74 COACHING WINDWISE TECHNIQUE
THE
WARRIOR
TACK
‘COACH OF THE YEAR’, SIMON
BORNHOFT EXPLAINS WHY TACKING
BECOMES FRUSTRATINGLY HARDER
IN STRONGER WINDS OR A
COMPLETE LOTTERY ON LOWER
VOLUME BOARDS. BUT, MORE
IMPORTANTLY, DEMONSTRATES
HOW A WINDWISE ‘WARRIOR’
TACKING STYLE WILL NOT ONLY
DRAMATICALLY IMPROVE YOUR
TACKING SUCCESS RATE BUT ALSO
MAXIMIZE YOUR SHORT BOARD
CONTROL, UPHAULING, GYBING,
WAVES AND ANY ADVANCED
MOVES YOU’RE TRYING TO
DEVELOP. TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE?
WELL, WHETHER YOU’RE A
TERRIBLE OR TERRIFIC TACKER,
READ ON; SO MANY HAVE BEEN
SURPRISED AT WHAT A DIFFERENCE
THE ‘SYSTEM’ CAN MAKE
uk
WIND
SURFING
Who’s this feature for what’s it related to?
Beginner-improvers-intermediates:
Uphauling,tacking, fast tacking, short board
tacking, hovering, gybing and control.
Advanced-freewave-wave-freestyle-pro:
All of the above, plus wave sailing, up and
downwind 360s, helis and the majority of
feasible and incomprehensible freestyle too.
Check out the SBW feature from our last issue
to get more Warrior info…
The windsurfing pathway kicks off with beginners being taught
the ‘Classic Tack’ where the sail is raked back and ‘pulled’
over the tail, causing the board to turn through the eye of the
wind. The sailor ‘nips round the mast’ and twists the rig
forward to sail away. Good Vision, neat footwork and constant
Opposition is vital to maintain counter balance. We still
sometimes teach the Classic Tack and, with lots of practice, it
can become fast and achievable on small boards, provided
you can master that horrible wobble and tendency to nose
sink. Yet many sailors always struggle on smaller boards and
decide to leave tacking to the nimble persistent types. Also,
I’m now convinced a variation in tacking style will do wonders
for your windsurfing. Tacking on even small vessels is possible
for everyone, especially if you use our Warrior system