £60 and youth/student £30. This allows you to enter all our
slalom events and Cup Series events, with additional entry fees for each event.

If you want to find out more, check out ukwindsurfing.com/membership

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#Windsurf GALICIA | SEPT 2019

GALICIA | SEPT 2019

A bunch of friends, a good forecast with wind and waves in Galicia. Great video courtesy of Siam Images.

GALICIA_SEPT_2019 from SIAM IMAGES on Vimeo.

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#Windsurf RYA KNOWLEDGE | WINDSURFERS’ RIGHTS

RYA KNOWLEDGE | WINDSURFERS’ RIGHTS

The RYA tell us of their work in promoting and protecting windsurfers’ rights.

Words &  Photos  RYA

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Your right to windsurf wherever you want isn’t a given. All sorts of reasons can suddenly emerge which might seek to restrict the access you’ve always taken for granted to your favourite spot. New local byelaws, wildlife protection areas, fisheries development, conflicts of water usage, you name it and somewhere in the UK that debate has probably previously arisen or could be about to break out. And when it does, who’s championing your case? If you’re an RYA member, you are. Eh?! Explain that? Ok, here goes…

Basically being an RYA member means you’re making it possible for the RYA to lobby and campaign on the critical issues affecting you on your behalf, including access and freedom to go afloat. Over the past decade, there are multiple cases of where the RYA has successfully worked to promote and protect windsurfers’ rights, meaning windsurfing has been able to continue in areas it might otherwise have had to stop. St Mawes Harbour, Cornwall and the Exe Estuary, Devon are two examples of where RYA intervention has ensured windsurfing could continue, and if you enjoy the action at Chesil Beach, Hayling Island and Cardiff Bay, these are other areas where pro-windsurfing lobbying efforts ensured your access was protected.

Meanwhile, Whitstable Beach, Kent is another area where the RYA is supporting the local sailing club in challenging the lawfulness of the deposit of oyster trestles, which, when submerged, present a significant hazard to windsurfers. Windsurfer and RYA Membership Development Manager, Conor Lee-Swift, explains: “People are still surprised that by being an RYA member they are directly protecting the sport they love. The RYA’s purpose is to promote and protect safe, successful and rewarding British boating, and this is as much windsurfing as all other activities.

You never know where the next dispute will arise, but the RYA’s legal experts work through and advise on often extremely complex cases to try to resolve them in windsurfing’s best interests. It’s our members that make this possible.” Last year more than £3 million from RYA membership was re-invested into getting people on the water more often and safely, with around a third of that directed towards lobbying and campaigning, including trying to get windsurfing and sailing reinstated on the GCSE, AS and A-level PE activity lists.

In addition, membership also supports The Green Blue – the environmental awareness initiative established by the RYA and British Marine – in promoting sustainability and the environmental protection of coastal and inland waters, issues windsurfers passionately care about and campaign for.

Two-way deal
But it’s not all about ‘giving back’. RYA windsurfing members get a whole heap of benefits, most notably free third party windsurfing and stand up paddleboard insurance, provided by Bishop Skinner Marine.

This worldwide benefit now includes foiling kit and covers you for up to £3m third party liability arising from your ownership of the board, as well as when you’re out racing or undertaking tuition or coaching as an RYA qualified coach/instructor. As Conor continues, “Even the most experienced windsurfers have lived through that stomach churning moment when you’re getting your kit on or off the car or are rigging up in windy conditions and something gets caught by a gust and flies off.  You watch and pray it doesn’t hit anything, whether a car, another person or someone else’s gear. But if it does, and you have no insurance, you could be staring at a potential costly loss for everything and/or everyone that gets damaged. The majority of RYA members, who have windsurfing nominated as one of their boating interests, tell us the insurance is one of their biggest draws, and, of course as a member you can contact the RYA legal team for free advice and support too.”

Bigger picture
The rest of RYA membership goes towards sport and club development at 1,500 affiliated clubs and classes and 2,400 RYA Recognised Training Centres worldwide and helping the country’s most talented young racers fulfill their potential. This includes nurturing windsurfing’s next generation through the grassroots OnBoard and Team15 programmes and evolving the RYA National Windsurfing Scheme. As Conor concludes, “Being an RYA member is not a transactional relationship, it’s about being part of a community that makes a real difference in giving all windsurfers the chance to get the most out of their sport across the country.”

Being an RYA member costs as little as 87p a week for adults, while there are discounted options FOR  UNDER  18s,  UNDER  25s and families too. Find out more at www.rya.org.uk/membership

 

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#Windsurf FEDERICO MORISIO | PERU

FEDERICO MORISIO | PERU

Join Federico Morisio in Pacasmayo as he catches a great wave but wipes out ending with a hell of a long swim to recover his gear. Great drone footage courtesy of Paul van Bellen.

 

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#Windsurf SAM ROSS TECHNIQUE | STANCE

SAM ROSS TECHNIQUE | STANCE

Getting your stance right is a bit like eating your vegetables. We know it’s important and done right could have a dramatic impact, but it’s maybe not as exciting as other things we could be getting stuck into! However, stance is the one bit of windsurfing that joins every single move together, so if you get it right it will allow a huge amount of progression. It’s also the most important thing for sorting your entry to moves, which is where most issues occur.

Words Sam Ross  //  Photos  Dan Hallam

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The challenge to overcome with stance is often the perception of what we think good stance looks like, versus what it should look like. From our early windsurfing days we’re told to often do things like ‘commit’, ‘lean back’, ‘get our hips in’, and a few more caustic phrases. Whilst many of these help us overcome short term symptoms, they do create a few long term gremlins that then hold us back at a higher level.

UPRIGHT
The rig reflects our upper body position, so if the focus is on having an upright rig, then we also need to have an upright body. Rig position and harness line tension should be consistent across all wind strengths, our stance range is only really changed by what we’re doing with our legs. In lighter winds our legs are straighter, and in higher winds more flex is needed in the legs and sinking of the hips, but the gap between the harness hook and the rig still has to stay the same. Essentially the head and hips are pretty much vertically in line. The back is upright and therefore so is the rig.

This upright body position gives us loads of advantages whilst we’re windsurfing. With an upright body we’re more on top of the board, allowing us to move without moving the rig and therefore not upsetting the trim. Try leaning against a wall with just your shoulders touching it, now pick one of your feet up and try stepping away from the wall. You probably ended up leaning further back, or even had to push off the wall to make it happen. Now try the same with your back flat against the wall. You should be able to pick your feet up and step away more easily. Think about what this looks like on the water. If I’m in a lent back stance and try to step across the board for the gybe I’m going to have to pull on the rig. So I’ll either stall the board or end up with the rig pinned to me as I go into the gybe. If I’m upright, I can roll my weight across the board, still staying low through the legs and also keep the rig away and forward. In an upright stance I can move or transfer weight without upsetting the rig. So this would be key even in moves like getting into the footstraps, or going for my first jumps where I want to stay over the board to maintain in-flight control. Which is exactly what I would need if I wanted to go into a forward.

“Rig position and harness line tension should be consistent across all wind strengths.”

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The head, shoulder and hips are in line; the harness squeezing out for maximum tension in the line. Upper body is upright, therefore rig is upright and planted on the board.

Thumbs on top of the boom to make sure the rig can move away and stay upright, keeping constant load in the harness.

The wind is a little lighter, so legs are straighter and weight is forward. However the hips stay out and the body is upright

More powered up, the head shoulders and hips are still in line and upright. There is more flex in the back leg, and pressure through the heels to deal with the power. But the upper body position doesn’t change.

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HOW DOES IT FEEL
Whilst we can see things like hand placement, stance is harder to quantify and so often overlooked. We should feel as if we’re pushing our hips out and down, or even drawing our belly button back towards our spine. Essentially we’re trying to get good posture, so working on similar positions to what you would in a Pilates class. Often it’s easy to imagine that once you’ve hooked in you’ve been punched in the stomach and then bring the shoulder and upper body out to line up.

WHAT DOES SUCCESS LOOK LIKE
If that’s what you feel, what does success look like? Load should be transferring from your upper body into your legs and these should be working more actively over chop.

Your hands should be able to move more freely on the boom and front and back hand drags are a great test of good stance. As you’re effectively moving your hook away from the boom, you may well feel that you can, or even want to sail with longer lines. This in itself will help you get the rig more upright and may well allow you to bring your hands closer together. If you can drag your hand in the water, never get bounced out of the lines or sail for longer without fatiguing, then you’re probably on the path to success.

Quick tip – with all this work on allowing the rig to go upright and reflect your upper body, make sure you’re not accidentally pulling the boom in towards you during moves. Keep your thumbs on top of the boom whilst sailing to avoid the accidental dead lift grip.

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