Jumping the board is getting the entire board in the air, including the fin,
and returning it back to the water. Unless you only sail in
flat water conditions, this phenomenon is probably going to happen to you
whether you want to jump or not.
A good jumper adds a sense of confidence on
the water and depicts a sailor who has integrated the air
and water as a 3-dimensional and seamless space for fun.
Jumping is a natural progression in windsurfing and is a skill that only comes with
practice. Usually the beginner will complain of spinning out when they jump because
they have not yet learned how to jump. In addition, becoming a good
jumper is a necessary skill to learn other maneuvers. For example, I see many sailors who
try to learn Vulcans but they were not very skilled at jumping so they had difficulty
learning the trick. Last but not least, jumping is just downright fun!
Once the sailor has learned how to jump, low and behold, the limbs start being removed from
their proper place. The first to be lifted is the hand and thus we have the
Hand Wave,
Front Hand Rail Grab,
and the
Rear Hand Rail Grab.
Removing both hands is the
No Hand Jump
or sometimes called the Monkey Jump. Why not a foot?
When the foot is removed then you have a
One Footed Jump.
And finally, perhaps you guessed, removing a hand and foot is
The One Leg, 1 arm Jump
Tweeked jumps include the
Nose Landing,
the
Head Layback and
the
Clew Forward jumps.
