Advice for planing through lulls?

[manuel]

Stiffen up!!! You want to be as stiff as possible, push your boom away from you. Use your legs to press off chop, use water wave energy and finally start to pump until the next gust.

if you're well powered in the gusts with a larger fin, you'll be fine, otherwise tough! Knowing your gear can be more important than just sizing up.

A bigger board will help glide through as it'll reduce overall low speed drag.

[PeconicPuffin]

In addition to the excellent advice already listed here (particularly coachg/ss59) I'll point out that all of the finesse advice works a whole lot better if your harness lines are well balanced and not very wide. The subtlety of rig trim and keeping the sail in as much power is much easier to access with a finely balanced set up.

[NOVAAN]

Its interesting to me, all the things We (I) do to enjoy our day on the water with out thinking about it. Until some asks a question that makes me think about it..

[mmclimbhigh]

I love it! Great advice all around. Our fall season here in SW Colorado is quite gusty with numerous holes. Pretty common to be ripping along with 22kt gusts and then drop into a 6kt hole! I've compiled a list of everyone's advice and will focus on these techniques tomorrow when I hit the water. Rig big, keep power in the sail, lean forward and stay tight!

Cheers everyone! Be safe and stay well.

[ss59]

[joethewindsufa]

i sail an old longboard - especially with this covid pan damn it !!
now sail on a small lake and so it is light wind with wind shadows, lulls and changes in wind direction...
the lulls in those conditions can be extreme and I am surprised no-one mentioned pumping the sail
(if someone did and i missed it - i apologize )
am glad someone mentioned rigging for the lower end of the wind range
(and suggested cambers)

[bred2shred]

Lot's of good pointers given. Many of them a subtle things that you will find yourself doing by instinct as you gain more experience. IMO, I would say that probably the most significant thing you can do is to activity look upwind while you sail. Many sailors you will find look straight ahead - they don't know that a gust or lull is coming until it actually hits them (or they hit it).

By looking upwind and learning how to read the water, you can anticipate a gust or lull before it gets to you and make the necessary adjustments ahead of time. Whether that means bearing off to build up speed to try to coast through a lull, or recognizing that it will be so significant that you're better of saving ground by coming off plane. Being able to read the water really helps when it comes to dealing with changes in wind speed.

sm

[NOVAAN]

Very good point. It is another thing I do without thinking about it. You really learn quickly to keep an eye on the wind gusts while foiling....

[marc5]

Kinetic energy! I've come to this thread late but want to add my two cents. Watch how surfers continue through flat spots on a wave. It's not just pumping but also bouncing. When I'm sailing with friends through a lull they get a kick out of my energetic bouncing and pumping and passing them--but it works, especially on the wider thinner boards we now enjoy. Mine is an RRD Firemove. If you are willing to put the energy in they put it right back out to power through that lull. It's full-on legs and arms. Done right it's some good cardio, but you're only doing it to make it through to that next gust.
As a newbie foiler I'm learning how to apply a similar method to my foil board--not so much bouncing but pumping sail and foil simultaneously. Have fun and keep on pumping!

[isobars]

Another tip to getting planing again when oh-so-close is jerking both feet up, in their straps, to lift the hull clear of the water and "unstick" it, then set it down flat and hopefully planing.