Neil Pryde Zone 5.0 and JP Radical Wave 74

I think I tackled it pretty rationally.  I really wanted to improve over that particular summer and decided that I needed to forward loop to do this.  I was booked for a leg operation towards the end of that year and really wanted to have them under my belt before I had the operation, so that was my motivation. 

I started off by just sailing back and forth visualising doing forwards off every suitable bit of chop.  I then set myself a spot where I would ‘make myself’ do them.  There was a small patch, where little waves formed and that was going to be the area where I would do them.  I knew if I didn’t do this, I would just keep putting it off.  After picking this little patch as my looping spot, it then took me about 5 sessions before I actually picked up the courage to try one.  Each time I sailed and failed to try, I would get really angry with myself to the point where I knew it was going to be less painful to actually do one.

On session 5, I tried my first one, and then just kept doing them.  I was happy even to just catapult with my feet out of the straps (as long as it was intentional!) as I knew that I was breaking down the fear barrier with every attempt and chipping away at the technique.

I have never injured myself doing a forward.  In fact I think they are genuinely one of the safest moves to try so long as you don’t let go of the boom.

Never let go of the boom no matter what happens!  If you keep hold of the boom, you won’t ever get hurt.  Even doing big forwards you are still totally safe as long as you don’t let go of the boom.

I used to do IMCO Longboard racing and we went to a competition in New Caledonia where the French guys were doing flat-water forwards on their long boards and 7.4m sails.  I think that kind of gave me the kick to try them.  I had actually tried a few half cocked attempts before but never really knew what to do so would just jump, lean forward and then let go as I started to catapult towards the mast.  I asked a few guys who knew how to do them and they told me to look back. As soon as I was told what to do, the fear barrier almost disappeared.

I got home from New Caledonia and went straight to Rhosneigr.  I was on a 4.2, and on my first run out, I hit a waist high wave and just sheeted in and looked back.  I went all the way around and landed on my back.  The second one I did in front of one of my friends and landed bolt upright fully planning (although I have to admit it took about 12 months before I managed another one of those)!

Just sheet in and look back!  If you look back, it is much less scary and the whole move just happens without you really having to do anything.

I had wanted to do one for a few months. I had been thinking about them whilst on the water but never managed to muster up the courage to try one. The thing that made me try it was following someone in at Calshot who was a worse sailor than me and he just did one in front of me. Without thinking, I just did it! The result wasn’t exactly pretty as my feet came out and I just catapulted, but it was enough to get through that initial fear barrier. I spent quite a while trying them with my feet coming out of the straps until I realised that taking off further downwind stopped this. The main thing is to get through the fear barrier. The technique will come afterwards.

If you don’t try one, you will never be able to do one! You should learn off small waves and just don’t think! If you are thinking, you won’t do it – simple as that. Just sail along, hit the wave, sheet in and look back – no need to think!

For me it wasn’t such a big deal because I hadn’t really considered doing them.  I went to Margarita for 2 weeks to learn to gybe.  Whilst I was there, one of the instructors was doing a clinic on forward looping and I asked if I could join in.  Before I knew it I had done my first one and then spent the rest of my time there trying one after another.  By the end of the 2 weeks, I could pretty much waterstart away from every one but had to contend with an extremely bruised back on the flight home!  My first days looping was done on a 4.2m with knee high chop.  

Go and sail with people who can do them.  If you are around people who can do them, they seam so much easier than if no-one is doing them.  Get someone who can do them to spend 30mins mentoring you through your first few.

K-278

I had been thinking about doing them for a while but kept putting it off.  I went for a trip to Maui where I met Louise Emery on the beach at Sprecs.  The two of us had a chat and decided to go out and learn them.  Unfortunately, by the end of the day, neither of us really got anywhere.  That night, I was really frustrated and disappointed to the point of crying. 

The next time I went out sailing at Sprecks (with no definite intention of trying one), I got into one of those mind sets where you feel very comfortable and safe (due to conditions, favourite kit, friends on the water etc) and start to get a bit ‘cheeky’!  I made the decision to try one, span round and landed on my back.  I then did about 30 a day for the rest of the trip. 

My back was getting really bruised so I bought a crash mat from the local sports shop, chopped it up and stuffed it down my suit.  I also got concussed from doing too many whilst wearing a helmet.  The extra area of a helmet increases the ‘slap’ that you get when your head hits the water so I now prefer not to wear one.

Only concussion from the helmet incident and a bruised back when learning!

Make sure your board leaves the water!  It sounds really obvious but the biggest reason for your feet coming out of the straps is that the board hasn’t actually left the water.

I had done a few ‘lame’ attempts before where I would take off, bear away and then let go. I had come to the conclusion that all I need to do was the same again, but instead, keep hold of the boom.  The worst that would happen would be a good slapping of my back on the water. 

I was out at Rhosneigr on a 4.0m and made up my mind to do one.  I headed straight out, spun around and landed on my back.  I did a few more that day with similar consequences. 

The mistake I made is that I did them like this for a while, but never really did enough to feel comfortable with them.  I then kind of stopped doing them for a while, convincing myself that I didn’t need to practice them anymore which meant I virtually had to start from scratch again a few months later when I wanted to crack them properly.  Once you do your first one, keep doing them one after another until you are confident with them!!

Don’t think them through, just do it!  Get ready to beach start and just accept that you are going to do one and then sail out, hit the first wave and do it no matter what. 

If you think it through, you will ‘talk’ yourself out of it every time.  It is also important that you are either of the mindset to ‘do it now no matter what’, or decide to ‘do it at a later time’, otherwise you will just sail around punishing yourself all day and getting really frustrated!

I learned in a time when there were only a few people in the UK who could actually do them.  I spent months sailing around, wanting to do them but was just too scared of throwing myself over the front.  One day at school I decided that I was going to do them that night. 

I went sailing after school with the sole aim of doing a forward.  I sailed around for about 30 minutes on my 5.7 trying to psych myself up to do one over the chop but still struggled to do it.  However the thought of going home that night and not having done one was just too much to bear, so round I went!  My first one I spun around and landed on my back and all the fear was gone.  I shouted to my dad to watch and I did another and then another 40 or so before the end of the night! 

I have been doing them now for 15 years and never hurt myself.

When you do decide to do it, go for it 100%.  People who hurl themselves around manoeuvres with full commitment rarely get hurt.  It is the people who play it too cautious who end up hurting themselves.  I have actually just gone through the whole rigmarole again for double forwards. 

I have spent years wanting to do them but being too scared to try.  The other day I went sailing, everything was 100% comfortable and without really thinking it through, I just went for one!  Now all the fear has gone again and I am throwing myself around them as often as I can.

My friend Nigel and I had a bet over who would be able to do one first.  We had 2 weeks of no wind and then he went on holiday to Lanzarote.  I was sure that he would learn whilst he was out there so the next day of wind, I went down to Hillhead with my head set on doing a forward.  It took 2 days of face planting into the water until on day 3 on my 4.7, I did one without really thinking, spun all the way around and landed on my back. 

After that, I landed in waterstart position pretty much every time.  Even better than learning was to find out that Nigel hadn’t learned them in Lanzarote so I won the bet as well!  I was a little worried that the next time I went sailing, I would have to go through the whole fear barrier again, but luckily the wind came through a few days after and I spun around one on my first run. I think its important to do as many as you can, as quickly as you can after learning to make sure that you are fully through the fear phase.

Watch videos of them over and over again and try to visualise the whole move before trying it on the water.  If you can’t visualise it on the land, you are unlikely to be able to do it on the water. It’s important when you do try one that you don’t think it through too much.  You need to just spin without thinking. 

Finally don’t try it half heartedly or you may put yourself off.  Give it 100% and you will be encouraged by the results!

I was in Lanzarote and lots of the boys wanted to do a forward. We all talked about it all the time and someone had to try one! I was the youngest(13), but I fancied my chances of being better than the other boys who were all quite a lot older than me. No one had ever told me how to do one, all they said was jump and sheet in. I thought that if I went high, it would be easier (wrong!) so I just jumped off a big wave out on the reef, went right up in the air and sheeted in.

I actually made the first couple because I did go pretty high. All the boys saw them and were impressed. I didn’t even know that you had to move your hand back on the boom to do it, so I was rotating really slowly! I didn’t hurt myself till I tried to do one off a small wave. You really need to move your hand back to do them like that!

I didn’t get the hang of them properly till I had watched the video RAVE with Sean Ordonez. He told me to put my back hand right back on the boom and from that moment on, there was no stopping me!!! Haha!

Get all your mates into trying them so that you all do them together, then you either feel like you are the man because you did one first or you feel like an idiot because your friend did one before you, so you try one anyway! If you really try hard, you will definitely do one, and after that one, they are easy!

Learning with friends was the best way for me. Peer group pressure is the best motivation. The most important thing for me was that once I had tried one, I made sure that I did as many as possible that day and then made sure I tried at least 1 every time I went sailing (pretty much regardless of the conditions!!)

However far your hand is down the boom, put it further!!!