Here's some footage of the back half of one of our club races this weekend at RQYS, I have added some text to highlight the different setting's used on Raceboards as you go around a course.
Although not the fastest board to race I think they are such an interesting class to sail, a pleasure to ride, they handle a huge range of conditions with relative ease and rarely leave you sitting on the beach due to too much wind or not enough and not as physically demanding as Formula or Slalom they accomodate a broader range of skills and fitness levels. Added to that all the tactics and strategies and techniques and friends you make they keep me interested and engaged in windsurfing always looking forward to the next race or regatta
The sailor in the video is my son, gone are the days of me beating him but that is the fate for all of us fathers of sons or daughters who windsurf.
Hope you enjoy (apologies for the speling misstakes)
Great video, thanks for sharing. I find raceboard sailing just as much fun as foiling in conditions like the video shows. The big difference is that a foil gives you very clear feedback if you're doing things right, while a longboard can be sailed with "poor" technique. Anyone can feel when a foil is coming up, and learn to control it in a few sessions (with the right gear and perhaps a few pointers). Learning how to sail a raceboard properly is much more subtle, and can be quite hard to do unless you have an expert to learn from. Once you learned it, though, the race board will be faster than a free ride foil in 10-15 knots.
I used telltails when I was designing and building raceboard sails back in the late 80's, but it was more about understanding the flow while I was sailing alone. I never remember looking at them during a race as it was so much about feel.
It this hanging on the uphaul technique common or standard? I've never heard of it before.
Harness lines seem awfully close together too.
Great video to compare notes and learn something.
Clarence
Great video and explanations! Thanks!
Very useful for the ones that have a raceboard but usually sail alone, like myself. As said before, very enjoyable but difficult to learn (especially on one's own. I hope someday I have the time to join a fleet).
I also observe the 2nd row of back footstraps, very interesting.
Do you remember the wind range of that day, more less? It would be interesting to know, in regards on the uphaul hanging technique downwind.
Congratulations, as well. Great achievement in transmitting your passion to your son!
Cheers
Marc
I have no idea what im doing and i use this technique , because it gives me a more comfortable stance in light wind when reaching or going downwind . Less contorting in my body .
Some examples of good raceboard technique/posture:
Keep sail as perpendicular as possible to maximise effective sail area
Keep body away from sail as much as possible to reduce turbulence ( and increase leverage as required)
body straight, hips up, shoulders back.
I've just retro fitted a larger Fanatic carbon CB into my Mistral One Design . I'm not sure why . I got it for free and I was bored . It is substantially bigger , ( at least 50 mm wider ) and half the weight . My theory is that I'm also substantially bigger so it should match . Had to move the pivot point and take other parts off and now mechanically works perfectly . It does however now stick up through the deck about 70 mm instead of 30. Will be making a new Eva cover so I don't chop my feet off while stumbling over an already cluttered deck .
Will it be better for me ?
Ps : is a RSX sail a raceboard sail , will it work better on my Mistral than a V8 9.4 ? They look similar.
pps : I know I need adjustable outhaul , looking at those guys hanging off their uphaul ropes , it seems they have negative outhaul about 5 cm , the sail is touching the boom all the way to the mast . I wonder if the battens like that when flipping the sail .?
Coming from a dinghy background, I tried tell tales on a Severne raceboard sail. As soon as the sail got wet, the tell tales stuck to the monofilm like #hit to your shoes and wouldn't fly for some time. Given the sail got wet a lot and a race isn't that long (say 20 minutes) they weren't much use.
As Cammd says, the feel through your hands and feet is very direct (no tiller or mainsheet in the way) and is much more important.
Imax1, ive got a 2014? 9.5 severne RB sail n severne 530 mast n bag. All in great condition. Make me an offer dude. I Use it only on lightwinds. Would rather use my 9.5 Ezzy lion. Much better tuning over 12kts. Under 12kts the RB sail has the grunt to get you going. On the centreboard thru deck, jumping around on the board in heavy winds ive managed to kick two nice semi circular pieces from the trailing edge of the CB. Exactly the same shape as my size 11 big toe.
I use leach tails on my sailboard sails. I don't look at them much when racing but I find they help me to tell if I'm oversheeting on the downwind reaches in light wind. Particularly useful on the triangle courses where you still reach even in subplaning wind. I'm not fit enough to pump onto the plane all the time and usually sail smaller 7.5 rather than 9.5 sails, so I'm often subplaning. They can also be useful when teaching less experienced people. They do seem to dry off reasonably quickly but yes, they are often wet and don't work.