Just wondering what sail type and size everyone uses in say 50+knot gusts 40+knots 30+knots
The other question is do you have to change your board from a wave board to a slalom board or board length .
I get bored during the winter months but would like to still go out. What i want to do is start getting a storm set up for next year which i can utalize. What would you guys recomend i weigh about 85 kilo
Any ifnormation would be noobly appreciated.
I have the swine flu i lost my voice and i feel awfull
Just wondering what sail type and size everyone uses in say
50+knot gusts Ummm...A sail that I leave in the shed while I stay indoors & cower!
40+knots Today, got caught out in a 40kt+ squall (showed it was 83km/h on weatherzone history) & had my 6.5 cammed sail...not by choice, generally wouldn't sail 40kts because my smallest sail is a 5.5 severne (ncx)...probably why I was stuck hanging onto the end of our marina for 10mins waiting for it to subside
30+knots I'd rig my above-mentioned 5.5...with plenty of downhaul!
Are you guys talking peaking at 35 or 40, or a solid 35kn? In a honest to god, solid, 35kn seabreeze at Greenhead last year I was on 4.0 and 75L. And I'm 95kg.
A winter storm is really 25 - 35 and the 35's are few and far between.
Those very few days when the green arrows show around 35 I use my 4.5 which is why its such a good buy very minimal use I reckon most storms are usually in the 25 to 35 range. I always like to check the graphs at the end of the day to see what it was. I've been sprouting the excellent upper wind range of the rocks for years.
I have a 4.2 sailworks revolution which can be used from 25 knots comfortably to 35 and even to forty. I have used it once in 3 years. I did rig it a second time but the wind died before I could get it wet again.
Don't spend too much on gear because you never get to use it that much! There always seems to be plenty of it around. Also when you are bouncing across the top of the chop hanging on for dear life it doesn't matter much what you have up as long as it's small and downhauled to the max!
So far this winter i have been fully lit on the 4,2 in up to 40kts about ten times over a period of ten weeks,a 3,5 in the quiver would have been controlable pure joy up to 50kts.. smaller boards for me seem to have a lot more control in the stronger winds,and talking coastal sailing here.
I have a 4.2 ezzy wave that gets a few runs every year (in summer) and if sailing in the ocean / storms I used to use it sometimes. Now I tend to go to the river in storms and rig bigger.
The worst thing is they put the year (1998) in big letters on the sail bag and it a bit embarressing to bring it out now. But its still works a treat.
I was out yesterday in 25-35 knot winds, with gusts reportedly around the 45 knot mark. I sailed on a 4.7 Alpha NP sail, which I won earlier this year. with the variance in the wind I simply adjusted the down haul to suit the stronger wind, then let it back out once it subsided, I reckon I had cranked it down to about the size of a 4.0 when it was really windy then back to normal for the 'lighter' stuff.
This is the best sail I have sailed in strong winds
One really important one ...........if you want to have full control ,,,,a little mast 3.7 is a must (its gotta be soft /flexi / spongie ,so it still lays off in the bullets.(thats for me at 100kgs pluss) If you start to use a head terbine the mast becomes to stiff and the sail eventually pancakes on you .....You can do it ,and still have fun ,,,, but man it feels **** house if your mast is to stiff and your sail inverts and your skidding /bunny hopping down wind ,,,fighting till the squall passes or you just get an inverted body slam blasting along and or doing a jump you end up fighting it all to stay on the water.
Im talking about being able to wacking lips and Wave riding and controlling massive unaviodable jumps and controling your speed taking the drop,,,, as though you were enjoying a normal 18 to 22 Knot wave riding and jumping session.
You get your rig working in 30 to 40 pluss and its the sickest.
I haven't heard them called "storm sails" for about 20 years. Are we both showing our age?
You don't say what other gear you have. A better question would be "what quiver are you guys running to get all year round riding?"
I used to have 6, 5.2 and 4.5 and a slalom and a wave board. That covered pretty much any conditions I ever wanted to ride. There was enough overlap so that I didn't have to worry about putting up the wrong size.
In reality you would almost never ride in a true 50 knot wind. They are usually accompanied by really yuck weather and they tend to not last very long.
Intresting ............im grabbing da Storm Sail ,,,,,,well i guessing its the saying for, im rigging up the smallest bloody sail i can hope to tame the beast with.
I find the biggest issue to deal with when the wind gets wild is board windage. You just have to be so much more careful about board angle and position when you are in the air. The highest wind i've ever sailed in was probably solid 40kts, looked at bom after I finished and highest recorded gust was 62kts. Needless to say I sailed for about 30min and decided it was a stupid idea.
I was running a 75L board, a 19cm fin and 4.1m. Board/sail control wasn't an issue on the water but if you launched yourself....holy....s@# be prepared for all sorts if shenanigans. If you're lazy, like I often am and let the inside rail dip a bit when you're in the air in that wind strength you basically go into a 400mph nose dive. Angle the inside rail up and you just launch upwards and sideways at all sorts of crazy velocities. I think no matter what sort of sail setup you have, when you get to those sort of wind strengths it's the least of your problems. After all it's instictive to feather a sail, not so instinctive to feather a board
when you go vertical and point the nose into the wind for some lift is great in 25 kn. Then you do it in 35 and all of a sudden it is all very different
