hey dioma,

thats a difficult question to answer as there are so many variables, including sailor competency and sail type (race sails have different character than wave).

My V8 7.0m is a relatively big sail (but some formula sailors might say it's relatively small). As a quasi race sail it exhausts well and can tolerate gusty conditions. Its cambers hold a stiff foil shape and with a deep, low draft it's not bad for early planing. I find I can ride it in a large wind range, but it is heavy and not appropriate for freestyle.

My wave 5.4m is a different beast with good early planning but does not handle gusts as well, so has a smaller wind range.

But all of these qualities are second to the sailor's ability. So I would say (and some may disagree);

Planning; Get your boom nice and high. You should be below it (and not hooked in) when trying to plane in marginal conditions, with outstreched arms pushing your weight down into the mast foot (Guy Cribb calls this "hanging like a monkey"). This is also the starting position when you "pump" to hurry things along.

Overpowered; I'm assuming you're in the harness now, so lean the mast to windward and bear upwind. Manually exhausting the sail (pulling on the front hand and sheeting out) will spill wind, but it also reduces mast-foot-pressure, causing the nose of the board to lift and become less stable - this is particularly ugly if you're in chop! While not technically the right thing to do, it is a technique for "survival" sailing to get you home!

Hope that helps.

Thanks Iseman and Trousers, fine tuning answers. Just to narrow it down what is the sail range for the same board, same wind and same weight ? Or if you want, margin for error on the same session for the same sailor.

Thanks for the wisdome.

Most of the time in harness, but never managed to get as far as straps. On gusts getting low, still playing with front hand when it's too sudden. Unloading feet to the best of my ability, getting more feeling and balance.
As for the size of the sail, I understand one sq.m. difference should be manageble within 5 kn.
Thanks again.

dioma said...

Most of the time in harness, but never managed to get as far as straps. On gusts getting low, still playing with front hand when it's too sudden. Unloading feet to the best of my ability, getting more feeling and balance.
As for the size of the sail, I understand one sq.m. difference should be manageble within 5 kn.
Thanks again.

You're probably trying to be too scientific.

Find someone a similar weight to you and look at what they're using. If the wind is less than 20 knots and the water is flat then you should copy them or go a bit smaller ie around .5m. If it's more than 20 knots then you'll probably struggle without being able to get in the foot straps.

If you go too small then you'll be stuck "half powered up" which is often more work than having enough power.

From your comment about sheeting out, something may be out of balance... There's also a good chance that your harness lines are too far forward which will be stopping you getting in the footstraps (you won't go fast enough, you won't apply enough mast foot pressure, you'll twist at the waist and lose all the power).

Ask someone else to have a sail on your gear and check that everything is in balance. Where do you sail anyway?

So starting out you're caught between rigging big enough to power you against having a small enough rig to be comfortable with. If you're only "half-powered" on a 5m in 15kts, I'd consider rigging larger if possible (5.5-6m); sailing fully powered is much easier than fiddling with barely enough.

Getting into the straps is the final hurdle for everyone's first season of sailing. People tend to make the front strap alright, but feel trepidation about getting into the back one, worried they'll be locked in and unable to quickly step if they get off balance.

But once you make that final leap of faith and get both feet in, being "locked in" gives you a strong leverage over both board and sail. From that day on, your catapults reduce and it's incredibly rare to fall in on a straight line (unless you're right on the edge and get something like tail-walk).

After that, you're be looking for the next challenge; the planning gybe.

Best of luck, and make sure you milk your local sailors for help. Windsurfers looooooove to talk about sailing (post session anyway!).

First thanks for support.
Secondly, on a Sunday afternoon, I’ve decided for whatever it worth got to get planing and rigged 6.0 off Hampton shelter in about 20 kn. To make it short, still dizzy from up and down and between the waves plus pulling ton and a half constantly, dislocated right shoulder (sheeting in). The best I get out of my BIC148 was nose sticking out and swinging from side to side 45 degrees range.
On a bright side, enjoyed watching someone flying above the chop with an ease and a speed of a wind into carving jibe around me. It was come and gone in 60 sec.
So at present it is voltaren, panadol, and double shot to forget it all.
Ginger, thanks for the offer, hopefully I’ll see you at Dendy.
P.S. Start hating “Beginner to Winner” – nothing is as easy as it sounds and looks.