sailing a paddle board

[jingebritsen]

IMHO, RDM's take away stability in gusty winds while giving a little extra pump on the low end. If one sails in a steadier state wind venue, then large sails with RDM's are good. If the wind pops and drops at a whim, a SDM is better. Analogy: slow suspension on a mtn bike or motocrosser. If the suspension gets out of sync with the demands of the course, handing and such suffers. When a wing shape gets distorted to more of a flag shape and stays that way, then the ride suffers too. That brilliant term used so long ago in FS mktg is very apt. Reflex is faster from SDM's.

Again, if you've got to go that big, and your winds are not very gusty, a 9.0 should be fine with a 490 RDM. If the wind is very prone to gusts, they take away a lot of top side wind range. Beware of tube battens in the surf. They break easier than a race mast.

[Wind-NC.com]

I would think that, like Jingeb said, you could get a solid 6.5-8.0 on a 460 or 490 RDM that would pull you out through the impact zone, and the right one would still be light and maneuverable enough to keep it fun. Check out the Hot Sails Maui SuperFreak, available up to 9.0, and HotRod RDMs to match!

The superfreak is one of the best sails in the world for light wind wavesailing. Super lightweight, high cut foot, bombproof, and most importantly it bags out with virtually no wind. The two main battens are 3/4 length, so as you sheet in or pump, it has no problem creating a deep pocket, even if the wind is very light. Then, when you sheet out, it goes totally flat and powerless. Awesome, maneuverable light wind wave sail!

Anyway, I personally don't find huge sails to help that much. I still think that going too big restricts your ability to move around, and more importantly, uphaul quickly when the sh*t hits the fan!! When I sail my SUP, I rarely have much sail power to lean against. Just enough to give a tiny bit of pull and get the board moving. The boards are so big, they create their own momentum, so punching through white water doesn't seem to be an issue, as long as you point the nose directly into the wave face and anticipate what's coming.

Then catching waves becomes more of a timing and positioning thing, which keeps it interesting and challenging. Once on the wave, it forces you to focus on generating speed via wave and board power, and relying less on sail power to make things happen, which, in the long run, makes you free to do whatever you please. Left, right, frontside, backside, anything is possible, regardless of wind direction, when using a small, light sail. More of an all around ocean/wave timing/wave surfing experience than just a windsurfing in the ocean experience!

Please bear in mind, I'm not trying to start a fight here! This is just my opinion, based purely on a small but wickedly fun amount of experience here on Hatteras, in side on to straight off shore wind directions, and shifting sandbar beachbreaks with no channels or reefs to speak of! This whole thread started with the idea of gear experimentation, so in the long run, it's best to try stuff out and see what works best for you in your area! See ya in the water!

Side note: Jinge- will you be at surf expo this year? It'd be fun to compare styles and light wind goals with ya. Could be a good article for a mag?

[jordanwd]

hey HA,
i hear ya about a bigger sail gettin in the way.. but in super light wind in mushy surf, the extra horse power is a plus (especially if you weigh 200# plus like me). I'm still gettin my kona 11.5 dialed in but to my limited experience little wind with these big boards don't do well catchin waves without a little extra juice from the wind. ie.. last week i had a blast catchin waves w/ a 6.2 in marginal slougin conditions..just enough wind to waterstart (side / sideoff w/ chest to several feet over head surf (probably 7-->11 knots)..but the next day it was blowin 2-->8 or so and i wasn't able to get enough fwd momentum from our mushy surf to do squat...extra drive from higher winds or bigger sail would've def helped...

we get descent surf and side-side off winds here, and when the wind is lite and the surf big and super clean it can be so much fun! with that in mind ; like JI, am breakin into the big sail paradigm..got a 7.5 cuben phantom comin by next week...yeah baby... wave sailing comfortably in 4--10 knots in fall surf is goin to be funnnn!

[icesailing]

had a great small wave day on it used my 9.0. you dont need much forward motion to catch the waves. im trying to get my timing right its easy to beet the wave in. i got a few good ones and had the regular surfers cheering for me. it was pretty cool.

[bred2shred]

Just another opinion here, I've been doing the longboard/SUP windsurfing for a year or two now. East coast surf, occasionally with shorebreak. The biggest rig I've been using has been my 6.3. I'm pretty hesitant to put anything bigger on the board (I've got a 5 batten 7.0 freestyle/wave sail I might try) because I really don't want to lose mobility and have to manhandle a large sail. I really can't imagine using a 9.0 and still being able to do much turning, but if others are doing it, I guess anything's possible. I think at that point, I'd either put the big sail on a slalom board and just go blasting or (more likely) I'd just take the rig off completly and go regular surfing. That's the nice thing about these boards, quite versatile.

sm

[jingebritsen]

http://www.lbwindsurfing.com/wave-sailing/light-wind-wavesailing/

Patrice is large and in charge. He uses 6.2 and smaller typically, but in more wind and with more wave push. I believe he has channels to avoid the under powered hula on the way out. I've got beach breaks, more onshore than off, less wind, and smaller waves.

When the wind is 4-12, ain't nobody planing unless you're dropping in a wave. That's the point. Do it with a paddle, a sail, or lay down prone. I prefer a sail, thanks.

If you watch Antoine doing the same break on Youtube, he does the same waves as Patrice w/o foot straps. He cannot attack the wave as well as Patrice. Wanna really rip? Get a Kona. Wanna rip in humble stuff I get close to my home? Use a 6.8 or 7.5 sail....