The Art Of Onshore

Leon Jamaer rips no matter what the conditions, from the extremes of the Red Bull Storm chase to winning German wave events on his home waters of the North Sea. Unlike a lot of his peers, Leon still spends a large amount of time training in Northern Europe and as such his onshore game is strong! We asked him to share some of his tips for the art of onshore wave sailing.

- Leon Jamaer

Chaotically crumbling onshore waves, patchy wind and lots of current is not exactly the material that our wave riding dreams are made of. However, it represents the conditions that most European sailors deal with most of the time, especially in small stretches of water where groundswells can´t exist. Onshore or side-onshore wind is, after all, the best guarantee for at least some waves. Yet, onshore wind often goes hand in hand with a set of difficulties that the sailor will have to face. First of all, the wave patterns are very unorganized and chaotic. Waves break all over the spot, there are hardly any clearly distinguishable sets coming in and there is no defined impact zone. Because the wind literally pushes the waves towards the shore, the wave’s top breaks earlier than usual, which results in a rather mushy and gutless wave face. In onshore conditions the wind is normally patchier and lighter close to the shore than further out at sea. This is due to obstacles on land like buildings, trees or cliffs, which hinder the wind from passing through without resistance (in German we call this phenomenon Luvstau). Furthermore, all the water that is being pushed towards the shore has to go somewhere. The back stream often creates strong currents, which makes it even harder to get going. Nonetheless, not everything about onshore is bad. In fact, some manoeuvres become easier and lots of onshore practice can refine your sailing technique a lot. To successfully master all the challenges there are certain equipment choices, trims and techniques that will make your life a lot easier and will enable you to maximize your sailing potential and joy on the water.

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