Heavyweights and equipment

It also depends upon how consistent the wind is. A wind gusting to 20 knots and dropping to less than 10 in the lulls is completely different to a consistent 20 knot wind.

With an aneometer I've found wind the be incredibly inconsistent, ie 20 knot gusts and 5 knot lulls to be quite normal. So you rig big to muscle through the gusts just so you can keep going in the lulls. If the wind was consistent you'd would rig a much smaller board and sail because there are no lulls to worry about. Once you are on the plane you manage to get through the lulls most of the time. However sometimes the wind drops away for too long and you drop off the plane.

Unfortunately on most windy days around here, gusty winds are the order of the day. Then you get the days where you pray for the lulls coz the gusts are killing you.

hey,, ha, forget about it joe, these dudes have moved on.... some sweet points, interesting question, what is a good sailor? i think your a great sailor when your skills have reached a level that opens up the door to smaller boards, from a slalom point of view, great sailors like bryon, sam, they seem to sail 50l boards like there just free riding a tank, thats great sailing, the way the guys at sandy sail, thats great sailing, i think to be a good sailor, u must be able to break thirty when its there to be had, plaining gypes both ways, good control, decent airs, good tunning ability of gear, ha, thats a good sailor,, i think i know you, your a good sailor man,,, as for my opinion on sail size, over the years my sails have dropped, use a 6.2 alot more in 10 to 25kts, as opposed to a 7.8 mega overpowered 60 % of the session,, the smaller sail has meant more control, more speed, i find wind consistancey the main thing, 5 to 20 kt, a 7.8, 15 t0 20, a 6.2, as long as im not coming off the plain, but with better skills comes the ability to need less power at the bottom end, opening the door to a smaller sail, so now can maximise the better gusts with less drag, ha, i dont know, for the first few years i thought it was about holding down as big a sail as you could, completely overpowered, but i dont think its about that as much, also wieght of rider, me about 75kg, once its 25 kts, thats plenty of power for me, but some of those bigger speed monsters, there looking for 40kts plus, and can hold down a powered 5m and sit the board down well, ha, i dont think that guy is even gunna want to sail in anything under 20kts, ha, goodluck with all that joey baby

^^^ nah

more downhaul.

must be

Dont be afraid to rig big some people try and use the smallest sail they can but there is really no point to it unless your doing those spinny tricks. if your comfortable holding onto the 8 its fine , much better than wasting half the day trying to get planing

yep i get your point.

hey i didn't assert what you have quoted.

i said i would use my 6.4 in 15-20 knots and plane everywhere both up and down wind, out of gybes as well if you want.

i then said my 6.4 wasn't usable so i was using a 5.8 in 15-20 knots which meant dredging from time to time. ie. in the 15 knot bits.

so yes, i do believe if you left your 8.5 in the garage and only used a 6.5 wave sail you would adjust. may even end up enjoying it. and would find you could easily sail upwind and down and it would be a lot less tiring. it just requires a change of stance. fair enough that's not what you're chasing from windsurfing.

i'm over 100kilos by the way. no special skills...

troppo was exactly the type of sailor i was referring to when i said a good sailor would be on a 5.8, doesn't mean he doesn't sail big slalom sails either. just really proves the whole point that small sails will do the job.

while we're on the troppo theme. if you are 10 kilos lighter than troppo then i'm not sure you're a heavyweight.

nice video man, looks like a nice sess.............i would have hit it with a bigger sail,,ha,

nice work....

and learn to tack.