Will Swait I think you're right.

The board is flat and the nose is up in the air, both of which will slow you down.

If you turn your back foot so it's at 45 degrees from the nose, this will let you turn your hips to get more front on and stack on the front foot.

Once you have that, it will be easier to get on rail.

Something that I've always thought would be helpful would be an OMBE Trouble Shooting chart.   A lot of the stuff in the Lives etc is Clay telling different people the same things eg Positioning for the wave, doing the Oreo take off, looking down the line, stacking on the front foot, keeping the coffee cup arm forward etc.   I've sometimes considered going through the videos and making a list for example:   Problem: I keep missing waves or nose diving on the take off.  Solutions:

1) Look for the Treasure Map [video link]   2) Practice the Oreo take off [video link]   3) Look down the line as you glide [video link]

etc

It's a shame that the Live has had to be cancelled, but hopefully the Op will go well and best wishes for a quick recovery 🤙

I've got a 7'6 Torq Mod Fun, but it's a thruster configuration.

What do you mean by "struggle at bending"?

Maria Molè  I was out at East Wittering and the conditions were beautiful, almost glassy smooth with just a little bit of off-shore wind, sets running around 3-4' or even more with about a 15 second period and nice long gaps between them too.

Unfortunately last month I'd picked up some virus which has wiped out my endurance, meaning I was struggling and my technique was pretty rubbish.

Worse, I kept missing waves despite trying my best to do the Oreo take off and then, after about an hour and a half, my left calf muscle suddenly cramped solid as I was walking up and I had to quit.

There was even some left over swell today, which would have been nice on my 8'2, but I just didn't dare take the risk 🙁