wave sailing in onshore wind

[cgoudie1]

I gotta say, this pretty much covers it for me. I blew little beer bubbles
out my nose reading " Shore never refers to "not the shore""

Shorely you are shore it's not the shore. ;*)

-Craig

[westender]

Seem like the last few years we've been getting too many days in the Gorge when it's not even sideshore wind. It's dumping down on your head or spinning in circles. You feel the pull in your sail but you don't accelerate. Maybe go east?

[jingebritsen]

PP, try a free ride board with a wave fin, and a sail similar to a phantom. 6 battens, full shape down low. stability, acceleration, power and speed without much sacrifice in cornering.

again, my key to success this past sunday, planing 99.8% of the session. recap, 45+ degrees onshore, 20-30 mph. waves up to double overhead. super lit on 6.8 then 6.2 phantoms. same wind speeds side to side off, would have used a meter less.

usual traps when sailing onshore:

trying to use too small of gear

not running away from stuff that will engulf you or force a huge, stalling jump.

not recognizing when to carve upwind or down to keep from jumping.

not having the technique to run over white waters and stay planing with little to no loss of speed. run hard, carve up for a fraction of a second, offer the bottom of board at oblique, then immediately toe pressure + MFP hard and sheet home to maintain speed. AND also knowing if the push ids too hard to allow this technique.

key to all this: EXPERIENCE, not forums.

[PeconicPuffin]

[bred2shred]

[isobars]

[PeconicPuffin]

[GURGLETROUSERS]

One of our North Sea problems is having a solid long travel ground swell (generated by the north wind rear of depressions tracking from Iceland to Norway) combined with a local Easterly onshore wind. Our coast faces east, but the northerly swells always bend inwards to come straight at us.

Many have trashed both gear and themselves (shoulder injuries quite 'popular') in the impact zone. Many of us now prefer to be on a more floaty board with a smaller rig, and zip about in the white water, as Zirtaeb stated. The advantage of that is when, not if, you do wipe out, you've more chance of hanging on to the board straps without injury, and the smaller rig can take more punishment without smashing. (My Zeta was good there.)

Few now bother trying to break out in big swells, in such winds, and that's when we really do envy kiters. As long as they don't drop it, they seem able to pull up through about anything.

[isobars]

[windoggi]

The Gorge doesn't have shores. It has banks.