Hey all, basically the fact that I'm quite young and my back should be in pretty good nick makes me question my technique. I was sailing yesterday in gusty conditions, during the gusts I could sail upwind fine but during the lulls I found in order to stop from drifting downwind I had to twist my shoulders and waist which caused a the pain. I ride a 100 litre fsw with a 26 fin with a 5.7 in 18-25 knts. Just wondering if anyone has this problem or knows a solution. I have a waist harness and am not looking for a seat harness as a solution.

Cheers

I sail formula i.e. only up and down-wind for extended periods of time, and back pain is not an issue unless my equipment is badly tuned...

It could be a combination of tuning and technique (often one causes the other)...

Not very helpful I know, but maybe reading some of the articles on up-wind technique and something will stand out as an issue? e.g angling back heel forward.

I used a waist harness for about a year when I started windsurfing (but technically: a summer season as by 2nd summer I was hooked in, in straps properly) before switching to a seat harness. I remember having so much back pain I could hardly be at work. Switched to seat harness, never had a back problem since (3 years later). The only other way I can think of is scale down and learn to sail up wind under powered.

26 cm fin for a 100l fsw is small if you are trying to point high, in marginal conditions. May have made you exaggerate your technique. And BTW, just because you are young does not mean your back is in good nick, or that you have good trunk strength - professional experience talking.

yea i get the same problem im 23 and reasonbly fit as well, but my back cant handle it, solution, i just do short tacks and freestyle versus long runs, and plenty of stretching at the start and end of the day...

a 26cm fin on a 100lt freestyle board with a 5.7m in 18-25 knots of wind is more than enough to be blasting upwind and down. so it's not that at all.

not sure if you're lulls were 18 knots or less but either way.

look at how high your boom is. it should be high. longish lines etc. 18 knots is more than enough to get your setup flying. i'd be on a 5.3 in that wind on my gear.

in the lighter stuff, take your foot out of the rear strap and sail along with your front foot in only. that;s a much better technique than trying to twist yourself into and uncomfortable position. plus it will allow you to really get your board higher to the wind.

you could also try straightening your rear leg, pointing your rear foot towards the tail of the board more while in the strap and then driving through your front leg by swinging your weight forwards. that works also but i find sailing with the front foot in only a more comfortable option as most freestyle boards have the straps fairly far apart.

thanks for the replies...

i forgot to mention I had my boom lower than usual do de-power the sail slightly so I believe that might be the problem. I did find having my rear foot out of the strap more comfortable so good to hear thats a good thing to do.

Cheers for the tips I'll try having the boom a bit higher when I next go out.

the best solution is adjustable harness lines just shorten them to go up wind or when the wind drops off . If your boom was lower than normal it probbaly was just that though if that was yesterday around brisbane the wind was really ****ty and gusty with some big holes it does make it uncomfortable to sail .

Alec,

I have the same issue (but do have lower back issue and yes Pilates would probably help) with getting a sore back sailing upwind on a shortboard in sub-planning conditions.

I put it down the the stance I adopt to get upwind where I have my body twisted right around so my shoulders face into the wind and then obviously my legs are almost 90 degrees to this. It puts a lot of twisted strain on my lower back.

No idea how to to stop this, because if I'm in light winds with my shoulders parallel to the boom, I crab sideways and don't get upwind.

That probably makes no sense sorry!

Is it possible for you to perhaps use more inside rail pressure and steering a little off the back foot (once planning) to help gain ground up-wind? I ask as I have lower back problems (slipped disk) and I find I don't have any pain when using this method. Twisting my top half more into the wind is more effective, but it hurts after 30 min or so. Pain =

Ps- I'm pretty average at sailing and this approach may not gain as much ground as twisting the shoulders around, but I do know it stops my back from grinding.

one of the problems with twisting your shoulders other than the back pain is it causes you into an incorrect stance so you are not using your harness to hold the sail. you are using your arms and that is transferrring through your back.

with a correct stance, a line drawn from your left shoulder to your right shoulder should be parallel to your rig. ie your body is in alignment and your weight is evenly transferred through your harness.

if you twist your upper body and keep your shoulders parallel to the rig then you are under sheeting the sail for upwind sailing or straining your back/arms to achieve correct sail trim.

you can still open up your stance and keep your shoulder parallel to your rig but you do it through your legs by bending your front leg and straightening your back leg. that allows you to keep your pelvis square with your shoulder and prevents you twisting and overloading your back.

that's all well and good but on a slalom board but with a board with a small fin it can lead to crabbing as you tend to load up the fin too much.

so by placing your rear foot just behind the front foot but inline with the cnetre of the board you shift your weight forward, keep the more upright freestyle stance and remove ALL of the load off your fin. then you can hang your weight from the rig and subtley adjust your front foot pressure to engage the rail to carve to windwood.