90 COACHING FUNDAMENTALS
The way the wind is blowing relative to the shoreline you are
launching from can make a considerable difference to your
session. Let’s have a look at the possibilities.
• Cross-shore: an ideal direction for your orientation
where the wind blows along the beach either directly
from the right or the left. Here you can windsurf straight
out at 90 degrees to the beach, which is perfect for
keeping track of where you are. It should be flatter water
than when it’s onshore In an unfamiliar location a top tip with cross-shore, cross-on
or cross-off winds is to remember to look back to shore after
you have been sailing away from the beach every 20
seconds or so to see what the beach looks like. If you go
blasting out for a minute or two before turning, then the view
you get of the shore may look confusing as all the dunes,
huts or groynes can merge into one distant image. Knowing
where you came from and staying on that line however
means that every time you turn and head back towards the
shore you are reassured that you could land back where you
started if you wanted to.
• Onshore: the safest direction for getting back to the shore
if something goes wrong. Getting out can be tricky as you
are sailing upwind and the water state could be quite
rough or ‘mushy.’ You may need to sail a bit further along
the beach than you think to clear any shorebreak so don’t
be in a rush to change direction on the first reach… no
one wants to get taken down close to groynes or the shore
whilst trying to tack in breaking water
• Cross-on: (a.k.a. ‘the French direction!’) – a great
combination of cross-shore (for ease of getting out) and
onshore (for safety)
• Offshore: AVOID! This can lure unsuspecting windsurfers
into the sea thanks to the flat water state and seemingly
manageable winds. Once out a few hundred metres the
previously fragmented wind can pull together and
strengthen and the sea state can become
unmanageable. Additionally, if something goes wrong you
will get pushed away from the safe haven of the beach
• Cross-off: Despite being the dream direction of
wavesailors (as it holds up the waves and makes them
smoother) it’s not great for improvers as the off-shore
element adds that risk factor Recently, towards the end of a crosshore wind-with-tide
session, I experienced an increase in the tidal flow at the
same time as the wind weakened and swung more offshore.
This meant that I could get planing very far out yet I always
dropped off the plane as I reached a line about 300m off
the beach. I kept heading further out to get enough wind to
get planing (so I could plane upwind) yet that was putting
me deeper into the tide which was much stronger there and
was pushing me away from safety. Transits confirmed that I
was being taken steadily downwind and down tide away
from my launching spot – not good. So, on a low volume
board, I had to commit to a tedious 25 minutes making
loads of short non-planing zig zags upwind very close into
the shore (out of the strengthening tide) to get back to my
starting point – and all in the knowledge that there were still
great planing conditions out there yet they had become too
far off shore for comfort. I could have landed further down
the coastline, which would have brought me to safety yet
that would have left me with the logistical challenge of
getting myself and my kit back to the original beach. Taking
such decisions to stop the fun and to head in, keeping
closer to shore, is hard yet necessary.
Wind Direction
uk
WIND
SURFING