Ok so I'm finally getting airborne and pulling the tail to windward but then the rig gets ripped out of my hands downwind.? At least before I'd land them..[}:)] Am I standing too upright..? Not hanging under the rig..??
Hard to tell without seeing you jump, but like you said, hanging on the landing will encourage the tail to hit the water first (with a little sheeting out), power the rig after landing and give you greater leavage to hold onto the rig.
You may also be sheeting in too much on landing.
After saying this I had many other problems to solve when learning to jump but the rig being ripped out of my hands wasn't one of them.
Grip the boom harder?
As above there are many hurdles when learning to jump but i've never heard of the rig flying out of ones hand before.
Are you landing too tail first, and sinking the tail? That will increase the load on the sail.
If you lean the rig forward, and sideways into the wind you can sheet it in, and use it to float down. Then the landing can be very soft, and you'll stay on the plane, reducing landing sail pressure.
If you sheet in without leaning it forwards and sideways, it will push the nose down, (the start of a forward loop).
Staying hooked in when you're in control is fine, but can lead to a painful crash if you aren't.
It's a matter of balancing an asymmetric wing. You have the board and the sail to play with, somehow you need to get the load under the center of lift, otherwise you'll start rotating.
I normally sail with the rig raked backwards seems to give me more speed, but if I carry this position into a jump, I have to sheet out, to stop pitching forward. (The center of lift is behind me)
I guess it's not leaning the sail forward, in front of you, but moving from behind you to above you.
It also has to lean to windward, or you'll start rolling (mast tip going downwind).
When you achieve balance you can sheet in and glide to a certain extent.
The windward rail and nose also have to be tipped up, to get lift from the board. If you let them point down, you'll go into a power dive, this can happen in strong winds if you aren't careful.
If it starts to go wrong, unhook before you land!
I have bailed out but if it's busy out there it's best to hang on, the rig will blow a long way down wind. You won't be very popular if it lands on somebody.
One day Ill post the only footage I have & you can laugh at me falling off the back as the board keeps going on a gybe exit..
bad whiplash..
Dale Cook is considered one of the best inland water/flat water jumpers in high winds. Watch the video. Cheers
