Welcome back to another Hydro-foiling tutorial
in this video I'm going to explain how to do the roll tack
otherwise known as the duck tack, or backroll tack
this is when you carve the nose of your board
up into the wind
to turn around and go the other direction
now if you haven't learnt how to Gybe
or move your feet around the board
check out my videos here and here first
try and get those down
really well before attempting the roll tack
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the advice i'm going to give you applies to both footstraps
and strapless hydrofoiling
the roll tack is slightly easier with foot straps
as you are able to lift up on the board
but the principles are very much the same
it's really important to maintain enough speed throughout this manuver
so the foil doesn't stall
find yourself a good comfortable speed
so you can keep foiling throughout your roll tack
if you don't maintain enough speed
you will end up touching the board down on the water
that's absolutely fine, this is very common for your first few tacks
we're going to look at how to roll tack
without moving your feet first of all
you want to start by slowly bringing the kite up to twelve o'clock
and sheeting the bar out
carve the board further upwind
by putting my weight on your rear foot
and driving that back foot into the board
when your kite reaches twelve o'clock
your going to pull the bar in, creating lift
at the same time as carving the board into the wind
aggressively re-direct the kite to the other side of the window
once you complete the turn, adjust your weight from your heels
to your toes, to carve away on your toe side edge
lets take another look
as you can see, I apply more pressure on my rear foot
whilst bringing the kite up to twelve o'clock
as it reaches twelve, i'm swinging my hips
and driving my board round through the wind
a good tack is all about timing
it's really important to perform your tack when your kite is at twelve o'clock
as thats when it will provide the most lift
it's also much easier to tack
when you have a decent amount of power
because the kite will have more lift, when it's above your head
a really fun
easy progression of the roll tack
is completing the full 360
all you need to do
is to maintain the pressure on your heel side edge
and complete the full back-roll
loop your kite underneath
and ride off, in the same direction
this is a really fun one to try
I would highly recommend
always experimenting
and forcing yourself to try these roll tacks with both feet forwards
as you will find your success rate alternates going both directions
depending on your equipment, the conditions
so always force yourself to try them both ways
lets look at how to incorporate switching your feet
starting with foot straps
you can help
carving the board into the wind
by lifting up on that front foot
as well as leaning your weight on the back of the board
when the kite is at twelve
and the nose of the board is facing directly into the wind
in one fluid motion
bringing your rear foot up to meet your front foot
whilst quickly
moving your front foot, to the rear of the board
it's definitely easier to roll tack
using footstraps
and having two straps at the front of the board is the best setup
having two straps
enables you to have both feet in the footsteps
when you are changing direction and the kite is at twelve o'clock
now lets look at the strapless version
since removing my straps
and learning these tricks strapless, I can never see myself going back to straps
I love the additional freedom you get strapless
and it's not actually that much harder either
top tip
it is much easier
to learn the strapless roll tack when you are well powered
on a bigger kite, using a kite 10m or above
because it's going to have way much lift, which gives you more time
and bigger margin for error
it's all about speed and commitment for the strapless foot switch
carve the board upwind by leaning backwards
once the board has just passed through the wind
and the kite is at twelve o'clock
you want to pull the bar in and you will feel that weightlessness
thats when you want to change your feet
whilst re-directing your kite, quite aggressively
to the other side of the window
there's a few key points to think about
firstly, look under your arm pit as you carve upwind
secondly, when the nose of the board is facing straight into the wind
that's when you need to commit to your back-roll
and throw your bodyweight underneath your bar, quickly switch your feet
and ride away, like a badass
here's two common mistakes to look out for
the first one
it over-steering your kite
so it's already the other side of the window when you attempt to switch your feet
this will pull you away from the board, making it harder to switch your feet
second common mistake
is not carving the board far enough round into the wind
before attempting to switch your feet
you need to make sure
it's almost passed directly through the wind
before changing your feet
it's really important to swing
your hips, shoulders and head
around the complete the back-roll
my tacks have really evolved over the years
so make sure you try different setups
mast positions, kites
in different conditions
as it will change so much from session to session
as you can see the roll tack is not an easy move
and it's all about consistency
and perseverance and practice
now when i first started to try these
i was getting like one a session for like six months
and then after a year I was getting two or three
and now three years later I'm finally getting them consistent
but it's pretty frustrating
because if you suddenly change your kite, your foil
your mast condition, even the conditions of the water
affect it so much
so your really just have to force yourself to keep trying
the roll tack and you will get better
you will improve
you just got to force yourself
to try it
because its the only way to improve, and you got to think
it's not really that bad if you fall
it's not very physically demanding so your not getting any more tired
but you just got to stick with it guys, and you will get better
but hey, thanks a lot for watching
my video about the roll tack
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really appreciate it guys, thanks a lot for watching, and I'll see you in the next video
peace out ✌️