I currently ride a 110l board with mainly a 6.7 sail. The technical issue I am having is sailing the board upwind into the wind chop/small swell. Basically I am finding that the board wants to get airborne when infact I am trying to keep it on the water. I am starting to wonder if it's my incorrect approach to the chop/swell face? Should I bear off so I go over it at half wind and then go upwind when on the back of the chop/swell? The only issue with that is if the frequency of the chop/swell is short, like it can be in botany bay in a southerly, that makes for a fairly hard core ride. Any advice.

Mangomania

you can,

EITHER - bear off as you approach the swell reducing the front on attack, then steer back upwind on the back. this will keep "max" speed but can loose you ground upwind. it is a very fast way to sail through chop and works best in wind driven swell that is coming at you from side on like in lakes and shallow bays or in rolling ocean swells from the side.

OR - keep the same path and absorb the swell with your legs. it's a sure way of keeping the board on the water. as you approach the swell bend your legs by tucking your feet up under your bum and then as you pass the peak extend your legs again. this works well when you are approaching the swell more head on.

IF - in out of control conditions , using the first method can boost your speed and lead to even more air, so pinching very high into the wind will slow you down and make things more managable.

edit* i forgot to also mention, moving your mast forward can improve things by pushing the nose down onto the water if you have a longer old style board.

in smaller chop on shorter boards i prefer moving the mast back as it releases the board from the water giving more direct feedback.

Try this;

Concentrate on keeping the board heading in a straight line and just let it fly into the air as much as it wants to.

Make sure you stay hooked in and focus your efforts on keeping the board LEVEL. This may seem daunting at first, but getting air when going upwind is just life. If you can get comfortable with landing while maintaining some nice speed you'll make ground upwind a lot quicker than if you're weaving around trying to follow the troughs.

If you can manage this, you should be able to keep your whole stance pretty still regardless of being in the air or not - arms straight, shoulders back, weight swung forward to unload the fin.

...and getting air is fun!

Straight line, take it with the knees+legs.
Sounds like sailing off Wanda on a noreaster ?

Thanks for the advice, will give it all a go. I also find at times the upwind rail will lift out of the water, when sailing upwind, thus making the board bear downwind powering up the sail and setting myself up for a catapult. Is this mainly prevented by lifting your toes of your forward foot in the footstrap?

Lifting the toes of your front foot will help lock the windward rail to the water.

I think it's weird you're having that problem sailing upwind. When I'm sailing upwind, my bodyweight is more forwards (front leg bent, back leg straight) so it's easier to put weight on the front foot to keep the board controlled if it starts lifting.

Select to expand quote

mangomania said...

Thanks for the advice, will give it all a go. I also find at times the upwind rail will lift out of the water, when sailing upwind, thus making the board bear downwind powering up the sail and setting myself up for a catapult. Is this mainly prevented by lifting your toes of your forward foot in the footstrap?

Isnt this a sympton of being overfinned? Come on experts..

Yes

bigger fins do cause more lift. I use a 118 board witha 44 fin in light winds but swap down to a 32 in stronger conditions - makes it want to tail walk a lot less when powerd up and going at speed.

As you sail more and get stronger and more comfortable with your board it gets easier to use the straiht line meathod above and just let your legs act like shock absobers.
Getting air on my big board used to scare the crap out of me but now im landing them without the catapult its actauully quite fun :)

Just want to say thanks for all the replys and PMs. It has all been taken onboard and am trying it out on the water. It's all coming together.

Cheers