You've probably read my recent blog posts called The #1 WWF Drill and The #2 WWF Drill, but if not, now would be a good time to read those posts. Today, we'll talk about The #3 WWF Drill.
Here it is. The #3 WWF drill on the water is to gather more speed before carving onto the wave. This drill requires proficiency in the #1 drill before proceeding to this #3 drill, so work on that drill first as you aspire toward gathering more speed going into your waves rides. The #2 drill will also help you to obtain success in this #3 drill, but it is not a requirement.
The first part of the drill is fairly simple. Get out of the harness, let the sail fill with wind as you accelerate as fast as possible going mostly parallel to the wave and aiming for the spot where you intend to carve down the wave. The next part is a little more technical. With all that speed there is a high probability that you will over-foil when you carve down the wave if the sail remains powered, so you must learn how to dump the power in the sail at the exact moment you carve. Here is the how you do it. At the exact moment that you intend to carve down the wave slide your hands up the boom closer to the mast to flag the sail, pull the mast close to your chest, and drop the mast and boom down toward your rearward hip. This is the most neutral position to place the sail in order to dump the power so that you don't over-foil. It takes some practice, so don't get frustrated if it feels awkward the first 100-200 times. If you try it 25 times per session you will probably get comfortable with it after a half dozen sessions or so.
The extra speed is critical for long, snappy waves rides, but you can't get long, snappy wave rides if you over-foil. By pulling the mast close to your chest and dropping it down toward your rearward hip the clew of the sail will flag out and not hold much power. You can then snap the board down the wave with excellent height control so you can surf instead of sail. As you continue down and/or across the wave use the sail to help control foil height. If you want the foil and nose of the board to go lower then push the mast away from your chest toward the nose of the board. If you want the foil and nose of the board to go higher then pull mast closer to your chest toward the rear of the board. By pulling the mast closer to your chest you can also gain more glide when needed.
This is a drill you can partly perform even if you are confined to flatwater. Get out of the harness and power up the sail to go as fast as possible. Then, just as you are about to carve into your jibe at full speed, flag the sail and lower the mast and boom toward your chest and rear hip. This is also a super fun way to jibe on flatwater because you can easily place your rear hand right next to the mast on boom while it is down near your hip and then flip the sail one-handed as the board carves around. It a fun maneuver to practice when you are on flatwater. This one-handed jibe is equally as fun on the wave.
Have fun out there!
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