My last two sessions have been quite marginal, I've been practicing my pumping and I'm certainly beginning to get a feel for the foot position and subtle sheeting positions needed to get planing in these conditions when the gusts come, but it seems that as soon I get over the hump I'm sailing out of the gust again without enough momentum / apparent wind to keep going.
Any tips... or is this just a factor that 100kg inland and windsurfing ain't going to be ideal?
Where did our resident guru bugger off to? He's retiring from the industry in a few weeks. Good luck Tony and enjoy your retirement.
As for your problem all us inland sailors have it and the larger you are the harder it gets as far as I can tell. I tend to head upwind towards the gust and then bear away as the gust hits. This seems to help keep the board flat and gets me up and going. I then try and keep the sail away and upright and try and keep my weight in the harness and feet light. Seems to work for me but I reckon lots of TOW is the way to learn this. Some people just seem to be able to read the gusts really well and I am sure that cimes with lots of experience.
I'm nowhere near guru standard, beginner/intermediate muppet stacked with a less than an ideal local 'beach' and a work/life/family balance that keeps TOW down to a minimum 2 maybe 3 sessions a month... however I can read gusts very well, I've utilised them in dinghy racing upwind to my advantage on numerous occasions and despite the natural tendency of most dingos to stuff up and heel over in them, I apply another principle- foot off, sheet out and go for power and boat speed, something us heavier folk can do to make up for our appalling VMG once the wind's coming over the back of the boat.
However, when (recreationally) windsurfing, I tend stay upwind in the lulls- (shortboard on a longboard location), and yes foot right off for gusts, but I'm finding I'm soon sailing back out in front of the gust again, therefore drop off the plane (well the psuedo-semiplaning-faster-than-bogging-about-to-really-get-planing-type-of-planing anyway) and it all goes a bit shit... I'm just further downwind, waiting to either a) repeat the cycle again and be further downwind b) use the gust the stuff the windward rail and make up some more ground, thus losing the opportunity to 'get going'.
Thanks for the tips on the tippy toes... yes light on the feet and a little leeward rail seems to get the board planing earlier (a fat fucking pig called a JP Super Light Wind), I guess I just have to be patient and let the gust settle down a little and bear of into it a little later to give me more time to get the apparent up???
I normally try the following:
Get the mast vertical to capture as much of the wind as possible and as high up as possible.
Come out of the straps and get your feet more forward keeping the board very flat.
Ride the swell to keep it going.
I might give it a couple of desperate pumps if I can see the next gust a few yards ahead.
Reach the next gust and you're off again.
I'm sure there's more, will have to think about what I'm doing next time.
Actually I've changed my mind. I run a short fin/wide freestyle board so my technique might be completely different to what you need. Can't really remember much about the last time I ran a long fin.
