I'm interested in improving Alphas most of all. Given my speeds yesterday are my alpha results creditable, or should I be expecting to get faster alphas as gybing skill increases?

If your top 500m speed is 22 knots you can't expect 20kt plus alphas?

This is FSW gear in choppy water.


5 best 2 second (at least) average = 45.77km/h [24.71Knots]

2 second run n??1 = 46.57km/h [25.14Knots] (25.9 m. in 2.000 s.) -
2 second run n??2 = 46.22km/h [24.96Knots] (25.7 m. in 2.000 s.) -
2 second run n??3 = 45.83km/h [24.75Knots] (25.5 m. in 2.000 s.) -
2 second run n??4 = 45.38km/h [24.50Knots] (25.2 m. in 2.000 s.) -
2 second run n??5 = 44.84km/h [24.21Knots] (24.9 m. in 2.000 s.) -

5 best 500 meter (at least) average = 40.73km/h [21.99Knots]

500 meter run n??1 = 41.32km/h [22.31Knots] (505.1 m. in 44.000 s.) -
500 meter run n??2 = 40.73km/h [21.99Knots] (509.1 m. in 45.000 s.) -
500 meter run n??3 = 40.62km/h [21.93Knots] (507.7 m. in 45.000 s.) -
500 meter run n??4 = 40.59km/h [21.91Knots] (507.3 m. in 45.000 s.) -
500 meter run n??5 = 40.42km/h [21.82Knots] (505.2 m. in 45.000 s.) -

5 best Alpha-500 average = 33.04km/h [17.84Knots]

Alpha-500 run n??1 = 35.47km/h [19.15Knots] (492.7 m. in 50.000 s.)
Alpha-500 run n??2 = 32.87km/h [17.75Knots] (493.1 m. in 54.000 s.)
Alpha-500 run n??3 = 32.45km/h [17.52Knots] (495.8 m. in 55.000 s.)
Alpha-500 run n??4 = 32.19km/h [17.38Knots] (491.9 m. in 55.000 s.)
Alpha-500 run n??5 = 32.19km/h [17.38Knots] (491.7 m. in 55.000 s.)

Assuming you can complete a planing gybe the best way to improve alpha speeds is to improve your cross wind speed and sail to the maximum of the 50m proximity.

In choppy water this probably means making sure your FSW straps are in their outer positions and getting a good pointer (slalom) fin.
Weed / wave fins are much harder to get a good cross wind speed with in choppy conditions.

Sail needs to be rigged a bit flatter than you would for down wind speed with a bit less downhaul (cammed sail). Wave / freeride sails will be easier to gybe but not have as much acceleration out of the gybe or stability in gusty conditions cross wind.

Try and sail 90 degrees to the wind, gybe in to the gust not as you come out of it, head slightly upwind to wash off a bit of speed and gain some upwind ground before gybing and go as close to the 50m max proximity as you can.

If you have the space start your alpha run at the end of a downwind run to build up speed then harden up to 90 degrees trying to keep as much speed as possible

The track of an alpha probably tells a clearer story. A 20Knot alpha with a 25 knot peak (if it is off the wind) is a good result in choppy conditions.

If you are analysing using software (examples from Realspeed) look at the track and speed.

look for a steady incoming speed and a quick return to speed. This example is probably not 90 degrees and was slightly downwind on the way in and upwind on the way out.


Here is a track showing a smooth gybe making the 50m proximity (circle) but could have been slightly more square to the wind on the way out to graze the circle. This is very difficult to do without some kind of marker or doing lots of gybes and hoping you luck one.

Those results look good to me. for me to get a 24/25 kt alpha I'm usually getting mid to low 30's 2sec downwind.
A 19 alpha with only a 25 2sec is very creditable.
Your distances are all close to the max of 500m, which means your not going too wide. That can kill a good alpha.
Another good indicator is your alpha min and max speeds, as Mark says, the key to a fast alpha is fast cross wind runs.

The choice between a wide gybe with a higher min speed or a tight gybe with a lower min speed is hard to work out, as the wide gybe will give you shorter high speed cross wind legs, and the tight gybe will give longer high speed legs. That one I think depends on your gybing technique.

This is fantastic info!

I'm using camlees freeride sails and FSW boards and fins btw.

When you look at all the alphas you will notice a very similar entry profile were your speed will drop from about 25 down to about 10 in a 2-3 sec interval. The really big differnce between a fast and slow alpha is the exit ie the faster you get back up to speed the better the alpha.

To get really good results you need to gybe in the gusts not at the end of it. you need the power of the gust to sling shot you back out the other side. without it you tend to stall. and lose too much time.

Without cams you should also practice rotating the sail earlier and faster. you want the sail to be fully rotated and powered up by the time you are 2/3 of the way thru the turn. Ideally your clew should be crossing over the nose of your board as its passing thru 90 degrees off the wind.
Cammed sails can get away with a later rotation as they hold their shape better but its still better to rotate sooner than later.

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ikw777 said..

This is fantastic info!

I'm using camlees freeride sails and FSW boards and fins btw.

What's an FSW board?

Free style wave, which in my case means a Exocet Cross

If possible some markers are really helpful, they give you reference points, eg when you know where the square run begins, you come at that downwind building up highest speed possible for the wind, and then square up, and you;ll carry maybe a knot or 2 more speed going across wind, then when you know where to gybe, and also where to end up, having marker references helps you run square back, and not exceed the 50m parameters. I gained 2 knots using these methods, my gybing has been good for years and that hasnt improved in the last 5 years, my speed across wind improved and knowing exactly the lines to take to make a fast alpha, so refence points can gain you a knot, and carrying more speed as you hit your initial marker can get you another knot. I was stuck on 24 knot alphas for years. In the first year of the GTC i did a 24 kt alpha, only broke 26kt alpha this year, using above methods. For the conditions you did ok.

Thais stuff is gold. Wish i had known some of it the other day as conditions were excellent.

Hey Ian, I was thinking of trying to get a 50m mark at GB for the northerlies so we get a good idea of the width of gybe. Water is flat and you run square along the bank. My 21 kt alpha last week only had a 25.8 peak speed so there is scope for some good speeds in stronger wind.

Besser brick and a milk bottle?

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fitz66 said..

Hey Ian, I was thinking of trying to get a 50m mark at GB for the northerlies so we get a good idea of the width of gybe. Water is flat and you run square along the bank. My 21 kt alpha last week only had a 25.8 peak speed so there is scope for some good speeds in stronger wind.

You need something you can see from 250m away, it's surprising how difficult that is in adverse lighting conditions. we had flags 15cm x 30cm on pvc pipe, and at times that was only just big enough.
It's also good to have the 250m marker so you know how far to go.

Rope tied around a coarse weight, eg a brick will wear through, that's how we lost our flags.

You might also find some useful info from this gtc sesh gpsteamchallenge.com.au/sailor_session/show?date=2013-02-06&team=105