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JUMPS Jumping is fun, specially when you've got the right board. Generally, the windier it gets, the smaller the board will have to be. Jumping a 2.70 board in 35 knots can be a real nightmare, as the bigger boards generate more lift (if they are light), and beyond a certain wind strength this can be working against you, resulting in you being blown away all over the place.. To do a nice, controlled high jump is more difficult than you think. That's what many sailors experience initially, as it can be quite difficult at times to actually just get the board out of the water !! The best approach is to try and start "Chop Hopping". This can be done anywhere, the Ditch being a very good place to get a bit of air the first time. The key is to have a lot of speed, and what is even more important, is to be really powered up. This is a factor which many sailors underestimate. Provided you are well powered, you can do amazing jumps off small ramps, but you will be surprised how you can drop like a stone even going over a huge wave, if there is no wind on the other side.  So fully powered, try to launch off a chop (needs to be a steep as possible), and try to point the board and the general sailing direction to downwind just before and during the air. Tuck your legs in a hard as you can, and try to "grab" as much air as possible with the sail. From here, your height and distance of the jump, will largely depend on your ability to optimize the direction you are travelling in the air and how much you are able to take advantage of the wind, which is supposed to carry you. Once you have mastered this, you will feel that jumping is not about just launching and dropping, but more like flying and gliding like a bird. Once you get the hang of it and you feel confident, it is time for the bigger jumps which can be done best at Plimmerton. Generally the technique is the same, but you dont want to launch yourself in fully powered mode from a 2 meter wave. Work your way up from smaller waves, always keep in mind, the wind makes the jump, trying to stay compact. Whatever you do, do NOT unhook your harness before the ramp. The target is to "keep sailing" in the air, and that will only muck up your optimal position, after all you can't really sail on the water unhooked either..right ? Dont be afraid of trying to jump higher, as the higher you go, the more the wind will also slow down your fall when you are coming down. Steeper waves will make you go higher, and can in some ways be more comfortable, as you go straight up, and you come straight down at reduced speed with the sail being like a parachute, whereas high, long jumps can be quite hard on the impact. Beware of waves which have already broken, even small sized whitewater-sections can be very tricky to jump, as your board gets thrown out of balance as you hit the lip, resulting mostly in an uncontrolled jump. go downwind, pick up speed (go fast) and actively launch off the ramp (like on a trampolin) Tuck in your legs as much as possible and tighten every muscle in your body, make yourself as small and compact as possible, keep your sail in the "close-the-gap" position if you want to go far or high, stay as long in the compact position as possible. Once you're past the apex of your air (and only then !!), start opening your sail up a wee bit, using it as a parachute. You might have heard of "Nose first" landings, don't even try to attempt them until you are an "air-master" !! Best is to land tailfirst.  TIPS:  - watch your legs, body and sail position (do not lean backwards)           - once you launch, stay hooked in your harness (you will come loose, once you're in the compact position)           - In comparison to loose footstraps helping wavesailing, tight footstraps will help you jump, so setting your              footstraps for general wavesailing is always a bit of a compromise jumping-waveriding.            - If it gets really windy, keep a lot of space to the next guy downwind, you're gear might go flying off ! Comment / Wind direction: One day your jumps will be perfect, the next day nothing works. Why ? Check the winddirection, this might be a factor. If it's more onshore, jumps get much more difficult, as you need to go very much downwind, and then turn "upwind into the ramp". This can be quite difficult (see Lyall Bay, which is nearly always onshore and generally more difficult to jump than Plimmerton.) Cross-offshore winds in bigger waves can be really !! difficult and dangerous, as the bigger waves block the wind coming up the waveface, and you will jump right into a lull. Best conditions are 20-25 knots, sideshore, 2 meter waves and sunshine !!

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