Hi All
I've only racked up a couple of days sailing now (over 2 months). I've planed a
few times and it feels great. On the weekend (Milang SA), I was in estimated
20knot winds (peak) and that was the highest speed winds I have sailed in.
I was wondering what sort of stacks I can expect when planing ?... how can
I react to stop the bad ones ?
On my last blast, it felt like my board was jumping out of the water (the lake was "sloppy").
it was like I was aeroplaning in the air. I didn't know if that was safe or not, so I
depowered. If I carried on letting this happen and the wind got stronger, what would happen ?
Cheers
Ja
sensory overload first whilst planing, then dead stop eerily quiet then kapow! world turns around and you can't do a damn thing about it but quite fun
The worst stacks (from just planing) have to be 'hooked in' catapults. Which I think was what jp747 was getting at..
You're in the harness, flying along, and then sometimes for no apparent reason, or so it seems, you find yourself being flung around the front and into the water with tremendous force. You will eventually figure out what causes them, and your stance will improve so that they hardly ever happen.
In the meantime, the big thing to remember is to hold on to the boom as you go, and preferably sheet in. (Even if you're not in the harness, the same is true)
This has several benefits.. If you're holding on, you know where it is (and it's not going to sneak up on you from behind and tap you on the head when you're not looking). You also maintain the same orientation, so that the harness lines can't get twisted up making it hard to free yourself when you're underwater and winded. By sheeting in, you slow your impact with the water, and massively decrease the chances of smashing the nose of your board with the mast.
Re: board jumping out of the water - if you're going fast, and it's bumpy, then getting a bit of air is almost inevitable!
On the other hand, if the nose of the board is coming up, and it feels a bit 'squirrelly' then you need to get more force down on your mast foot by sheeting in, and/or by hanging more of your weight on the boom. The same thing can be caused by having a fin that is too big for the conditions. Taking the power off unloads the mastfoot and will make it worse rather than better!
I have a little mantra that I yell out to the guys I'm teaching - "nose and toes" meaning keep the nose of the board down, and point your toes. It's more relevant to getting planing in the first place, but a flat board is a fast board whatever the conditions.
What gear are you riding?
what ever you do always hold on to the boom if you let go you can get cracked ribs and all sorts of things
If you're already in the harness the best tip I can give you is to lean forward in the harness. This keeps the nose of the board down through mast - foot - pressure and keeps you in more control. This was one of the best tips I learnt years ago. And when I mean lean forwards I mean to the side of your hips that are facing the nose of the board so that although leaning back in the harness you're actually twisting towards the nose of the board slightly. This will really help control while planing.
I did get trapped under the sail and freaked out as my harness hook seemed to be stuck. It was a close call.
It's fun sailing over powered and trying to keep the rig under control.
Catapults happen so fast that one second your under control the next your flying throught the air and then Splat!
The fin gives you alot of lift and can make the board rail up when overpowered. Basically you have too much lift and can loose control. Pointing downwind can settle the board and keep the nose down. Pull the sail in (over sheet) and dont sheet out all at once because the mast straightens and pulls you forward.
Be careful leaning too far forward in the harness as this can also induce a catapult.
You can hurt yourself if you smack the boom etc so think about a vest and helmet.
Hi All
I'm about 65kg. Have a 148L bic techno2 (75cm wide), a maui switch 5.2m
sail, and a 40R select fin. I have never used a harness and I'm not yet into the
foot straps. I am getting there though (this might be a few weeks away). The
first few weekends, I was standing in the middle, but now I'm standing closer and
closer to the foot straps with each sess.
My biggest trick at the moment is crossing up the sail 10 seconds into a down
wind run (not by choice) like all powers of piss and then getting catapulted
(I bit like a gybe but without turning, but the sail goes off to one side taking you
with it and end up landing on the sail). I think I might have go this sorted, since I
have now stopped standing in the middle of the board. I'm as green as the hills,
but I am slowly learning this wind thing.
555: Being pinned underwater-- excellent . Thanks, I know what expect :)
555: "smashing the nose of your board with the mast". Yeah have done that a few
times now i think.
555: With sheeting in, I'm getting trouble visualising that. Is that like tacking
the sail (pulling it around as you are getting tipped in ?). Does that
make the wind catch the sail and kind of soften the fall ?
555: "mast foot by sheeting in," -- mast foot, that's the mast base isn't it ?. Sheeting
in, that's tacking (going up wind) ?
555: "hanging more of your weight on the boom", is that like pulling it down ? (ie: bending
my legs and hanging off like on a monkey bar ?)
555: "fin that is too big for the conditions" -- yeah, I've been told that
555: "Taking the power off unloads the mastfoot and will make it worse rather than better!" -- but when I do this, I slow down and stop planing ?
555: "meaning keep the nose of the board down, and point your toes" -- what do you mean point your toes. Is that when they are in the foot straps ?
windykid: thanks. yeah, I definately remember that one from beginner lessons.
rabs & panda: I'm not in the harness yet. Give me a few weeks maybe.
Thanks for your tips :)
Ja
Jay if you watched me a bit on saturday you may have noticed when I did that downwind run and kind got stuck downwind. I was holding on to the boom but also leaning back so it is like your trying to sit on the water in a way. you get speed up it can be a bit hard to steer but just use foot pressure to keep in the line you want. I was out on a Bic Techno 293 with a 6.8 sail at the start. I got up planning and was bouncing around like a bitch but you just need to get use to it for now slowly as you improve you are able to stop this bounce to some extent my problem was I think I was up on the fin a bit and the board was swaying from one way to another like speed wobbles and I was trying to stop it by using foot pressure but I would push a bit hard the over correct. If you come down to West Lakes for the wave sailing family day I will try to show you what I mean.
Cheers Pittsy
Be patient, grasshopper. Learning this wonderful sport takes a lifetime. Mastering it takes longer.
If you know that you will be overpowered from the start, don't go out. What are you trying to prove? You have a whole life ahead with other better days to sail.
If, however, you do go out and get the occasional hit from gusts, learn to anticipate them. Watch closely the water ahead and upwind of you. The gust will belt you about 3 metres before you arrive at that darker patch of water. Brace yourself. Slide your rear hand back a bit on the boom, Drop your body, put more weight down through the harness lines, get ready to drive hard through the front foot, by sheeting in a bit, and turning downwind a bit. You will be scared.
You probably won't be catapaulted.
Great sailors in gusts never sail a straight line.
Common and big mistake when learning in these conditions is to try to sheet out, to "feather" the sail. Almost inevitably, a stack and pain will follow.
Thanks guys for your tips :)
mineral1: Yeah, I wear a life jacket.. It's yellow :). I'm considering getting a lid (helmet).
Pittsy: "the board was swaying from one way to another like speed wobbles and I was trying to stop it by using foot pressure but I" -- this was a big problem for me on the first few planes, this was when I was standing centre. .. but the problem reduced when I stood near the edge (rail) of the board. I wouldn't mind exchanging experiences when I meet you next :)
555: "Probably related to that monster fin - you're either heading downwind to tame the board," --Yeah, I reckon my next purchase will be a smaller fin I reckon. Thanks for tip :)
555: thanks for explaining sheeting and mast foot pressure. I'm clear on the principles now.
555: "For sure, but unless you were actually planning to slow down and stop rather than taming the beast, it didn't really help right?" -- not sure. This probably does not apply, since I am not in the foot straps/harness yet. All I know, was when I was about to get flung, I would slide my lead hand to the mast end of the boom and sheet out. Move my front foot to the mast base. The board would slow down, I was able to control it and I wouldn't bin it.
555: "board flat in the roll axis." -- what's a roll axis ? ... is that when you're blasting along and the board is slightly angled in the water ?
555: "pointing your toes (rather than having your weight on your heels) flattens the board, and lets the fin do it's job" -- so standing on your tippie-toes is pointing your toes ?
555: "That board is pretty big for you too," -- really ?.. I thought it was too small for my experience level.
Bristol: "If you know that you will be overpowered from the start, don't go out. What are you trying to prove?" -- I'm such a numpty, i'm still too stupid to determine this. I'm still not quite cklear what overpowered means (other than not having enough strength to hold the boom).
Bristol: thanks for the tip about the gusts :)
Bristol: "You will be scared." -- and kacking myself laughing :)
Bristol: "to "feather" the sail" -- is that like when it's flapping around like it does in a gusty rope gybe ?
Bayblaster: "Wait till you get into the harness and straps, flying along, just trying to hang on in gail force winds and all this will start to make sense." -- I reckon you are absolutely right. I'm guessing my equipment is not designed to be used without the straps and harness (it's a bit like riding a motorcycle with training wheels and trying to do cornering in twisties) .. so it's not behaving normally.
Thanks for your wonderful advice all. I hope I'm not being too irritating.
Ja
555: "that shaft would now be on the roll axis as the board would roll around the shaft. Of course, you wouldn't do that"
I get it now :). That used to happen when I get standing in the middle. I doesn't happen so much now I stand to the side.
555: "Kind of.. but not when you're standing up straight on the board. It only really applies in the straps, and then only when you're hanging way out off the side."
ok.
555: "Usually, yes, but then people at your stage aren't usually going out when it's so windy and planing around the place."
555: "You are quite light - most of the 'big board' thinking is to make the board float comfortably while you're standing there wobbling around in stuff all wind."
Yes, those uphauls and tacks are a bit like that :)
555: "As you go faster in bigger winds (like you're already doing) you need to offset the lift generated by the board with downforce to hold it on the water so you don't blow over backwards, or end up tailwalking (that's the nose in the air swerving around like a rodeo bull trick). You get some of this downforce from the sail, and most of it from using your weight. You can't change your weight all that easily, so decreasing the lift from the board is your only real option. A narrower board will generate less lift, but will also be less stable while you're wobbling on it. So you can see that there is a compromise, and the point where it works for a given set of conditions (wind, waves etc) will change as you gain experience (or put on weight!)."
thanks. I understand. When I plane, I've started to realise that it's a combination of the fin and the air lifting the board.
I'm trying to work out how the fin lifts the sail. Is it because the fin is angled in the water and it's causing a vertical force ? (ie: a bit like an aeroplane wing)
>Did you check out the link to Guy Cribbs' stuff?
www.guycribb.com/windsurfing_technique_holiday_DVD_0076v01.htm
Homework ! ... I will start reading it tonight. it looks like a lot of reading :). Thanks for link. There should be some great tips in there :)