Australian Jaeger Stone has climbed the PWA wave rankings with his unique powerhouse style of sailing. He’s a talented jumper but it’s his wave riding on tour
that is the talk of the judges, press and his peers. Far from his style being limited to perfect waves, his fluid and refreshingly different turns are equally tuned to the more ‘real world’ wave conditions of the Canaries and mainland Europe. A qualified and practicing
physiotherapist, Jaeger gives us the benefit of his experience on and off the water as he gives us his tips for ‘Proper turns’ in cross on conditions.
Words Jaeger Stone //
Photos John Carter
Originally published within the June ’17 edition
STATE OF ORIGIN
Growing up in Western Australia (W.A.), I’ve been fortunate enough to have access to some of the most consistent and diverse waves in the world. Although they are quite far apart, there is such a vast array of wave types in W.A., from my home spot of Geraldton where the waves are peaky, wedgy mush burgers, to the Gnaraloo freight trains of the North and the Margaret River detonators of the South. With such a variety of quality waves, the emphasis of windsurfing in W.A. is wave riding and this has been the dominant ideology since I began windsurfing. Being able to ride a wave well and do a proper turn was, and still is how your sailing is judged in W.A.
Jumping is sick and we have amazing jumping locations as well, but the easiest way to steal somebody’s girlfriend / boyfriend in W.A. is with a huge hack, fin waft, cutty or those 3 combined. I’ve heard countless stories of that one hit or wave of older generation sailors or the exploits of ex-PWA sailors such as Luke Walmsey and Ty Bodycoat that have defined them as some of the best wave-riders in the world. When I watched those guys as a young whippersnapper, I always admired their wave riding for being innovative, radical and progressive and now I aim to represent those same ideas as much as I possibly can. Below are a couple of my tips for wave riding in small to medium size cross-on conditions that I see frequently in Geraldton, so feel free to act out the movements in the mirror at home!
CROSS ON
My approach to wave sailing in cross-shore winds and cross-on winds is very much the same, however in cross-on winds it is obviously harder to achieve the turn you want. No matter what conditions you sail in though, my 3 biggest tips would be to move your hands on the boom, bend your knees and learn how to do both of these with speed. In cross-on conditions it’s all about trying to manufacture your own speed. Unlike somewhere such as Margaret River, Gnaraloo or Hookipa, where the wave gives you plenty of push and the wind is cross-off, in cross-on conditions the wave won’t give you speed if you just rely on that alone. You need to learn how to generate speed through everything from the wave, your body, board, sail and turns.
POSITIONING
In order to do this the best place to start is by positioning yourself at the top of the wave/swell. Once in this position, I let the wave push me and only use the power in my sail to hold myself in this position until the wave begins to steepen. As the wave begins to peak, I power up through my sail and drop down the face as quickly and vertical as possible to the base of the wave or even further in front to assist a more vertical approach on the top turn. Dropping in quickly and vertically ensures you suckle every ounce of power out of the wave you’re riding. Once at the base of the wave and as I begin the transition into my bottom turn I normally drop my sail back to see clearly where I want to go, what the lip is doing and what type of top turn the wave will allow me to do. From this position with my sail back I commit to my bottom turn. As quickly as possible I simultaneously move my sail and body forward, sliding my back hand as far back towards the clew as I can generating power from the sail. At the same time I bend my knees and crouch down as low as possible to push through my legs, generating speed through my board and body. Typically my bottom turn isn’t a “big lay-down” bottom turn even in side-off conditions. Keeping my sail at a higher angle I feel I can turn quicker and sharper, fitting more in, particularly in smaller conditions. Now that your rig is forward and you’re compressed like a spaghetti jaffle, your next aim is transitioning into a vertical top turn. Easier said than done in cross-on winds.
TOP TURN
What determines how vertical you get is how hard you push through your legs and where you point your eyes so your board will follow. This step is usually ok and you think you’re going to be smacking 12 o’clock no problem before copping a boom in the face as you get back-winded and do a wheelie out the back of the wave. The key here again is the timing, speed and movement of your hands on the boom to allow the clew of your sail to open and to prevent getting a smack to the chops.
So as I’m approaching the end of my bottom turn I open up my body and hips as I begin to transition and set-up my top turn. Keeping my back hand down the end of the boom, my legs begin to extend as I transition into the top turn. Now what happens in the blink of an eye is as my weight transfers from toe side (bottom turn) to neutral (transition) my hand should stay back and then as I load up for my top turn and transfer my weight heel-side, I bend my knees rapidly and slide my back hand forward as fast as a sh*t off a shovel. Normally my hand will come as far forward as the harness lines. What this quick movement of your hands does is that it allows your clew to open up, decreasing the power in your sail and allowing you to extend your knees and blow the top off it. This is where sliding your hands with speed and the correct timing is important because if you’re a second late you’ll kill your speed, do a funky wiggle and get back-winded or bog.
Depending on the type of top turn you want to do and what the wave allows will determine how much you extend your legs and move your head, but again use your eyes to get to where you want to go. As tempting as it is, try not to look back mid-turn to see how big your spray is. Doing this more often than not you wouldn’t be able to knock the top off a cappuccino and committing to the turn 100% will produce a far better result.
RECOVERY
The above steps should assist you in going for it but in onshore conditions the wave will take the power out of your sail and won’t give much in the way of a push, so you need to have a responsive recovery. For myself, recovery is all about pushing through and extending my legs in the top turn but having the ability to quickly bend my knees and to power up my sail again. Bending your knees, you’re able to pull the board back underneath you, get your body weight over the board and your sail upright (this is where fins are also really important and what I love about thrusters). As soon as I’ve moved my back hand forward for the top turn, with the majority of turns I will then slide my hand back to the power source as quickly as possible. I won’t slide my hand to the end of the clew like my bottom turn but just to the point where I feel the power / wind re-enter my sail.
LINKING
The text above describes the set-up and completion of one hit, however the focus of every wave sailor should be to try and link multiples of these together. To do this I recommend attempting to follow the principles of the steps above. The difficult part is maintaining or generating more speed as you come out of the turn but you can use the wave, your sail by moving your hands and your board and body by compressing and extending your body. There will be moments where you may have to straighten out or take a high line to clear a section but getting back to that vertical approach and learning how to quickly move your hands on the boom is the best way to improve your wave sailing.
TRAINING
The enjoyment I get out of wave sailing is one reason I’ve put so much attention in to it but the other reason I focused on it so much was due to injury when I was younger. Flat-landing a double when I was 17 and injuring my foot, I allowed this injury to mess with my head and due to sub-optimal management I didn’t have the confidence to jump at the top level again for almost 2 seasons. It was during this time that I almost solely focused on pure wave riding. It wasn’t until I ruptured my ankle syndesmosis and needed surgery in 2013 that I really put a rehabilitation and management plan together that gave me confidence to push my boundaries again in all aspects of my sailing. At this point I was in my final year of Physiotherapy studies as well so I began to develop ideas as to how I needed to train in order to get the most out of my windsurfing. Going to the gym isn’t something I particularly enjoy but I do enjoy exercise and the confidence I get out of knowing that my body is switched on. What is important for me though is that whatever land-based training I’m doing has carry-over and is functional for my windsurfing. I don’t see the point in doing a bench press to improve my wave riding, instead I focus on mixing land-based exercise with my on the water training to facilitate the progression of my wave sailing and reduce the risk of injury to my lower limbs (touch wood).
STABILIZE
One of the major muscle groups I work on developing for my lower limb (and upper limb) stability is my gluteals (bum). A strong bum is the key factor to having optimal biomechanics, which is a fancy term for stability and correct movement patterns. In regards to wavesailing, a strong ‘hiney’ is going to give you the stability you need through your lower limbs to generate as much power and speed as possible through your turns. Squats, single leg sit-to-stand and bridging are three basic exercises that I work on to strengthen my gluteals, quadriceps and hamstrings. This is one small component of my land-based training and is an area that I need to continue working on strengthening, however these exercises or the aim of these exercises may not be appropriate for all of you.
EXERCISE
It’s important to remember that exercise in general (such as windsurfing) is one of the best things you can do for yourself, however specific exercises can help recovery from injury, prevention of injury and the progression of your windsurfing or wavesailing. It’s a bit of a plug for my own profession of Physiotherapy, but if you do have a niggle that restricts you or you want specific exercises, the safest and smartest way to do this would be to consult with a health professional so everything is specific and tailored for you. Everybody is built differently and has strengths and weaknesses in different areas so what is good for one person, may not necessarily be good for the next. Now stop looking at yourself in the mirror and go punish some lips.
“ Squats, single leg sit-to-stand and bridging are three basic exercises that I work on. ”
