Get High Or Die, Day 1!!!!!!!

Well, that's day 1 over and, despite annoyingly light, gusty winds we managed to plough through the first round, leaving the quarters for today as the forecast looks much more promising. I'll leave ya with a couple of pics to show that there was still alot of good action- definitely much more to come today, though!!!!!!!!!!!!Full report and pics/video imminent.........................

LET'S GET READY TO RUMBLE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

After months of waiting for the right forecast, it's finally on- the Punta Blanca "Get High Or Die" Wave Comp will take place this weekend at Punta Blanca on the northshore!

30 local sailors will fight it out on Saturday for the King of Punta title with man-on-man eliminations judged by the riders themselves to encourage a handicap-system whereby each rider will be judged according to how he or she pushes their own personal limits. On Sunday I will be running a super session with trophies for the most impressive jump, the most extreme wipeout/bail and one for the biggest chicken-out. Gonna be total carnage.

Sunday night will be an end of comp party in the U-Turn in Lajares with prizegiving and BBQ. Watch this space for photos, updates and, of course, THE video........................

More Clinic Success!!

Well, just said goodbye to Alan and Emmet from Ireland after another fantastic week of coaching. The wind was a little marginal this time but we managed to make the most of the conditions and even played a trump card heading south to sail 4.5s when there was a force 1 up here. Anyway, this is what Al said in a forum post....
"Just back from my week in Fuerteventura, thanks to all for the advice given.Just to share my experiences.........I took you up on your advice Oisin and booked a clinic for a week with Stephen Gibson (http://gibboinfuerte.blogspot.com/). I felt like I've crammed a years worth of progress into 7 days and avoided all the usual hassles with gear rental/service/transport/local knowledge. Couldn't recommend him highly enough for all sailing levels and will defo be back again. Picked up some nice gear too for a song thanks to Stephens contacts." Pretty happy, I reckon.
Also, read here what Nick, my student from two weeks ago, and an absolute beginner (until now) had to say.......
"I have just got back in from 7 days of 'flat out' fun with Fuerteventura legend Steve 'Gibbo' Gibson.
I hooked up with the man from the toon via a friend of mine for a week long , learn from scratch course. Being a total novice to the wind, although I can hold my own on a surfboard, snowboard, skis I thought it would be a nightmare to grasp wind surfing. NOT the case. Gibson explained everything in a 'canny' manor that was easy to understand and take in whilst making me feel totally at ease.
From the moment we hit the water at Waikiki beach, he was next to me or behind me talking me through, then showing me the how's, if's ,why's do's and don't do's. As part of my package all the kit was supplied. I feel there is no better way to learn than actually having the teacher out there with you talking you through everything that is going on piece by piece. He can then show you the correct way in close up as he is actually doing it.
I don't wish to give it the large one but by day 5 I was out in a good strong wind with a 5.0 up (not hooked in) screaming back and forth at speeds that felt like a ton although Gibbo reckons it was only 15mph! tacking quickly and Jibing.... Hope i have spelt it right.
The evenings were spent in Gibbo's bar .... 'Gibsons' eating cracking scran, downing beers, talking about the days fun and watching vids of the man himself whacking out a whole armory of tricks, loops and huge airs.
The highlight of my days on the water..........?
Gibson screaming out behind me, 'way ay one scoop man ', hitting a head high wave at half tilt and forward looping over my head about 10 feet away.... ! A proper giggle.
If you need to contact him to verify that I did actually have 2 scoops of chocolate ice cream get him at gibboinfuerte@yahoo.co.uk ". Bit bizarre, but very complimentary, haha.
And lastly, my advanced student from April, Alex's pa had this to say......."Hi All,
I can't recomend Steve's clinics highly enough. Not only for his professional instruction but in ensuring the best beach is hit for the days wind direction. Fuerta may be very windy, but it does need someone who knows the place to ensure that you end up in the right spot to make the most of the conditions - get it wrong and it may not be windy and you can spend all week chasing. Local knowledge of where to go and where not to sail when you get to the right spot can also ensure that you don't trash your kit in the first five minutes.
We've just come back from Steve's first clinic (Alex) and he has ensured that we have been able to make the best of the conditions on each day. Alex's sailing has really improved through Steve's tips and all in all its been a really good crack.
If anyone reading this is planning on going to Fuerta to improve their windsurfing or to just get some time on the water - get in touch with Steve. I promise you will not regret it. Top local knowledge and professional instruction - with video - which really helps get things dialled.
Thanks for everything Steve - Alex will be back. "
Pretty positive feedback so far, looking forward to my next one already............

Old Dog New Tricks.

As I mentioned, I've dedicated the last two days at Punta almost entirely to learning double flakas and am finally starting to get a feel for them. Yesterday, I took the video and we filmed for an hour to see if I could get my first one on camera and the result is this short video. I edited out the 55,000,000 crashes and was left with this little bit, haha. Check out the last double on the vid, though, can't believe that's me. Stoked! There's even a cheeky little one-hander on there.....

Double flaka session!!!!! from Stephen Gibson on Vimeo.

Glass Beach Photoshoot

While I was doing the clinic with Alex at Glass Beach, a friend of mine, Serge, took a few pics.

We were training flakas but conditions were pretty good for ponches aswell (as you can probably tell from the pics!). Today, it's off to Punta in search of the elusive double flaka! Got a few yesterday, one cracker, so I'm gonna try to get some video done. Enjoy the photos and watch this space.............

One-Handed Flaka Diablo.

This week I did a beginner course with Nick from the UK, which went amazingly. Once again we were blessed with perfect learning conditions and he soon progressed from uphauling and falling to planing around Waikiki tacking and gybing! Amazing progress. To be fair to Nick he was very determined and refused to give up no matter how difficult the next step seemed, and therefore progressed very, very quickly indeed. He is coming back again and we will have him in a harness and footstraps by the end of his next week which is not bad going at all for someone who will have, by then, been windsurfing for a grand total of 2 weeks! Bring it on..............
For now, I leave you with another addition to my "tricktionary"- the one-handed flaka diablo! Watch the vid, I will post a how-to very soon.................

One-Handed Flaka Diablo from Stephen Gibson on Vimeo.

Commitment!

Just in case you were thinking it all looks too easy, I have made a short video of Alex learning flakas during the week long clinic we did together. I have called the video "Commitment" as that is what is required when learning any manoeuvre but, perhaps even more so with the flaka! This was shot over two days at Glass Beach and is only a handful of the attempts made during this time as most of the time I was on the water spurring him on! If you can apply yourself as wholeheartedly as Alex does in this video, maybe you too can enjoy the success that he does at the end of the vid!!!!! Watch and learn..................

Commitment-journey to the flaka!!!!!!!!!! from Stephen Gibson on Vimeo.

Fuerte Windsurf Clinic April 2009

As I mentioned in the last post, the clinic with Alex last week was a huge success. Here is a short diary of how it all panned out over the week he was here. I have also put together a video diary using the footage I took to use for analysis..........
DAY 1.
Fairly light NE winds and it's off to Punta for the first day. A great chance for Alex to settle into the conditions with 3m waves breaking in the bay. We focus on waveriding and Alex attempts a couple of forwards as the wind freshens.
DAY 2.
The wind has picked up considerably and it's back to Punta, this time fully powered up on 5.0s. Alex has great succes with his forwards today, his rotation is smooth now and he sails away from quite a few perfect ones. Happy days!
DAY 3.
Despite the forecast for superstrong northeasterlies, the wind has turned due east and we score perfect conditions at the legendary Majanicho, normally a winter spot. Wind strong (4.5m sail) and small to medium waves. Alex sails for five hours and his waveriding improves immensely during his sessions here today. Possibly his best ever day of windsurfing, according to Alex!
DAY 4.
The wind has come back round NE and is still very strong, 4.5s being the order of the day. Today is perfect for fowards and Alex is getting one on every run now. As the wind gets even stronger, he starts to over-rotate a little as he has his technique so dialled so I teach him to stall them a little to remedy the problem. What a day! Alex' hands, however, are in tatters due to the hours he is sailing!
DAYS 5 and 6.
The wind swings into north and it's off to Glass to learn flakas! Over these two days Alex throws himself off every wave and piece of chop, showing incredible commitment and eventually reaping the rewards for his considerable efforts when he starts sailing out of flakas on the second day! An amazing achievement when you consider that flakas took me the best part of a year to master! Well done that young man!
The clinic really could not have gone any better- Alex was a model student, taking in every piece of advice and immediately putting it into practice on the water. His sailing improved dramatically in only one week and he left a very happy boy!
Check out the video of the action to see the incredible range of conditions we scored over the week. That could be you!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


Fuerte windsurf clinics,April 2009 from Stephen Gibson on Vimeo.

Clinic success!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Well,that's the last day of my first real windsurf clinic and young Alex is on the plane headed for the green and pleasant(and cold) land! This week was an overwhelming success with wind every single day of his stay and all sorts of conditions. I will write a bit more about it in the next couple of days, congratulations to Alex, though, on his flaka and forward loop success!!!!!!!!!!!
For now, I leave you with the next move for my tricktionary- the flaka diablo. Full how-to coming soon, for now just watch the video....................................
Flaka diablo from Stephen Gibson on Vimeo.

Helmet cam trial run from Stephen Gibson on Vimeo.

Here it is - the moment we've all been waiting for!Well, me anyway........As promised, here is a bit of footage using the latest in modern technology- the home-made helmet cam!!!! Comprising of a combination of a video camera, a helmet, some roofrack straps and a lot of little fiddly bits, the home-made helmet cam may look a little awkward to manipulate but it surpassed even our expectations- it is also heavy, unpredictable and, almost certainly, dangerous! That said, however, we got some pretty nice stuff on there in the 30 minutes we had before Victor's(cameraman) neck swelled up. Enjoy the video....................Stephen.

One-handed flaka from Stephen Gibson on Vimeo.

Had a couple of decent sessions at Punta over the last couple of days and managed to persuade my amigo Victor to video for 20 minutes. I concentrated on flaka variations this time, so I can add to my ever-expanding tricktionary! Here is the first variation- the one-hander. I will do a step-by step very soon, and post the other two variations I got on video over the next couple of days.

We also did some filming with a "revolutionary"(i.e home-made) helmet cam yesterday morning, the video is almost finished and I will post it up very,very soon. Watch this space............

Still waitin for the wind to kick in over here (any day now!).

Meanwhile, check out this vid of the Twinser Wave in action. I

have used mine non-stop since getting it in October and love

this board..........

Looking ahead.

Well,thought I'd get the ball rolling with a quick post.It's all a bit quiet over here at the minute,there's been a bit of a lull in the wind since the end of the Wave Classic at the start of the month(check out the awesome action on http://www.fuertewaveclassic.com/ ,definitely some of the most hardcore waveriding I have ever witnesed on the island!).Pretty soon the springtime winds will kick in in earnest and we'll be enjoying some of the best conditions of the year,with strong north/northeasterly winds combining with the last remnants of the big winter swells creating some classic days' sailing.

Hopefully,the wind will kick in northeasterly over a weekend any time now,as we are now all ready to go for my locals-only jumpfest "the Get High Or Die" Wave competition!(See pic).I'm definitely hoping that this will go off in the next couple of weeks-watch this space,there should be some amazing pics and video to show you.....................

That's about it for my first post,loads to look forward to this coming month-I have an advanced tuition week with a young ripper from the UK in a couple of weeks(ponch,flaka and back loop training)so will keep you updated,will leave you with a photo taken at Flag Beach last week,ciao,

Stephen.

Luxury Villa For Rental In Lajares.

2010 Kit First Impressions

2010 Kit First Impressions from Stephen Gibson on Vimeo.

Headcam movie summer 2009

Headcam action, August 2009. from Stephen Gibson on Vimeo.

How To.....Ponch

Ponch from Stephen Gibson on Vimeo.

Although you can ponch off anything once you have them dialled, I found it easiest to learn them going out with a small wave.

Fully powered up, spot your ramp downwind and bear off until the sail becomes weghtless.

Hit the wave as broad as possible(almost a dead run), and, as the board leaves the water,throw the rig down and to windward.

Look over your front shoulder back toward the direction you just came from, this will make the board follow the sail in it's rotation.Timing is critical here-if you throw the sail too early, your feet will come out the straps and it will be messy!

Straighten your arms to distance yourself from the sail.

The board should come down tail first now,bend your knees and drag the sail forward towards the nose of the board.You've done your first ponch.Easy!

How To........Flaka

Flaka from Stephen Gibson on Vimeo.

Sail on a broad reach at full velocity.

Spot a piece of chop and, moving onto the balls of your feet, bear away even more and flatten the board off as you hit the chop and pop the board out of the water.

This is the moment when flaka success or failure is decided. As the board leaves the water, you must lean forward towards the nose of the board as far as possible, bending slightly at the waist to get your head above the mastfoot. At this point you must also look upwind over your shoulder to encourage the board to rotate into wind. Also, you should throw the sail as far forward as possible with your front arm straight and your back arm bent in real close to the body, keeping the sail neutral(no pressure in the back hand). Tricky,eh? There is alot going on in this first nanosecond but if you can get all these factors to converge in this first moment, the rest is easy.

The nose of the board should stick in the water and spin you backwards. Keep leaning forward with your front arm straight and your back arm bent into the body, and the board will automatically spin itself back onto the original tack.

Flakas can take a bit of time to lear, esoecially for older sailors like myself, as the forward, into-wind movement during the pop is so unnatural.Patience is required..............

How To.........Grubby

Grubby from Stephen Gibson on Vimeo.

Taking good speed from a beam reach start bearing away.
Coming onto a broad reach KEEP OVER THE BOARD and get ready to POP by sinking down through a bent back leg.
POP the board and you are aiming to throw the tail as far downwind as possible. TIP: look at mastfoot to KEEP YOU OVER THE BOARD.
Stay over the board and keep pulling back leg up under you and this drops nose to offer a sliding surface you can pivot around.
Still focused on the mastfoot, and OVER THE BOARD, you are landing and keeping the weight over your front foot and your toeside.
After the initial sheeting in you now have to extend the back arm and sheet the sail right out whilst keeping your weight over your front foot and your toeside. The tail is now as far downwind as possible and you should be sliding backwards. WEIGHT FORWARD AND BACK ARM EXTENDED.
Continue extending and sliding and your weight will slowly be transferring over your heelside. The nose is now starting to come through the eye of the wind. Looking through the sail may help orientate you, whilst it also maintains WEIGHT FORWARD.
Nose is now through wind so you will be exiting by sheeting in and continued weight transference to heelside. TIP: Look behind you to assist sheeting in and to bring weight outboards.
Board is now almost across wind and sail is sheeting in as body moves outboard. Weight is fully over heels as you as sinking down to resist sail power.
Claim it, or go into a gybe to do 540 and sail off......................

How To......Spock 540

Spock 540 from Stephen Gibson on Vimeo.

Head a little off the wind and pop the board into a vulcan.As you land, your weight should be COMPLETELY on the front foot, with your upper body leaning forward towards the nose of the board.This is super important to aid the slide.

Upon landing,look over your back shoulder(in the direction of the slide).This will twist the shoulders and the hips and force the board to rotate instead of just slide in a straight line.

Grab the boom on the new side(your front hand will have changed during the pop)and move your (new)back hand towards the clew to increase control over the sail.

As the board begins to spin, move your body weight onto your heels. At this point there will be very little pressure in the sail.

As the board spins to the new tack,push on the sail with the backhand and flip it through the wind(learning heli tacks will help you alot here). You should now be sailing away clew-first on your original course and can bend the knees allowing the board to rotate the last 180.Smile at the camera and sail off.............