Tired of Freestyle

[spennie]

Anybody else tired of seeing nothing but Freestyle? Was just looking at a bunch of videos on YouTube, most about Jericoacoara, where my friend Casey Hauser is right now, and they're nothing but friggin' Freestyle! I thought Jeri was supposed to be one of thw world's great wavesailing spots, but all I see are 2-foot waves and Freestylers.

Now, don't get me wrong, I am in no way belittling the skill and determination needed to master these very difficult maneuvers, and they're quite amazing -- the first 500 times you watch them. After a while they all start to look like snowboarders, jumping and twirling around in unbelievably tweaked positions, but I'm just plain tired of it!

Who's with me?!!

[cherrywood182]

Nope, sorry, not with you on that - love freestyle.

[cherrywood182]

Actually, let me qualify that. I was a bit bored with watching it until I bought the windsurf tricktionary and started to understanding the language of freestyle and what it was I was actually seeing. Then I started loving it.

[LeeD]

Pics I see, Jeri is usually flat and lifeless, perfect for the casual sailor or beginner shortboarder.
Most real surfsailors, or wannabees, like to dream of sailing CaboVerde or some other well overhead, top to bottom firing down the line side off and glassy waters....
But the beach action might make up some of the diff...
Want variety, go buy or rent some older tapes, like RIP or HardWinds a Blowin.
Or go to a real world windsurfing spot and tune in on the various styles going on in the water.

[wyattmiller]

Wait, Your friend Casey Houser went to Jeri because he likes freestyle more than racing or waves..... Jeri is for freestyle Maui and San Carlos for Waves.

if you're not getting wet, you're not getting better.

Yay freestyle we need new blood in the sport. Kinda hard to hook the kids if all you got to show is guys going strait.

Slalom is pretty fun though. Just got into it. The first mark is the best!!!! Carnage!!!!

[koogzah]

[coolmtnbiker048]

I've always wondered why the pics/video of Jeri show mostly freestyle, even though they consider it a wavesailing spot.

Regardless, I think freestyle is awesome even though I don't know any tricks yet, but I have recently started going for vulcans.

[bad_dolphin]

Jeri is an awesome place to LEARN how to wavesail. The sandy bottom, and long, gentle, mushy waves make it ideal for someone who might be intimidated by the surf back at home. In nov and december, the surf gets bigger, around head high, but the period between waves is huge, leaving a lot of flat water in between them. If you're looking for EXTREME wavesailing, call Vela and go to San Carlos or Maui. These conditions, however, are world class for freestyle, which is why you see some of the best freestyle clips from here, but not the best wavesailing...

What Wyatt said is true. You can't hook the younger US generation by showing them blasting back and forth on a lake, yes, I know it's exhilarating, but kids who have Kelly Slater, Tony Hawk, and Shawn White as their idols need to see, on that exact same lake, someone throwing a fat ponch or spock 540, something that looks exactly like off a skate park or snowboard park in order to gain enough interest to try it. Instead of hating on freestyle, windsurfers should be embracing it, because it's the style and flare of freestyle that is going to hook the next generation of young windsurfers, which this sport desperately needs to continue to grow.

And for those who have always looked at freestyle and said 'no way, not for me,' I say go for it, try a duck jibe or heli-tack, or maybe a vulcan. The knowledge of balancing yourself, the sail and the board to accomplish many of these tricks will make you a better flatwater blaster guaranteed, and also maybe get you trying something new!

[human_catapult]

I'm not with Spennie.

Seeing an impromptu freestyle contest at Midwinters in 2001 with the Frans' brothers, Pritchards, Albeau, etc... is what made me fork over the cash for my first board.

I showed up to see what the racing was all about, but couldn't really see or understand any of that action.

[jp5]

It's all good.