Serious About Waves #3

The forward loop – it’s the daddy of all moves. To do one grants you immediate super-hero status on your local patch. But it is, of course, insanely difficult, wildly dangerous and should only be attempted by adolescents or those with a hefty life insurance. Perhaps. Perhaps not …

In surely the most ambitious windsurfing project ever, coaching legend Peter Hart and looping aficionado John ‘the Rock’ Hibbard take 7 ‘normal’ windsurfers spanning all ages, sexes, backgrounds and body shapes to Fuerteventura with the sole aim of getting them to do it. What started out as a week-long project spanned months and even years and turned into a compelling, fascinating, informative and often hilarious epic.

Throughout the journey the loop is broken into minute detail. There are literally hundreds of training tips and exercises. But most importantly they explore what it is that makes you suddenly decide to pull the trigger and throw yourself over the handlebars.

Most of Learn to Loop was filmed during the PWA SuperX and freestyle World Cup, where packs of the sport’s idols are on hand to cajole, encourage, perform and tell their own looping stories.

Then back home Harty and the camera crew travel the UK to meet the looping team at their local spots and plot the second half of their journey. Their video diaries reveal deep, inspiring often hilarious, sometimes painful stories. Stunning demonstrations, horrible crashes, tears, laughter, this is a must-see, real life drama of the highest quality. Did the looping hopefuls make it? There’s only one way to find out.