Going Away

Hi
Just a short note to say that I will be away for a while.  I'll catch up with the PWA slalom racing results when I get back and will comment if there is some good video footage of the action.  So far the competition has been great with some unexpected stars.  Antoine Questel is the current leader at this point showing what a great combination the Loft sails are with the Starboard Isonics.  Ben vd Steen on the same combination is third after Micah.  Antoine and Bjorn are fourth and fifth which tells you how high the standard is.  I am surprised that Micah is doing so well.  I have the impression that the current JP slalom boards have fallen a bit behind the other top brands.  Maybe I'm wrong - we'll see as the tour progresses.

I had a nice late sail today with my 104 and 7.8m and practiced some upwind sailing with light wind gybing.  Two tips:

• To improve your upwind performance twist your back heel in the strap moving it as far forward as you can manage (you are going for a duck footed stance).  Press down firmly on the heel of this back foot feeling the pressure through the heel directly into the board.  At the same time swing your weight forward in the harness almost to a point where you can look past the mast to the other side of the rig.  You will find that this all gives you a few more degrees into the wind      
• When coming out of a low powered carve gybe, grab the new side of the boom (after the flip) as far back as you can.  Most of us tend to grab the new side with our front hand close to the mast on the boom.  Consciously grab closer to the harness lines and you will find that the rig, as it powers up, will give you more power as you pump away to keep planing.  

That's all for now - I will speak to you when I get back and have a chance to catch up with things

Good winds