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Advice for planing through lulls?
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mmclimbhigh



Joined: 06 Sep 2016
Posts: 42

PostPosted: Sun Sep 06, 2020 10:00 am    Post subject: Advice for planing through lulls? Reply with quote

Hey Wind Junkies!

I hope everyone is safe and having a great summer. With regard to blasting through the lulls, I've been focusing on bearing off the wind, keeping the sail sheeted in and the board flat. But I often find myself stalling out and dropping off the plane.

Any other recommendations out there for planing through the holes?
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ss59



Joined: 10 Nov 2016
Posts: 104

PostPosted: Sun Sep 06, 2020 10:47 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

In short lulls, hands very close together, tighten your body into a very locked stiff stance lift your hips (to get the rig upright and away) and push down through your toes - basically an early planning stance. Might even back hand pump two or three times

In deeper lulls, lean right forwards, sometimes so far you look around the mast, front leg might bend and foot roll a bit in the front strap (like an upwind stance) rig back - gives you counterbalance and, crucially, keeps the board flat. Might do this when over taking someone downwind to get through their dirty air.

Depending on the circumstances, if losing speed, might go slightly downwind at first to keep the power on but more often, would go upwind to get to the next gust sooner, particularly if you can see it coming - then bear away again when you get it.

Depending on the wind strength and the lull, it is entirely possible that by going broad you are outrunning the wind - the same thing can happen when gybing in light winds
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cgoudie1



Joined: 10 Apr 2006
Posts: 2597
Location: Killer Sturgeon Cove

PostPosted: Sun Sep 06, 2020 11:09 am    Post subject: Re: Advice for planing through lulls? Reply with quote

Try and ride downhill. It sounds strange, but you can ride from
swell to swell with considerably less wind than required to plane
if you work the swells to your advantage during lulls and holes.
In my conditions it works down to about 1 foot swells.

Totally different technique than the ss59's recommendations
which are spot on in flat water.

-Craig

mmclimbhigh wrote:
Hey Wind Junkies!

I hope everyone is safe and having a great summer. With regard to blasting through the lulls, I've been focusing on bearing off the wind, keeping the sail sheeted in and the board flat. But I often find myself stalling out and dropping off the plane.

Any other recommendations out there for planing through the holes?
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isobars



Joined: 12 Dec 1999
Posts: 20935

PostPosted: Sun Sep 06, 2020 11:09 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

#1: RIG BIG and learn to handle, ultimately even enjoy, sailing overpowered in the gusts. (Rigging big has dozens of advantages besides that anyway.)

Run a bigger, flatter board and bigger (in area), straighter fin.

Run and rig sails with some draft. Flat race sails generally work best fully or over powered.

Let your outhaul out a bit more.

Take advantage of every little piece of chop or swell by bearing off down its face. That lets you sail downhill often. You can get back upwind, if that's important, once planing and/or during gusts.

Learn to pump and ooch when necessary. There are many techniques. Guy Cribb is one internet source of a wide variety of technique advice.

Shed excess weight. Unless you're a sumo wrestler, it's of no use and it's harming you anyway.

Watch the water's surface upwind. Learn to anticipate and take advantage of approaching gusts.

Examine the details of every forecast you have available. One or more of them will often forewarn us of unusually gusty or unreliable wind or locations so we can choose whether and exactly where to go. Even if all you have time for is a short session at your nearby lake, it's likely to behave differently at different launches.

When even your biggest gear doesn't get the job done, change your techniques, objectives*, equipment**, and/or location***.

* Consider subplaning cruising, light air freestyle, etc.

** Don't overlook kites, them wing things, foils, SUP, lawn chairs, books and TV, a dry suit if your winters are windy, jet ski, dirt bike, fishing pole, much more. (One thing many here agree on is that chasing every extra square meter of sail size in search of earlier planing quickly becomes much more hassle and expense than it's worth.)

*** Move. Transport your family and career to a windier location, like countless others have done.
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swchandler



Joined: 08 Nov 1993
Posts: 10588

PostPosted: Sun Sep 06, 2020 11:46 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

First, I would recommend keeping a close eye on what the wind is doing across the water. Often you can easily see the gusts or the lulls coming from fairly far away, and you can drive hard into the wind in the gusts getting as much power as you can into the sail, and then in lulls you tend to bear off a bit as needed trying to retain the power. By playing the patterns well, you avoid losing ground during your session.

One sail tip I can offer is trying to keep the foot of the sail end-plated and close to centerline, but not over. Easier to do with slalom and freeride sails, but the idea is still the same with wave and higher wind sails with smaller more raked foots.

Lastly, when planing with your feet in the straps, I always try to concentrate on lifting with your front foot against the footstrap, and pressing down on the ball of your back foot on the deck. The idea is to lift the windward rail in front and drop the leeward rail in the tail keeping a strong windward stance. In lulls, you can adjust the pressure on your back foot to keep the tail flatter, thereby helping with glide. Also, and it's very important, is retaining a 7 stance with straighter legs and arms that puts it all together and allows you to get as much power and control over the rig as possible.
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Ugly_Bird



Joined: 04 Nov 2008
Posts: 335

PostPosted: Sun Sep 06, 2020 12:29 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

isobars wrote:
Guy Cribb is one internet source of a wide variety of technique advice.
.


That link on his website is no longer accessible. Though some of the pdfs are still searchable through Google.
Those articles are awesome.
There was one with a chapter on sailing through the lulls. They key is in creating more MFP: commit more to the harness, lean forward to keep the rig upright, switch to overgrip if you undergrip with the front hand.
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Wind_Boarder



Joined: 13 Nov 2005
Posts: 91
Location: San Francisco Bay Area

PostPosted: Sun Sep 06, 2020 1:14 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

This maybe? http://www.guycribb.com/userfiles/documents/EarlyPlaning.pdf
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Ugly_Bird



Joined: 04 Nov 2008
Posts: 335

PostPosted: Sun Sep 06, 2020 1:48 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

alakghosh wrote:
This maybe? http://www.guycribb.com/userfiles/documents/EarlyPlaning.pdf


Yep! Thank you!
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NOVAAN



Joined: 28 Sep 1994
Posts: 1544

PostPosted: Sun Sep 06, 2020 3:29 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Turn down wind wind and sheet out slightly to present more sail to the wind. If you keep your sail sheeted in and go down far enough you will present the clue to the wind and stall. By the way this is a great way to get down wind if your way over powered..
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NOVAAN



Joined: 28 Sep 1994
Posts: 1544

PostPosted: Sun Sep 06, 2020 3:33 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

If your sure your going to stall when you see the lull, head up wing to gain a bit of distance. That way you have some room to bear off in the next gust to get going again.
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