"Faster"

Windsurfing Fun !

Featuring every current windsurfing World Speed Record holder on the planet explains, how to speed windsurfing. Peter Hart, Dave White, Antoine Albeau, Björn Dunkerbeck, Finian Maynard and Karin Jaggy.

Transcript

00:00:00If you're making a programme about speed, you might as well not mess about and go straight

00:00:15to the top.

00:00:16I happen to be sat next to the fastest feet ever in the world, and they belong to none

00:00:21less than Finnian.

00:00:22What do you think the main reason is that people don't go really fast?

00:00:38I guess they're scared.

00:00:40Why are they scared?

00:00:42Because I forgot.

00:00:52I don't know.

00:01:22Yes, it is with the help of this diverse group of people that I've come to realise that

00:01:51I hope to reveal some of the secrets of speedier sailing.

00:01:58Did I forget someone, you say?

00:02:00Oh yeah, there is just one more little chap who's going to help me out.

00:02:06Tall and wide and round and awesome, the boy from Brighton Sea goes walking and as he passes

00:02:15each one he passes goes uh.

00:02:21When he walks the ground he trembles and children scream and people scatter and as he passes

00:02:30each one he passes goes uh.

00:02:36Oh, but he sails his board madly.

00:02:43How can they ever get past him?

00:02:50Oh, but they watch him so sadly.

00:02:57Because every day when they go to the sea he shoots past them so easily.

00:03:08Yes, Whitey and I have been mates and bitter rivals on and off the water since forever.

00:03:14Together we did the World Speed Tour for over ten years.

00:03:17I quite often beat him back then, but look how small he was.

00:03:21Since then the tables have turned a little and he's gone on to grab a few world records

00:03:25and usually beats me, but not always.

00:03:31I should warn you now that we don't agree on much.

00:03:34But then, Hearty, as with most things in life, there's no hard and fast rules.

00:03:39True. Anyway, together we're going to help you go faster.

00:03:55We're going to help you go faster.

00:03:58What's the hurry?

00:04:25Hey, windsurfing's a lovely cruisy sport where you can take in the countryside,

00:04:30but a lot of people just make it look like a blur. Why?

00:04:34Because it's a man thing, an evolution thing where only the fastest survive.

00:04:38I like to go fast because I want to be in front of Bjorn and Tinian.

00:04:42Because it makes me more attractive for women.

00:04:44Just so I can have something to talk about at the bar.

00:04:46But actually there are some much more practical reasons for wanting to go faster.

00:04:51Setting aside childish desires just to humiliate your fellow man,

00:04:55speed is the key to improving all aspects of your windsurfing.

00:04:59Even at the most basic level, the rig feels lighter and more controllable the faster you're going.

00:05:05The board is more settled on the water and rides more cleanly over chop if you're going fast.

00:05:15Carving moves will be slicker and more impressive the faster you enter them.

00:05:20Good freestylers are fast, especially in medium winds,

00:05:23so they can pop and slide their way through their routines.

00:05:27Good wave sailors are fast and that's what gives them that height in the jumps

00:05:32and allows them to destroy the waves.

00:05:41In racing, well sorry to state the obvious, but you don't see too many slow winners.

00:05:47And yes, there's no greater appeal of buzz than just going as fast as you can in a straight line for miles.

00:05:54Yep, and above all, you want to go fast to stop this sort of thing happening.

00:06:03But before we move on, and as an excuse to redress the balance, let's ask the question,

00:06:08what actually do we mean by speed?

00:06:12So what's speed about for you Whitey?

00:06:14Going flat out and overtaking you mate.

00:06:16You know I suppose that is one rather narrow Essex interpretation of speed,

00:06:20but say we had a race from here to here, I could be finished and in the pub by the time we even got planning,

00:06:25so that would make me faster.

00:06:27Come on chubby!

00:06:28Okay, fair enough, it's not just about top end speed.

00:06:31It's not, it's like how you handle the lulls.

00:06:33And the gusts.

00:06:34What course you take.

00:06:35And how you handle the chop.

00:06:37Basically all fast people are fast regardless of the conditions.

00:06:41Yes, those who focused on getting world records are actually fast,

00:06:45whatever the wind angle, whatever the wind strength.

00:06:48And whatever kit they're on.

00:06:50So what do they all have in common?

00:06:52Surely at least they stand and address the board and rig in the same way.

00:06:59Well here they all are on the same point of sailing,

00:07:02and we have Finian leaning back,

00:07:05Whitey leaning forward,

00:07:09Bjorn quite hunched up,

00:07:11and Antoine some kind of twisted.

00:07:15In a search for a standard speed model, this doesn't seem like a good start.

00:07:21Some people may be mildly confused by that last bit.

00:07:24We've got Finian hanging right off the back of the board,

00:07:27we've got you hanging right off the front of the board,

00:07:29and we've got Antoine and Bjorn somewhere in the middle.

00:07:31And there's hardly anything between the lot of us.

00:07:33So there's not one set speed style.

00:07:36But the speed principles are still the same.

00:07:38And here are those principles.

00:07:49So what makes up a fast windsurfer?

00:07:52Well of course there's a size issue.

00:07:54Putting on weight and generally being huge is about this important.

00:07:59Then there's having really fancy specialised speed kit,

00:08:03which is about this important.

00:08:07Then setting up your kit to suit the conditions, your size, shape and style.

00:08:11Now we're getting there.

00:08:13And then there's skill and technique.

00:08:16Now this is what it's all about.

00:08:21It's the subtle, instinctive, unseen stuff that really counts.

00:08:26Hands, legs, arms making a thousand adjustments a second

00:08:30to keep the sail at the best angle to the wind

00:08:33and give the board the smoothest ride over the water.

00:08:40That all comes from having a stable, secure platform,

00:08:43i.e. a good stance and posture to work from.

00:08:47There is no one homogenous speed stance.

00:08:50Everyone's built differently and finds their own way.

00:08:54But here, as a start, is a head-to-toe review of the essential body parts

00:08:58and their role in this quest for speed.

00:09:01So starting at the top, the head,

00:09:04controls just about everything in windsurfing, not just speed.

00:09:08It's the steering wheel of the body.

00:09:10Where you point it is where you go.

00:09:12Drop it and you hunch up,

00:09:14but lift it and you stand tall and unweight the board.

00:09:18And within your head you have a couple of these.

00:09:22Use your eyes, don't look down there, look out into the distance.

00:09:25Your eyes breathe in the information about the path ahead

00:09:28and allow you to anticipate the changes in wind and water state

00:09:32and pick the smoothest route,

00:09:34which, by the way, even in a point-to-point drag race,

00:09:37is rarely a straight line.

00:09:40That's the head done, now to the hands.

00:09:43Yes, the hands.

00:09:45A lot of people make the mistake of just gripping the boom in one place

00:09:48and never moving them, but good windsurfers have very mobile hands

00:09:51and it's not wrong to move them,

00:09:53even when you're speed sailing.

00:09:55For example, you get a monster gust,

00:09:57you can move the back hand down the boom a bit just to hold it in.

00:10:00If you want to go a little bit faster in a lull,

00:10:02you can move the front hand back to get further away from the rig.

00:10:06The pressure in the sail alters not just with the gusts and lulls,

00:10:10but also as you change point of sailing.

00:10:12So it's only natural that you have a wide grip when you're sailing upwind

00:10:16and the sail is more loaded and draggy,

00:10:18and a narrower grip for downwind when the general feel is lighter

00:10:22and you're trying to keep the rig more upright.

00:10:26And here's a thought.

00:10:27You won't go any faster if you squeeze the boom.

00:10:30Yeah, you're right.

00:10:31You can tell how hard you're gripping by the colour of your knuckles,

00:10:34but just remember, it's not a white knuckle ride.

00:10:37Even when you're overpowered, caress the boom.

00:10:40Release the hands one at a time,

00:10:42because speed at this level is about committing 100% to the harness.

00:10:47Another good reason for not gripping too hard

00:10:49is you can save the muscles in your arms.

00:10:52But, you know, your arms shouldn't get tired anyway,

00:10:54because they're not pulling in on the boom.

00:10:57They should be pushing the boom away to drive more power through the harness.

00:11:01Now, generally, it's a good idea to sail with extended arms

00:11:04because it gives you a little bit more room and keeps the rig upright,

00:11:07but you don't want to lock them out.

00:11:09If you've got locked, rigid arms

00:11:11and you want to control a gust by shooting out,

00:11:13you're going to get pulled straight out of shape.

00:11:17So keep both arms flexible.

00:11:19That way, if you have a crisis, get hit by a monster gust,

00:11:22you can depower by bending the front arm and so keep your shape.

00:11:27But, you know, trimming doesn't just come from the arms.

00:11:30It also comes from the shoulders.

00:11:33I like my shoulders open and driving forward.

00:11:35It also helps me to stop over-shooting.

00:11:39By open, we mean facing the way you're going.

00:11:41It's when you get defensive

00:11:43and turn towards the back of the board

00:11:45that the problems start.

00:11:48Let's move further down the body,

00:11:50but let's leave this to Pete.

00:11:52Yeah, thanks, White.

00:11:53You know, the stomach is a very underrated part of the body.

00:11:56You see, the power has to get into the board via you.

00:11:59So if you're all wobbly, it just sort of gets lost.

00:12:03When you want to go faster,

00:12:05you pull down on the boom and tighten the stomach muscles.

00:12:08Then you can really feel the power

00:12:10go through the legs and into the board.

00:12:13So keep your stomach...

00:12:15and you'll go faster.

00:12:17When was the last time your stomach was in, Whitey?

00:12:19Not sure about that, Pete,

00:12:21but what I do know about is this.

00:12:23You drop this, you hunch,

00:12:24and you've got no control over your levers.

00:12:26You stand up, bring it back in,

00:12:28and you're really away.

00:12:30The sitting or standing issue

00:12:32is something we'll return to.

00:12:34But what we're saying here

00:12:36is that unless you hold your shoulders

00:12:38outboard of your bottom,

00:12:40you can't use your legs properly.

00:12:42To help me support this,

00:12:44I've got to use these.

00:12:46Yeah, the legs.

00:12:48This is probably the most complicated issue of the lot.

00:12:50And it's a fine balance

00:12:52between tension in the legs

00:12:54to drive the board onto the water,

00:12:56and yet flexibility to let it ride.

00:13:00You can't iron out all the bumps.

00:13:02There are just too many.

00:13:04So the legs have to absorb the big bumps,

00:13:06but then blast the board through the little ones.

00:13:09We'll delve a lot deeper into this issue

00:13:11in our handling chop section.

00:13:14So perhaps the most crucial bit of all

00:13:16and the final link in the chain

00:13:18are the feet.

00:13:20So the final tip from old Twinkle Toes himself.

00:13:22Your feet are probably the most active part of your body.

00:13:24To get yourself in position,

00:13:26you can use the whole of your foot.

00:13:28So you can control the board

00:13:30with both your toes and your heels.

00:13:32Standing tall, your weight is spread over the whole foot.

00:13:34That way, you can use

00:13:36toes and heels to tilt the board

00:13:38and present the flat surface

00:13:40to the undulating water.

00:13:44So let's try and sum up

00:13:46the apparently contradictory nature of the Speed Stance.

00:14:15Windsurfing YT

00:14:17is an equipment-led sport.

00:14:19We cannot do it without the right gear.

00:14:21But just how important is it when it comes to going fast?

00:14:23Well, how fast do you really want to go?

00:14:25Freeride equipment is super fast already.

00:14:27And it's way more easy to sail.

00:14:29Yeah, and then if you want to go

00:14:31that extra 10% faster,

00:14:33sure, go out and buy the specialist slalom

00:14:35and speedboard and the whole load of camera-induced sails.

00:14:37But there's a chance

00:14:39if your technique isn't spot on,

00:14:41that specialist kit can actually make you go slower.

00:14:45This bloke wouldn't go any faster if he came a speedboard.

00:14:47Because you're only going fast

00:14:49if you're in control.

00:14:51This is what we're using

00:14:53for most of our demos.

00:15:09We haven't even tuned our kit

00:15:11specifically for speed yet,

00:15:13but it's both up to around 27 knots.

00:15:15Just comfortably powered across the wind

00:15:17in about 22 knots of breeze

00:15:19and pretty bumpy seas.

00:15:2120 years ago,

00:15:23that would have been a world record

00:15:25and feels very fast, especially over chop.

00:15:27But best of all,

00:15:29this latest freeride kit is very easy to sail.

00:15:31And all stages of your speed journey

00:15:33are about eliminating

00:15:35one all too familiar feeling

00:15:37and building another.

00:15:39So what do you think the main reason is

00:15:41why people don't go fast?

00:15:43I guess they're scared.

00:15:45Why are they scared?

00:15:47Because they're out of control.

00:15:49Right, because speed itself isn't fun.

00:15:51And that's a wonderful feeling.

00:15:53So what actually are they afraid of?

00:15:55Fear of crashing.

00:15:57So how do they get into it?

00:15:59Well, one thing you definitely don't want to do

00:16:01is go out on a heavy day

00:16:03with a tiny board and a piece.

00:16:05You just want to take equipment you're really used to

00:16:07and the conditions you're happy with.

00:16:09It just wants to take off.

00:16:11So, like a thoroughbred racehorse,

00:16:13it needs firm, precise instructions.

00:16:15If it doesn't get them,

00:16:17it runs away with you and you're left clinging onto its neck.

00:16:19Now this is Zara Davis,

00:16:21normally very solid at speed,

00:16:23but she's borrowed Whitey's speedboard

00:16:25for a couple of runs.

00:16:27Unfamiliarity, different strap settings,

00:16:29plus the fact that it only understands

00:16:31one language, full commitment,

00:16:33drains her confidence

00:16:35and means that when she backs off a little,

00:16:37it all falls to pieces.

00:16:39And here's a typical instance where a speedboard

00:16:41can actually make you go slower.

00:16:45Freeride designs are more forgiving

00:16:47and a situation you want to achieve for training

00:16:49is where you're so comfortable

00:16:51that you're looking for more power

00:16:53and craving more speed.

00:16:55If you're relaxed,

00:16:57all the right neuro channels are open.

00:16:59The more miles you do in control,

00:17:01the more sensitive you become to the board.

00:17:03Is it gliding?

00:17:05Is it sticking?

00:17:07Is the sail driving or dragging?

00:17:09Feeling confident,

00:17:11you can experiment with your stance,

00:17:13your setup and feel the difference.

00:17:15Then with that basic skill and feel,

00:17:17if you want to take your speed sailing

00:17:19into the scary zone,

00:17:21you can gradually load less and less board

00:17:23with more and more sail.

00:17:25But all the time understanding

00:17:27that you'll still only go fast if you're confident

00:17:29and you'll only gain confidence

00:17:31if you're in control.

00:17:33Control to a large extent

00:17:35comes from your setup which allows you

00:17:37to take up that solid platform, relax

00:17:39and then really drive the board.

00:17:41Those looking for definitive information

00:17:43might be depressed

00:17:45or perhaps encouraged to discover

00:17:47some strange anomalies,

00:17:49even amongst the best.

00:17:51I have my boom height here.

00:17:53My boom is here.

00:17:55I'm 188 tall.

00:17:57I'm 168 tall.

00:17:59125 kilos.

00:18:01Today on the course I did 35 knots.

00:18:03And so did I.

00:18:13The only way to attack this

00:18:15is to explain a few principles

00:18:17and then see how the best in the world

00:18:19tweak their bits to complement their strengths.

00:18:23So which should you use?

00:18:25The seat harness or the waist harness for speed?

00:18:27Let's look at the options.

00:18:29The common wisdom

00:18:31certainly used to say

00:18:33that a waist harness was the wave sailor's choice

00:18:35but that for speed and racing

00:18:37a seat harness was the only way to go.

00:18:39But maybe the choice

00:18:41isn't so clear cut.

00:18:43I was riding

00:18:45waist harnesses for a couple of years.

00:18:47Waist harnesses are good

00:18:49if you're really overpowered.

00:18:51They're good around a tight slalom course.

00:18:53You can unhook very quickly.

00:18:55You can hook in very quickly again

00:18:57to get going.

00:18:59But I turned to seat harnesses about 7 years ago

00:19:01and I haven't stepped back because

00:19:03basically when you're a bigger guy and you have a seat harness

00:19:05you get to sit on the power much more.

00:19:07You get to utilize

00:19:09the wind. Also in the lulls

00:19:11with a seat harness I find that you can go

00:19:13faster through the lulls because you maintain

00:19:15the fin pressure.

00:19:17I would say I use the

00:19:19waist harness when it's light

00:19:21because I want my legs

00:19:23to be free and

00:19:25I want to be able to

00:19:27pump the sail really easy

00:19:29to hook when I'm not planing.

00:19:31So I use the waist harness.

00:19:33But as soon as the wind blows

00:19:35I will take a seat harness to be

00:19:37really comfortable and

00:19:39have maximum power

00:19:41on the harness with my weight.

00:19:43I can sit really much in the harness

00:19:45and give the whole power.

00:19:47Yes, I do prefer seat harness both for speed sailing

00:19:49and for slalom sailing.

00:19:51This gives you more control on the board.

00:19:53A bit of hauling on the whole

00:19:55rig and board.

00:19:57So it would seem that our stars favor a seat harness

00:19:59for ultimate speed.

00:20:01But the disadvantage to a seat harness is

00:20:03that it can make people sit

00:20:05unnecessarily and get defensive

00:20:07when really as we know the best way to go fast

00:20:09is to stand up and go with the flow.

00:20:11But you know speed isn't

00:20:13just about hanging on to heaps of power

00:20:15it's also about subtle movement.

00:20:17There's no doubt that the waist harness

00:20:19gives you more freedom to move

00:20:21and it can be better, especially in lighter winds.

00:20:23But you know it is a bit of a sterile debate

00:20:25because the best harness for you

00:20:27is the one that's comfortable

00:20:29and puts you in control.

00:20:31And to prove that, the GPS revealed

00:20:33I was faster using my waist harness

00:20:35than the seat, for no other reason

00:20:37than that's what I've been using lately

00:20:39and had rejigged my stance to compensate.

00:20:41You do handle the power

00:20:43a little differently.

00:20:45Yes, you can lower your weight in a waist harness

00:20:47and try to sit on the power

00:20:49but that's not where it supports you from

00:20:51and most of the load will go into your ribcage.

00:20:53Instead, you want to stand up more

00:20:55and use the legs to direct the power

00:20:57into your lower back.

00:20:59In general, more of the load

00:21:01goes through your feet, so the nose

00:21:03will ride a little lower.

00:21:05Good for control, but not necessarily

00:21:07the best trim for speed.

00:21:11In the seat harness, you tend to use your weight more

00:21:13and have a feeling of hanging off the boom.

00:21:15It's easy to get the nose up

00:21:17and yes, it is potentially faster

00:21:19especially when you're really powered up.

00:21:21But it's not enough just to put it on.

00:21:23You have to practice with it.

00:21:25And there is another important deciding factor, AYT.

00:21:27Yeah, yeah, yeah.

00:21:29If you haven't got a waist,

00:21:31you haven't got a choice.

00:21:33Just thought I'd bring it up.

00:21:35Nothing has a more powerful influence

00:21:37on your stance, control

00:21:39and ultimately your speed

00:21:41than boom height and harness lines.

00:21:43Their length, placement

00:21:45and width.

00:21:47It's not that everyone disagrees.

00:21:51It's just that no one agrees.

00:21:55And that's why booms are

00:21:57easily adjustable

00:21:59and lines come in different lengths.

00:22:01So, we will listen

00:22:03to the sometimes contradictory ideas

00:22:05of our speedsters

00:22:07and then try and draw some conclusions.

00:22:09Well, basically, I like to run

00:22:11a boom for reference

00:22:13about my chin.

00:22:15I will run it up to my mouth

00:22:17if it's really light wind or in Formula.

00:22:19And if it's really windy

00:22:21and I'm really overpowered,

00:22:23I'll drop it just below my chin.

00:22:25So, it's really relative on what's going on

00:22:27with the conditions.

00:22:29First, I would say that

00:22:31in a really low, light wind,

00:22:33I will put the boom a little bit higher.

00:22:35So, I would say, in Salem,

00:22:37I would put it around the nose

00:22:39because the boards are really wide.

00:22:41So, actually, when you get planning

00:22:43and you go, the whole rig

00:22:45is going to fall in the back.

00:22:47So, it will make the boom

00:22:49go down a little bit.

00:22:51So, that's why with

00:22:53big sails and big Salem boards,

00:22:55I will put the boom

00:22:57around the nose and the mouth.

00:22:59And as soon as I go on

00:23:01really small Salem sails

00:23:03and Salem boards,

00:23:05I will put the boom

00:23:07a little bit lower to get more control

00:23:09up and everything.

00:23:13That's quite low compared to,

00:23:15say, Finnegan and Antoine, eh?

00:23:17Because they're short guys,

00:23:19you know, they have the boom higher in comparison.

00:23:21I'm just kidding.

00:23:23It seems like if people do a lot of

00:23:25formula, they like to have the boom a lot higher.

00:23:27And the guys who do more speed sailing

00:23:29like myself,

00:23:31they have the boom lower. And in lighter winds,

00:23:33I do move it up a little bit, up to here

00:23:35maybe, another

00:23:37inch. And if it gets really

00:23:39strong, then I actually lower

00:23:41it a bit to keep more control.

00:23:43What the higher boom does, it lifts the nose out

00:23:45of the water a bit easier, and you can get going

00:23:47more quickly.

00:23:49In steady, normal, medium conditions,

00:23:51I have it in the center, and really strong,

00:23:53I put it a bit lower to have more control and keep the

00:23:55board down. So, tell us about your harness

00:23:57line length there, Finn. Well,

00:23:59I like to run harness line length

00:24:01on this size sail that's a little bit

00:24:03longer than my elbow.

00:24:05This feels good for me right now.

00:24:07It depends really on how my sail feels, and how

00:24:09controllable and easy it is.

00:24:11I will, if the wind gets

00:24:13stronger, like I was saying before,

00:24:15I will run it out right away to that.

00:24:17So all of a sudden it becomes

00:24:19an elbow plus three or four inches.

00:24:21And that's really important

00:24:23if you're really overpowered, or you feel like

00:24:25there's too many waves around, or you really

00:24:27want to stay in control.

00:24:29The only problem with this is it makes your arms more tired

00:24:31more quickly.

00:24:33Also, it gets away the fin pressure.

00:24:35So your board rides flatter,

00:24:37so your winded rail tends to drop more.

00:24:39So you've got to be careful about having the lines

00:24:41too long too quickly.

00:24:43Then I'll pull it right back like that for light wind again.

00:24:45Get the rail pressure back.

00:24:47When the gust hits you, you get a more positive

00:24:49feel. You get to

00:24:51sit on the power quicker.

00:24:53So it really depends on how hard

00:24:55the conditions are. It really depends on what you should be running

00:24:57harness lines. But I highly suggest having adjustable

00:24:59lines. Having

00:25:01fixed lines is just too much hassle. Coming into the

00:25:03beach is far too much messing about.

00:25:05So fixed lines are the only

00:25:07way to go.

00:25:09Adjustable lines. Oh, sorry.

00:25:11Well, I do

00:25:13use the

00:25:15Norse Vario, so you can actually

00:25:17change the length of the

00:25:19harness rope if you want.

00:25:21If you've got really smooth water, you can

00:25:23lengthen a bit to get the sail more upright,

00:25:25which is really important. And if the

00:25:27wind gets stronger,

00:25:29then you can make it a bit shorter so you have more control.

00:25:33I use 24 to 30 inches

00:25:35long, which is a pretty standard size.

00:25:37And

00:25:39I like to have it a bit wider on the boom.

00:25:41It kind of gives you a bit more

00:25:43balance on the whole rig.

00:25:45I have it completely balanced.

00:25:47I could pretty much

00:25:49if the wind is steady, sail

00:25:51down with one finger on the boom.

00:25:53Of course, not 100% of

00:25:55effort is going to

00:25:57go into the sailing then, but the sail will stay nice

00:25:59and steady in the same position. I don't like to have

00:26:01any extra pressure on the back or any extra

00:26:03pressure on the front. Nice and centred.

00:26:05I like to have

00:26:07personally, I like to have

00:26:09pressure on the back arm because

00:26:11I need to get the

00:26:13power.

00:26:15We will return to this,

00:26:17but here in the meantime are some general

00:26:19conclusions about these knotty issues.

00:26:23Fully powered in wild conditions

00:26:25or sailing broad, when the sail

00:26:27angle is more open, a longer line

00:26:29generally gives you more leverage,

00:26:31more time and room to react

00:26:33and so more control.

00:26:35Although personally, I disagree.

00:26:37I did say generally.

00:26:39But sailing tighter to the

00:26:41wind and for cruising in medium

00:26:43winds when the sail is sheeted in closer

00:26:45to the board, a shorter line

00:26:47but not crazy short, 26

00:26:49inches in this case, is more comfortable.

00:26:51It also lifts the hips

00:26:53and unweights the board and helps you get

00:26:55planing earlier in flaky winds.

00:26:59When you talk about balancing the line

00:27:01so you have no uneven pressures on the

00:27:03arms, you have to remember that

00:27:05even on the best race sails, the effort

00:27:07will move, usually back

00:27:09as you get more powered up.

00:27:13So you have to

00:27:15decide at what stage you want them to be

00:27:17balanced, i.e. for the lulls

00:27:19or for the gusts or somewhere in between.

00:27:21You know what you like, don't you

00:27:23Whitey? I want to feel balanced

00:27:25as I get hit by that big gust

00:27:27because that's the moment where others open

00:27:29the sail, but my body weight keeps

00:27:31the sail closed and I'm out of there.

00:27:35Well, there speaks the committed

00:27:37top-speed man, and it works for him

00:27:39most of the time.

00:27:41But to have the lines well-backed

00:27:43like he does, you do have to be fully

00:27:45powered, but then the biggest

00:27:47danger is over-sheeting in the lulls.

00:27:49And I'm not alone in preferring to have

00:27:51the lines just a nadius in

00:27:53front of the balance point.

00:27:55I think this puts you in touch with your back

00:27:57hand a little bit more. Your body closes

00:27:59the sail most of the way and your back hand then does

00:28:01the last couple of inches of trimming,

00:28:03makes you very sensitive to what's going on

00:28:05and also stops that dreaded over-sheeting.

00:28:09Check Bjorn's back hand, quite a way

00:28:11behind the lines, doing a lot of the

00:28:13trimming.

00:28:15Do you have S-facing which works on all

00:28:17the boards you use? Yeah, I do.

00:28:19It's something I've been using for

00:28:21absolutely years. It's

00:28:23a measurement from the tail on

00:28:25the back foot and the front foot.

00:28:27And it pretty much works in all the slalom and

00:28:29speedboards. Formula, you have

00:28:31normally the feet a bit close together

00:28:33so that's been changing around

00:28:35a bit. But yeah, I do have a certain

00:28:37trap position that I really like.

00:28:39And what tells you that it's right

00:28:41if you see what I mean? Well, I think

00:28:43that if the front foot is too far back,

00:28:45I think that your front leg

00:28:47gets tired quickly and also it feels like the board

00:28:49wants to dive quickly and when you're hitting the

00:28:51chop you feel like you want to go over the front.

00:28:53Also, if your front foot is too far

00:28:55back, you feel like all the

00:28:57time that you can't handle

00:28:59maybe as much wind as you would normally like to.

00:29:01But at the same time

00:29:03there can be some advantages like

00:29:05completely underpowered.

00:29:07You know, a narrower strap position

00:29:09can be good but I don't like to do it because

00:29:11the amount of times that you're completely

00:29:13underpowered won't match up the times that you're powered.

00:29:15Nobody rakes to be underpowered.

00:29:17So, at the same time

00:29:19if your front foot is too far forward

00:29:21you get a feeling that you get too much pressure

00:29:23on your back leg and you don't get acceleration

00:29:25and the board also rides low

00:29:27so if the front foot is

00:29:29too far back or too far forward, the board

00:29:31rides too low.

00:29:33So, getting that front foot in the right position

00:29:35is really key on how you trim the board and how

00:29:37you're ultimately going to be feeling when you're sailing.

00:29:39On slalom boards, I have the back foot

00:29:41in the same position. In choppy conditions

00:29:43I spread them out a little bit more to have a wider stand

00:29:45and in smooth conditions I

00:29:47put them back a little bit to have a little

00:29:49shorter stand which makes me a little taller

00:29:51and makes me have more

00:29:53control on the back of the board but it's not much

00:29:55of a change. The front foot on the

00:29:57speed run has always got lifted up like that

00:29:59just to try to keep the board out of the water and keep

00:30:01some front foot pressure upwards.

00:30:03If your front foot is flat it means that you're going to

00:30:05be pushing the front foot down a lot.

00:30:07If you're really broad wind and it's really down

00:30:09then your front foot's going to flatten naturally

00:30:11and you're going to be leaning more forward naturally

00:30:13so it really depends on what angle

00:30:15of wind you're dealing with. My back foot is always flat

00:30:17and the major pressure

00:30:19point is obviously always just below the arch

00:30:21here, directly on the apex of the

00:30:23rail.

00:30:25What are you doing with the foot strap when you're sailing?

00:30:27I try to

00:30:29get my foot in quite

00:30:31far without being wobbly

00:30:33having a nice and steady

00:30:35grip on the board and the strap.

00:30:37I don't like only having toes in

00:30:39because I don't have any control at all so I can

00:30:41suggest that you want to actually put your foot in a strap

00:30:43not have it wobble

00:30:45around but be quite deep in there.

00:30:49You can't go fast unless you have

00:30:51power, but it has

00:30:53to be the right sort of power.

00:30:55Power that you can control.

00:30:59Let's start with some really solid

00:31:01sail tuning advice from British

00:31:03slalom champion Dan Ellis.

00:31:05With him in the red, overtaking.

00:31:07He seems to have plenty of the right stuff.

00:31:09The way it is, it's simple.

00:31:11You want to go fast and to go fast you've got to

00:31:13keep your sail locked down. Now if you're getting lifted up

00:31:1599% of the time just put a little bit more

00:31:17down on, let the sail release.

00:31:19If your sail's really twitchy, again you're not going to go fast

00:31:21let a little bit of outhaul off, as simple as that.

00:31:23Two simple things will make you go probably

00:31:2530% faster.

00:31:27Do you think that's the same situation for free ride?

00:31:29I think it's exactly the same for free ride

00:31:31for racers, for speed sailors.

00:31:33The same principles, even though you're going at different speeds.

00:31:35You want to be locked down and taking as much

00:31:37power as you can, so it doesn't matter whether you're Finian

00:31:39Maynard going 48 knots, or you're

00:31:41you know, some normal guy going at

00:31:4335 knots, the same principles apply.

00:31:4535 knots,

00:31:47very quick.

00:31:49The trick lies in being able to tell the difference between

00:31:51good power and drag.

00:31:53Well good power is when you feel your sail

00:31:55is working efficiently and driving you forward.

00:31:57If you have a lot of side draft, it's because

00:31:59you have not enough outhaul on the sail

00:32:01the whole sail becomes a big bag.

00:32:03You have a lot of power in your arms, but you don't go

00:32:05very fast at all.

00:32:07Just adjust the outhaul a little bit, make the sail a little bit

00:32:09flatter, and it's a fine line between

00:32:11too flat and too deep.

00:32:13Real speed comes from making a rig work

00:32:15well on the limit of its capacity, despite

00:32:17a gusting wind, and perhaps a change

00:32:19of course. And although not that

00:32:21practical for free riding, the best way

00:32:23to do that is by adjusting the sail's

00:32:25profile on the move,

00:32:27through subtle use of an adjustable outhaul.

00:32:29Adjustable outhauls have been

00:32:31something I've been using for about eight years.

00:32:33Highly recommendable for anybody, by the way.

00:32:35It increases the range on your sail drastically.

00:32:37But especially before the start of a

00:32:39Ptolemy, because I'm bigger than the other guys, I'll drop

00:32:41it off significantly like that.

00:32:43Turn my sail into a real bag.

00:32:45That'll get me going almost instantly,

00:32:47which is really important at the critical time,

00:32:49maybe three or four seconds before you're going.

00:32:51Sometimes I'll hold the rope in my hand as I cross

00:32:53the starting line, and if it's quite windy,

00:32:55because if your sail's too bagged out, it slows

00:32:57you down quite a bit, I'll pull it in

00:32:59about that much. Just a little bit,

00:33:01but it ends up making quite a difference on your top end.

00:33:03If I'm really overpowered,

00:33:05of course, I'll let it go then,

00:33:07and I'll go, and if I feel like there's way too much

00:33:09power, I'll just go back while I'm sailing

00:33:11and I'm looking forward and I'll just pull it again like that.

00:33:13And you'd be surprised how much

00:33:15that inch or inch and a half of pulling it in

00:33:17will depower the sail and get your top end higher.

00:33:19Two

00:33:21opposite examples now.

00:33:23Finian's using a 7.6 square metre

00:33:25sail in 25 knots of wind.

00:33:27He jives from a broad to

00:33:29a tight reach. The negative

00:33:31outhaul which gave him the downwind speed

00:33:33now gives him way too much

00:33:35sideways force, and it's bagging

00:33:37out against the boom. He can't

00:33:39sheet in, bounces all over the

00:33:41place, and gets overtaken.

00:33:43So he pulls on a little outhaul,

00:33:45and the adjustment will be preset by knots

00:33:47in the rope. So he flattens the foil

00:33:49and immediately gains control,

00:33:51accelerates like a bullet out of a

00:33:53gun, and by the next mark has re-established

00:33:55his lead.

00:33:57This time he's

00:33:59on the speed course. The wind is

00:34:01very broad, about 135

00:34:03degrees. He's having a

00:34:05good run, but near the end hits a lull

00:34:07so bangs open the outhaul

00:34:09and that extra bit of fullness

00:34:11generates enough power to keep him going

00:34:13to the end. And sailing

00:34:15broad, that extra power is driving him

00:34:17forwards, not sideways,

00:34:19so it's easier to handle.

00:34:23I guess at the end of this program,

00:34:25the plan for many of you may be

00:34:27to assess which of the main players

00:34:29you identify with the most,

00:34:31and then copy their style.

00:34:33And since Finian is the fastest

00:34:35officially, then that is obviously

00:34:37the one to go for.

00:34:39But copying can be dangerous.

00:34:41Before you try it, you have to understand

00:34:43where each style is coming from.

00:34:45Now, we've argued long and loud

00:34:47about this, but this is

00:34:49not the case.

00:34:51We've argued long and loud about this,

00:34:53but this is our considered analysis

00:34:55as to why our team do what they do.

00:34:57Here's the style

00:34:59spectrum. At one end

00:35:01you have Finian, standing very tall

00:35:03off the back of the board,

00:35:05with a wildly high boom and long lines.

00:35:07And at the other end you have

00:35:09Bjorn. Lower boom, shorter lines,

00:35:11more crouched and sailing the board

00:35:13more from the middle.

00:35:15And all the others are somewhere in between.

00:35:17Karen and Antoine like Finian,

00:35:19but less extreme, and white earring

00:35:21towards Bjorn, and much more forward

00:35:23on the board.

00:35:25Finian and Bjorn reflect the two different

00:35:27ways of resisting power, which is either

00:35:29to sit on it, or to lever against it.

00:35:31Let's look at Finian first.

00:35:33I'd like to say

00:35:35that his stance was built up around

00:35:37breaking world records, but actually

00:35:39this is how he's always sailed, no matter the

00:35:41conditions.

00:35:43I'm always leaned back a lot,

00:35:45I've always got a high boom,

00:35:47and that's sort of my style.

00:35:49And it's unique, I think it's

00:35:51not too many

00:35:53other sailors ride it. It really depends on

00:35:55the personal style, but that's something

00:35:57that I like to do. I think that when I'm straight

00:35:59and I have that momentum,

00:36:01and I have the front foot pressure lifting me up,

00:36:03and I have the back leg pressure pushing me down,

00:36:05I feel comfortable that way.

00:36:07However, Finian's

00:36:09style is the most specialist.

00:36:11To sail off the back like this, you have to be

00:36:13super powered in a very broad

00:36:15wind. It's pretty difficult,

00:36:17not always that comfortable.

00:36:19It's a top-end speed stance.

00:36:21The advantage of this

00:36:23style is that it makes best use of your levers,

00:36:25putting the maximum distance

00:36:27between yourself and the boom,

00:36:29and at the same time allowing you to hold the rig

00:36:31upright. And of course, by

00:36:33sailing from the tail, you keep the nose

00:36:35up and reduce the drag.

00:36:37It plays to Finian's strength, because

00:36:39he is very tall and has long arms.

00:36:41For him, being upright is definitely

00:36:43the way to go. If you crouch

00:36:45down a lot, I find that your legs get tired quickly,

00:36:47to be honest, and I think it's a common thing

00:36:49that many people at the beach do.

00:36:51I think that they're a little bit tentative

00:36:53to come out a little bit. When your

00:36:55legs are straight and your front knee is locked,

00:36:57you actually conserve energy and you can sail

00:36:59a lot longer.

00:37:01But Bjorn is also tall,

00:37:03a metre 90 at least.

00:37:05Although he stands upright in medium

00:37:07winds, when it's howling and he's going

00:37:09for broke, he lowers the boom,

00:37:11shortens the lines and gets more

00:37:13and more compact.

00:37:15Listen to him, though, and you soon find out

00:37:17where he sees his particular strength.

00:37:19You can either hang in there like a sack

00:37:21and not do anything, or you can try

00:37:23to put your energy into the equipment.

00:37:25And that's what I try to do.

00:37:27Yes, Bjorn's strength is his

00:37:29strength. That hunched posture

00:37:31allows him to make the best use

00:37:33of his considerable weight and muscle power.

00:37:35He uses shorter lines

00:37:37for strong winds because he's using

00:37:39a lower boom and wants to lock

00:37:41himself to the rig. Long lines

00:37:43would leave his backside in the water.

00:37:45It doesn't seem to complement

00:37:47his shape, but let's remember that he

00:37:49cut his teeth in the World Cup as early as

00:37:511983, in an era

00:37:53when kit was pretty awful and you had

00:37:55to really fight it. That's probably

00:37:57where his style developed. Anyway,

00:37:59this is what he says about himself.

00:38:01On my stance and my

00:38:03feet, I try to keep in light air,

00:38:05maybe a 40-60,

00:38:07maybe a 70%

00:38:09on the front foot. The stronger

00:38:11the wind gets, the more 50-50 it becomes.

00:38:13I try to keep my

00:38:15back leg and my front leg a little bit bent

00:38:17to be able to absorb all the chop.

00:38:19And I try to keep my sail

00:38:21as sheared in as possible.

00:38:23And I try to keep the sail as upright as possible.

00:38:25Antoine

00:38:27is more towards Finian's upright style,

00:38:29but isn't quite as extreme.

00:38:31His strength comes from his skill

00:38:33and commitment. He's always

00:38:35right on the fin.

00:38:37There's hardly any board in the water.

00:38:39He's on the edge the whole time.

00:38:41This is what he says about it.

00:38:43I think my whole top of body

00:38:45is really in the front like this.

00:38:47And you can see

00:38:49people who are sailing more in the back.

00:38:51It depends if it's

00:38:53light or...

00:38:55Actually, when it's light, I will go more

00:38:57in the front like this.

00:38:59And as soon as I have the right wind,

00:39:01I will go more in the back

00:39:03and put a lot of pressure on the fin.

00:39:05Karen

00:39:07is very interesting.

00:39:09This is her sailing normally on her freestyle kit.

00:39:11And this is her

00:39:13on the speed course. It's completely different.

00:39:15For the purpose of

00:39:17breaking the world record, she emulated

00:39:19Finian's style, which proves

00:39:21that size and style aren't

00:39:23necessarily related and that you can

00:39:25change your stance to good effect.

00:39:27For the full story on Karen's

00:39:29world record success, check out the

00:39:31extras on this DVD.

00:39:33Oh yes, and if you're wondering

00:39:35how Whitey does it, well we've given him

00:39:37a whole chapter to himself

00:39:39just to shut him up.

00:39:49To go faster, you have to try altering

00:39:51a few things. And there are two ways

00:39:53to find out what is making a difference.

00:39:55The first is to get a GPS.

00:39:57Effectively, a speedometer.

00:39:59The other way is to

00:40:01find yourself an FFF.

00:40:03A Fat Fast Friend.

00:40:05Fabulous friend that is.

00:40:07Alright, whatever. A training

00:40:09partner.

00:40:11Whitey and I always sail together

00:40:13so we know our relative strengths in

00:40:15different conditions. And occasionally

00:40:17I hold him off.

00:40:19Or even squeak past him.

00:40:21But usually it's when he's up to his neck

00:40:23in it.

00:40:25Much of the time, and I do hate to admit

00:40:27this, he's faster.

00:40:29Especially when the storm's set in.

00:40:31So what can I do about it?

00:40:33Well, in a real life

00:40:35scientific experiment, I'm going to see

00:40:37if I can edge a little nearer to him just by

00:40:39doing some simple retuning.

00:40:41The wind is

00:40:43moderate and I'm set up for all round free

00:40:45riding. My foot straps are set in

00:40:47board for general comfort and control

00:40:49in the jibes and manoeuvres.

00:40:51My sail is rigged with average

00:40:53downhaul and outhaul with the accent being

00:40:55on early planing rather than

00:40:57top speed in the moderate 15

00:40:59to 18 knot breeze.

00:41:01Whitey is set up as he

00:41:03always is. He doesn't really pay too

00:41:05much attention to it and thank heavens

00:41:07for that or I really would be in trouble.

00:41:09So off we go.

00:41:11Upwind to begin with and I'm happy to

00:41:13say there's not much in it. And that's

00:41:15usually the case in medium winds.

00:41:17Off the wind where he normally

00:41:19cranks past, I'm still holding

00:41:21him but should point out that although he's

00:41:2335 kilograms heavier,

00:41:25we're on the same size boards and he's

00:41:27only using half a square metre bigger

00:41:29sail. I'm comfortable so

00:41:31he must be underpowered.

00:41:33But then the wind gets

00:41:35up from about 16 to 22

00:41:37knots and everything changes.

00:41:39Whitey finds another gear

00:41:41and basically I just don't go

00:41:43any faster. I

00:41:45really drive hard but I'm getting the wrong

00:41:47sort of power. I can't transfer

00:41:49it into the board and in the gusts

00:41:51I feel the board drag and stagger

00:41:53rather than accelerate.

00:41:55I feel I may be in for a load

00:41:57of abuse.

00:41:59Yeah, what's the matter Harty? A bit overpowered?

00:42:01What do you think? Worse

00:42:03is what I think.

00:42:05Worse? Whitey?

00:42:07We're on the same size board, nearly the same

00:42:09size sail. We are not the

00:42:11same size. The wind's gone from 15 to

00:42:1325 knots. Yes, I am struggling

00:42:15just a little. Also I don't hear the

00:42:17word chubby anymore as you speed

00:42:19past and I'm up to here.

00:42:21Yeah, okay, I must say the tables have turned just a

00:42:23little bit but now I've got to make some

00:42:25changes. If you don't mind, I'll see you

00:42:27on the water. Well, catch me if you can.

00:42:31Well, the easiest way to sort

00:42:33out this terrible situation is just to

00:42:35change down board and rig but I don't want to do that.

00:42:37I just want to make this stuff go faster.

00:42:39First thing to look at always

00:42:41is the fin.

00:42:43So many people think the board's too big

00:42:45for the conditions but actually very

00:42:47often it's just too big a fin giving them too much

00:42:49lift and their weight then just can't hold

00:42:51it down and that's where their control goes.

00:42:53So just by reducing the fin area

00:42:55I can immediately get some control back.

00:42:57Just remember that to

00:42:59make that smaller fin work, you

00:43:01have to sail faster. You can't

00:43:03just hoof against it at slow speed to get

00:43:05going. You have to bear away more

00:43:07and won't feel it kick in until

00:43:09you're right up to speed.

00:43:11Now with a smaller fin

00:43:13I'll get less drag so it should go faster

00:43:15but with more water flow over the fin

00:43:17I'm going to get more lift again so by

00:43:19moving the foot straps outboard

00:43:21I'll put my heels in a better position to hold

00:43:23the rail down. Not quite as comfortable as

00:43:25freeriding but hey, we're after speed.

00:43:27With the feet inboard over the

00:43:29flat deck you just kind of push the board

00:43:31into the water. It doesn't feel that

00:43:33efficient. You make the most

00:43:35powerful and efficient connection when the foot

00:43:37wraps around the rail and the heel is on

00:43:39the apex of the curve.

00:43:41Now what about the mast foot?

00:43:43The mast base position, I'm going to

00:43:45put it an inch further forward just so the weight

00:43:47of the rig might hold the nose down a little and stop

00:43:49that potential tail walk in the big gust.

00:43:51You've got to be careful here.

00:43:53It's a very fine balance. No,

00:43:55you don't want to tail walk but nor

00:43:57do you want the nose to drop or you'll

00:43:59lose heaps of speed.

00:44:01Keeping the nose up is crucial

00:44:03for a smooth ride over chop

00:44:05and this is about right.

00:44:07And now onto the rig.

00:44:13Well obviously the two ways to control

00:44:15the power of your sail is through your down and out hauls.

00:44:17When I set this up earlier

00:44:19I did it for medium winds to get me planing.

00:44:21So what that means is the leech is relatively

00:44:23tight but in this overpowering wind

00:44:25it means that the effort's high in the sail

00:44:27and the sail can't exhaust so it creates a lot of

00:44:29drag and upward lift.

00:44:31So by increasing the down haul a couple of inches

00:44:33the leech will open, the air will

00:44:35exhaust quicker off the sail and there'll be

00:44:37less drag and I'll be able to

00:44:39stay in control. And by just increasing

00:44:41the out haul by an inch, half an inch

00:44:43I'll pull out some of the raw power.

00:44:45The only other thing I'm going to do is lengthen

00:44:47the harness line by an inch just to give me

00:44:49a little bit more distance and more leverage.

00:44:53Time to seek out the big boy once more

00:44:55and see if those adjustments have made a difference.

00:44:57They have.

00:44:59Being flatter the rig now produces

00:45:01more forward force and less

00:45:03sideways drag which certainly helps

00:45:05upwind. Off the wind

00:45:07the more open, flexible leech gives

00:45:09the rig another gear.

00:45:11It's now pushing the board onto the water rather than

00:45:13lifting it. I've got a better stance

00:45:15on the board, I feel more stable

00:45:17and it's when you feel sure that the rig

00:45:19isn't going to blast the board out of the water

00:45:21that you have the confidence to knuckle

00:45:23down and really drive it hard.

00:45:31In terms of before and after speed

00:45:33the GPS revealed that the adjustments

00:45:35brought about an improvement

00:45:37of two knots from 28

00:45:39to 30.

00:45:41Sadly still a knot behind Whitey.

00:45:43Aggravating it, these are not

00:45:45his conditions, not nearly wild

00:45:47enough. So apart from hitting

00:45:49upwind to make it look as if he's

00:45:51overtaking, so typical

00:45:53and childish, what is it

00:45:55that makes him such a speed colossus?

00:45:57Or is that a stupid question?

00:45:59Let's investigate.

00:46:07Whitey

00:46:09takes a storm

00:46:11to move him

00:46:13Ah

00:46:15but he stands

00:46:17like a mountain

00:46:19How

00:46:21can

00:46:23they ever get

00:46:25past him

00:46:27And every time

00:46:29that they go to the sea

00:46:31he flies past them

00:46:33so speedily

00:46:35Whitey, for those who haven't

00:46:37had the pleasure of his enormous company

00:46:39is very large

00:46:41and that everyone assumes is a secret

00:46:43to his speed and in fact

00:46:45to speed in general.

00:46:47I've been hoping to avoid this question

00:46:49but we're going to have to talk about it. Embarrassing though it is.

00:46:51Size

00:46:53does it matter?

00:46:55Size doesn't matter at all. You've just got to look at Karen

00:46:57she's pushing over 41 knots

00:46:59and she's half my size.

00:47:01If you take two windsurfers

00:47:03both equally skilled

00:47:05and both on perfectly tuned equipment

00:47:07the bigger one is going to go faster

00:47:09just because they can plaster more power down to the water

00:47:11Yeah but if you're small and nimble

00:47:13it's easier to become a better windsurfer.

00:47:15Yes, the fact that he can move

00:47:17his considerable frame around

00:47:19with the agility of a young fairy

00:47:25some of the time

00:47:27does have a lot to do with it.

00:47:29Size is a bit of a touchy subject

00:47:31but unlike a lot of big people

00:47:33he does use his size to his advantage.

00:47:35Whitey here using a standard

00:47:37shoulder high boom

00:47:39and average line length

00:47:41just elbow to watch strap

00:47:43just as if he was going free riding

00:47:45and yet he can crank it up to 40 knots plus

00:47:47and most people think he can do that

00:47:49because of his enormous

00:47:51persona.

00:47:53That actually couldn't be further from the truth.

00:47:55If I was smaller I'd be going quicker.

00:47:57Well that's not going to happen is it?

00:47:59To be fair

00:48:01Whitey's style is not based around lots of kilos

00:48:03although certain aspects of it

00:48:05do play to his strengths.

00:48:07Even on the broadest reach he leans forwards

00:48:09and sails off the front foot

00:48:11which is very hard to do if you're small

00:48:13because a huge amount of power

00:48:15goes through the legs.

00:48:17My little legs would snap if I tried to sail like that.

00:48:19The one thing that makes a big difference

00:48:21for him is he holds the rig

00:48:23absolutely upright.

00:48:25Now I think that's where weight may come into it

00:48:27because he's got very strong arms

00:48:29big legs

00:48:31and that allows you to do that

00:48:33without getting catapulted.

00:48:35I'm not sure that's true

00:48:37but it does give me the confidence to go fast.

00:48:39Yes confidence

00:48:41well let's call it idiotic pride

00:48:43is what Whitey has in abundance.

00:48:45On a board or a motorbike

00:48:47he would genuinely rather die trying

00:48:49than let himself be overtaken.

00:48:51He has an unshakable belief

00:48:53in his own immortality

00:48:55perhaps from the knowledge that he can collide

00:48:57with hard objects such as his gear

00:49:01or the beach

00:49:03and remain relatively unharmed

00:49:05thanks to a soft, impact resistant

00:49:07outer coating

00:49:09which I'm afraid is something we can't provide

00:49:11in a DVD.

00:49:15So Whitey

00:49:17was that about right then?

00:49:19I'm not even going to rise to your fattest jokes.

00:49:21Those apples aren't fooling anyone you know.

00:49:23No I didn't mean the fat thing

00:49:25I just meant your style in general.

00:49:27You know what I was thinking in there

00:49:29why don't you sail a little bit more upright

00:49:31a bit more Finnian-esque.

00:49:33Why would I?

00:49:35Well he's faster for a start.

00:49:37On a custom board?

00:49:39No I understand why he sails the way he does

00:49:41but for me I can't sail out there

00:49:43it's like driving from the back seat of a car

00:49:45I like to be up front and driving the board.

00:49:47So he drives the fin, you drive the board.

00:49:49You know we said in the beginning

00:49:51you can't sail as tick in the right boxes.

00:49:53You're right.

00:49:55Do you remember me passing you

00:49:57out the foot straps and out the harness?

00:49:59No.

00:50:01Mike have you got my favourite shot?

00:50:03This is a bit of a silly stunt

00:50:05but so long as I'm off the wind

00:50:07I can almost go as fast out the foot straps

00:50:09and harness as I can in them

00:50:11because I manage to keep the board and rig

00:50:13at the same angles.

00:50:15I put the front foot forward to keep the board level

00:50:17then I hang off the boom monkey style

00:50:19to stay sheeted in

00:50:21and to compensate for not using the harness.

00:50:23It's not pretty but all the boxes are ticked

00:50:25and it leaves your mates

00:50:27groping for excuses.

00:50:29Well you're right there.

00:50:31Rewind that will you?

00:50:33The truth is

00:50:35the real reason he overtook

00:50:37is that he covered me with so much spray

00:50:39I couldn't see where I was going

00:50:41and I am certain that this is only a stunt

00:50:43you can pull if you are rather large.

00:50:45Before we move on to things we can do something about

00:50:47let's see where others stand on this

00:50:49fat is fast issue.

00:50:51Now do you see the weight as your key to speed

00:50:53or is it just...

00:50:55I don't really believe so

00:50:57I think that weight helps

00:50:59but it's not the perfect potion

00:51:01to getting top speed.

00:51:03I think it's really a combination of many sectors of the pie

00:51:05I think a lot of people have the misconception

00:51:07that you're big so you must be fast

00:51:09but I think it's...

00:51:11I've seen little people go just as fast as me

00:51:13if they're tuned and they've been sailing a lot

00:51:15at the end of the day

00:51:17like I said it's really a combination of many things.

00:51:19I think the weight is a little bit important

00:51:21when it's going to be choppy

00:51:23and strong wind

00:51:25but as soon as it's going to be flat

00:51:29and maybe light or medium wind

00:51:31I think even a small guy can go fast.

00:51:33Do you think weight is a bigger advantage

00:51:35in lighter winds or stronger winds?

00:51:37This is also a debate

00:51:39that goes around

00:51:41I think that leverage is the big advantage

00:51:43so

00:51:45if you get your leverage

00:51:47through weight

00:51:49then it's an advantage

00:51:51but leverage can also mean you're tall

00:51:53so it really depends on how far away

00:51:55you get your power triangle away from the boom

00:51:57and how far away your upper body is

00:51:59which is your basic weight

00:52:01is away from the board

00:52:03so being tall

00:52:05is pretty important as well

00:52:07so obviously I think

00:52:09the height and the weight

00:52:11stabilise that height

00:52:13is probably what makes bigger people faster

00:52:15in lighter wind the bigger people can be quick as well

00:52:17but they need to have constant power

00:52:19if there's a lot of lulls in the gust

00:52:21then you suffer a lot

00:52:23because you slow down more

00:52:25and you take longer to get going.

00:52:27Well you can use your strength in a positive way

00:52:29going fast is

00:52:31first of all keeping the pressures

00:52:33in the sail and boards

00:52:35and try to keep it nice and stable

00:52:37obviously you need to have the right sail size

00:52:39but you can either

00:52:41hang in there like a sack

00:52:43and not do anything or you can try to put the energy

00:52:45into the equipment and that's what I try to do.

00:52:47Taking you back a few years

00:52:49when I was doing the speed tour

00:52:51we were all obsessed with weight

00:52:53believing the only way to challenge for the top places

00:52:55was to wear about 8kg of lead

00:52:57on your back

00:52:59but it made you feel like a sack

00:53:01looking back I reckon the fastest I went

00:53:03was at the end of the day when I took the jacket off to sail home

00:53:05suddenly I could move again

00:53:07Right, now on to some important stuff

00:53:19When everybody is fully powered

00:53:21there isn't so much difference in people's speeds

00:53:23The one who triumphs

00:53:25is generally he or she who's coped

00:53:27better with the gusts

00:53:29and especially the lulls

00:53:31If ever proof were needed

00:53:33here's young Danny Abely from Switzerland

00:53:35taking off million times world champion

00:53:37beyond Dunkerbeck

00:53:39who is reeling him in inch by inch

00:53:41but as they both get caught in a lull

00:53:43on the inside

00:53:45it's Danny who keeps his speed up

00:53:47that ability to plane better through the lull

00:53:49grants him a lead of about 100m

00:53:51in less than 5 seconds

00:53:53So Philly, what do you think is more important

00:53:55the gusts or the lulls?

00:53:57Well when you're on the speed course

00:53:59I think going through the lulls is more important

00:54:01simply because you'll lose more in that situation

00:54:03That's my experience

00:54:05And how do you personally cope with those lulls?

00:54:07Well you can generally see the lull

00:54:09on the water either by the guy in front of you

00:54:11on the speed run, oversheeting and slowing down

00:54:13or you can see the lull with the glass

00:54:15you spot on the water

00:54:17For me it's most important to keep a lot of front foot pressure

00:54:19lifting the nose of the board out of the water

00:54:21to maintain the trim angle as you're going through the lull

00:54:23You kind of stand a little bit more up on the board

00:54:25to get more pressure on top of the board

00:54:27and not so much leaning out

00:54:29because if you do that you're always going to fall down

00:54:31And if you see a lull

00:54:33like a light wind

00:54:35you have to move your body a little bit more

00:54:37in the front to put more pressure

00:54:39on all the board

00:54:41on the bottom of the board

00:54:43and less power on the fin

00:54:45because if you stay in the same position

00:54:47you will give too much power on the fin

00:54:49and the fin will get a spin out for sure

00:54:51and you will lose all your spin

00:54:53It's really important to try to have confidence

00:54:55that your sail is going to pull you through the lull

00:54:57at the same angle of sheeting angle

00:54:59when you enter the lull

00:55:01and not to panic too quickly

00:55:03and sheet in too much

00:55:05that's always going to be a detriment

00:55:07The big danger in the lull is over sheeting

00:55:09which in itself is the biggest

00:55:11killer of speed of them all

00:55:13And this is what happens

00:55:15when you over sheet

00:55:17you tend to fall against the back hand

00:55:19drag the sail in too far

00:55:21so you've killed the air flow

00:55:23no more power

00:55:25and worse still all your weight rocks onto your heels

00:55:27There are two reasons for over sheeting

00:55:29the first one is lack of anticipation

00:55:31you're not spotting the gusts before they hit you

00:55:33and the second thing is just being too defensive

00:55:35and too committed to the rig

00:55:37so when you do hit that lull

00:55:39you just fall back against the sail

00:55:41This is how you overcome it

00:55:43first of all look ahead to spot the holes in the wind

00:55:45and when you see yourself running into a lull

00:55:47come in board

00:55:49and then use the back hand

00:55:51the power of the back hand

00:55:53just to hold the sail open

00:55:55and when you come out of the lull

00:55:57you feel the wind again

00:55:59then ease your weight back against it

00:56:01So Finn just show us

00:56:03how you cope with those gusts

00:56:05Well normally when I'm in a regular sailing position

00:56:07I'll be leaned back quite a lot

00:56:09I'll be lifting up with my front foot

00:56:11and normally I sail with very straight arms

00:56:13as you see the gusts materialise on the water

00:56:15I normally try to sit down

00:56:17and probably lean forward and put a little bit more pressure

00:56:19on my front foot

00:56:21because if you have too much pressure on your back foot

00:56:23you're going to spin out

00:56:25and then I'll absorb the power of the gusts

00:56:27once I've absorbed that power

00:56:29I'll try to come back into my straight stance again

00:56:31and use that power to go as fast as I can

00:56:33just like that

00:56:35But you have to be prepared

00:56:37because the sail is going to give you more power

00:56:39so you have to give that power to the boat

00:56:41so move more in the back

00:56:43Well if you can see the gusts is coming

00:56:45you want to make sure you have a good grip on your boom first of all

00:56:47and once it hits

00:56:49you really got to lean into it

00:56:51and make the most out of the gusts

00:56:53One well meaning

00:56:55but slightly inaccurate piece of speed advice

00:56:57is to sheet in hard as the gust hits

00:56:59and keep the rig as still as possible

00:57:01It may contradict everything you've heard

00:57:03but in fact

00:57:05you do just the opposite

00:57:07Well I think the gust does it for you

00:57:09so no matter how big you are

00:57:11or strong you are

00:57:13I think always the gust is going to pull you out

00:57:15and you have to pull it back in

00:57:17I try to be pretty gentle with it

00:57:19I don't push it violently

00:57:21because I know it's better to be more consistent

00:57:23and equal with your pressures

00:57:25You see what's happening

00:57:27is that in a gust your apparent wind direction moves back

00:57:29which means you have to open the sail

00:57:31to avoid over sheeting

00:57:33and then gradually sheet back in

00:57:35as you accelerate

00:57:37and the apparent wind moves forward again

00:57:39The aim is not to sheet out to dump power

00:57:41but to keep the sail fully powered

00:57:43Check Antoine's clue

00:57:45moving in and out

00:57:47very subtly to keep the sail at it's best angle

00:57:51Speed is both the aim and the cure

00:57:53The faster you go

00:57:55and the more apparent wind you have

00:57:57the less you feel the gusts and lulls

00:57:59and to a certain extent the same can be said

00:58:01for the lumps and bumps

00:58:11Does chop bother you Whitey?

00:58:13Not really Harty

00:58:15It's a factor of life

00:58:17Well it bothers most people

00:58:19because chop is the single greatest barrier to going fast

00:58:21Yeah but if you're on high winds

00:58:23you're going to have chop

00:58:25you're not going to be surrounded by flat water

00:58:27You know what?

00:58:29Good sailors make chop look like flat water

00:58:31Now of course Whitey doesn't mind chop

00:58:33A little pressure on one of those mighty legs

00:58:35and the water's part

00:58:37and he doesn't feel a thing

00:58:39But to be fair to the boy

00:58:41there is more to it than brute force

00:58:43Chop finds you out

00:58:45exposes any glitches in your technique

00:58:47and magnifies any lack of confidence

00:58:49There are different approaches

00:58:51depending on your size

00:58:53and your angle to the wind

00:58:55Upwind chop isn't so much of an issue

00:58:57You're not going so fast for a start

00:58:59and it's easy to hang off the boom

00:59:01and just let the board ride up

00:59:03under soft knees

00:59:05bending and extending the legs

00:59:07to keep board water contact

00:59:09and an even pressure on the fin

00:59:11It's almost the same action

00:59:13as lifting the knees to squash jumps

00:59:15when you're going out through waves

00:59:17But when you bear away

00:59:19it becomes a different game

00:59:21You may be hitting two or three waves a second

00:59:23and so can't possibly absorb every one

00:59:25There has to be a compromise

00:59:27You know for me I deal with it

00:59:29by trying to be light on my feet

00:59:31and be a bit subtle with it

00:59:33not trying to push too hard

00:59:35When you try to push too hard through the chop

00:59:37you think actually that you're going to get through it better

00:59:39and you sort of imagine your board

00:59:41being a bit of a Turkish carpet

00:59:43and you fly over the chop

00:59:45This always is more successful

00:59:47and ultimately a lot easier to sail that way

00:59:49I think if you are used to sailing in flat water

00:59:51as soon as you go somewhere it's flat

00:59:53you have to change some trim on your gear

00:59:55The first thing is

00:59:57to move the mast strike a little bit forward

00:59:59to get more control

01:00:01more stability on the chop

01:00:03and this will help a lot

01:00:05In terms of technique

01:00:07this is textbook from Karen

01:00:09It's a study of compromise

01:00:11She's letting the board fly over the tops

01:00:13on that Turkish carpet

01:00:15She's not forcing it

01:00:17However she's got enough tension in the front leg

01:00:19to hold the board on the water

01:00:21and blast through a sudden and unexpected wall

01:00:27Chop is one area where light people

01:00:29who are naturally quicker footed

01:00:31can outperform our slightly bigger boys

01:00:33Now I lose on choppy days as well

01:00:35I'm certainly not at my best when it's choppy

01:00:37especially when you're a bigger guy

01:00:39when you hit chop

01:00:41you go deeper down into the chop

01:00:43and the board hits harder

01:00:45and you rebound quicker

01:00:47so you have more of a hobby-horsing motion when you're bigger

01:00:49Still, it's not too bad, is it?

01:00:51But this next tip from his big rival

01:00:53is a nugget of wisdom

01:00:55and applies to all aspects of your windsurfing

01:00:59Well, you try to keep the direction of the board steady

01:01:01not putting too much pressure on the fin

01:01:03because that's always when you get air

01:01:05it's going to spin out

01:01:07so even if you get out of the water

01:01:09you want to keep the board nice and straight

01:01:11so when the board enters again

01:01:13the fin straight away has the water on it

01:01:15Be smooth

01:01:17keep the pressures constant

01:01:19and avoid sudden movements

01:01:21Sadly, the road to confidence in chop

01:01:23is a very long one

01:01:25You just have to do it

01:01:27lots and lots and take the knocks

01:01:29However, there are ways to help yourself

01:01:33Whether you're gybing

01:01:35or just sailing in chop

01:01:37the number one priority is to take up a position

01:01:39where you can drive down through the boom

01:01:41and control the nose

01:01:43Up or downwind

01:01:45be aware of driving the hips forward

01:01:47and directing power down through the boom

01:01:49and into the mast foot

01:02:03The number one danger in chop

01:02:05is spin out

01:02:07which comes from delivering a shock load

01:02:09to the fin

01:02:11and that's hard to avoid

01:02:13when you're smacking three chops a second

01:02:17Sudden sail adjustments, above all

01:02:19cause surges of power

01:02:21and an often catastrophic chain reaction

01:02:25And the tip, which is a lot easier to say

01:02:27than to do

01:02:29is to keep everything smooth

01:02:31Look at good people sailing in chop

01:02:33and from the waist up

01:02:35all is calm

01:02:37Below the waist and like the swan's feet

01:02:39it's pretty frantic

01:02:45It's amazing what troubled waters

01:02:47the modern board can fly over

01:02:49if you just let it

01:02:51By sailing a chosen board and fin

01:02:53for miles and miles across the bumps

01:02:55you gradually learn to trust in the board's rocker line

01:02:57to do the job

01:02:59It's then that things start to fall into place

01:03:05Coping with chop is a cross between

01:03:07aggression and subtlety

01:03:11But basically I do well in chop

01:03:13because mentally it doesn't bother me

01:03:15Yes, it's all about belief again

01:03:19If you think it will be a problem

01:03:21you sail defensively

01:03:23and then it will be a problem

01:03:25Don't focus on the bit of chop

01:03:27It's too late to do anything about that

01:03:29But look way ahead

01:03:31and trust your body to react

01:03:43You want to be an overtaker

01:03:45not an overtakee

01:03:47OK, there may not be one

01:03:49speed stance or setup to copy

01:03:51Yes, it's all about feeling

01:03:53and practice and blah blah blah

01:03:55But come on, there must be some

01:03:57solid, immediately effective

01:03:59tips to give you an extra knot

01:04:01and to...

01:04:05Of course there are

01:04:07and we start with a tip which

01:04:09if obeyed to the letter

01:04:11is guaranteed immediately to make you go

01:04:1330% faster

01:04:21Well that was pretty quick

01:04:23That's the course

01:04:25and that is the wind direction

01:04:27They're sailing at about

01:04:29130 degrees to the wind

01:04:31and that's the secret to go fast

01:04:33You've got to bear away

01:04:37The truth is that not many people

01:04:39sail broad by choice

01:04:41Across the wind you may feel fast

01:04:43but you're not

01:04:45Maybe you'll do 22 knots

01:04:47barely as fast as the wind

01:04:49It's only if you bear away

01:04:51to reaching proper speed

01:04:53sailing speed, which has to be over

01:04:5530 knots

01:04:57so long of course that you're powered up

01:04:59So why don't people sail broad?

01:05:01Because it's fast

01:05:03because the pull and the sail

01:05:05is different, it's forward

01:05:07and because you're standing in a more

01:05:09vulnerable position, over the board

01:05:11and realise if it all goes wrong

01:05:13that you could end up wearing the rig

01:05:15Yes, it's scary

01:05:17Whitey's hardly the man

01:05:19to ask, but

01:05:23So what do you know about fear, Whitey?

01:05:25Well that's what motivates us, that's what keeps us going

01:05:27I think you may be confusing fear and adrenaline

01:05:29I know you

01:05:31You would rather sail into a great white shark

01:05:33breeding ground than overtaking someone

01:05:35No Pete, I think what you've got it wrong

01:05:37I have fear, the biggest thing is

01:05:39I'm starting to enjoy it

01:05:41He also likes horror movies

01:05:43The fact is though, if you want to take it

01:05:45to the next level of speed, you do have to

01:05:47start to embrace this concept

01:05:49of getting a little bit scared

01:05:51Well at least

01:05:53embrace it in small doses

01:05:55Be gentle with yourself, and to start

01:05:57with, foot off, power up

01:05:59and then count to three before

01:06:01backing off, and each time

01:06:03see if you can last a little longer

01:06:05If you feel vulnerable

01:06:07sailing broad, the instinctive reaction

01:06:09is to hold the boom right by the mast

01:06:11and so choke the power by

01:06:13pulling the rig back

01:06:15As an antidote, try this

01:06:17Hook in, let the front hand

01:06:19go, then bear away

01:06:21and let the rig pull you up onto the

01:06:23plane, and stay like that

01:06:25and with the rig right forward, feel how

01:06:27much more power there is, and how it

01:06:29drives the board flatter

01:06:31The best way to learn to relax

01:06:33and commit to the harness, as we've said

01:06:35is to sail with one hand off, or even

01:06:37hands free

01:06:39You've got to give yourself a

01:06:41strong platform, I know not everybody

01:06:43else does this, but I think it's

01:06:45good to sail off your front leg, and get

01:06:47the feeling of letting the rig pull you up right

01:06:49Go with it, don't hang

01:06:51back and fight it

01:06:53To begin with, don't go

01:06:55too broad, or you'll just run out

01:06:57of power

01:06:59The only way to sail broader than 120

01:07:01degrees, is to be massively

01:07:03overpowered, and you don't want that

01:07:05kind of fight when you're learning the art

01:07:07I'm using a 7.6

01:07:09sail, in 30 knots of wind

01:07:11and actually need more power

01:07:13And finally, it's

01:07:15much easier to practice sailing broad

01:07:17when you've got a mate to chase

01:07:19One of you bears off, and the other

01:07:21has to follow

01:07:23In speed sailing, who

01:07:25dares wins. That doesn't

01:07:27necessarily mean putting your neck on the line

01:07:29physically, although that is one way

01:07:31so much as just trying

01:07:33different stances and setups

01:07:35Karen got a world record by experimenting

01:07:37with a totally new style

01:07:39Start with something really basic, like your posture

01:07:41Crouch stupidly

01:07:43low, and then stand really tall

01:07:45It's by playing with extremes

01:07:47that you get more of a feeling of how

01:07:49different stances affect the trim of the board

01:07:51You're then in a good position to experiment

01:07:53with different board angles

01:07:55So the aim now, to get that extra

01:07:57knot, is to find out how this board

01:07:59really likes to ride, and they're all a little bit

01:08:01different. The one thing that all

01:08:03our record holders agree on, is that

01:08:05to some degree, to go fast

01:08:07you have to keep your nose up

01:08:13If you don't keep the nose up, then you keep

01:08:15pitching, surging, and will get knocked

01:08:17back by every bit of chop

01:08:19The nose should

01:08:21ride high naturally, and you should get a

01:08:23feeling of making a very light

01:08:25gradual contact with the water

01:08:27and skimming over the chop

01:08:29If you have to force the nose up with

01:08:31unnatural back foot pressure, then

01:08:33look to change your setup

01:08:35And these are things that make a difference

01:08:37Say you want to get the

01:08:39nose up because the board appears to be ploughing

01:08:41a bit in the waves, this is how you do it

01:08:43A little bit less outhaul

01:08:45Mass base back a little bit

01:08:47and try with the front strap back a little bit

01:08:49If it's just the opposite, you're getting a lot

01:08:51of tail walking, you're flying out of control

01:08:53To drop the nose

01:08:55try the front strap a little bit further forward

01:08:57Mass base a little bit

01:08:59further forward, and flatten the sail off

01:09:01Generally

01:09:03he or she who breaks the world record

01:09:05is the one that's managed to carry the most amount of sail

01:09:07and keep it under control

01:09:09So to get those extra knots

01:09:11what we're trying to do is make our normal sails work

01:09:13outside the recommended wind range

01:09:15To do that, you've got to try

01:09:17downholding them much more than is suggested

01:09:19Now you look here, you see I've completely collapsed

01:09:21the leech, so it's going to exhaust very well

01:09:23It will handle a lot more wind

01:09:25but the problem of increasing the downhold too much

01:09:27on these free ride sails without

01:09:29camber inducers, is that you can pull all the guts

01:09:31out of the bottom, and so you could end up

01:09:33going slower, but you won't know

01:09:35unless you try it

01:09:45So Wiley, what do you think the main reasons

01:09:47are for people to go slowly?

01:09:49Too defensive

01:09:51Exactly, if you're hanging off, you're worried about it

01:09:53you're going nowhere

01:09:55And another one?

01:09:57Aggressive

01:09:59That's it, there is such a thing as trying too hard

01:10:01Strong people especially tend to

01:10:03must let in, and they just stop feeling

01:10:05the equipment

01:10:07What do you think?

01:10:09Bad sail trim

01:10:11Exactly, and over sheeting is the worst

01:10:13because that's the one that kills most speed

01:10:17Another one from you Wiley?

01:10:19Bad board trim

01:10:21Of course, if the board's not at it's right angle on the water

01:10:23it's creating so much drag

01:10:25We both know what the worst one of all is

01:10:27Lack of confidence

01:10:33And by confidence we don't just mean

01:10:35whitey style reckless bravado

01:10:39Just as important is the confidence

01:10:41to go down your own road

01:10:45Sure, look and listen to the good guys

01:10:47pick out the bits of their styles that make sense

01:10:49to you, but then trust your own feelings

01:10:51if it doesn't feel good

01:10:53don't persevere with it

01:10:59There's always something to work on isn't there

01:11:01I'll tell you what, in the interest of mutual aid

01:11:03give me a tip about my sailing

01:11:07Well Harty, I can always overtake you

01:11:09because you believe I can overtake you

01:11:11So I've got a head problem

01:11:13I've got to think I'm faster than you

01:11:15That's not difficult

01:11:17I've got one for you

01:11:19You don't do so well in light winds

01:11:21I sometimes beat you in light winds

01:11:23because you think you're a machine in light winds

01:11:25therefore you sail like you're a machine in light winds

01:11:27and you know what

01:11:29you set your kit up in a force 4

01:11:31exactly the same way you do for a hurricane

01:11:33so of course it's going to be useless when it's light

01:11:35and another thing, you could put your boom up a little bit

01:11:37and those harness lines

01:11:39they don't work that far back

01:11:41they really don't, that's why you're over cheating

01:11:43Come back!

01:11:51Every way they're singing

01:11:57Goodbye to me

01:12:05And the darkness

01:12:09Cool sand under my feet

01:12:13That reminds me

01:12:17This place has just what I need

01:12:21Just what I need

01:12:27Struggling to rise at dawn

01:12:31Feeling empty and forlorn

01:12:33Knowing soon I'll be airborne

01:12:39All I can do is count to ten

01:12:43Close my eyes and dream of when

01:12:45The islands welcome me again

01:12:51My heart flutters

01:13:13Even when the rain falls

01:13:17Bubbles in the sky

01:13:19Any ideas how we might end this little program, Marty?

01:13:24I'm hoping we're not going to be walking down the beach at sunset again.

01:13:27No, don't do that.

01:13:28So how about this time, and keep promising me, I get to say the last word, you know.

01:13:32You do all the talking, how about me?

01:13:34Me, me, me, me, me, me. I say it. Come on.

01:13:37No.

01:13:38Karen Jaggi is arguably the best all-round women's sailor in the world,

01:13:52and in April 2005, she clocked 41.25 knots,

01:13:56thereby breaking Bevette Cockell's 10-year-old record.

01:14:00It wasn't a flash in the pan.

01:14:02She's been speed sailing since 1991.

01:14:05More recently, she mounted an active record campaign on the Speed Canal in France.

01:14:10In November of 2004, she missed that record by a quarter of a knot,

01:14:15before returning to break it in April of the following year.

01:14:18So what happened in those intervening five months,

01:14:21and what did she do differently the second time round?

01:14:25Well, it was pretty much half a year period for a record attempt,

01:14:29and that half a year we only really had two goes.

01:14:33The first one was in November, and it was pretty rough for me.

01:14:37It was my first time on the canal, and it was super, super windy.

01:14:42I was a little bit, I think, a little bit holding back, a little bit scared.

01:14:46Not really that I would have noticed by then,

01:14:49but that's when I look back, I feel a little bit like that.

01:14:53And I missed the record just a tiny bit, by a quarter of a knot,

01:14:58which is really not so much.

01:15:00And yeah, we had it for two days, and it just wouldn't work for me.

01:15:08I think the difference to the second time, when I then did my world record,

01:15:13were several things.

01:15:15First of all, I changed my equipment a little bit.

01:15:18I made it fit to my body.

01:15:20The first time I was there, my sail felt really, really stiff,

01:15:24and it wasn't working in that high wind.

01:15:26It wasn't working so well for me.

01:15:28It was a bit hard to train before, because you never really sail in those winds,

01:15:32so I had to have that experience on one side.

01:15:35But what really made the difference, I think, was more in my head.

01:15:40It was my first time on the canal in November, and I wasn't really ready for it.

01:15:47I don't know if I was scared, but I was definitely holding back a little bit,

01:15:51especially with the strong wind again.

01:15:53And I tried to change pretty much all of that for the next attempt I would have.

01:15:59And all in all, it was nearly five months later,

01:16:03and during that time, I really started imagining myself doing that world record.

01:16:14And the one thing was, I went loads to the channel before,

01:16:17even it was light wind and shitty conditions.

01:16:20Nobody could believe I would go for training,

01:16:22and I think that helped me a lot to get just used to the place,

01:16:25get used to sailing in a canal, which is unnatural,

01:16:30going so close to the border of the canal.

01:16:34Just before my record, Patrick even made me walk up and down the canal,

01:16:39which is nearly one kilometre,

01:16:41and I just went the day before it ended the record,

01:16:45and just walked slowly up, looked at every edge.

01:16:48I don't think that really, really made the difference,

01:16:51but somehow in my head, I was so, so ready for it.

01:16:54And the other thing, I think what made a big difference as well,

01:16:59is that I started thinking about breaking the record,

01:17:02not only breaking it, but really breaking it.

01:17:05So I always imagined myself in a way to do 42 knots,

01:17:08which I really set my goal that I want to do 42,

01:17:11and not only the 40 I had to do.

01:17:14Because what happened in fall, I think, is that I imagined to break the record,

01:17:17but if I would get 40, and I was so, so desperate to reach those 40,

01:17:21that I just had to miss it, just by this tiny bit of distance.

01:17:26And then for spring, I really was set for 42 knots.

01:17:30I was set to get used to the channel, to not be scared of it,

01:17:34to have my equipment ready, and I think that was what really made me break it.

01:17:39It was my head, I was ready for it.

01:17:42I think I learned a lot about the sailing style from other people.

01:17:46I started watching them pretty much last fall,

01:17:50before I never really, I always try to feel myself how it works best.

01:17:54And then I started analysing video,

01:17:57and I just could pretty much see that there were two different styles,

01:18:01one for control, and one to go fast,

01:18:04and that's exactly what I started training in,

01:18:07to try to stay in the position to go fast for myself for as long as possible.

01:18:12And when the gust hits me and I cannot really control it,

01:18:15I would go into the little bit older style that I was used to,

01:18:20and to control the equipment.

01:18:27I really tried to improve my sailing style as well.

01:18:30I looked at all the other riders on the canal,

01:18:33I looked at all the other riders on the canal,

01:18:36and I've chosen pretty much Finian to copy a bit.

01:18:40Even though he's pretty much top of my weight,

01:18:44I felt that he was a very technical sailor,

01:18:47and he was also the fastest one, so definitely his style would be fast.

01:18:51And there was pretty much everything different that he did,

01:18:54compared to what I had before.

01:18:56So what I did really was putting the boom up,

01:18:59putting the boom up, mast track back,

01:19:01leaning backwards with my body,

01:19:03having longer harness lines to be able to get the weight straight down instead of out.

01:19:10And pretty much I think most of his advantage is that

01:19:15he trims the board really nicely in the water,

01:19:18with that sailing style he has,

01:19:21and that's what I tried to do afterwards as well,

01:19:23to really have that balance on the front foot,

01:19:26sometimes even nearly pull up in the strap to get the board out of the water,

01:19:30and when it's heavy wind I push it down a little bit again.

01:19:38So the feeling I have when I'm sailing really, really fast,

01:19:41or trying to be really, really fast,

01:19:43is like I really lean backwards,

01:19:45I try to be really upright,

01:19:47and I even sometimes pull with my front hand on the sail,

01:19:51and exactly the same with the foot.

01:19:53That makes you really trim the board nicely,

01:19:55especially when it's a little lower wind you go through.

01:19:58The problem is you're really, really on the edge in that position

01:20:01when you're straight backwards and even pulling up,

01:20:04if then the gust hits you easily get out of control

01:20:07and pretty much catapult immediately.

01:20:09So that is like when you want to be careful that

01:20:12when you're sailing like that, immediately when the gust hits

01:20:15you're going to have to open and go a little bit

01:20:17into that lower sitting style again for myself

01:20:20to be able to control in the gust.

01:20:26I think the most common mistakes people do

01:20:29when they try to go fast but can't really,

01:20:32is to over-sheet.

01:20:34Especially on a downwind course,

01:20:36but even on a half-wind course,

01:20:38you see a lot of people nearly closing the sails,

01:20:41like forcing to close it,

01:20:43and I think that slows you down a lot.

01:20:45One's because of the angle the sail has towards the wind,

01:20:49and otherwise you have to imagine when the sail opens in a gust

01:20:54and you just try to close really hard on the backhand,

01:20:57what's going to happen is that you push your foot

01:20:59the other direction, and that nearly creates a spin-out

01:21:02or at least a lot of wake and spray behind your board,

01:21:06which is completely unnecessary and slows you down.

01:21:13I don't think women have any disadvantages going fast,

01:21:16it's just that we are lighter

01:21:18and definitely have to choose the right equipment,

01:21:21but there's no difference between a light guy and a light woman.

01:21:25I think women might even have an advantage

01:21:28because they are very subtle in movements

01:21:32and are maybe even lighter on their feet,

01:21:35so they can trim the board nearly nicer

01:21:37and they don't force so much.

01:21:39Quite often I see people really trying to fight the wind

01:21:42or trying to force going fast,

01:21:44and there's nearly the kind of a woman

01:21:46that has an advantage to even go faster,

01:21:49to make the subtle adjustments,

01:21:51to never force it against it and close really fast,

01:21:55but just to feel the wind and use that feeling to go fast.

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