Never give up axis 1121art pro 45skinny

Salty Sulking, Axis 1121 45 skinny.
Wednesday 10 april 2024
Winged out from army bay for a deflate, aiming for stanmore bay around an 8km run.
I was on the axis 8’6 with art pro 1121
I struggled to find wind on the way out, it was a bit dicey so I continued winging up wind waiting for things to solidify.
I deflated and went to work in what was marginal conditions for my setup… after a few mins of foiling I started to realise I was under foiled. I had been out the day before in even more marginal conditions with the 1121 and had reinflated to finish the run early… I started thinking i might need to do the same here.
After sitting a bit salty for a while and finishing up my sulk, I decided to push on. Im mostly a realist, if I know things arnt going to work then I don’t try for the sake off it… but if there’s a chance of success I’ll try my best to make it happen. So I tried again.
I got on foil after a couple failed takeoffs, I started channelling Jeremy Riggs for his skid movement takeoffs - I watched all his vids when I was hunting for beta when starting out - with Jeremy on my side and some patience I got going again with ease.
With ease is important here, I’ve started to slow down my initiation of takeoffs. I now allow myself to paddle down wind for a bit… in the past when I’ve gotten to my feet it feels like the clock has started and I need to get on foil… I don’t know if this is ego pushing me to prove I can do it quickly or that I should get up before I fall off or what but it is how it was. Now I float downwind, keeping balance, learning my craft more, feeling the ebbs and flows. What then happens is that a bump finds me, I’m not trying to find it any more. A bump will come and it will be so good it would be rude not to use it! It takes a lot of the performance stress out of the situation. It’s no longer me trying to get on foil in the quickest possible time… it’s me getting on foil efficiently.
Sorry to go on but I think that’s an important step forward.
Anyway, I got on foil and shifted my mindset to, how can I make this all work. I then started to make performance gains, higher mast, keeping that height through the turns, turning through the best lines, keeping momentum high, adding energy where needed, stance corrections and pump efficiency… all of the above I went through systematically until I was now able to perform enough to get to my destination.
This was the first of 3 runs today and they only got better!
Peace 🤌🤌🤌
Rider weight 75kg 188cm/6’2
Ppc 2.8 surge hand wing
Ppc mini travel pump
Ppc carbon adjustable large paddle
Axis 8’6 downwinder
Axis 1121 art pro 45 skinny advanced+ ultrashort
Axis 80cm pro ultra high mod mast
GoPro 11 black max lens
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[@garymccorry8843]

Good real world experience and nice to hear how you found and used the tools to get through it.

[@downwind_drifter1040]

Yea, gotta push the comfort zone every now and then to accelerate the learning… it’s scary but pays off. Thanks for commenting 🤙

[@shane0030]

You have broken the code mate . Nice work

[@downwind_drifter1040]

Yea, it’s pretty much all gravy these days! The 40kt ocean conditions last Thursday was another story all together though…

[@shane0030]

@@downwind_drifter1040 Yeah mate your crusin alright . We have a decent crew here in Gissy . A few guys going real good and a few not. We are doing 10km runs regularly but plenty of paddling still . I might try your deflate technique as we are all x wingers anyway .

[@downwind_drifter1040]

@@shane0030 the deflate is a great tool, don’t be surprised if it feels a bit harder at the start and to start with the extra gear on your back. It does get easier with time. If you can size up your board for them you should. And get a travel pump from Sam. It’s worth the weight cost to have that kind of backup… And use it so you know it’s no big deal… it removes a lot of stress from runs.