Hello, I've just bought a formula windsurfing equipment. I have the starboard 161 and a gun sails 10.9 but I only weight 60 kilos and I am 15 years old. Do anyone have rigging tips that might be useful? Any technique that you may want to share?

Don't drop the sail in the water.

Haha, you know, I dont find that difficult to up haul the sail, even in strong winds, my only problem is that whan the wind gets up, I am too overpowered

I don't know how you can manage such a big sail, at your weight you could get away most days with a smaller sail around 9 metres, that will give you a lot more wind range and make the experience more pleasant. I found that going from 10 to 11 made it a lot harder for me. I am not technical enough to give any other advice but there is some good stuff on carbonsugar.com

Thanks! I guess I use such a sail because you go really fast!

is there anybody around your area that can show you?
it is a big topic to write down and im a slow writer. you learn a lot from sailing with mates i find

I'll look for someone, but I'm the only one using formula

Select to expand quote

RodrigoBlanco said..
Haha, you know, I dont find that difficult to up haul the sail, even in strong winds, my only problem is that whan the wind gets up, I am too overpowered

I weigh 64kgs and get overpowered with a 7.5m in 15kts! You need a smaller sail or stick to winds under 10kts ( or even less! )..

Keep going unreal that you have the courage and determination
I use a 12m I weigh 80kg
Post photos and ask local sailers for advice on how to rig the sail and where to put the mast track etc trial and learn and keep going little champion.

Good to hear that you're not intimidated like most by formula
I am 58kgs and use a 160sb and 11.5 and 10 severne's
My opinion is that good board and sail trim is the most important thing to going fast and having a good wind range
As others have mentioned practice and tuning are one of the best ways to learn however there would be a lot of benefit from meeting with a local experienced formula racer as well

i am having great difficulty believing what i am reading
Rodrigo is a young 15 year old of 60 kilos riding a Formula 161 with a GUN 10.9 sail
he has NO issues uphauling not even in strong winds

i will assume at that size the GUN has 2 to 4 cambers and a 520 or 550 mast
i am MUCH older and MUCH heavier and when tired have issues uphauling a 4 cambered 8.4 sail
even with a 10-oh one needs to be quite good technically to go past 20 knots

rather than asking for advise - perhaps you should be giving us some !!
Scargo too
how do you guys do it ??

My son is 17and 60kgs he to purchased a 161 when he was 15 he sails a code red 10mtr however he recently used my 10.7 reflex 5 in over 20knts. He completed one 40 minute race but half way through the second he was worn out. Neverless he sailed it back to shore.

The girls sailing rsx who are less than 60kgs regularly handle the 8.5 in over 20knts for two 40 minute races back to back And the kids on techno often dont bother with a 6.8 sail because the th8nking is any wind they cant use the 7.8 in means the racing will be cancelled as it will be over 30knts.

Although my tip would be get a smaller sail for strong winds 10.9 is pretty big and probably not any faster.

I don't uphaul the sail too much, usually I do a beach start or water start, but when I do, I take with one hand the uphaul and stretch the other one towards the wind, I find this way better than the conventional style, and you don't hurt your back

i do the same
also do beach start, but often have issues water starting BIG cambered sails
in rough chop which can occur in 16+ knots one MAY drop the sail more often
it is THEN that i get tired - must just be old age and lack of technique
as someone already said here - don't drop the sail
i also discovered that if there is not enough wind to beach start - there is not enough wind
wait , go home or rig even BIGGER

Instead of trying to do the water start with your hands on the boom, try to grab the mast (below the boom) and with the other one grab the sail itself, this will lift you up much easier

No matter how you water start or uphaul, how fit or big you are you will get tired quickly if your dropping the rig
If the gear is tuned up it will be balanced and when your sailing the wind and board will take care of the weight of the rig
If I have a bad day and I haven't got the gear right I will start dropping the rig in about half an hour however most of the time I can get through 2 races before I start struggling
I suppose the other miss conception of many windsurfers about formula is about the sail sizes
Normally an 11m is a mid range all round racing sail and a 10m is a high wind sail, this is what they are designed for and this is when they normally perform best meaning ease of use and speed on the coarse

Hi Rodrigo, I'm guessing you sail in a warm climate?

your 10.9m is a number 2 sail, mid range. 10m high wind, 11m mid wind and 12m high wind! this is for average weight formula sailors. Normally, a light formula sailor would go 9m, 10 and 11m. so your 10.9 for your weight is actually a light wind formula sail. with correct tuning, it should cover you from 7knots to around 20 knots wind.

It it sounds like you have decent tuning in the lower to mid wind range but need some extra tuning in the upper wind range.

A bit of background info will help to give you some tips??. Do you use an adjustable out haul system? Are you down hauling the sail to max? what fin/fins are you using on your SB161? What is your height? do you alter your boom height and mast track position when the wind picks up?

Well, I move the mast track a bit forward when the wind comes up, and with even more wind I use it completely at the front, so the board stay on the water instead of flying around. I don't downhaul to the max, and I don't have an adjustable downhaul (I only use it for my bic techno). I am like 1.80 meters high, and I put normally really high boom, but when it gets really windy I put it like 2cm down

1.8m and only 60 kgs....you must have bird bones. You sure you're not an emu

Mark makes some very valid points. Max downhaul in higher winds a must for control.
Also a bigger sail in stronger winds won't be as efficient and therefore not as fast as a smaller one.

Thanks!

Where do you live?
If in Sydney, then happy to organise a time to meet and help you...
We also have quite a few kids sailing every Wednesday night at Rose Bay, Sydney if that is anywhere near you?

No, I would love to live there, I live on the other side of the world hahaha
In Mexico

Yesterday I went with the 11.0 and in the beginning it was like fighting an elephant. After, with Remi's tips, I found out I could controll it better by going upwind in the gusts and then downwind. To make it controllable you need to release the outhaul when going downwind, but pull it back going upwind. I found the adjustable outhaul is critical for a big sail

Thanks, that will be really useful! I do have the adjustable out haul system for all my sails

Check this website out:

carbonsugar.com/technique/tuning-your-kit-for-high-wind/

good link!

it's been so many year since I've used formula gear that I was kinda sitting back reading what everyone had to say because most of what I had learnt is probably out of touch now.

after reading through the carbon sugar page again I'd say definitely skip to the part on fins.........fins are a MAJOR deal with formula gear.

then go back and read the stuff on outhaul and tweaking.

I am 180cm ish and 70kg, I sail a 162 formula board. I have 2 main sails a 9.5 RSX and and 10m North. For me the answer to hanging onto them in high wind is downhaul. I physically can't get enough downhaul on the 10m even with a rigging winch. On one occasion when I was struggling to tame the 10m a local formula gorilla with arms the size of my legs downhauled it for me and it was like a different sail. The 9.5 is my go to high wind sail because the pulley system on the downhaul is better and I can get it to where it should be. the adjustable outhaul helps but only if you have enough down haul on. It took me ages to get used to the forces on the big formula sails, if I am not cringing expecting the mast to snap any second as I pull it on or the extension clamp to go ping across the carpark then it hasn't got enough on it yet.

and at my weight if it really blows coming down onto my soft 7.5m freeride sail is actually faster than trying to hold onto the 9.5m.

in my case ...
i find fins , rigging and technique are SO important when going BIG
otherwise waste energy and get tired

used cambered 8.x sails in freeride before
am now converting to grunty and wide range sails in the 8.x size
like Severne NCX, SailWorks Retro , etc
find it is SO much easier - rigging, technique, etc
this size now feels small