Longboard freestyle or the art of fun windsurfing

Why freestyle? Simple: freestyle is fun, and I want to share this with you. It doesn’t matter whether it’s longboard or short board, beginner stuff or advanced - there’s nothing more delightful than seeing someone try new moves, try to improve, and just have fun. To see their face when it works for the first time, and having them going out for more (in my case, for more punishment!).

The Rail Ride

I’ve been doing freestyle almost exclusively ever since I started windsurfing, in 1981. In fact I started on teak booms, but you may not remember those. At the time I was young and immature - now am older. Just older. Studies and work stood little chance against freestyling in the warm confines of Botany Bay or the scenery at Balmoral Beach… That was so long ago, I seem to recall scurvy was still making headlines then.

But I digress. As I was saying I’ll be posting articles on this Web site. I’ve been teaching freestyle and trying to impart my fun ever since my beginnings, and I have the same goal here, except in writing rather than being on the water.

We’ll try to go at it progressively - there is a working order to learning freestyle. You don’t want to start forward loops or railrides on your first outing, and so on. Or even first year. However there are simpler and still exciting moves you can try on the first year, in fact shortly after learning. More on that later.
At any rate, it is guaranteed that once you master a few tricks, you will enjoy this new hobby to no end. I’ve never met someone who can perform 5+ moves, and drop freestyle - nada. After a few tricks, you get to control the board more and more, moves chain naturally with one another, things come easier. You seem to think there is no end to possibilities.

Why should someone get into trick windsurfing? Well, my own question is wrong: I do not see myself into freestyle, nor even hot-dogging. I see myself as having fun whilst sailing, and one of the means of having fun sailing is through freestyle or trick sailing. Freestyle is not the only means to enjoy windsurfing, i.e. sailing with mates, having a barbecue after windsurfing, jumping waves, dragging your children on the board (see pic), and so on. But freestyle is the best, and most accessible. To use the platitude: freestyle is not the end, it is a means of having fun sailing. (Avoid cliches like the plague, my old English teacher used to say.)

Here are a few reasons for longboard freestyling, each of which is good enough on its own, let alone several of them at once.

1. Freestyle is fun! Simple as that. Trying, falling, succeeding, I don’t even know which is more fun anymore. Sure, am elated - thrilled even - when I get some new trick. But am looking forward right away to the next one! Just look at any YouTube of sailors doing moves and tricks - what pleasure you can see.

2. Excitement and thrill. Now this is not everyone’s kettle of fish here. I’m talking about the more cutting edge stuff where you risk (minor) injuries, breakage, heavy falls, etc. Am talking about the thrill of doing something risky here. Again, not for everyone. I recommend this should not be your main reason. See picture at right: did I fall on my head?
3. Shape: all this moving and jumping about keeps me in good shape. I get students tell me how they are surprised that the muscles used are different from plain sailing. I myself figure I spend more time pushing my longboard rig, from different angles, than pulling. All groups of muscles are used, am exhausted all over, not just biceps, at the end of a good workout. Great feeling.
4. Improve at other aspects of the sport: many longboard moves are relevant and useful to short board sailing or freestyle. General proficiency.
5. More sailing time: freestyle is a way for me to improve in low or flaky winds. I have done most of my sailing in Australia, ocean-side. But I am currently residing in landlocked North America. Let’s face it: only a small percentage of windsurfers live in Hawaii or Bonaire or the Gorge. Without longboarding and freestyle, I’d be sitting in this Godforsaken place (!) waiting for wind all summer, as some do.
6. Costs: longboard freestyle is a cheap way of enjoying sun and fun. Longboard freestyle can be done on just about any old board. In fact, most of the videos you’ll see throughout these articles were done on the worst, cheapest possible equipment. That, I do not recommend, but all I’m saying is that longboard freestyle does not require expensive or multiple gear. There’s an aside: I often get people to say that I have gear for freestyle, that it couldn’t be done on their board. That B*S. Once in a while, I borrow their board and prove them wrong. I have railride Mistrals, Ten Cate, F2s, and a French closet door once. Modern volume boards such as the Kona’s and Starboards are all railride-able, and so on. It’s on the Internet (Tubes), therefore it must be true. Look at the pic: hard to think of cheaper gear indeed.
7. Social: what some call “speed” sailing, going afar and port and starboard on a windy day, is not very social. It is fun, and I’m the first one to enjoy my wavesailing, but it’s not social. Longboard freestyle in can be done in shallow waters, near the shore, as a group or family. Just goof around and try stuff in groups. Sharing equipment, teaching, and so on.
8. For racers: I strongly believe the ability to know the limits and limitations of the board is important to racing. I have used stern-first (backwards) railrides to keep a position on a starting line on a windy day. Freestyle also helps to master the maneuverability around the marks, especially in stronger winds, as well as for downwind sailing in triangular racing.
9. Venting life’s frustrations: freestyle is more violent than just plain sailing. (It can be - needs not be of course.) It’s a form of self-expression that’s gentle, but can also allow to flush out negative energy. For instance, there’s some correlation between my boss getting on my case and the intensity of my freestyle practices. Sure it goes too far at times, and I may be deranged. Doesn’t matter.
10. I have a shy personality, and freestyle windsurfing is a way for me to work at it (if you buy that…).
11. Any excuse is good to fall into the water on a hot day.

Huh, did I mention fun and excitement? After 25 years of windsurfing, that part of the sport hasn’t diminished one bit in me. But to me, freestyling a combination of nearly all of the above - bar racing.

Each article will include pre-requisites (in terms of moves), equipment considerations, levels of difficulty, and tips on learning. I will always take into consideration the order in which we will progress.

We will start with flat sailing freestyle, as opposed to railride tricks which will come later (check out the freestyle tips section for all tricks). In all cases, we’ll discuss how they chain moves into each other, and so on. Now, the most entry-level freestyle move: Sailing front-to-back (pushing the rig). However, do not be fooled: even this simple move can lead to fairly eye-catching freestyle - nice, easy going, fun freestyle.

Here is “Light Windsurfing Freestyle”

It’s fairly easy, you’re inches away from that kind of simple, fun sailing…

So, I very much hope you’ll try some of the freestyle covered in this site. If you’re already good, then please do comment on the articles - improvements on instructions, ideas, etc. In fact, I’m sure we’ll find many sailors you can do all that stuff better than me, I have no claim here. But I’ll do my best to impart what little I have.

In any case, send in news of your own freestyle - new moves, ideas for articles, questions to the Forum . I am committed to answering all of your messages at the best of my abilities.

There are three things I’d like to get from you.

1. if you get to learn some new moves, please send pictures or footage! With a little perseverance, you are guaranteed to pick up freestyle from me.
2. do teach others. If you had fun learning new moves, spread the fun. It’s a pleasure duty that comes with learning.
3. persevere. Please do not be one of those who try once and fall and never try again, just to sail back and fro until you bore from the sport. Persevere. Of course, you must learn in the right order, in the right conditions, to have a chance. That, I will guide you on. But be tenacious. Falling is fun.

Let me finish my bio: when I started windsurfing, it was on a very small inland pond that is best described as having 3-inch floating bacteria. Bon appetite. However, this hole had an advantage that I didn’t appreciate at the time, but got to understand later: it was so small that we’d continuously be tacking and gybing. This perpetual motion, as opposed to just going on a tack for an hour then tack, quickly made proficient sailors of anyone brave enough to face the bacteria… Everyone was a great sailor in that little pond, and many most could do real good freestyle then. No gimmick then, everyone had a same gear. With the resurgence of longboarding, let’s all have that kind of fun again! That pond is a proof to me that anyone can do a bit of freestyle, easily. End of bio.

Now before we get started, please note that by reading these articles and tips you acknowledge that these tips can cause injury and are carried out at your own risk. Pierre and LBWS take no responsibility for your actions.

Go to the Freestyle tips area to find lessons various longboard freestyle moves.