GEAR
As far as gear goes, Lanes is a tricky place to sail. It’s very light on the inside so it’s hard to get out and then once you get on the wave, it is extremely windy so it’s very easy to get blown out the back. I normally take a small sail and a big board. This time I was on 4.5, which is the normal sail size for a Kona day at Lanes and my trusted 83 Radical Thruster Quad (pretty much the only board I ever use anywhere if there is wind). I have some new Tectonics Wave Wizard fins that I have been working really hard on too and they are amazing, making the board feel even looser off the bottom and grippier off the top than normal. It’s great to have gear that you are well tuned into and really trust on a day like this, that way you can just get stuck into trying to get the most out of the conditions.
AERIALS
For the big aerials at Lanes, it’s just a question of hitting the lip late and with speed and confidence. I crashed quite a few of them that day but when I watched the video of the session, I realized that I could have held on and made some. It’s deceptive when the wind is so offshore as you have to go way later than you think, then you often get blown up in the air rather than out in front of the wave and it is very easy to end up landing on the top of the white water which is always a bit dangerous as you don’t know what the board will do in there. That frightens me as I have broken my feet and ankles doing that a few times, but if I had that day back, there are 2 or 3 aerials that I would have held onto until the end as I am sure I would have made them. It’s just a question of confidence really. The more you do the same thing over and over, the more chance you have of getting it right!