Gusty conditions

[pacspeed]

NO NO NO NO NO!!!!

<ALWAYS RIG FOR THE HOLES>

This is one of the fundamental rules of the sport, Id say. Its much easier to sail with the barn door open (aka sheeted out) than it is to exert psychic powers and make the wind come back up.

When in doubt, go bigger.

If you spend your session on the hairy edge of a catapult, and all you have to do is twitch that back arm in to start ripping along like a skipping stone, youll come in with a much bigger smile on your face than if you safely and prudently schlogged and pumped your way across the reach and back.

For my money, and what you describe, the 8.5 is the only sail going, and I wouldnt bother in 12 kts. either. Cheers dudes!

[carl]

I agree with Pacspeed about rigging for the holes except 2 clarifying points: sheeting out alot when youre going fast and overpowered may lead to board control problems. Better to head upwind to slow down in the overpowered gusts. Also downhaul much more (get a crank tool) to lessen the tendency to catapult and also commit to the harness more.
I think the average sailor can have the ability to do this and it will probably take them to the next level quicker than just slogging around in the lulls (unless your doing freestyle tricks like GEM).

[tycoonguy]

As I stated, the inexperienced wont be so turned off with the schlogging and pumping as they will with the hairy side of a catapult. (I would rather say they would be on the wrong side of the catapult too often for much more than a day dedicated to flailing around on top of a drenched sail and drinking salt water.) Personally, I have had too much experience rigging smaller not to rig bigger on gusty days. The same goes for light winds, Ild stay out of the water under 17 knots. 17 to 22 would be debatable. The rule of thumb I have on the south shore of the Cape would be if I see white caps in the open water, I consider sailing.

[gemoore]

YES YES YES YES.

READ, guys. I said it depends on the conditions.

If its mostly strong wind with lulls, and youre an early intermediate with some difficulty controlling a way overpowered sail, rig for the gusts. You wont spend a lot of time schlogging as long as most of the time the wind is up.

If its mostly lulls, then schlogging B&F and not doing anything else (not working on helitacks, etc.), then just schlogging and waiting for wind is DULL and frustrating. Schloggers end up quitting. So in that situation rig big for the lulls.

If you can live with some schlogging and use that time to work on sail tricks, stay medium-size (8-ish as your biggest).

If you just want B&F fast in 8-18, buy a formula board and an 11-ish sail and get really good at sheeting out. Notice that I say just because I find this to get boring.

There are lots of solutions in windsurfing, all of them acceptable. My biggest sail is a 7.5, because I CANT STAND THOSE BIG MF SAILS anymore. Nothing about handling them is fun to me, and I no longer play the when in doubt, rig bigger game. Been there, done that, wont go back.

So learn how to pick the sail that suits YOU the best, in conditions you have at your local spot. If your rule of life is he who planes the most wins, then listen to pacspeed. But there are lots of ways to have a good time windsurfing.

GEM

[carl]

GEM,
Ya know, alot of us like planing around on monster stuff. Ive been sailing a long time and still dont find it boring. I just enjoy the experience and the challenge of handling a huge sail. Plus theres formula racing some of us train for.
I get the hint from your post that you are looking down from a high horse at us who enjoy planing fast in real light wind. BAFing is fun too, why throw mud just because you dont like it?

[gemoore]

Hi

If light wind big sail formula board stuff is your thing, then fine. Im all for you doing what you like. But the main message coming from those who like it is that its the only thing going, the only way to have a good time - and thats not true. So if my comments seem strident, its not that Im looking down on anyone, its that theres a flood of message out there that formula is the only way to go and its not.

After all, *I* wasnt the one who started writing in all caps. I was simply responding in kind.

And for the record, of the friends that I know who windsurf, only one of them bought big light air stuff. And of those friends, hes the only one who quit, sold his stuff, and bought a motorcycle. Windsurfing just wasnt fun for him anymore because it was too frustrating to plane.

GEM

[carl]

GEM,
Really, if the wind is good I would rather be on my 90 liter board!
But if the wind is light, Ill take out the big stuff, and I happen to enjoy those times too.
The complaint I had is with your emphaticly calling it boring. For some reason to make your point about freestyle, you have to diss a perfectly good alternate activity. Would you call fishing boring to the fishermans face? No, it would be impolite and untrue from the fishermans perspective (and you may even get a wet fish across the back of your head!)
************************
Hi

If light wind big sail formula board stuff is your thing, then fine. Im all for you doing what you like. But the main message coming from those who like it is that its the only thing going, the only way to have a good time - and thats not true. So if my comments seem strident, its not that Im looking down on anyone, its that theres a flood of message out there that formula is the only way to go and its not.

After all, *I* wasnt the one who started writing in all caps. I was simply responding in kind.

And for the record, of the friends that I know who windsurf, only one of them bought big light air stuff. And of those friends, hes the only one who quit, sold his stuff, and bought a motorcycle. Windsurfing just wasnt fun for him anymore because it was too frustrating to plane.

GEM

[roodman]

Back to the original question.

Keep your outhaul loose, depending on the sail (check tuning instructions), most of mine I only apply 1 or 2 cm of outhaul, keeps the shape in the sail.

I surf gusty stuff that twists on a little lake a lot. What Ive learned over the years is,
1 - keep learning to read the wind. The better you get at this the more youll make of the gusts.
2 - head up wind until a gust hits, then turn downwind and go. Once youre planing, sheet in harder and get on a reach.
3 - Once you get the above two working, youll start planing gust to gust, it can be a lot of fun.

We always rig for power. Mast track back, and loose outhaul. Downhaul we keep cranked pretty much all the time. But loosening it off will give more power. Im more apt to up my sail size in this scenario.

BTW, I surf big wind with waves and chop and I also have a 10.8 that I rig on a 140l board for the light wind in the dog days of summer. The two experiences are totally different and both can be a riot. No doubt about it that big rigs can wear you out pretty quick though, but hey, its all about Time On Water..... After a while on the big sail, the high wind stuff is less draining and fun.

[bates]

Thanks for all the help guys, I had an awsome summer. The tips for adding more downhaul helped, and having the extra power of the 8.5 was great, although the big sail is really hard to jibe effectively and more difficult to water start as the clew gets bogged down in the water easier. Also harder to control when I got airborn. For those who think that 12-20 is a waste of time, I have one word for you guys windsnobs! I have found that by sailing in marginal planing conditions, when the wind does kick up I have a much easier time than my friends that are too good to drift around between planning puffs. Its all technique and it makes you a better sailor. Im also looking for more people to sail with, Im 18 and live in Hingham, MA, love sailing on the cape. Send me an email at nateme16@hotmail.com or AIM nateme16. Sail fast!