All photography by my awesome wife: Janis Markopoulos
Sunny, Warm, Looplicious conditions today. Lit 4.0 small kit all day. I hit the water around 10am and didn’t stop until my legs began cramping up around 4 pm. Epic-epic-epic jumpin day on the Deleware Bay, my home patch. I looked thru the all pics, and Janis is right, I think I hit a personal record for the most jumps for a given day of sailing. But then, who’s counting right?
I really need to look back right about now..
Cuz if you stare at the water, you will "be like water my friend"
yah, it was windy
Janis had me doing the control motions of the forward loop on the beach, and that helped psych me up. Looking at this picture, its obvious I’m not locking out my front arm like Matt says. No doubt that helps to commit the rig, and the sooner I get with the better.
An early commit is critical on the loops that don’t have much altitude, and thinking about my rotations, this tip is exactly what I needed. Thanks for the tip Matt!
My best Caleb impression at a Table top. Close, but no cigar.
A few more:
Fun stuff!
yeeeeehaaaa!
Cape May/Lewes Ferry...bet they had a fun ride across!
Another sweet sequence
so many jumps!
The current was pretty strong today. A few times after a wipe out, you'd have to swim for your gear, and a result being you where instantly 20-30 yards down wind, with no hope of getting back to the spot you launched from. No worries, I had all day.
Another splash down
rider(less) on the storm..
I launched on low tide, so the sand bar provided a nice little bump to play with pretty much all day!
Floaty air!
CATAPULT
There where a few sailors upwind of me.
We'd like to welcome John Waters to the mid-atlantic windsurf scene. It was fun meeting you and Hope today. John comes to us from the S.F. Bay area by way of NY. John's been sailing for 3 years and he was out there rippin' today, must have been those private lessons with M.P. at Sprecks last summer!
John was in a wetsuit. No booties, and no hat. Spring is hear fellas, put that drysuit away.
John, make sure you check out the OBX Festival Series and get yourself registered. This event will take a sailor's skill set to the next level.
Nice floaty jump......
the landing however was another story
This gust absolutely rocked me
Sailed away from it though!
More outhaul!
Riiiiighttttt
Not sure whats going on there. I like the character of the water though
********Live2sail*******
******************update*************************
The cost of doing business. Lest you think all the great photos on my blog come without a price.........Sunday I spent the entire day doing landscaping around our house.... ;)
Epic weekend deserves an epic dinner on Palm Sunday
12 comments:
Hey George- nice work out there.... glad to see you guys are getting some breeze- I"m off the water for a couple months with 2 broken legs so i figured I would give you some forward loop tips so next time you are planing out of them......Glad you met up with John- he is an animal- we did a Hookipa to Sprecks downwinder in 35 knots on 5.3's last year....
so for you and the hardcores out in that cold water here is your mission.....
Set up:
Pick your chop; look for a bump that will get you up
Bear off the wind
Get Feet locked into straps- grip with your toes to keep them in
Keep up your speed
Slide back hand far back on the boom
Make sure you are unhooked from your harness
Take off, push front hand forward to get it to lock out- Front arm straight, back hand
Tuck your head down and close your eyes while pulling as hard as you can with your back hand as well as your back leg- try to kick yourself in the butt.
Your body has to move in one fluid motion
When you push forward with your front hand, you pull hard with your back hand tucking your head and somersaulting forward-all in one motion
Remember to bring your legs up and under your body to get into that ball like position
The forward loop happens upon initiation. If you commit and do everything right at take off, physics just takes over. All you have to do is hang on.
Keep in mind that once you are ¼ of the way through this move, you are safe. All that will happen is that you will land on your back and get a little sting.
Landing:
This happens naturally. For first timers, IDEALLY you will likely land in a waterstart position. You may have to lift the sail to get going but you have just completed your first forward loop!!!!!!!!!!
Best Winds,
matt@pritchardwindsurfing.com
hahaha, I was gonna leave you a hint or two but looks like Matt beat me to it!!
Good to see ya gettin' on it!! Looks like another batch of breeze over the next few days!!
Nice table top jump. You look nice and extended.
I'm surprised you experienced a current at Lewes. I thought that place was our one sanctuary from darn currents!
Ken K
Andy, you're instruction is always welcome, even when a world champion opines first! Hey, can't wait for Hatteras Windsurrifing festival!
Matt-thanks for the tips. Locking out the front arm is so intuitive in terms of committing the rig. Doing that early is critical. Also, the notion of trying to kick myself in the rear with the back leg is very helpful too.
Ken, it wasn't that the current wasn't manageable, but is was so windy, and add in a "reasonably" strong current, that when you crashed off a jump, just the swimming to you gear as the wind and swell took your stuff downwind automatically put you 20-30 yards downwind. At that point, toss in the offshore component to the wind, and you couldn't get back to your launch. Yah, the conditions where tricky. Alot like the sesion in Ocracoke (those side off winds where very fickle).
Sorry you missed it today, I would have loved to have had you there to fire each other up even more!
Next time buddy!
james and i sailed upwind of you all day. we never had trouble getting back to our launch, in fact we had to sail downwind as not to to be too far upwind. sounds like you downwind boys didn't know what you were doing. HA HA.
why the hell were you sailing from that launch anyway?
ratzo rizzo. 4.5
Dave Coyle-sorry we didn't hook up yesterday. I wacthed you up there, and you looked like you were sailing pretty well for being off
the water almost an entire year. You're the only sailor I know, that can hide in the closet, and come out after a year, a rip.
As far the current, as i said ABOVE in a prior comment, it wasn;t so much the current as it was crashing off of big jumps, and having to swim for my stuff. By the time I'd get to it, i was 20-30 yards downwind. If you aint getting wet, you're not learning. I guess you weren't pushing it huh?
I see your sense of humor is intact though. RAT
Great weekend Honey! Thanks for all the help in the yard today.
Was great to see nuking conditions on the east coast, I can't wait to get out again, hopefully the rest of the spring will be as accomodating. Thanks again for the tips George, look forward to meeting everyone else very soon.
-John Waters
Nice George! Great to see you in that distinguishable loop position in the first photo!
I am sure that you will nail your first landing with a clean sail away this year, and that first time feeling is an experience you will remember for quite some time!!
Keep committing!
Bill-I owe that loop to my supportive wife. She kept pushing me, and pushing me to huck one. Every time I’d come back in from a session having not looped, she gave me the look and asked “whats the dang problem!!!” Just go do it. I mean it was nuking 4.0 conditions. Up to this day, the windiest I’d thrown one I think was 4.5 conditions. You where there that day last fall in Hatteras, out at the reef. Andy, Ken and Wes where there too. Anyway, she said she wasn’t going to take any more pics until I tossed one over the bars. She was serious. So you see I had no choice
Hey dady i love you hope you have a great day love love love love love you!!!!!!!
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