May 25, 2009
If you are looking to learn proper sail handling for waterstarting or just wanting to get more comfortable in highwind here is a drill for you: Butt Sailing. Don't laugh...it can come in handy.
Setup: Practice this drill in waist to shoulder deep water with normal to over-powered conditions. Use moderate to smaller size gear.
The Goal: Don't try to get up (at least at first). See how long you can float along under the sail with your feet resting on the side of the board. Practice steering upwind and downwind building up your muscle memory for dealing with the sail in a waterstarting position.
A Two-footed waterstart: If you get hit by a gust the sail may just yank you up over-top of the board. Congrats...you just made your first waterstart! However, for more efficiency on a true waterstart you should drop the front foot away from the board and do it with only the back foot.
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