Gusty/Up and Down

chophop · Joined: 16 Apr 1996 Posts: 180

Yeah it is supposed to be fun.
I think if it is lulling and gusting where the gusts are twice the lulls. It ends up being stop and go sailing. NO fun!

As far as sail tuning, I am finding that on an '08 Pryde Zone, that you have to do most of the tuning with downhaul. If you flatten out the sail too much with outhaul you seem to completely lose the power sweet spot and the sail gets squirely.
Seems like with you can tune the sail close to half a meter all together. Cool

isobars · Joined: 12 Dec 1999 Posts: 11487

isobars · Joined: 12 Dec 1999 Posts: 11487

nw30 · Posted: Tue May 29, 2012 2:51 pm Post subject:

Nobody ever bought my idea of installing a venetian blind in the middle of the sail for those "up and down" days. Evil or Very Mad

You could open and close it as the conditions warrant, while sailing. Wink

But I wouldn't put it past yvanboniec to give it a try.

photodad2001 · Joined: 21 Sep 2010 Posts: 21

How many of these >>>> http://www.industrialfansdirect.com/IND-FA-PC-VK/TE-PVI4816W.html <<<< do you think you could bring with you? Twisted Evil

cgoudie1 · Posted: Wed May 30, 2012 2:57 am Post subject: Re: Gusty/Up and Down

Well, there's gusty, there's up and down, and then there's holey
Gusty, short duration, like yeh maybe a few seconds if you're lucky.
Holey, you'd recognise since you sail into a hole come to a standstill,
and sink (unless your momentum and apparent wind carry you through
the hole, then it just appears gusty.

What's good, well, I like 34-35, but that's just me ;*)
18-32 is pretty doable, and I'll rig for that(maybe a baggy
4.5 or a flat and twisted 4.7 depending on what the average
is), but I get tired pretty fast
in those conditions. 18-36 is about the cutoff point where I'd call
it hatefull, doesn't mean I won't rig for it, but I know I'm going
to take some serious abuse.

10-40, and I'd rather be doing something else, if it isn't work related.

-Craig

jingebritsen · Joined: 21 Aug 2002 Posts: 2065

in the gorge, i would defer to what the consensus is in the racer head community at the event site. in the waves, i've done lots of different things. typically, it is the onshore wave 105 that gets to help me adapt to huge up and down swings in wind.

but, some in tropical storms, i've used my 11'5 in extremely offshore winds with a 5.8 successfully. takes nearly a hurricane for the 5.2 to feel right with my long board. longer waterlines help with fore and aft stability.

isobars · Joined: 12 Dec 1999 Posts: 11487

techno900 · Joined: 28 Mar 2001 Posts: 903

isobars,

I think you accurately defined the issue. Of course some sailing sites are much more gusty, etc. than others, but we all face the "what to rig" dilemma often.

For me, I prefer the smaller bump and jump board and RAF sail for pure fun, so I have occasionally rigged too small hoping for wind that was only there for short periods and ended up slogging way too much.

However, the wiser move is to rig the larger slalom board, cambered sails and hang on in the gusts so that I can be planing and blasting for the majority of the time. We try to will the wind to meet our desires and too often forget realities.

The other issue is "it's going to pick up" syndrome, so you rig too small. This is frequently a dumb move. Rig for the moment and get on the water. If it does really come up, then re-rig.

It's just the frustrating world of inland lake sailors.

beallmd · Joined: 10 May 1998 Posts: 984

Three capital rules of windsurfing;
1. Never leave wind to find wind.
2. Never wait for wind when you have wind.
3. Rig for what it is, not what you think it will be.
Face it, we've all broken them...