These next two sessions were fairly short compared to my previous outings, the first of which was in a big northerly swell and was quite challenging to get over the waves without overfoiling, and the second was an offshore day with butter flat water, but expectedly gusty winds.
I focussed quite heavily on trying a different method to nail the gybes more frequently - basically flipping the foil much earlier in the turn so that I was much more balanced when the hand change occurs. This seemed pretty promising as my first few attempts were significantly closer than before. I'm still not sure if this is the correct technique, but before long I'd got the board fully round whilst still foiling, and got the foot change in without dropping off either - result!
I hoped I'd get many more in that session, but my technique clearly isn't there yet - good to have something to practice on.
I focussed quite heavily on trying a different method to nail the gybes more frequently - basically flipping the foil much earlier in the turn so that I was much more balanced when the hand change occurs. This seemed pretty promising as my first few attempts were significantly closer than before. I'm still not sure if this is the correct technique, but before long I'd got the board fully round whilst still foiling, and got the foot change in without dropping off either - result!
I hoped I'd get many more in that session, but my technique clearly isn't there yet - good to have something to practice on.
I also tried doing a non-foiling tack, and managed it first time in an incredibly wobbly fashion! It feels quite a strange movement, turning through the wind whilst taking the wing over your head from one side to the other. It could be a real challenge to do this foiling, but I guess the high apparent wind will give a nice powered wing to pull against to steady yourself.