I collected a bunch of videos from my sessions in 2021 and all this is sitting on a hard drive, unused. Until the new 2022 "on-the-water" season starts in late March, I'll try to share one picture per day ...just to bring some windsurfing cheer during winter. Add your pics as you wish.

Starting back in March 2021: Trip to Hatteras with the Appelton guys. This is Bill in the picture showing how it's done in a breezy 32kn gusting 40kn. I recall temps in the high 60s. To contradict what I just said above, let's start with a picture that is not mine but from a local guy I don't remember the name...

We are still in Hatteras. March 28, 2021. Canadian Hole. Wind 30-32kn gusting 40kn. 4.7 was the only medicine I had avail. A 4.2 was what the doc prescribed but my crappy insurance didn't want to pay for it!

"Foot off the strap, prepare for a big slap!"
Winnebago -Deadwood Point Launch on May 1, 2021.

Ha, what exactly is happening (and about to happen) in that last pic? Was this a jump that you didn't land because your aft foot got loose?

Semi-related: how DO you jump besides having lots of speed and hitting chop?

Well, on that occasion I saved it and didn't get slapped!

I'm sure there are many-many windsurfers with much better jumping skills and technic than mine but here's what I do when I go through wind-generated chop (both wind and waves coming from the same direction)
- Maintain good steady speed (~80%) - Scares me to jump when I'm going fast...
- Stay side-wind or slightly upwind
- Look for a steep piece of chop
- And then do all this at once: Sheet-in and edge the board upwind a fraction of sec before hitting the chop, put quick and short down pressure on the back foot as you are hitting the chop while pulling up with the front foot
- Then sheet out and bring the back leg up while keeping the front as extended as possible once in the air (This will move the board nose downwind, will expose the windward rail to the wind and give you a bit of a lift and prepares for a smooth landing without killing all the speed.
- To land, extend the back leg just before hitting the water to get the tail of the board in the water first (avoid flat landing: Hard on the body and can damage your board)

It's safer to do this unhooked. Though, I tend to forget about that when doing small chop hop but usually, the harness line drops by itself once I'm in the air.
If you land nose first and you go flying over the handlebar, just think that you've just "mastered" the first third of a Forward Loop! Ha!
Give it a try!

A couple of tutorials here:


Plenty more online

May 13, 2021. Sheboygan at the King Park South Beach - Broadway Ave. launch.
Peaceful session except coming back to shore where there's a choice: Either to fly the foil high over 2 shallow sandbars and avoid a swim or to drop safely before the sandbar and spend time in the 50-degree drink. What would you do?

May 15, 2021. Sheboygan Kite Beach launch.
Trying to put it into reverse

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May 20, 2021. Sheboygan Kite Beach.
This is as fast as it gets on my HoverGlide 76cm wing - 90cm mast. Any faster and it'll shoot up at the top of the lighthouse.
Kit: Goya Bolt 125l, 7.0 Ezzy Lion, Slingshot Hoverglide 76

May 23, 2021. Sheboygan Kite Beach.
Riding with JR from Milwaukee. He very often rides in Sheboygan and Fond-du-Lac. Probably one of the 2 kiteboarders I trust riding close and upwind of me. His control of the kite and foil is really top-level. Windfoiling can be a bit monotonous but riding with someone and following each other throughout the session is super fun. I'm always amazed at how peaceful and intense the experience is at the same time. And you can even discuss where to go for lunch during these quiet rides!

Hope you don't mind some followup questions on these, but what on earth happened in the "reverse" picture? Is that a push tack or something?

Regarding foiling. The Bolt seems to a faster freeride board, so not that different from my RRD Firemove, which is also supposed to have a finbox that can handle foiling. How did you find learning to foil on a board not designed solely for foil? Think it's a good way to go or better to hold out for one of the funny shaped foil boards? Depending on how progress goes I'm open to trying this fall.

Thanks for the tips on jumping, can't wait to try again this spring/fall. Towards the end of last year I felt like I was getting a lot of the basics, will be very interesting to see what remains next time I get on the water. In my mind those youtube videos on forward loops seem very attainable, on the water we will see if I remember which side to stand on.

Sure, no problem.
- Reverse: Just a fail tack in which I was too slow-moving around the mast and lost my forward momentum completely!

- Foiling your freeride board: Best option to learn on a budget. Once you get comfortable, it's not a bad idea to get a dedicated foil board to keep progressing but not an absolute necessity. I also think that foiling is a discipline where trying the gear before buying is probably quite important (unless you have deep pockets and are ready to make mistakes!)

- Goya Bolt: That board is more technical to ride than your average freeride board. Not Slalom-difficult but it won't benefit anyone still trying to get comfortable riding in the harness and in straps fulling planning. In a nutshell, the difference behind Slalom vs Freerace vs Freeride boards work like that: Speed vs Control vs Comfort.

Your enthusiasm and eagerness to progress quickly is cool to hear. Isn't that fun to picture your skill and technic next frontier? However, I would suggest you also keep your expectations to a level that won't disappoint you down the road: The sport is frustrating to learn at times!

Good point on realistic expectations, but so far the only time this has all been truly frustrating was the day I showed up and saw ice. I am mostly keen to know what steps further up the learning curve look like, and have an awful inclination towards gear when I really need time on the water!