Once you have mastered high-wind sailing using the harness and footstraps, most people are eager to “catch air”.  Jumping is fairly easy, but can result in some big crashes, so be prepared.  It’s not a bad idea to wear a helmet, crash vest or PFD when jumping.  Footstrap sizing is also important to prevent ankle and foot injuries.  You should set your footstraps loose enough so that your foot will come out easily in a crash, but tight enough that you still have good board control in the air.  If your footstraps are too small, you may come out unexpectedly in the air with disastrous consequences.

Jumping in ocean waves is almost unavoidable.  All you have to do is sail with speed into the face of a wave just before it breaks.  It is advisable to have some experience with chop hopping before you venture into the waves, so we’ll start there. 

The key to chop hopping is to be powered up by your sail.  Even in flat water, a fully powered sail can generate enough lift to get some decent air.  It is best to learn chop hops when you are planing on a sail from 4.5 to 5.5 and a board under 9’.  Make sure you have a board that is built for jumping, since you can easily damage a fragile slalom or race board.  There is usually a favored tack for jumping, since the wind and waves won’t be perfectly aligned.  Pick the direction that allows you to sail more directly into the chop without pinching too hard into the wind.  You will have to head up slightly when you hit the ramp, but you will want to bear off before landing to keep from spinning out.  

The other factors that lead to a big jump are ramp selection and timing of your jump.  You can usually spot a big piece of chop by the large whitecap it produces.  When you have sighted a good ramp ahead of you, head for the large whitecap.  Now is a good time to unhook from your harness.  Rather than jumping off the whitecap, you want to launch out of the deep trough right behind it.  Head upwind slightly so you can hit the ramp more head-on.  Bend your knees as you enter the trough, then spring off the top of the ramp created by the next wave.  Jump by extending your legs as the wave pushes up on the tail of the board.  At the same time, you want to lean back and oversheet the sail to get extra lift and maintain your balance.  You will usually come out of the harness lines automatically when you oversheet the sail, but you should unhook ahead of time on your first few attempts since it can be a bit unnerving to still be hooked into the harness while you are in the air. 

If you timed your spring correctly, you should be balanced in the air.  If your timing is off, the wave will tend to throw you off balance leading to a good crash.  Once you are airborne, you should bend your knees again to lift your fin out of the water and pull the tail of the board upwind.  This will steer the board slightly downwind to prepare for landing.  After you have reached the apex of your jump, to want to extend your legs again so that you land tail first.  Advanced sailors can land nose first, but flat landings can lead to broken board so they should be avoided.  Once the tail of the board contacts the water, bend your knees again to absorb the impact of the landing and sheet out the sail slightly to keep from getting launched.  If all went well, you can now hook back into the harness and look for the next big ramp.  Otherwise it’s time to practice your waterstart.
                                                          text by Chris Boston--2002