THE VULCAN DRILL BY WYATT (DELTA CLINIC 8/28)

[wyattmiller]

Ever since high school sports everyone dreads drill.
Windsurfing drills aren’t much more fun, but they sure work.
The Forward, Shuv-It and Vulcan all have drills that can save you some nasty slams.
(AND WE WILL COVER THEM IN SATURDAYS DELTA CLINIC 8/28)

THE VULCAN DRILL:
Set up a mast or rope suspended 12-18 inches above the ground. (Tie the rope between two trees, or lay the mast on top of two coolers).
Make sure to get a beer out first.


Start by standing facing the mast with your feet 3-6 inches away from it.

Pick up your front foot, step it over the mast with your toes pointed and twist with your hips (A LOT) so that you can place your front foot on the other side of the mast toes pointing back at the toes of your back foot.

Transfer your weight (over the mast), to the ball of your twisted front foot (KEEPING YOUR HEEL OFF THE GROUND AT ALL TIMES)

Pick up your back foot and swing it over the mast, but do not touch it to the ground.

The Key here is to stay balanced on the ball of your front foot. (Never touching your front heel or back foot to the ground).

What this does is simulate jumping for the Vulcan, pointing your toes, twisting your hips around, sticking your front leg out searching for the water with the downwind rail of the nose of your board. Then landing with all your weight on the balls of your front foot. (If you land a Vulcan with any weight on your heels you “catch your heel rail” and get whipped backwards).

That was the easy part.

Step 2: Now practice hoping over the mast (instead of stepping), twisting your hips and pointing your toes trying to land on the ball of your front foot with your toes pointing back at where you were standing originally.

This sounds easy but you will find it immensely hard to land properly on the balls of your front foot without dropping your front heal to the ground or touching down with your back foot.

Step 3: Now lets incorporate the handle pass / sail transfer.

Set up a board and sail on the far side of the mast with the board parallel to the mast, TAIL FIRST (so you can land on the tail, not the nose). (NO FIN)

Do the above drill with your hands on the boom and the objective of landing your front foot on the far front foot strap and swinging your back foot over the back strap.

As you hop over the mast release the boom with your back hand, pull the front hand across your chest (shoulder to shoulder), grab the mast with your back hand (under the boom) before transferring both hands to the new side of the boom. (This simulates the sail toss / hand transfer.

Remember you must land on the ball of your front foot NEVER TOUCHING YOUR FRONT HEEL OR BACK FOOT TO THE BOARD.

[wyattmiller]

LIKELY THE LAST LOOPING CLINIC OF THE SEASON, ITS BAJA TIME

Looping, Trick Jibes and Freestyle Clinic
@ CRISSY FIELD OR THE DELTA TO BE DETERMINED BY WIND
SATURDAY, AUGUST 28TH
$75 Includes Lunch and Libations

Event: Join Pro-Rider Wyatt Miller for a Freestyle Clinic. In the clinic you will learn the fundamentals of freestyle riding. Moves like forward loops, sail 360’s, duck tacks, clew first riding, heli-tacks and more will be discussed. Take advantage of instruction from a professional freestyler and give your sessions new energy!

Wyatt is the 2007 Gorge Freestyle Champion. Sponsored by: Naish Boards and Sails, Dakine, Pro-Limit wetsuits, Mean Line fins, Kaenon Polarized and H2O Audio Mp3. Wyatt currently sails full-time in Maui, the Gorge, and the Bay Area. Check out wyattmillerwindsurfing.com for more info.

What to Bring: You should bring the gear you would normally sail on and YOUR SMALLEST SAIL
Schedule: 11:00-12:30 On-land training and longboard discussion.
12:30-1:00 Lunch Break.
1:00-2:00 On-land training discussing shortboard maneuvering.
2:00-4:30 On-water instruction session w/ shortboard.
4:30 on Beer Debriefing session.

Call or email Wyatt Miller to sign up. Space is limited. You must reserve your spot in advance.
Email Wyattmiller525@gmail.com or call 510-375-1934 to sign up.

[wyattmiller]

So two weekends ago I did a looping lesson with two guys who sail the Delta, Mike and Vince. We did one hour on land going through all the dynamics and misconceptions surrounding the loop. Then 1 hour on the water doing the catapult drill. After that both the guys were pretty fired up and they decided to go for it. Wasn’t sure if they were really going to do it or not but on his first reach Vince throws one, then another. A few minutes later and Mike is hucking em. At first they were a little cheesy so we regrouped by shore and went over what they were doing wrong and just a few minutes later I see Mike rotate a perfect one. Then Vince copies him. I was soooooo stoked just yelling my head off blasting back and forth with these guys watching them hucking loops left and right on their first day trying. We wrapped up that session because the wind started to die. Then the next evening I get this email which put a HUGE smile on my face:

Wyatt-
Full of enthusiasm and desire, Vince and I hit the water this morning with our big boards and 4.6s. The conditions were marginal but we rocked the day with Vince nailing the first loop with a waterstart exit (bye bye beer...). He got about 5 more today. I got off with a slow start but at the end moved my front hand back and nailed one (waterstart exit) then a reach or two later nailed another with only my butt cheeks touching the water! Then the wind died.

Needless to say we're both very psyched (I've dreamed about this many, many years) and appreciative. Your talent on the water may only be exceeded by your skill and enthusiasm helping others learn.

Many thanks Wyatt! Look forward to seeing you soon.

[PoorBoyUS22]

Its Crazy how well this drill simulates the jump for a vulcan. But it doesn't work to just do it a couple time. I had a bunch of guys doing it every day down at our windsurf center in La Ventana before we went out for vulcan lessons and it really cut the learning curve. A lot of people try and jump around without pointing their toes and trying to hit the water with the downwind rail first and that leads to some serious whiplash. The drill even helped up guys consistency who were already landing vulcans and going for spocks. It is good to practice this before you go out just to get the muscle memory in tune.

Stoked to see everyone down in La Ventana this year. We got some big plans for this winter!!! Possibly a La Ventana Cup Series

[bobby25]

All this heat and stagnant wind offers offers ample opportunity to work on this drill while my GF sprays me down with a host. I figure that will add to the simulation. Ha

Looks like the wind will return just in time for your clinic though.

[chibichibi]

Candlestick always blows late in a heat wave. Great place to practice your vulcans too.

[wyattmiller]

Chibi, did you and the boys really sail candlestick the last couple days. Looks like it was windy around 5:00 but kinda hard to believe?

Fo Reaal.

[human_catapult]

Yo Wyatt... I sailed both days on 5.6. Plenty on the outside.

[chibichibi]

The Stick does not disappoint. On Monday I sailed 5:30 -7:30 planing most of the time. 5.8, 101.

You gotta give the Stick another chance, Wyatt, it's the fo shizzle stick!

[jacobl]

Note: Da Stick is mysteriously dependable on heatwave days, pretty much guaranteed sub 5.5 while the rest of the Bay Area is completely skunked (despite what the sensor might say). 5.3 was perfect for my tubby 180lbs on Tuesday. Perfect vulcan conditions

If you can see whitecaps from the freeway, the fans are on and its open for business.