Always thinking

Two tricks learned about windsurfing

Great stuff always comes when I least expected them. Saturday afternoon was gorgeous with lot of sun, cloud (meaning wind!!!) and about 70 degree of temperature which is excellent for windsurfing. Howard, the very cautious money manager who caught in windsurfing for 4 years and still just managed to advance to Junior, has never used harness, still!!! That was last August! Everytime he saw me, he was always very persistent on learning how I was doing on my harness skill and how danger it could be. Just to be honest, I am a super harness master and still searching for the best technique. While I could not explain very convincingly to myself why I do what I do about harness and foot strip, here came a half naked guy who obviously just finished up surfing today. So Howard turned to him to start ponding with questions. I got a bit impatient since the wind was so excellent but I got stuck with Howard. Half naked turned out a senior, meaning he is almost a pro! I was curious how he manages the position of harness. He explained that whichever arms pulls too much, that is where Harness position should be moving to: counter react to the windpull force on arms. Excellent. And when you fall on high speed, make sure hold on to the boom so it won't smash against your body which is not fun. As to where to position the foot, he mentioned when in perfect spot in harness, there should not be any pulling on your arms, neither on your legs, legs and arms merely work as controling, adjusting, directioning. When plaining, you will find it almost natural and always better to move foot to the back side of the board.

Man, If I had David the bald giving the precious first 20 minutes lesson who saved me from being a forever Novice, Mr. Half naked definetely is the man who handed me the key to advance more. For that, Thanks, Mr. Money manager!

posted by Road less travelled @ 6:35 PM