Skills in this guide
Track them in your progress →- TrimIntermediate
- Jibe entryIntermediate
- TuningAdvanced
- Fast tackAdvanced
- Carve jibeExpert
- Power jibeExpert
My freeride windsurfing guide for riders in the footstraps: windsurf tuning for board and sail, more speed, fewer spinouts, the tack and power jibe.
Anyone who can plane in the footstraps wants to keep developing as fast as possible: windsurfing at full speed, jibing, carving. This guide is for exactly that next step.
Top speed, planing and control are always an interaction between you and the right material set-up. So we start with your gear and your posture, then fine-tune the board and the sail, and finish with the moves: the tack, the power jibe and the race jibe.
The tuning chapters come from my two tuning videos, Board Tuning: Go Faster With More Control and Sail Tuning: Go Faster With More Control. The rest comes from my freeride special "The Next Level", made with SURF Magazin (photos: Oliver Maier). The tuning tips work for boards and sails made for flat water and going fast: freeride, freerace, slalom and race gear. They don't really work for wave or freestyle gear.
One thing up front: I'll tell you what you can do, but you have to go on the water and test it. What works perfectly depends on your sail brand and your personal style of windsurfing.
Not planing in the straps yet? Start with my planing tutorial. Go deeper: the power jibe, avoiding spinouts, sail trimming mistakes, choosing your fin size, long harness lines and strong wind control.
Match your gear to your goal
Top speed, planing and control are always an interaction between you and the right material set-up. So the first job is choosing a board and a sail that fit what you actually want to do.
Relaxed planing and the power jibe
If you want to learn to plane in a relaxed way and nail the power jibe, a freeride board with a no-cam sail is certainly a better choice than advanced slalom gear.
Chasing speed
A sporty 2-cam sail is an engine that needs a matching vehicle: a fast freerace or slalom board, so the extra horsepower doesn't disappear.
Speed: the course decides your posture
Whatever board and sail you ride, the right technique squeezes out some extra speed. There isn't one right posture, because it depends on your course. You're fastest on a reach and downwind.
Reach and downwind
Lean your upper body back. Your front leg is almost straight, your back leg slightly bent.
Upwind
The other way around: bring your upper body forward and look to leeward, past the mast. To get into this position, bend your front leg slightly.
The right footstrap size
To be fast you need solid contact with the board. If your toes are completely visible on the inside of the straps, you have a good mix of control and easy slip-in. That's the set-up I'd recommend to an ambitious freerider.
Still learning, or racing?
If you're just learning to sail in the footstraps, set them a little larger, so it's easier to get in and out. Ambitious freeracers who have no problems with straps mounted far outside can even set them a bit tighter, for firm contact on speed runs.
Find your sweet spot
Many windsurfers only notice that their top speed is rather low when riders on comparable gear overtake them. Before you start tuning, pinpoint your own problem. You and your gear are in balance when the board flies freely over the water with almost even pressure on both legs. The nose barely hits the chop, but it doesn't rear up out of control either.
Problem 1: the board sticks to the water
The board is fast when it can fly somewhat freely over the chop. When the nose is too low in the water, the windward edge digs into the chop and slows the board down, and the constant hits from the chop cost you control and fun. Sound familiar? Give your board more lift, a freer planing position.
Problem 2: wheelies
If the board rears up out of control in every gust, you have to step on the brake instead of turning the gust into speed. That isn't necessarily a sign that your sail is too big. More likely, something in your set-up is out of balance, and that goes far beyond the sail trim. The next chapters show you how to get your gear under control.
Board tuning: mast base and footstraps
There are only so many things you can adjust on a board. To go faster, the main idea is to trim everything far back so the board flies. But you still need control, so it depends a lot on the conditions. When it's really choppy and wavy, you need a lot of control to go fast, so trimming everything back might not be the fastest option. When the water is flatter and the conditions are easier to control, trim further back to get the board flying as much as possible.
Mast base: back flies, forward controls
The further back you put the mast base, the more the board flies and the less control you have. So typically, the easier the conditions, the further back it goes. When it's really wavy and very windy, the board often keeps flying off and you lose control: then put the mast base further forward.
Start in the middle
The middle position is the standard setting in normal conditions. For more lift and a looser ride, I push the mast base 1-2 cm further back. In a lot of wind, the same amount forward, which keeps the nose of the board low. I wouldn't recommend either of the extreme positions.
Your sail matters too
Some sails have the pressure point further forward, which puts a lot of downforce on the board. With those, put the mast further back. Lighter sails with the pressure point further back make the board fly a lot on their own. With those, put the mast track further forward.
Footstraps: the same rule
Footstraps further back, the board flies more. Further forward, more control. Because I want the board flying, I always put my back straps all the way back, which gives a really free ride over the chop, and my front straps in the middle.
Wide stance for control
You can also vary the distance between the straps. Back straps all the way back and front straps all the way forward give you a wide stance and a lot of control. A wide stance is also really good for tall sailors.
Maximum flying
If you want the board flying a lot, and your sail has a lot of downforce or you typically sail really flat spots, you can put the front straps all the way back as well.
Outside positions
Even if you don't want to change your straps over and over again, this is quite an important setting. Many freeride boards offer the inside positions for intermediate windsurfers and more positions for ambitious ones. If you can safely get in and out of the straps, mounting them further out gives you more control and so more speed, because you have better leverage against the lift of the fin.
Find your combination
The mast track position and the strap position have to work together. The only way to find the best option for you is to go out on the water and try different combinations.
Board tuning: fin size and sharp edges
Changing to a different fin is a good tuning option when all the other measures don't seem to help anymore. A bigger fin gives more lift for light wind, and the windward rail comes higher. A smaller fin gives the board a more secure connection with the water, which helps in stronger wind.
Tail width first, sail size second
The fin size depends much more on the width of the board, or the tail, than it does on the sail size.
My three slalom boards
62 cm wide: my best fin is a 33, and I can use it with any sail from 5.6 up to 7.0. I vary by about 1 cm: with the 5.6 I'd go to a 32 at times, with the 7.0 to a 34. 71 cm wide: almost only a 37. It can go down to a 36 or up to a 38. 85 cm wide: typically a 46, sometimes a 45 or a 47.
My top tip: sharpen the edges
Many people change the surface of the board by sanding it or filling it up. I don't suggest that, because you're not allowed to compete with it. Instead, put sanding paper on a block: 1000 grit. You can go down to 800, but I wouldn't go below that. Then go back and forth along the edges that touch the water and sharpen them, on the side as well as on the top. I feel like it gives you a little more grip on the water and a little more control.
For boards that go straight
All of these board tips work on boards made for flat water or some kind of racing, boards that go straight and jibe. They don't really work for wave or freestyle boards.
Sail tuning: downhaul, tack strap and outhaul
The brand doesn't matter: you can do all of this with any freeride, freerace, slalom or race sail. As with the board, it's all about finding the balance between control and top speed. Start by rigging your sail the way you normally do. Then play with these settings on the water and see what works for your sail and your style.
Downhaul: looser leech, the board flies
More downhaul gives you a lot of loose leech. That takes away back-hand pressure and makes your board fly a lot. If the board flies too much and you have problems keeping it down, use a little less downhaul. If you feel you're pointing a lot upwind and the sail pushes the board down, use a little more.
The nose won't release downwind?
When I feel the nose doesn't release going downwind, I increase the downhaul. The looser leech makes the sail feel less top-heavy. But only up to a point, otherwise the sail's stability suffers and it feels very unstable in your hand.
Plus or minus 1 cm
On the beach, start from the max and min marks on your sail. Most brands have them; if yours doesn't, watch the rigging video of your sail brand. From there, give it a little more or a little less and try it on the water. Play only in a very small range: the pulley moving a few centimetres or even millimetres. I vary within plus or minus 1 cm, not more, and that's already a lot.
Don't over-downhaul in strong wind
Most people tell you to put a lot more downhaul in strong wind. But too much downhaul makes the sail very unstable and you don't have a constant pressure point, so you actually lose a lot of control. It does the exact opposite of what you want.
Tack strap: power or control
The tack strap (most race sails have one) is fairly underestimated. It gives your sail shape in the bottom. In really light wind, and especially on flat water, pull it super tight, you can even use your foot: the sail gets a deeper profile and more power below the boom. When it's very choppy, loosen it so the sail can work and has less belly in the bottom, which gives you more control.
Upper or lower clew
Most sails have two outhaul clews, upper and lower, some even three. Typically, when it's windier and you want more control, you use the lower clew: the leech can twist and it releases tension from the sail. On lighter days, and when control doesn't matter so much, for example on flat spots, you can use the upper clew: it closes the leech for a better low end, more back-hand pressure and more power.
Outhaul: let it touch the boom
With a loose outhaul you have a big belly and a deep shape, and the sail touches the boom. That's actually not a problem. To stop the boom scratching the sail, you can put some transparent stickers on it, which is what I do. I see a lot of people pulling way too much, so the sail is far away from the boom: you make your sail dead and lose a lot of control and the pressure point. Even with a lot of tension, my sail always touches the boom a little, at least when a gust hits. Really windy: a bit more outhaul. Light wind: you can make it really loose.
Racers: the uphaul trick
A lot of racers grab the uphaul rope with their front hand to extend their reach and bring the sail more upright. I'm not a big fan and prefer to slide my front hand a little further back, which has a similar effect. In flat water and little wind it's worth giving the uphaul rope a shot.
Sail tuning: boom height and harness lines
The boom height, together with the length of your harness lines, puts the board in a looser or a more secure trim, and it changes your body position. All of these adjustments have to work together, so try out different things.
About chest high
Generally, a good boom height is about chest high.
Light wind: a bit higher
In light wind you want the board to fly a bit more, with the nose a bit higher, so put the boom a bit higher. Boom up and lines shorter makes the board looser. On wide boards the boom has to go higher anyway, because the width puts you further away from the mast base.
Flying too much: lower
If the board, or the nose, flies a lot and you want more control, put the boom quite low. In stronger wind and chop I put the boom lower and lengthen my harness lines.
How long?
I use adjustable lines, usually between 28 and 34 inches, but I have relatively long arms. My wife doesn't use longer than 28 inches. For most of you, I think it's somewhere between 24 and 30 inches.
Long for chop, short for light wind
In difficult, choppy or strong wind conditions I put them quite long. That lets me bring my body lower and further out, away from the sail, with more leverage to hold it. In really light conditions I put them all the way short: my body is more upright and my arms are closer to the boom. Long lines make light wind really exhausting. Anywhere in between works too.
Find the balance point
How far apart the two ends are doesn't really matter. I've seen people with them all the way together and all the way apart, even professionals. What matters is the position. On the beach, hold the sail only by the harness lines and feel if it moves to one side or the other. Move them a little until the pressure is even. That makes a really big difference on the water.
Difficult conditions: a bit forward
When it's really difficult, I put the lines a little further forward. Yes, that gives you a bit more back-hand pressure, but you can sail the sail a little more open, with less pressure overall, and I feel more in control. It's not the fastest, but sometimes it just depends on how much control you have on the water.
Avoid spinouts
Spinouts happen suddenly and unexpectedly and are about as loved as days without wind. The fin loses its grip and the tail slides around out of control. On boards with small fins, like wave or freestyle boards, you can often catch the tail by actively pulling it back. On bigger freeride and freerace boards you often have to start over: out of the straps, get planing again and watch your grinning buddies disappear in the distance. The majority of spinouts can be avoided. The fin length and profile, the mast base and strap positions, the sail's pressure point and your own technique all play a part.
Keep the mast base in the middle
Many windsurfers try to fix spinouts by pushing the mast base forward. At first glance that makes sense: it moves the pressure point forward and takes pressure off the fin. But with the mast base all the way forward, the trim of board and sail suffers a lot. The board loses its loose ride when planing and gets uncomfortable in chop, which can massively hurt speed and control. The middle position stays the clear recommendation.
Straps a little further inside
Straps far on the outside often put a lot of lateral pressure on the fin. If you often spin out when fully planing, a slightly more inside position will feel more comfortable, and you might even end up with a higher average speed.
Speed first, then upwind
For a steady flow at the fin, the board needs solid speed. If you head upwind right after getting planing, you build pressure on the fin straight away and spin out more easily. So after sliding into the straps, accelerate first, then slowly head upwind.
Watch your back hand
Spinouts often happen with bigger sails. They have a longer boom, so the pressure point sits further back and loads the fin. If the sail is also trimmed too little, the pressure point moves further back still. You feel it when, for example in gusts, the pull on your back hand grows out of proportion. Then add a centimetre of downhaul and tighten the outhaul to flatten the sail, but only slightly, so you don't kill the power you need to get planing.
A longer fin as the last step
If you can't solve it with sail trim, strap position or technique, a fin 2-3 cm longer can make sense. Fins with thicker profiles are usually a bit slower than thin ones, but less likely to spin out, because the flow is steadier. Another upside: thicker profiles give more performance in light wind and while getting planing.
The tack from full planing
A jibe in style is what every windsurfer wants. A great tack rarely gets praise. But just like every football team needs its hard workers next to the artists, every set of moves needs a solid tack. Especially going upwind, it's a must on the way to windward. You can practise it perfectly on a longboard or a big freeride board in light wind. Changing sides quickly will soon become natural.
1. Initiate
Unhook while fully planing, take your back foot out of the strap and put it on the windward edge of the board. Take your front foot out of the strap and put it right next to the mast base. With your weight on your heels, steer the board into the wind in a controlled, smooth turn. Keep the board flat on the water so you don't brake too much. Tip: you can move your back hand slightly towards the mast while you carve upwind.
2 to 4. Change sides
First make yourself some space. Pushing the rig back here isn't for steering, it's to create the space you need around the mast, so your arms are stretched. Feet and hands change sides together: slide your back foot forward to the mast (heel to heel) and at the same time reach across to the new side of the boom with your old back hand. Right after that, step far back on the deck with your new back leg to take the pressure off the nose immediately. Ideally you're still planing up to this point.
5 and 6. Bear off
Now bear away with the sail to turn into your new direction: pull your back hand really close and push the mast towards the nose. Your straight front leg pushes the nose away from the wind. As soon as the board picks up some speed, bring your front foot back into its normal position.
Timing: planing or not
When to change sides depends on whether you're planing. The wind you feel on the board is the true wind plus the headwind from your own speed, and that headwind is stronger when you're planing. So if you start the tack with foot pressure while fully planing, you can change sides before the nose points straight into the wind. If you start it by steering with the sail, you have to wait longer: pull the sail over past the back of the board and wait until the lower leech touches your shin. That's your signal to change sides.
No space at the mast?
Stepping forward around the mast is the most critical part of the shortboard tack. If the nose sinks and you fall off backwards, it's usually because you pull your arms in too much. Give yourself the space you need: keep your arms long until you're around the mast. Once you're on the new side, pull the rig forward in front of your body to start bearing off.
The power jibe step by step
The holy grail of moves is still a sleek, fully planing power jibe. Unlike a basic jibe, you start it by steering with your feet. Still, there are many parallels, for example the sail shift at the end. That's why you can practise the foundations of planing jibes perfectly in light wind. Nobody makes it fully planing right off the bat. At first it's about getting around the carve and, if needed, finishing by steering with the sail. Big freeride boards with a lot of control, light sails without cambers and easy conditions with 12 to 20 knots of wind are ideal to start practising.
1. Speed
Enough speed is a must for every planing move. Bear away, close the sail and accelerate. Before you start the jibe, unhook, slide your back foot out of the strap and put it in front of the strap on the leeward rail.
2 and 3. Carve
Let the sail pull you into the turn, inside and forward, to put pressure on the leeward rail. That only works if the sail makes pressure: a wide grip on the boom, the front arm stretched and the sail closed with the back hand give you maximum pull. Push your knees forward for extra pressure on the leeward rail, so the whole rail digs into the water.
4. Change feet
When the pressure in the sail releases, you're at the apex of the turn, pointing straight downwind, and the small waves and chop come directly from behind. Now open the sail with your back hand and try to keep the same radius. Unlike in the basic jibe, change your feet after you've passed dead downwind: front foot out of the strap and back, heel to heel. The new front foot then comes forward, right between the pads and the mast base.
5 and 6. Shift the sail
When you're learning, you'll often stop planing during or shortly after the foot change. Then finish the turn to a slight downwind course by steering with the sail. Shift the sail boom to boom, crossing your arms to the new side, very similar to the basic jibe. As soon as you let go with the back hand, the sail turns by itself. Then pick up speed on a slight downwind course.
Power jibe: the critical points
Carve it, time it, shift it: these are the three critical points of the power jibe.
Initiate the right way
Does your board bounce over the chop when you start the jibe? Do you stop planing already on the downwind course? Then you're not actively letting the sail pull you forward into the turn. With your front arm bent and your back arm stretched, your body leans back: too much weight on the tail, a loss of speed and a board that bounces nervously on its rail. Stretch your front arm as you go in and keep the sail closed with your back hand instead. The sail makes a lot more pull, draws your upper body forward and you lean into the turn. The board goes through the water flat and on its rail, and you take your speed and momentum through the whole jibe.
No robot legs
The footwork matters too. If you stand as stiff as a robot, you can't put pressure on the leeward rail. Pushing your knees forward (the knee push) adds extra smoothness to the turn.
Right timing
Shifting the sail is the last part of the jibe. Shift as early as possible and you're done as early as possible, you might think, so many newcomers shift on the downwind course straight after the foot change. Especially on small boards that gets wobbly fast: the tail sinks and you end up in the water. It's quite normal that the board stops planing once you've borne away to straight downwind. Finish the rest of the jibe like a basic jibe: steer with the sail instead of your feet and weight. After the foot change, push the mast out towards the water and wait until the board turns into the new direction. Only then shift the sail.
Shift it clean
Shifting is the last hurdle of a successful power jibe, and if you've sailed a longboard you clearly have an advantage. A classic mistake is the sail falling into the water on the leeward side while you shift. Aim to bring the sail into a light, neutral position: the more upright it is while it rotates, the easier it gets. So bring the sail close to your body after you let go with the back hand. That also makes it easier to grab the new side of the boom.
The race jibe
The race jibe, also called the carving jibe, is the crown jewel of jibing. Unlike in a normal power jibe, you lay the sail down quite a bit more. Why? When you're full on racing on freerace or slalom gear, you have two goals before the jibe: get around fully planing with as much speed as possible and, of course, not crash. If I did a normal power jibe with an upright body at 50 km/h, any board would jump over the chop, completely out of control, and losing speed and control would be very likely. My leaned-in position lets me dig a bigger part of the rail into the water, and a sporty board then pulls through the turn with a lot of grip. How do you get into that position? Step by step: going from a normal power jibe to a race jibe is a process of small steps. The foot change and the sail shift hardly differ from the power jibe, so focus on the carve.
1. Dragster arms
If a coach told you that you carve the rail with your arms, you'd probably doubt them. You shouldn't. The arm work is a key to a powerfully carved jibe. Your sail is a strong engine, so use the horsepower and don't step off the gas as you go into the jibe. Let the sail pull you into the turn: place your back hand a few centimetres further back, then close the sail fully. See how my sail top twists to leeward even in the jibe? That's pure forward drive. Now stretch your front arm and you'll feel the sail drag you to the inside of the turn, like a dragster. The right forward-leaning body position then happens almost by itself. So strictly speaking, you build most of the pressure on the rail through your arm work and the inside body position it creates.
2. Curl up
Don't stay stretched and stiff. Dare to let the sail pull you in and lean your body into the turn. To do that, your hip bends forward.
3. Use your toes
Your legs have work to do as well. On wide freerace and slalom boards the big, long step onto the leeward rail can look a lot like an adductor stretch. To get enough pressure on the leeward rail, your legs can't be straight: push your knees forward. That puts more pressure on the toe pads and gives you more control. Just as important as the toe pressure is pulling up the outside rail through the front footstrap. That happens almost automatically when you push your knees forward. Just try it!
Laying it down all the way?
Race jibes where you pull the lower leech over past the back of the board aren't wrong, but you usually don't see them in races. Laying the sail down looks quite cool and gives a lot of pressure on the rail, but it really restricts my radius. With the rig a bit more upright I'm more flexible and can adapt to what's around me at the mark much faster, partly because it takes less time to bring the sail into the shifting position. The laid-down version suits freeriding, when you can choose your own line.
Your tuning cheat sheet
Save this card on your phone and take it to the beach. Rig your sail the way you normally do, start with the mast base in the middle and the boom about chest high, then adjust to the day. Now get out there, try it out and take your windsurfing to the next level.
Light wind, flat water
Mast base 1-2 cm back, front straps back too (my back straps always stay all the way back), a bigger fin if nothing else helps, tack strap super tight, upper clew, outhaul really loose, boom a bit higher, harness lines all the way short.
Strong wind, chop
Mast base 1-2 cm forward, front straps forward for a wide stance, a smaller fin if nothing else helps, tack strap looser, lower clew, a bit more outhaul (the sail still touches the boom in the gusts), boom lower, harness lines long.
Downhaul
Plus or minus 1 cm at most. The board flies too much: a little less. The sail pushes the board down: a little more. Don't over-downhaul in strong wind.
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