Perspective
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One of my favorite things about windsurfing is that no matter how good you are, there is always a new challenge or a new thing to learn. Maui has put a huge rubber stamp on this concept and raised the bar from a high jump to a pole vault and beyond. You must realize that we are sailing in the land of the best windsurfers in the world. I often find it hard to focus on my own sailing because IÕm in awe of what is going on around me. People here do things that I have only seen in videos. Incidentally, many of these guys and gals are the ones starring in those videos. So where do Jon and I start to put a dent in the rather large gap that separates our skills from these Jedi masters. Our first step was to find and instructor who would be willing to teach us at our beach (god forbid we should be inconvenienced by traveling elsewhere) and who had the skills and the patience to take us to the next level. We inquired down at one of the local sailing shops and were immediately directed to Craig who met all of our criteria. He sails up from Kanaha, the beach that is about a mile downwind from Camp One (our beach), has been teaching since 1976 (he must be patient) and can do a full array of cool stuff like short board tacks, helicopter tacks, forward loops, back loops and a bunch of other stuff that I canÕt even describe. Jon and I each did a private, one-hour lesson with Craig that started with sailing out and back a few times so he could see our individual skill level. It was at this time that it became clear I would need to leave my ego on the beach and begin this journey from CraigÕs recommended starting point. ÒI know you know how to do many of these things, Eric, but trust me, with the laundry list of moves you want to learn, this is the best approach.Ó Since IÕve already witnessed this guy doing some tricks that I have never even seen before, I decided to take him at his word and be a good student. I spent an hour on the water with Craig working on some one-handed sailing moves and the Òsnake in the grassÓ, which is when you zigzag back and forth on the water focusing only on the board. I got bored with this quickly, but Craig pulled a Mr. Miagi on me (for those of you who have seen the Karate Kid) and reminded me that I hired him to teach and I should stop questioning his methods. I obeyed his command and we continued to sail together for the remainder of the lesson. With about 5 minutes remaining, we discussed things on the beach and he told me my homework for the following lesson. I spent the rest of the afternoon working on short-board tacks (something I had never tried) and managed to hit about 5 or 6. That put me at about a 5% success ratio. It was a long afternoon. The following day, we worked only on short board tacks and Craig was impressed that I had put some much effort into working on them. Unfortunately, once I got his feedback, I was having trouble hitting any at all. Craig spoke to me on the beach and started with, ÒWell, the good news is your not doing anything consistently wrong.Ó Somehow, that wasnÕt the good news I was hoping to hear. The lessons continue and I keep reminding myself that I will be here for 4 months and I need to walk before I run. ItÕs kind of difficult for me to think IÕve only been walking for the past 18 years.
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One of the local sailors throwing a Vulcan near the beach.
Click here to download a video out this flat-water loop. You will need to load QuickTime to see it in motion.
HereÕs our instructor, Craig sailing in to the beach just before telling me the Ògood newsÓ.
Here is Craig telling me
the ÒGood NewsÓ.
You too may become Jedi Master some day. |
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