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jingebritsen



Joined: 21 Aug 2002
Posts: 3371

PostPosted: Tue Aug 22, 2017 4:59 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

darb, good on you for letting it all hang out.

one thought: mast foot pressure.

think of the boom/mast as an extra leg. most of our control when NOT planing comes from how we move the sail and then how we shift our weight on the board. when planing, rail pressure and downward forces on the boom become primary.

some very good thoughts on this thread.

chin up, and keep charging. encourage you to travel to a venue with lotsa other sailors. key on a couple of really good ones and ask about technique.

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boardsurfr



Joined: 23 Aug 2001
Posts: 1266

PostPosted: Tue Aug 22, 2017 8:54 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

isobars wrote:
boardsurfr wrote:
Texas ain't the Gorge. I have spend about 7 month in Corpus Christi, always sailing at BIB. Never once did I see substantially more wind "5 or 10 miles" away. It's flat there.

Then you missed a lot of wind and a wide variety of sailing conditions. "CC" wind is highly dependent on microfactors such as localized sand and water temperatures. Its gradients often differ significantly over just thousands of yards, both in coastal wind dynamics textbooks and in real life. Just as in the Gorge, those microgradients matter. There are entire books devoted to significant and consistent wind variations over just tens of yards, let alone thousands. Driving those few miles very often meant the difference between slogging vs planing, flat vs waist high, and/or chop vs breaking waves.

Have you even ever sailed around Corpus Christi?

Sure, you'll also find spots in CC Bay where the build up on land will create wind barriers and windless launches. But Bird Island Basin is entirely surrounded by a very flat and monotone landscape. On some days, you may be able to find a launch in CC Bay where the wind meters read a few mph higher - if that's real is a different question. That's just very different from the Gorge, were you may find 20 mph differences in a 30 minute drive, or Cape Cod, where 10 mph differences are quite common.
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techno900



Joined: 28 Mar 2001
Posts: 4161

PostPosted: Tue Aug 22, 2017 9:11 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Some are just wired to be less aggressive and choose not to push very hard to the next level. Fine, nothing wrong with that, other than it's really, really fun to get in both straps, sheet in and haul ass. However, some just don't want to do that.

Regarding CC. I lived in Texas for 49 years and sailed a lot in Galveston Bay, South Padre Island, and Corpus Christi both at Bird Island (usually side off, flat and shallow water), and CC Bay (usually side shore at Oleander with chop and swells depending on wind. Also at the Holiday inn and North Beach for more chop and side on or on shore winds. A little in the Gulf at Port Aransas and Mustang Island.

Contrary to what Iso says, when it blows, it blows everywhere, you pick your site based on what you want, chop, waves, flat water. If a front comes through and there is a north wind, then BI works better than the bay locations. However, there is no reason to chase the wind in Texas. Warm fronts preceding cold fronts is the norm with south winds changing to north winds, it's just a matter of how strong and when. The exception is in the summer when the wind fades, you can get thermals along the coast where you don't when you head more inland. A little "chasing the wind" in summer can happen, but in CC, it won't be much different between the Bay vs BI.
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DanWeiss



Joined: 24 Jun 2008
Posts: 2296
Location: Connecticut, USA

PostPosted: Thu Aug 24, 2017 11:33 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

jingebritsen wrote:
darb, good on you for letting it all hang out.

one thought: mast foot pressure.

think of the boom/mast as an extra leg. most of our control when NOT planing comes from how we move the sail and then how we shift our weight on the board. when planing, rail pressure and downward forces on the boom become primary.

some very good thoughts on this thread.

chin up, and keep charging. encourage you to travel to a venue with lotsa other sailors. key on a couple of really good ones and ask about technique.


Tony, John's advice is correct and what I'd give to you.

A few more things: if you just want to make it easy to get in the back strap -and you sail with enough wind power- simply move the mast-foot back 1-2 cm. Your sail will then sweep back with a higher clew that will help "pull you up" as you make the commitment to the rear strap.

Also, consider shortening your harness lines a tad. The shorter lines will force you to pressure the rig and mast-foot and, therefore, the front of the board will better resist your weight transfer toward the rear strap.

Sail on a beam reach while going for the back strap. The rig may not generate as much power at a lower sailing angle but the beam reach will allow you turn upwind a bit without blowing up.

Do not move your rearward strap toward the center because it will turn your hips outward too much and likely reduce the rig's power when you need it to be as steady as possible.

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isobars



Joined: 12 Dec 1999
Posts: 20935

PostPosted: Fri Aug 25, 2017 1:35 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I didn't LIVE in Texas for long, but have traveled to CC 12-18 times for one to four weeks at a time during carefully chosen spring and fall months. I've also apparently studied much more meteorological literature about seashore ... and CC in particular ... wind patterns than you guys have. Aaaand I've apparently driven from BIB to the Bay and/or Port A at dawn and gained a solid 10 kts of wind much more often than you guys have. Topography is but one factor; land color, texture, cooling/heating rates, and the resulting microgradients also affect highly localized updrafts and the resulting sea breezes a great deal; ask any soaring raptor or sand crane.

I don't know why you guys keep bringing the Gorge into these discussions. I lived and sailed more decades in the SW than I have in Washington, and many of my CC sources have lived and sailed on NPI full time. The only similarity I can think of is the fact that two nearby venues can blow so differently at both locations, and that localized heating matters. In the Gorge the topography usually plays a bigger part (OTOH, the adiabatic effect of Mt. Adams on certain parts of the Gorge often adds significantly to wind speed and quality) than localized heating and cooling, whereas in the vicinity of flat seashores the topography plays second fiddle to the localized surface heating factors.

Sitting at BIB waiting for the wind to come to you is much like sitting in Portland or Hood River during summer doldrums blissfully unaware that nearby Clatskanie or Rooster Rock can be blowing a solid 30 kts for days on end. I don't personally care whether you guys believe it or not, because I don't sail either place any more, but considering the time, money, and effort many people put into trips to both places, it seems short-sighted to simply take ANYBODY's word for it when simple, informed, personal experimentation so often pays off. Which sounds more fun ... pounding sand at BIB (or sweltering in Hood River at 105 degrees) vs sailing a 5.7 in CC Bay (or sailing a 3.2 in 80 degree air at Nuclear Alley/Jones Beach)?

Then there are the differences in terrain between BIB, the downtown waterfront, the open Bay, and Port A. BIB: flat. Downtown: very bumpy. Open Bay: swell. Port A: breaking waves. Sitting at BIB is like sitting at the Gorge's Event site or sitting in MacDonald's in Paris.

WSing vacations can often be made a matter of informed choice rather than blind luck.


Last edited by isobars on Fri Aug 25, 2017 8:52 pm; edited 1 time in total
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daviddk



Joined: 13 Mar 2012
Posts: 57

PostPosted: Fri Aug 25, 2017 3:51 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

The Legend (in his own mind) speaks.
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isobars



Joined: 12 Dec 1999
Posts: 20935

PostPosted: Fri Aug 25, 2017 6:59 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Yup. When facts fail, go for insults (or tear down statues), and the hell with trying to help anyone have a better vacation.

You overlooked my blatant racism, bigotry, misogyny, warmongering, and hatred. You're slipping.
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Goodwind



Joined: 06 May 2005
Posts: 323
Location: On water

PostPosted: Sat Aug 26, 2017 12:20 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

DanWeiss wrote:

Do not move your rearward strap toward the center because it will turn your hips outward too much and likely reduce the rig's power when you need it to be as steady as possible.

If someone struggles to get his foot in the back strap, shouldn't the priority be recommending the placement of back strap for easiest foot insert? The outside strap setting is for speed, but I don't think OP is there yet.

On the personal side. Eexcept for my windsup, I've been sailing with one centerline back strap for years, and most of my boards don't even have outside strap options. I seemed to be doing just fine. Obviously, I am not into slalom or formula racing. Out of curiosity, I checked out local guys where I sailed today. Of the nine sailors, all set their back strap on the centerline, just like me. Interesting!

Another technique comes to mind. When sailing powered up, I find it easier to get in the back strap if I momentarily spread my back hand further down the boom, pull the boom down and back a little bit while pointing the board at a slight upwind angle.
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cgoudie1



Joined: 10 Apr 2006
Posts: 2597
Location: Killer Sturgeon Cove

PostPosted: Sat Aug 26, 2017 7:25 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I recommend hanging into the harness (MFP) for getting in the back strap.
It makes you light on either (or both) feet, that makes it easy to lift one
or the other without incident, and you definitely want that back strap for
chop control. My foggy memory suggests it was way easier to get in that
strap if it was on the centerline(or as near to it as possible).

For the kind of riding I do these days I like my straps inboard.

-Craig

p.s. eventually (as a swell or wave rider) you'll be taking that foot back
out of the strap, but you'll definitely want the muscle memory for easy
access to the back strap.
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isobars



Joined: 12 Dec 1999
Posts: 20935

PostPosted: Sat Aug 26, 2017 9:18 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

cgoudie1 wrote:
I recommend hanging into the harness (MFP) for getting in the back strap.

That's one way. Like virtually everything else in windsurfing and life, there are alternative solutions, some of which provide better results.

cgoudie1 wrote:
eventually (as a swell or wave rider) you'll be taking that foot back out of the strap ...

See above. MUCH depends on one's objectives on said swell(s) or wave(s).
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