Dream Team Rider Tristan Algret motivates windsurfers at home with windsurfing clinics. He spent lockdown in Paradise: his home Island of Guadeloupe. Like most windsurfing Pros, he usually spends most of the year on the road traveling between events and training camps. Now that Corona put a stop to that, Tristan decided to take advantage of his extended time at home by putting his expertise on offer to the next generation of young rippers in Guadeloupe. We caught up with him and also found out about the most frequently asked questions during his clinics.
Tristan:
I wanted to organize some events or coaching for people who were interested in my experience and knowledge as a professional windsurfer.
I put a post on Facebook to check for interest and straight after I received many messages on WhatsApp for more information about the coaching. So the plan was to organize one full day of coaching per week with 6 participants maximum so that I could offer higher quality coaching by being able to focus more on each participant individually.
In total, I organized 5 clinics, mostly with boys and girls between the age of 14 and 16 who already had a decent level ahead of the clinic.
I BUILD MY CLINICS AROUND THREE TOPICS:
- EQUIPMENT PREPARATION: How to rig your gear correctly and how to set it up differently to each time suit the conditions at hand.
- INDIVIDUAL COACHING: Coaching on the water is focused on one by one time where I can give direct feedback. Here we were working on sailing positions and adjusting gear settings.
- MANOEUVRES: Practicing different exercises to improve the gybe.
IMPROVING SKILLS
All the participants showed significant improvements over the week, which has been the greatest satisfaction for me. My wish is to see more Guadeloupean riders in the national and international competitions, and who knows, maybe one of these young guns could be there in a few years. If we could have more island boys on the world tour, it would be a dream come true for me.
MOST FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS DURING TRISTAN´S CLINICS:
- What happens when we put a lot of downhaul tension?
Putting a lot of tension can be a good thing if you want to go faster and generate more acceleration. But at the same time, you will lose stability as the sail becomes flatter and less powerful.
My best tips for tuning your sails, therefore, is to add tension on the 4 lower battens, this will increase the depth on the bottom of the sail, even when you put a lot of downhaul tension. This allows you to gain stability and power while achieving better top speed performance derived by greater downhaul. Of course, it’s all about finding the right balance here.
- How to choose between higher and lower clew settings for your boom?
The higher clew gives you more power which is especially useful for a light wind set up.
The lower clew helps to open the top of the sail and directly reduces power. That’s why it can be an excellent setup, especially in strong wind.
- During sailing the back of my boom is touching the water, how can I stop it?
To avoid this problem, you can move your harness lines forward and also put tension on the batten. It will help set the sail more straight. If the issue remains, you can also try to leave a little more space on the downhaul, which helps to lengthen the sail height below the boom.
- How do you manage to travel with those big boards? How many boards/sails do take with you to a world cup event?
As professionals, we have a vast amount of equipment when we travel. I travel with seven boards, ten sails, ten masts, and all the rest of the equipment on top of ‘normal’ luggage. Most of the time it isn’t easy, especially during the check-in, and the logistics at different airports. Having to plan and execute the logistics of traveling with seven large equipment bags by yourself is always a challenge. Still, it gets easier with more experience and it helps if you can travel together with someone.
TRISTAN´S LATEST SLALOM VIDEO:
Check out Tristan´s latest windsurfing clip. He is flying in paradise on his iSonic board:
Photos taken by Matteo Nativelle.
