Frontside 360 SLIDE

The Frontside 360 slide is one of the many variations of the classic Frontside 360. It consists of making the same rotation as a Frontside 360 but sliding on the foil. This trick is super fun to do in light conditions when you can’t go for big jumps. Let’s see in this How To how it’s done.

First, be aware that you don’t need a lot of speed. If you try to do this by going at full speed you risk damaging your foil because you will create a very big asymmetrical pressure on the front wing. So don’t go too fast. Try to pick a moment when the wind is just strong enough for you to have some power in the wing. Indeed, you will suspend all your weight on the wing so if you do it in a wind hole you will quickly fall backwards. Now that this has been said, we will be able to move on to the technique.

Frontside 360 slide

So you should be sailing with a bread reach point of sail and a little angle in your foil when going for a Frontside 360 slide. First you put the foil flat then go up slightly. Once you’ve done that, you’re going to lower your pelvis to the back while pushing down on your heels. If you have raised the foil enough, the tip of the front wing should automatically come out of the water. On the other hand, if the foil is not high enough, you will have a hard time getting it out of the water and you will just make a normal curve. So now that the front wing tip is out of the water, you are going to keep pushing on your heels while keeping your pelvis down except that you are going to push a little harder on your back foot. Pressing a little harder on your back foot will start to skid the foil and engage the curve. You will therefore keep this support to continue your curve until you come into the wind.

The rotation

During the curve, you can move the wing back slightly behind you. It’ll help you turn. Once you are facing the wind, you will be able to jump the foil a little to finish your rotation. For that, you will need to give a slight boost by pushing a little in your legs. The foil will take off about twenty centimeters, but that’s enough to complete the rotation. In addition, the rear foot support that you have maintained until then will automatically turn the board as soon as the foil comes out of the water.

Now that you’re pretty much done rotating the board, it’s time to take care of the wing. So as soon as the board is almost 360° and the foil starts to sink again, you will pass the wing. To do this, you will have to do like a normal flaka. You will therefore push on your back hand while bringing your front hand a little closer to you. Try to open (shock) the wing to help you complete the rotation. If you don’t open it enough, you may run out of power and fall on your back. Also remember when rotating the wing to put your pelvis back above the board for better balance. Also be careful to bring the wing up at the end of the rotation so that it does not catch the water. Normally you should have finished your maneuver, so all you have to do is pump your foil and wing to go for another trick.

There you go, you know how to make slide Frontside 360!