5-SECOND SHRED SERIES

HOW TO EXIT MOVES

(This feature was published in the May 2013 issue of Windsurf Magazine. You can read similar long and short-form technique articles from our coaching gurus hot-off-the-press with a print or digital subscription.)

The exits of moves are always the hardest thing to practice and focus on. Apart from there being no guarantee we’ll even get as far as the exit, but any mental focus we have been able to use during the move is almost completely dried up by the end.

Exiting moves consistently is every sailors  aim, but often comes with caveats that that are all too familiar. “I’m pretty consistent in 5.5 weather” or “ I always stay dry when doing move ‘X’ on flat water. So what simple elements should we be focusing on at the end of a move no matter what the conditions? How can we become more consistent exiting the same manoeuvre on all types of gear, in every location we sail in?

LOOK AND SEE
Let’s examine at the basics. Where we look is always going to be number one. Most exits go wrong when we look at the rig in a hope that we can get hold of it more easily.

So, if we only had one thing to think about, it would be getting the head looking over our leading shoulder and focusing on where we want to go.

The better we are at doing this the more likely we are to have success.

KEEP IT STRAIGHT
If we wanted to add in another layer of focus, it would getting the rig upright and in the right position.

Rather than reaching for the rig, we need it to come back to us.

With the rig back in the sailing position, the board will flatten off and be more  instantly stable.

POWER ON THROUGH
The last thing to focus on is often the most counterintuitive.

When you are about to sail away from a move that you didn’t necessarily expect to,  we often deal with it like a delicate item.

We tiptoe around the exit as if we don’t want to upset the board and rig and think we can sneak out of the move before we fall in.

However, if we consider when we fall in the least it’s normally when we are sailing at full power as we get resistance from the rig.

So when we come to the exit of a move we should be focusing on getting the power back on as soon as we can.

As with many things, a bit of grunt can make up for quite a few faults and, when coupled with the other two areas of focus, this should have us coming out of moves more consistently and quickly.

So we only have three things that we can apply across a range of moves and in almost all conditions, set the head, get the rig upright and get the power back on. 

SR

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