As we discovered in the previous article:

In a fleet of 50 boats, roughly 4-5 sailors will get a great start, another 10 will get an OK start and the rest of the fleet will get a bad start. There is usually not enough “clean air” for everyone to have room to get a great start.

Knowing the theory of how great starts are set up is important and consists of 4 factors. Great starts involve mastering these factors:

1. Knowing the possible places to start on a line
2. Working out which end is favoured
3. Getting a transit
4. Timing and anticipating the gun

1. Knowing the Possible Places to Start On A Line

For simplicity, a startline can be divided in to 5 areas.

• Boat end Starboard start
• Middle of the line Starboard start
• Pin end Starboard start
• Pin end Port start
• Boat end Port start

Typically, when starting on port tack sailors look for a pin-end start to travel to the right side of the course and/or reduce the number of upwind tacks. Starting in the middle of the line on port is usually a result of having to dip behind Starboard sailors, and thus for simplicity, the line can be just divided in to pin-end and boat-end for port starting.

2. Working Out Which End is Favoured

The most crucial part of the start is being able to quickly and accurately work out which area of the line is the best to start on. A line can be favoured in different areas for more than one reason:

• The wind direction favours a particular end of the line
• The position of the first mark favours a particular end of the line
• A geographical feature or other change effects the wind on a particular side of the course

HOW DO WE QUICKLY TEST THE LINE FOR STARBOARD/PORT FAVOUR?

When testing a startline, keep it simple. Look for ‘major’ advantages; you are not able to pick 1-2 degree changes by eye.

Boat or Pin End?

A quick and easy way to test whether the line is boat, middle or pin end favoured is to sail to a spot about 2-3m directly downwind of the start boat and on Starboard tack, begin a short upwind run from that mark. Look at the angle you are sailing out of the line. If you are able to cross the startline within 10-15m of the starboard you can ‘generally’ say the line is boat favoured. If you take nearly 20-30m to cross the startline from 2-3m downwind of the boat then the line is more favoured towards the pin of the line. Figure 2A shows this drill being performed.

Remember you are only looking for ‘major’ differences between the favoured ends of the line. The distances shown in blue in Figure 2A should be measured by eye ‘roughly’. On a planing windsurfer you travel too fast to be able to measure individual degrees or metres on the water, so your aim here is to just be able to tell whether the line is boat or pin-end favoured.

Repeat this same drill on port tack from the pin end of the line. Assuming the wind hasn’t changed dramatically since your test at the boat-end, using deduction you should be able to get a better idea of which end of the line is favoured.

*NB. If a line can be crossed easily on Port tack, then the PIN-END will be favoured if you decide to start on Starboard.

Position of the Marks:

A good race director will set the top mark directly upwind of the startline. As we know, courses are not always perfect and marks can sometimes drift, so it’s important you always check upwind from the centre of the startline how the first mark sits in relation to the startline. If the mark is placed dramatically to the left or right side of the course, you may wish to change your start position to get toward the particular side of the course the mark is placed in quicker.

Favoured Side of the Course:

Every location is different and often times there can be a favoured side of the course because of a:

• A geographical feature (ie, a mountain, shore or river entrance along one side of the course)
• A tidal feature(ie, a deep channel on one side of the course); or
• A general wind phenomenon (ie, a seabreeze with less wind out to sea)

If there is a majorly favoured side of the course due to one of the above factors you should investigate whether to change your start position to take advantage and sail to the favoured side of the course quickest.

In Figure 3A a windward/leeward course with a reach mark is being used. The line is slightly port favoured (notice the direction of the wind) and Sailor 2 has started at the pin end on starboard tack. The first mark has been placed dramatically to the right side of the course, and Sailor 1 has seen this and tacked on to Port for a boat-end port start taking him to the right side of the course quicker and taking advantage of the better angle on Port tack.

This is an example of when a startline may have been Pin-End, Port favoured, but getting to the right side of the course may have been more important, so a boat-end Port start could be utilised.

Relative Abilities:

Something that is often overlooked but is still a crucial factor is understanding and knowing your abilities against other sailors in the fleet. It might not be possible to line-up against every sailor before a race start or you may have never sailed against this fleet before, but where possible, note your pointing angle and speed relative to the sailors you consider your main rivals in the fleet.

It is not always a good idea to start in a position which may give you a direct disadvantage against a rival sailor. An example of this is someone who sails very fast upwind but at a low angle. If that sailor was to start above the line on starboard against a sailor who sailed slower, but pointed much higher, he may not be able to clear the higher pointing sailor and have to dip below them, thus negating the extra speed.

In this instance a better tactic would have been to start just below this high-pointing, slower sailor to blast with extra speed off the startline and be in clear air even with the lower angle upwind.

One of the secrets to a great start is to not have better sailors in close proximity to you who can take your clean air and/or force you to tack early. If you sail in a regular fleet you should have a good idea who the better sailors are and know their strongpoints.

By knowing who the stronger sailors are, you can also identify the WEAKER sailors. When jostling for positions on the startline, you can often find gaps on the line to accelerate in to where the weaker sailors are positioned.

3. Getting A Transit

Once you’ve ascertained where you think you will be starting on the line, it is now important to get a TRANSIT of the startline. A transit is an imaginery line that runs through the startline to a marker on the shore so that at any point you can work out where you are on the startline relative to this marker.

To get your transit, park yourself at the startboat (either on the inside of it if it is a big boat, or on the upwind, outside of it if you can see through the boat to the pin-end buoy standing on your board) and line yourself up with the pin-end buoy and the flagpole on the boat. Imagine a piece of string between each end of the line then extend this mental string all the way to a clearly visible landmark on the horizon. Now that you have that marker on the shore, drift upwind/downwind a few metres and get an idea of how that marker changes in relation to the line.

Getting a reference to your shore marker above and below the line will help if you need to sail over/under someone on the line during the pre-start.

The transit becomes very important in larger fleets with longer startlines. The larger the fleet, generally the ‘transit-sag’ becomes bigger.

The transit-sag effect is that the sailors in the middle of the line will drop 3-4m below the level of the line because they believe they are over the line. This is what makes a ‘middle of the line, starboard start’ quite famous as in planing conditions you can sail over the top of these sailors taking their clean air and creating a gap for you to accelerate in to.

4. Timing & Anticipating the Gun

Syncing your watch correctly with the starter is extremely important. A planing board travels at 8m per second, so if you sync your watch 1 second out you are throwing away 8m at the start which is a huge margin.

The windier it gets, the slower and more distorted sound travels as well as the more difficult it is for the starters on the boat to put the flag up and down. There can always be discrepancies between the sounding of the gun and the flag hitting the top of the flagpole. To make it easier on yourself, stay as close to the starboat as practical for the first warning signal and check the sync on the next signal to make any corrections. If you are downwind 100m from the starboat, by the time the sound of the horn reaches you, you are 1-2 seconds out of sync!

Anticipate the Gun.

Having your watched synced is extremely important for the final step in the ‘great start’. As mentioned earlier, in planing conditions, boards travel at 8m/sec, which makes major changes in direction very difficult. Formula boards are particularly unresponsive when you going from a broad reach to a tight upwind angle as you do when you are running the startline on Starboard tack. It might take you as long as 3 seconds to get up to a good upwind angle out of the start and as long as 8 seconds to reach full speed and angle.

For this reason, in planing conditions (only!) if you are running down the startline you should ‘anticipate’ the starting gun and go on -1 seconds.

Yes, go on -1 seconds.

Why? Firstly because on the formula boards you require the extra second to begin rounding up in to the wind and secondly, because that extra second could give you the extra advantage to the sailors around you on the line, getting your nose in front of them and giving them dirty air instead of them doing it to you!

This article is adapted from a great article in the latest Australian Sailing Magazine (June/July 2009). The article was written by 1992 America’s Cup winning tactician David Dellenbaugh and originally published in Speed & Smarts, a newsletter by David on tactics, rules and boathandling. We have adapted it for Formula Windsurfers.

When your position on the race course suddenly goes pear-shaped, it’s time to change gears and re-adjust your game plan. It’s important not to throwaway your original race strategy, but consider making a few adjustments:

Take A Moment

Before you start punching holes in your sail or sailing back to the beach without so much as even attempting one upwind beat, take a moment to assess your current situation.

• Is this early or late in the race series?
• Do you already have a discard?
• How good is your boardspeed in relation to others on the course?
• How confident are you in your pre-race strategic plan?

Why you should ask yourself these questions is to do with how much “risk” you would want to be applying when you get back on the comeback trail in the race. If you already have a few bad discards, it’s probably not worth risking everything to get back the bullet in this race.

Evaluate Your Risk

In any moment in a race, especially when you’ve had a terrible start, you must decide how much risk to take. Are you willing to go out on a limb and take a flyer out to one far corner of the course? Sure, it might be a winner and you’re back with the leading pack at the top mark, but it could just as easily be a loser, and you’ve wasted a chance to get a solid recovery score which will help consolidate your regatta results sheet. As a rule of thumb, when it’s early in the event (depending on how many races will be run at this regatta), you should generally take fewer risks. If you are recovering from a bad start, try to sail to your strengths; if you have good boardspeed, use that with one-on-one tactics to pass each board in front of you at a time. Taking large risks early on in the race can sometimes be a disaster. When you get closer to the finish line (eg, Lap 2) it’s time to start taking more risks to get the points you need.

A good example of this is if after your bad start, you see most of the fleet heading left on starboard tack. There is a one in three chance (33%) the right side could pay off. These odds are probably not high enough to take the right side on the first beat, however, if you are still doing poorly on the second lap, it might be worth giving the right side a try.

Minimise The Damage

Not making simple tactical mistakes is always good, but it’s even more important when you are behind in a race. Usually, the leaders in a race are further spread apart, so taking risks to get from 3rd to 1st doesn’t have much damage associated with failing. When you are down the back of the fleet, there is much more traffic and dirty air; the boards are usually closer together so small mistakes can result in larger damages.

When you get behind in a start, resist the urge to get frustrated and go for impulsive tactics. Sure, a bit of frustration is great for getting your adrenaline up, but don’t let it put blinkers on your race strategy. When you are behind, be patient and always pay attention to the boards in front of you to see the mistakes they are making and avoid them. It’s very easy to pick the best areas of the course for wind when you are watching the boards in front of you sail in to a big hole or a gust. Avoid making mistakes by sticking to your strengths and pass the boards in front of you when they make mistakes.

Strategy or Tactics?

When you are playing catch up, another decision you will have to make is whether to focus on strategy (wind shifts) or tactics (other boards). Both are important, but which to favour depends mostly on whereabouts you are in the race. Immediately after a bad start, don’t worry about other boards, get as quickly as you can to the favoured side of the course and close the distance on the rest of the fleet.

As you get closer to the finish line, the boards are spread out and you begin to run out of time to make large strategic plans. The second lap is when you should switch into tactical mode and start racing the boards immediately around you.

Don’t Throw Your Plan Away!

Many sailors often spend a long time before the start of the day’s racing collecting information out on the course about the wind, current, startline etc to find out which side of the first beat is favoured. But if they get a bad start they often seem very willing to forget about this information and head to the other side of the course. This often doesn’t make sense. Unless something changed in the start, the side that was favoured before, should still be just as favoured afterwards; if you decide to go to the other side of the course – you might be putting yourself even further behind!

A common example of this is getting buried on starboard tack on the startline and then tacking on to port to get clear air – the sailor then usually sails to the right side of the course instead of tacking back on to starboard when he’s clear of the starting boards (see Figure 1a for a diagram of this). If the right side isn’t favoured – why sail to it? One tack should take you roughly 8 seconds, at 8m/sec speed (average planing speed for a FW board) you would only lose 64m. Be aware that on a normal 1200m windward/leeward course (taking 15-20 mins) you would lose MORE than 64m by sailing to the non-favoured side of the course.

If your pre-start race plan said to go left, you might consider changing your mind after a bad start and going right when:

• You only had a slight preference for the left;
• Going right is the only way to get clear air (but it’s usually a bad sign and a risky strategy, if everyone else is going left); or,
• Conditions changed after the pre-start.

End Note

Racing windsurfers is a very mental game. Very few sports place such a high value on sharp analytical thnking, so it is suprising that sailors don’t focus more on psychological training (we hope to get some more articles about ‘psychology’ on here in the future). A sailor can have the fastest gear and the best fin on the planet, but this doesn’t help you if you are ‘psyched out’ of the starts. It is difficult enough to remain focused when things are going right on the race course, let alone when they go wrong. Take a moment to read through this article again and hopefully having some more informed ideas about ‘what to do’ when it all goes pear-shaped, will give you that confidence boost you need to get back in to the race.

Photos by AllegroCup.pl & WindBrasil.com

There were 8 boards registered with ISAF for use on the FW circuit. These included, the F2 FX-Z/FX-VI, Mike’s Lab L8, Starboard F162/Apollo, Gaastra Vapor, Lorch Thunderbird Formula F1 and the Exocet Warp Formula 100. We haven’t had access to all of these boards as some of them weren’t available in the countries we tested in or weren’t properly represented on the FW Pro Circuit during 2008, so for the purpose of this tuning guide we’ve only reviewed the more mainstream and widely available of the boards which included, Starboard F162, Gaastra Vapor, F2 FX-Z/FX-VI, Exocet Warp Formula 100.

The riders interviewed for this tuning guide include:

* right now, we haven’t been able to get access to any of the new F2 boards for measurement. If someone would like to supply these measurements, that would be great! Email them to Sean.

IMPORTANT NOTE:

We’ve supplied fin suggestions based on the fins the riders have previously tried with the boards. Its possibly that many different styles of fins will work with each board. We’re not suggesting you need have one of the suggested fins or you are wasting your time, merely that if you had already decided to buy a fin, here’s some helpful suggestions on model. We’ve tried to suggest a model from each brand but obviously not every fin was available to every rider. Consult your fin maker for more specifics before making a decision.

Mast-track settings and boom-height will change dramatically based on the fin you are using. We have given the settings as a ‘guide’ only. Start with our settings and then make adjustments to your own preferences and sailing styles.

Starboard F162 / FWOD

Starboard released two versions of their F162 board. The second version, released mid way through 2008, was an identical board given the graphics of FWOD (Formula Windsurfing One-Design, pictured left) as Starboard made a bid to create the new Olympic Windsurfing equipment for the 2012 Olympics. Although Starboard always maintained the shapes were identical, there was some speculation that the rocker lines were changed on the newer FWOD versions (weweren’t able to find this on the boards we measured however) to give them less flat towards the tail however, the main feature riders will notice is that the new F162′s or FWOD versions, sport a thicker grey paint and logo on the bottom of the board, either to stay with ISAF’s policies on Olympic equipment being difficult to modify by sanding or to help with early problems they had with the board with the veneer of the bottom of the boards weeping.

The F162 came under early criticism from the general public on the windsurfing forums that the board wasn’t performing well compared to its competitor’s boards, however, after a 12 months on the market it would appear now that it was just a case of sailors not realising how different this board was to its predecessors and not tuning the board correctly.

BOARD DESIGN / CHARACTERISTICS:

Compared to the F160/F161 Starboards, the new F162 is considerably wider in the tail and has a wider and thinner nose, with considerably less nose-rocker leading up to the front of the board. The concept behind the thinner and flatter nose, was to aid with the ‘sticking’ problems that the 160 and to some extent the 161 had downwind, whereby the big and bulky noses of these boards would catch each wave and slow the board down. This new nose has been quite successful in improving downwind speed on the F162 even with the wider tail, which although helps immensely with upwind ability, the wider the tail, the more wetted surface-area you are dragging downwind.

This board sails incredibly ‘flat’, meaning that the nose sticks to the water and the board feels very rigid and stiff under your feet.  Because of the flat nose-rocker, you need to be mindful of always trying to set up your gear to keep the nose clear of the water. Even with good rail pressure, without the nose lifting you can produce too much leeward rail engagement, which slows the board down. As a result, the best tuning settings are ones that free the nose and help to rail the board.

FINS:

No doubt, with the ‘flat’ characteristics this board has when it sails makes fin choice a lot more critical then previous Starboard boards. The F162 requires an extremely powerful fin to help rail the board and lift the nose to get the board to ‘free up’ and stop sticking to the water. Don’t mistake a powerful fin for simply just an ‘upright’ fin; these are two different things. What the board requires is a powerful fin and the best way to do this is to try fins with little to no ‘geometric twist’ and torsionally stiff. The best fins showing these characteristics are the Kashy XS/XXS, VMG Blades ‘K’ model and Hurricane FRB6 with ’0′ twist. During testing this board we found the Deboichet R20 not powerful enough to keep the nose of the board lifting.

The fins we recommended for this board are currently:
{column1}
Light Winds:

- Kashy 72/70 XS
- Ifju LWXS 70*
- VMG Blades K76/70
- Hurricane FRB6 ’680′ S- 72/70
{/column1}

{column2}
Strong Winds:

- Kashy 70cm XS
- Ifju LWXS 70
- VMG Blades K70
- Hurricane FRB6 ’680′ S- 70

{/column2}

*We hadn’t tried a cutdown Ifju at the time of testing. But presumably they would be as good as the 70.

In lightwinds, the tail width of this board will allow cutdown fins up to 72/76cm however most of the riders using this board used 72/74cm fins. The board requires a lot of power both from your fin and also from your sail, so it is recommended in light/medium winds to always use the biggest sail possible. Pro rider Jesper Vesterstrøm suggested he used his 11.8m sail up to 18 knots which is higher than other riders on other boards.  The extra power from your sail will help generate the lift the board needs to rail and also help power the bigger cutdown fins you are using.

MAST-TRACK and STRAP POSITIONS:

This board sails very flat, so to counteract this characteristic you need to get all the power and leverage towards the back of the board. Start with the mast-track all the way in the back (with your plate covering the serial number even) and straps in the back holes (front and back straps). Your boom height will depend on your style, however it is recommended to use as higher boom height as possible to help lift the nose of the board. Using larger cutdown fins, may cause the nose to sit lower in the water due to the amount of vertical-lift they produce; having a high boom, straps and mast-track back will help to counteract the fin and the boards insitence to keep sailing flat.

In stronger winds, the mast-track can be moved forward to aid with control, however it is not recommended to go much further than the middle of the track, even in hurricane conditions.

Overall, this is a very comfortable board to sail and the specified weights of the boards we measured were all within tolerances. It may require a little bit more tuning than other boards if you have been riding the previous Starboard FW boards as the F162 is a very different animal to its predecessors.

Gaastra Vapor Racing

Gaastra entered the Formula Board market quite late, with the Vapor Racing 2008 board their first ever FW board. Shaped by Tabou shaper Fabien Vollenweider and developed by Steve Allen (AUS-0) and Hubert Mokrzycki (POL-25), Gaastra were pretty quick to snag a good market share of the FW boards sold in 2008, even if it took them 10 months to acknowledge the board even existed on their website!

BOARD DESIGN / CHARACTERISTICS:

We’ve written a more in depth review of the Gaastra board which you can read here, however, the fins have changed immensely since that article was published and we recommend using the settings mentioned below rather than in the previous review.

The general characteristics of the Vapor board are that its got a nice amount of scoop-rocker, a very wide tail, similar (which we like!) cutouts to the F162 and a very well designed nose which has just the right amount of vee/concave and thin outline built in to it to make this board a real performer downwind, even in strong winds.

The board arguably feels similar under the feet to a Starboard F160, however, with the wider tail, the board feels much more ‘free’ even in light winds. It is a very ‘aggressive’ board, meaning that the nose rides high in the water and the board feels very twitchy and responsive under your feet. Although, there will be no problems with control, even in high winds, with this board, the general ride characteristics are that the board is extremely loose and ‘flighty’ with the nose being lifted easily and fin/rail pressure being generated easily. All the tuning settings for this board are to keep the nose tracking straight without bobbing up and down which is can do with the wrong mast-track position. This is one of the few boards that is not very fin specific, almost any fin will work and feel comfortable with the board, which is a great attribut to its design.

FINS:

As we mentioned, this board works well with almost any from an old Deboichet R13 up to the latest Kashy/VMG etc super soft fins. With the very forgiving feeling this board has in high winds and the safety the nose of this board creates when sailing downwind in big swell, it will be possible to use much larger fins in higher winds with the Vapor board. We found the best fins suited to this board are the newer, much softer, swept-back fins such as Kashy, VMG Blades, Deboichet R20 and Hurricane FRB6 as these fins create a bit of vertical lift under the board which helps to keep the nose down a little and under control.

Different to the Starboard F162, you don’t need as much power from the fin to generate rail pressure with this board, so we recommend getting fins with maximum amount of twist in the tip which will help depower and settle the board down when the fin loads up in high winds and will also allow a much more comfortable and smooth ride downwind at deeper angles.

The fins we recommended for this board are currently:
{column1}
Light Winds:

- Kashy 74/70 XS
- Ifju LWXS
- VMG Blades K76/70 (Gaastra model)
- Hurricane FRB6 ’682′ S- 72/70
- Deboichet R20
{/column1}

{column2}

Strong Winds:

- Kashy 70cm XS
- Ifju LWXS
- VMG Blades K73 or K70 (Gaastra model)
- Hurricane FRB6 ’682′ S- 70
- Deboichet R20
{/column2}

MAST-TRACK and STRAP POSITIONS:

With a 12m sail, the mast-track should sit in the middle of the track. Any further back and you begin to stall the board as it does not require the track so far back to lift the nose, the shape of the board does this automatically. As it is quite an aggressive board, when the wind gets up you need to move the track forward to keep control of the nose. With the track 2-3cm further forward than centre, the board comes in to its own in strong winds, with a very comfortable and easy ride, despite how responsive the board feels under your feet. It might be possible to stay in the outside straps in strong winds much longer on this board compared with any other, due to its nose shape and wide tail. Straps should always be in the back holes on this board and boom height needs to be as high as comfortable.

We recommend running a higher boom and mast-track further forward to keep the nose at the optimum control level. If you were to move your mast-track further back than middle (to help lift the nose) and then run your boom lower to compensate, the board seems to ‘stall’ a little and be slower to get planing.

Overall, Gaastra have done a very good job providing one of the few boards this season that is as fast as it is easy to sail and tune. Any fin, any sail and any sized rider will suit this board.

Exocet Warp Formula 100

It was said that Exocet’s Patrice Belbeoch developed the Warp Formula 100 entirely on his own without testing against another rider or another board brand. Whether that is true or not, Patrice certainly came up with a very different board for the 2008 season, turning away from trends or copying other designs and creating one of the most talked about boards in 2008. With its slick carbon look and black paint, the new Exocet, aka the “Black Machine” turned a few heads this year when Argentinian rider Gonzalo Costa-Hoevel ended his long-term deal with F2 to ride the new Exocet.

BOARD DESIGN / CHARACTERISTICS:

The first thing to notice about this board is the weight. At its ISAF registered weight, the Warp Formula is nearly 1kg lighter than than any other board on the market and we’ve found by weighing a number of different boards the gap could even be more than 1kg.

Much like the F162, the Exocet sails extremely flat, with the nose sticking to the water, however this characteristic is due much more to the underside of the board’s shape. There is very little rocker and concave in this board and very little nose-rocker towards the front. Exocet have widened the tail of this board immensely and the Exocet has become the widest tailed board behind the new F2′s, with an extra 1cm over the F162 and 2cm over the Vapor at the 30cm off mark.

The board has a similar sailing feeling to the F162 upwind in that the board sails incredibly ‘flat’ with the nose sticking to the water, however it feels a lot more stiff and rigid under your feet than the F162, probably due to the wider tail and flatter rockerline. With the super light weight, the board planes up considerably earlier than other boards with an 11m sail and has extremely good upwind angles in lightwind with its flat bottom shape. The nose appears to stick a little downwind in stronger breezes however this can be fine-tuned with the right fins and setup.

FINS:

Much like the Vapor board, the Exocet’s strengths are that it appears to suit a variety of fins. Everything from older R13 fins up to the latest Kashy/VMG etc super soft fins. The extra width in the tail allows the rider to use a big fin in stronger breezes however the fin must be working to help lift the nose of the board otherwise it could be counter-productive. Different fins give this board a different riding style. Using more traditional fins such as the R13, the board feels incredibly stiff under your feet and generates a lot of lift and speed upwind. As the R13 is a fin that generates a lot of ‘railing’ very easily downwind, we found this fin to give almost the best performance downwind in a variety of windstrengths as it helped rail the board which could clear the ‘sucking’ nose of swells and also reduce the wetted surface area of the board downwind; decreasing drag.

Despite what fin you decide to use, the fin needs to have considerably less rake than other board models. A fin that is less upright will help to lift the nose of the board and may also generate a little more geometric twist in the fin which can help with speed downwind and giving the board a more comfortable ride downwind.

The fins we recommended for this board are currently:
{column1}
Light Winds:

- Kashy 72/70 XS (rake 4.5 deg)
- VMG Blades K73/70 (rake 5 deg)
- Deboichet R13 S– 70 (rake +4)
- Deboichet R20 70 (rake +4)
{/column1}

{column2}

Strong Winds:

- Kashy 72/70 XS (rake 4.5 deg)
- VMG Blades K70 or K68 (rake 5 deg)
- Deboichet R13 S– 70 (rake +4)
- Deboichet R20 70 (rake +4)
{/column2}

MAST-TRACK and STRAP POSITIONS:

The mast-track on this board needs to be run as far back as possible at all times; even in strong winds. The same goes for the footstraps. The reason being, upwind you need to release the nose of the board and having your setup all in the back with maximum pressure on your fin will help to generate the rail pressure needed to lift the nose of the board. Downwind, this board is susceptible to the nose catching waves and slowing down. To counteract this you must get your weight centralised over the back of the board and aggresively rail the board with your feet. Hitting the swell at an angle, whilst the board is extremely railed, will help reduce drag and improve your speed downwind. Fin choice will help with this and one of the main reasons we’ve included the R13 fin with this board is that it is arguably the best fin to generate the rail pressure needed to rail this board downwind and ‘fly the fin’.

On another note, there has been mixed responses as to whether this smaller, lighter board can handle a 12m. The Exocet feels lower on volume than other boards on the market (even though on paper, it is even bigger than some of the other baords) because the overall thickness of the board is less at the the tail and the flatter rockline makes the board appear to sit lower in the water. Although, Gonzalo has been using 12m successfully in light winds in the early part of this season, some heavier riders might find this board a little harder to get planing with the bigger rigs because the board will stall when the nose is pushed down during pumping.

Overall, Exocet have done a great job with this board and provided an interesting competitor to the F162, Vapor and F2 boards. This board, might have more advantages for lighter riders as it ‘may’ have more potential for early planing used with an 11m sail in lighter winds. It is a very easy board to sail/trim upwind however might require a bit more tuning downwind to get the best speed out of the board.

F2 FX-Z

F2 did something unusual in response to the IFWC’s two-year board design lock; they registered two boards, with the FX-VI being produced early on for the 2008 season and the FX-Z only being made available to the ‘general’ consumer much later in the 2008 season. Although the boards share some common characteristics, they are two different boards, with F2 shaper Patrik Diethelm working with Gonzalo Costa-Hoevel on the boards before Gonzalo switched to the Exocet team halfway through 2008. The boards appear to have followed two completely different development paths, each following on from the 2006 and the 2007 F2 boards, which were very different in concept.

For the purpose of describing the general characteristics, we will describe both the FX-Z and FX-VI at once.

BOARD DESIGN / CHARACTERISTICS:

Compared to the other boards on the market, the major design feature of the F2′s is their incredibly wide tails, with the Z being slightly wider than the VI and both being almost 5cm wider than any other board at the one foot off mark. Both boards sport a very rounded outline in their tail and a lower overall scoop-rocker than previous F2 boards which allows them to have good early planing ability despite the drag of the extra tail width.

Looking at both the boards, they appear very square as the tail is almost the width of the nose, but on the water is where they show their abilities. Both boards have a very ‘aggressive’ sailing style which is a little bit more technical to sail comfortably than other boards on the market. The F2 boards are easily railed with their flat vee section in the tail and very sharp rails in the middle however this can also make the boards feel very ‘flighty’ in stronger winds and chop and more mast-track forward pressure is needed to keep the nose down.

It is probably a fair comment that these are both ‘lightwind’ specialist boards. With the added tail width, it’s possible to run fins bigger than ever before (Pro Rider Dennis Littel used an 83cm cutdown Kashy fin in light winds with the FX-Z in 2008) as the added leverage from the board’s tail width allows greater control. The majority of riders will be using much larger cutdown fins in 2009 as large (+76cm) cutdowns are still relatively new on the market. To some extent, the F2 boards have helped drive the need for bigger cutdown fins in other boards on the market.

In stronger winds these boards can become a little more difficult to sail as they require a taller and heavier rider who can use their height to leverage over the board to keep control and stop the board from flying the nose; especially downwind. Of course, the wider the tail the more leverage you get against the fin but also more drag you get whilst sailing. It is a tough comprimise with these F2 boards as they definitely have the best lightwind abilities of any board on the market this year but at the expense of being more difficult in stronger winds and a little more technical to keep the speed up downwind as the tail seems to suck a little on the downwind legs.

F2 recommends the VI as the choice for lighter sailors and the Z for heavier/taller sailors. This is a good recommendation as generally speaking, most of the taller, heavier riders on the tour used the Z versus the smaller guys using the VI when they had both to choose from.

BOOSTER PIPES / CUTOUT PLATES:

As usual, the F2′s sport the booster pipes and adjustable cutout plates to help with the tuning difficulties downwind. The concept behind the booster pipes and cutout plates have always generated a lot of discussion in the FW world and many theories are out there as to their effectiveness. Originally, when the pipes were brought in to their FW and slalom range in 2006, F2 stated that the pipes were to eliminate the vacuum created in the large tail cutouts while travelling at speed. From testing the boards in the past seasons that have used the pipes, its been more apparent that the pipes play a better role in reducing the vacuum at low speeds especially when trying to pump on to the plane. The same can be said for the current boards, as the tail width does have the propencity to ‘suck’ to the water whilst trying to initiate planing.

The cutout plates, give the rider four options (with plastic ringed spacers allowing the adjustments) by either using no plates, or putting 1-3 rings in between them to make the cutout depth smaller. All of our test riders found the board performed best with 2 rings in on both boards; in either strong or light winds, upwind or downwind.

FINS:

No doubt, with the insane tail width of these boards, it’s possible to use bigger fins than ever before. We had tested a smaller amount of fins out with these boards so there may be many more options available, but for tuning purposes, fins that work with the VI will work in the Z. Softer tipped and fins with a little bit more ‘geometric twist’ are a must with these boards to help release the board a little bit from the water and help it to rail. The fins need to be fast to generate the best lift but also to be powerful to help rail the board downwind. The best fins showing these characteristics are the Kashy XS/XXS, VMG Blades ‘K’ and ‘B’ models, the R20 and Ifju LW models.

The fins we recommended for this board are currently:
{column1}
Light Winds:

- Kashy 78-80/70 XS
- Ifju LWXS 70*
- VMG Blades K78/70, B78/70
- Deboichet R20
{/column1}

{column2}
Strong Winds:

- Kashy 70cm XS
- Ifju LWXS 70
- VMG Blades K70
- Deboichet R20

{/column2}

F2 FX-Z

F2 FX-VI

We hope you are able to use this guide to better tune your boards in 2009. CarbonSugar would like to stress that it is actually a ‘guide’ and not a definitive tuning methodology. Everyone is different and we only sampled a small number of fins, so please our recommendations as a basis to begin tuning and try your own settings to see if they are faster.

Feel free to post your comments/suggestions and personal experiences about the boards in the comments so the discussion can be built on.

When approaching the windward mark, always remember the three key rules:

• If you are lifted markedly heading to the mark on Starboard, gybe immediately on to port after the mark.
• If you are knocked markedly heading to the mark on Starboard, stay on the starboard tack to get the most out of the knock.
• The side of the course which is favoured on the upwind leg is generally the side to take on the downwind leg.

That shouldn’t be a “decision” on the racecourse; it should be a reflex. The only revision to the first two rules is if there is a favourable side of the course due to a geographic, tidal or other influence that creates this favoured side.

Knowing & Understanding Your Angles

The key to dramatically improving your downwindtime around the course: understanding what angles you can sail in what windstrengths. Simple huh?

Not exactly. Most sailors have a reference point on their boom, which is usually a perpindicular line to the mark (its easy to visual 90 degree angles) whereby when they see the leeward mark through their sail they will gybe when it lines up roughly with this boom reference point. I’m here to tell you that that isn’t specific enough and can allow boats in close proximity to gybe earlier/later than you and punish you into the leeward mark. A good way to combat this is to research the angles you can sail downwind in various windstrengths and then learn how to quickly gauge that particular angle by sight.

To do this accurately you are better off using a GPS unit to analyse tracks of your sailing in various windstrengths (something we will be writing about here very shortly). Here on the left is a chart I have made for angles that I can sail in relative windstrengths. Using about 3-4 months of GPS data from sailing FW in various windconditions, I have plotted the different downwindangles I have achieved against the wind speed on that particular day. Obviously, there are slight performance differences each session in the same windstrengthbut using a mean trend-line we can get a good estimate of what angle I can sail in what windstrength.

You only need to know a general group of angles, for example 8-12 knots, 15 knots, 20 knots etc. If you can learn what angles you sail in these windstrengths you can improve your downwind laylines immensely. For example, using my chart above, I see that I can usually sail downwind at 120 degrees with an 11m sail in 8-10 knots of breeze (see figure to the left for a visual representation of the Downwind Angles chart). I have a good idea of what 120 degrees (not to the nearest degree, but roughly enough that I can make an informed decision about where to gybe) looks like when I line the leeward mark up through my sail and I have a good idea of what 8-10 knots feels like when I sail my 11m. With that in information in mind, if you are the leading boat on the downwind, you can know that when you gybe it will be the perfect layline and that if the guys behind you have gybed any earlier, they are going to have to wipe off considerable speed to get down to the mark or to put in two extra gybes; you have protected your lead.

Protecting Your Lead

As Bethwaite states, a “boat with a small righting moment (like a Laser) cannot deflect wind too much, but a more powerful boat such as an 18ft skiff (or an FW board), deflects the wind an incredible amount”.

With this in mind, the most important weapon to protect a lead on the downwind run is to keep your pursuer always in your dirty air and disturbed water. If your pursuer attempts to pass you to leeward (that is, inside you), if possible you can bear off slightly and use your dirty air and wind-shadow to slow the passing boat. It is very difficult to pass on the inside unless the passing boat can sail significantly deeper than the lead boat as you have to sail through the worst of the air deflection from the leading boat, which harms downwind performance immensely. Should the pursuer try to pass to windward, it only requires the lead boat to luff him to windward and force him deeper in to the hopeless position.

In the case of several pursuers, as Manfred Curry would suggest: “one directs one’s chief attention, as on a beat to windward, to the one nearest”.

Know Your Competition / Force the Gybe:

The next tool in your downwind weaponry is your laylines. Get them correct and you’ve made it very difficult for the pursuing boat to pass you. Get them wrong andyou will find yourself sitting in someone’s dirty air at the leeward mark.

Everyone uses a different setup and may take a different fin and so it’s more than likely that in your fleet there will be some who are faster and can sail deeper than you on the downwind (if not, you have no excuses for not winning each race). To protect a lead it is important to have an idea of what angles the sailors behind you can sail. If you are in an unknown fleet, it should only take you one race or so to work this out. If your main competition can sail deeper than you at a similar speed, there are preventative steps you can take to protect your lead to the leeward mark.

Getting aroundthe windward mark first on the last lap, withonly the downwindto sail to the finish when the guy 10m behindyou is considerably faster than you downwind is a common and frustrating occurence (I’ve had my fair share). Despite the formentionedtactics above to protect your lead, withthe speeds an FW board travels at, blocking the sailor behind you is not always as easy as it would seem on paper as pursuing sailors can change positions from the hopeless position to a dominant position in less than a second in windy conditions and it is difficult to keep your eyes on the water ahead as well as on what your pursuer is doing. One of your few options to protect your lead in this instance is to play on your opponents mindset that he can sail deeper than you downwind…

The pursuing boat, knowing that he can sail deeper than you, most likely will gybe when the leading boat gybes and back his ability to sail deeper andfaster, hoping to use his better angle to pass on the windward side and use his wind-shadow on the leading boat as he controls the lead into the leeward mark. If you know your downwind angles in the particular windstrength, try gybing earlier than is possible to make the leeward mark. If the trailing boat is true to form, he may gybe when you do and both of you now will have to make an extra 2 gybes into the leeward mark. You know this before he does, so by heading a little higher out of the gybe you can put him into your dirty air and hold him in the hopeless position andforce him to have to gybe away to get clear air. This tactic is best when you are in a clear position with 1st/2nd together as it may allow the 3rd/4th boats an opportunity to gain if they are close enough and sail the layline correctly. If your pursuer does in fact gybe again to get away from your dirty air, you will both have the same amount of gybes to do however when you meet at the leeward mark you will be approaching on starboard to make your final gybe and will have right-of-way (provided you can fit your gybe in before he gets to you).

Gybing Strategy: 

Once you’ve practiced enough, you should be able to gybe and keep on the plane all the way through on to the next tack. In winds over 12 knots (ie, when you are able to consistently plane out of each gybe), a good gybe takes only 3-4 seconds to complete and regain full speed. This is considerably less time than a tack and usually you don’t lose much angle as when you are pumping out the gybe you can point downwind much further than you can actually sail to promote a quick gain back to full speed. In 10 seconds a FW board travels about 80m so you are only losing 25m or so in each gybe. That seems like a lot but in a normal course using a 1.3km rhumb line (shortest distance from windward to leeward mark), 25m is a small disadvantage compared to the advantages made in sailing the correct course downwind rather than the one with the least amount of gybes.

Sailing in onshore conditions in consistent winds, usually the bulk of the fleet sails the downwind run on starboard, taking one gybe to the leeward mark. This happens even in international fleets. In most cases (FW World Championship locations like Leba, Poland; Gangnueng, Korea; Forteleza, Brazil; Melbourne, Australia all had courses like this) the single-gybe run forces the sailors to sail right to the beach where they gybe on to port tack andfollow the beach into the leeward mark close to shore. 9/10 times there is considerably less wind close to the shore as breaking waves, sand dunes, trees, buildings or the land/water temperature differences creates turbulence for the wind andoften forces the clear wind into the air (away from your sails) thus creating light spots along the beach. A sailor who sails into the beach andtakes a little longer to get on to the plane out of the gybe, coupled with the tight angle he will have to sail to get out of the shore-zone and back into the clear air will lose far more than 40m versus a sailor who put in the extra gybes and stayed in the stronger winds out to sea.

3 Gybes? Make It Count:

One thing to note is when you do gybe on to port around the windward mark (you have a minimum of 3 gybes to complete on a standard windward/leeward course now) you should always complete your second gybe earlier than the starboard layline to head towards the leeward mark. This allows you to take advantage of any wind direction changes or gusts (see diagram to the left for a visual reference). The difference in downwind angle in 1-2 knot differences of wind is substantial compared to the same wind differences and upwind angle (which is minimal). Approaching the leeward mark on starboard with a final gybe to put you back on to port to round the mark it is important to not oversail the starboard layline as having to head up to make the leeward mark gybe wastes all your advantage in having sailed a different course to the other sailors. You are going to have to gybe back on to port anyhow, so does it make a difference whether its 2m from the leeward mark or 40m?? Better to be safe and always sailing a deep downwind angle than to overshoot and have to head up (crucifying your downwind VMG).

Attacking From Behind:

Assuming two boats are equal in downwind speed, it is difficult but not impossible to pass the leading boat on the downwind leg. Your two options are to sail a better layline (gybe earlier/later) and get the advantage into the leeward mark or to pass the leading boat either to windward or leeward with superior speed.

Passing to Windward:

The generally accepted better side to pass on is the windward side, as passing on the leeward side you have to sail through the very disturbed air and wind-shadow of the leading boat which is difficult to do unless you have a fairly big advantage in board speed over the lead boat. Assuming you are always sailing as deep as possible on the downwind run, luffing a little will increase your board speed at the expense of angle. Often times, the increase in board speed allows you to keep your downwind VMG the same and can help you pass the leading boat on the downwind as he may be sailing slower to go the deepest angle possible. He may luff you to try and defend this attack but within reason you can continue to luff higher and higher and increase your speed to overtake; its very rare for a leading boat to luff you all the way to a beam reach; and this allows you an opportunity to try to scoot through on the leeward side while he is not watching. This tactic works best for heavier sailors as they are usually faster on a broad reach angle.

Passing to Leeward:

Although more difficult, there are times when this tactic should be applied. The main instance in when you are pursuing a group of sailors. Often times, many in the group will be sailing a slightly luffed course to keep themselves out of the dirty air of the boats around them. Provided you are at a safe enough distance to not be affected by their dirty air too much, sailing a very deep course allows you to get into a controlling position leading into the gybe, as you will be closer to the leeward mark if you gybe at the same time as the leading boats. Despite the obvious disadvantages in sailing in someone’s dirty air, if you can sail inside the leading boats you will get the cleanest air when you gybe on to the new tack and if you have sailed deep enough to leeward, you are actually closer to the leeward mark than the leading boats.  

This technique of passing on the second tack rather than the first of the downwind leg is one of the best ways to pass a boat in front of you. The key for it to work is to gybe at the SAME TIME as the lead boat and to make sure you are on or close to the layline. If you make a good gybe you can quickly put yourself in front of the lead boat spilling your dirty air on them and they have no ability to do the same trick to you as you are already on the layline; sailing deeper will not help the former lead boat.

This technique allows lighter sailors to do this more effectively as they are able to sail deeper angles than heavier sailors on the same equipment.

Sail A Better Layline:

The easiest way to pass someone on a downwind leg is to sail the perfect laylines when they don’t. Easier said than done, but using the above techniques for understanding and knowing your downwind angles there is usually always an opportunity to do this in most races as a combination of nerves and pressure had by the leading boat can often times provoke them to sail a safe-layline (that is, to sail over the layline to make sure the leeward mark is made without an extra gybe). As the pursuing boat, you have nothing to lose by sailing an aggressive layline (gybing so early it is a tight run to make the leeward mark, and hoping for a slight wind heading to allow you to make the mark easier) and the lead boat has EVERYTHING to lose by messing up their laylines. Getting yourself into a good leeward position before you make the gybe will dramatically increase the chances of success in this instance.

End Note…

As always, there is nothing more beneficial to improving your racing than by GOING racing. The more courses you sail the more your laylines and tactics will become a reflex instead of a response and you will begin to assimilate the important sailing rules into your long-term memory, instead of your short-term one. Good luck.

First and foremost, it is important to clarify a few aspects of terminology used when people talk about fins, as scouring the popular windsurfing forums over the past few years you will find a plethora of information where people are using terms incorrectly and are only adding to the confusion. Here are a few of the key terms used in fin-ology.

Rake:

Rake is simply the angle of the leading edge of the fin, relative to a line perpendicular to the bottom of the board. Everyone started thinking about modifying the rake of their fins in a more mainstream sense around the 2003 FW Worlds. As Deboichet represented about 95% of the fin market at that time, the ‘rake’ scale became popularised under a number system only applicable to Deboichet fins.

Deboichet uses a scale such as +4cm, +6cm, +8cm etc (where +11cm is vertical). Both Kashy and Hurricane use a scale such as 2 degrees, 3 degrees etc (where 0 degrees is vertical).

Deboichet: +8cm = 2.5 degrees = 30mm back from vertical.

Ps. Remember that MORE rake, means the fin is LESS upright (more swept-back at the tip). Because Deboichet’s scale is counting up as you decrease the rake, a lot of people have mistakenly written on forums about more rake when they are actually talking about moving fins from +6cm to +8cm, which is LESS rake.

Generally speaking, the more upright your fin is, the more lift it generates at the expense of induced drag. In light winds, people usually have relatively upright fins and in strong winds, some may have their fins with a little more rake to keep control of the board. Another important point to understand about rake is that by changing the rake of a fin, you are also influencing the twist.

Twist:

Twist is probably one of the least well understood characteristics of a fin. It is most commonly mistaken as being ‘torsional-stiffness’, when it is in fact, something completely different. When sailing, the righting moment of the sailor is countered by the side-force (or lateral resistance) of the board and the lift provided by the fin. Twist (or in aerodynamic terminology, “geometric twist”) is the result of the lift developed by the fin acting very close to 1/4 of the chord, back from the leading edge, while the neutral axis for bending is about 40% back from the leading edge; so there is a torsional moment when the fin bends. Simply put, as you flex a fin when you sail, this causes the fin to twist.

The geometric twist is more pronounced if you have a fin that is more swept-back (raked). So you will probably get more twist with an R13 at +4cm than you would with an identical R13 at +8cm.

Twist is important for the performance of a fin both upwind and downwind. Having no twist in a fin allows you to generate a better upwind angle but at the expense of becoming uncomfortable (or difficult) to sail downwind. This is probably because twist reduces the induced drag of a fin (or vortex drag from the tip) which is a significant portion of the total drag of a fin at the speeds a windsurfer travels. The induced drag is reduced when the angle of attack [aoa] at the tip of the fin is less than the aoa at the root of the fin (particularly for a fin with a planform of a tapered leading edge, such as an R13).

*I’ve tried to keep this article relatively simple, but if you’d like to read some more about induced drag and geometric twist, try these:

• http://www.auf.asn.au/groundschool/umodule4.html
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Induced_drag

Many top sailors will talk about the performance of their fins downwind, as much as they talk about it upwind. To be fast around the course you generally want a fin that performs downwind just as well as it did upwind. If you talk to some of the Pro’s on the circuit about downwind performance in fins you might hear them say that their fin is ‘working’ for them off the wind and allowing them to ‘drive’ off the fin to go extra deep. Most likely they are referring to the twist in their fin, as the twist allows the fin to ‘depower’ to some extent and let you drive off it, deeper downwind, whereas some fins with no twist are creating too much lift downwind and force you to head upwind, giving you that ‘uncomfortable’ feeling downwind.

Similarly, it’s been said by some Pro’s that soft fins that twist are actually faster upwind in high-winds (despite what’s in your mind about stiffer fins being better in high winds). The twist in the fin can help it depower when you’ve generated too much lift in a gust and help to settle the board down. Having a board with a very wide tail (+81cm) will help with the control in high winds also.

Torsional-Stiffness:

Put a fin in your board and then grip the tip of the fin with your thumb and index finger. Twist the fin tip like you are unscrewing the lid of a Coke bottle. What you are witnessing is ‘torsional stiffness’ and although it is related, it is NOT ‘twist’ in the sense of how a fin manufacturer will be measuring it.

High torsional stiffness has been recently receiving more focus with the popularity of the Kashy fins on the market. Most of the better Kashy fins I have seen are more torsionally stiff than the majority of Deboichet/Hurricane fins and I believe this helps the Kashy fins retain a constant angle of attack which helps increase lift whilst maintaining good upwind speed.

The confusing thing about twist vs torsional-stiffness is probably because some people may assume that a softer fin is always going to have less torsional-stiffness and therefore more twist, but in actual fact that is not true. Both twist and torsional-stiffness are dependent on the planform, rake and most importantly, the fibre directions when the fin is layed-up during manufacture. As a result, a fin with extremely high torsional-stiffness can be built to twist a lot, or it can be built to have no twist at all. It is not possible to check twist with your fingers using the method above; it is possible however, to gauge torsional-stiffness with your fingers using this method.

Flex-Stiffness:

This is the stiffness you generally hear referred to when you buy a fin. A soft fin, a S–, an XXS, a 651; or so the lingo goes. Choosing the right stiffness of fin for the conditions you are sailing is very important, however the choices are about as individual as they come and depends heavily on your technique, sail brand, board brand and wind/wave conditions.

In flat water (eg. a lake), you put a more constant load on your fin when sailing upwind whereas on the ocean with swell and wind blown chop on the swell, the load on the fin is spiking as you go over waves or if you get slightly airborne over a chop. The other thing to consider is rider weight and sail size. A 90kg rider holding his 11m in 25 knots is most likely putting a considerable amount more load on his fin than a 72kg rider on his 9.8m in the same wind.

Selecting A New Fin

So you are going to go and buy yourself a nice new shiny fin. First, you should ask yourself a few questions about what you want the fin for.

• Light winds? You most likely want a soft, powerful fin.
• Light winds in shifty/flukey conditions (ie, if you sail on an inland lake, with fresh water or in off-shore winds)? You most likely want a fin that points super high, even if it is slow; pointing high allows you to get into the new wind quicker.
• Medium-strong winds on the ocean? It’s possible you might want a fin that travels faster, even at the expense of a little height, to be able to dodge between swells and help with your downwind speed.

Now What? Some Ideas on Fin Tuning

Now that we’ve covered a little bit of terminology and some super basic ideas to think about when selecting a fin to buy, it’s time to move over to how to tune a fin and what to think about when you are testing fins against other fins. It is quite difficult to explain what you are looking for when you tune any aspect of your gear, let alone fins. Tuning fins is about an intuitive feeling for going fast, pointing high or going deep downwind and this key skill that the Pro’s possess is something that mere mortals find difficult to grasp. Notwithstanding what I have just said, I still believe it is important that someone at least makes an attempt to explain what this feeling is, because that knowledge is one of the most sought after pieces of information in competitive windsurfing and probably something that most Pro’s will not want to give away.

On that note… here goes…

The approach I suggest you use when testing fins involves 3 stages:

1. Trying the new fin; understanding and learning its ’effect’ on the board
2. Testing the fin against the best fin you already have
3. Testing against a training partner

Stage 1: The “Effect”

The first thing you should think about when you try a new fin is its “effect” on the board; paying most of your attention to the ‘trim’ of the board. Most boards, generally speaking, like to be sailed with the nose riding high (lifting a little) and railing well upwind with even pressure between the front and back legs (or a little more pressure on your back leg if necessary). Some fins do this naturally (like a standard R13), but with other fins (even some that may be faster than an R13) you may need to work hard to develop this response from the fin.

There is no substitute for time-on-water. Just go sailing and get used to the feeling off your new fin. Forget about changing settings at this stage. Just sail your new fin.

Stage 2: Test the Best

To test any fin, you should always test it against the best fin you already have. Go for a run on your current best fin and find the setup that gets the most out of that fin in the conditions you are currently sailing (boom height, mast-track position etc). Now without changing any gear settings, go for a run on the new fin and pay close attention to how this fin effects the trim of the board (does the board feel stickier? sluggish? more responsive? lifting the nose too much and losing control?). If there is a difference, the first thing to try is moving your mast-track. I always suggest moving your mast-track in larger movements; 3cm at a time can sometimes be good to get a first impression on trim. When you are more dialled in to the feeling you can start moving it 1cm at a time.

If there is no difference in how the board sails/rails upwind then try moving your mast-track around anyhow. It’s possible, this new fin, even though it hasn’t changed the trim of your board, could have more control at the top end and allow you to run the mast-track further back than your best fin, which may be a faster setting on your fw board.

Downwind, mostly you want to find a fin that helps fly-the-fin, which is, excessively railing to reduce the wetted surface-area of the board. Traditional tapered leading-edge fins with a little twist such as an R13 or Hurricane 4a will rail the board almost with no concentration necessary. Some of the newer, softer fins with more torsional-stiffness, (such as a new Select R07 or some model Kashy’s) might require a slightly more upright stance or different mast-track position to fly-the-fin more efficiently. The fins that will do this the best will depend on the board/sail combination being used.

Stage 3: Race Your Buddy

Now that you’ve tuned your gear to compliment your new fin, go and test it against your training partner to check its performance. It’s important in this stage to have a consistent training partner of a similar speed and one who appreciates the rules of ’2-boat tuning’ and doesn’t just put you in the hopeless position all the time. You need to swap positions regularly when you run to make sure your position isn’t affecting the other sailor’s performance and it is likely, with two sailors, that one sailor might point higher and the other might go faster on their current setups. Every so often on the run upwind, change positions from windward to leeward boat, to see if you can judge whether one fin is going better than the other.

It’s important to understand how much ‘better’ one fin is going in the scope of the original points that were mentioned “when selecting a new fin”. HIGHER is different to FASTER. Imagine those strengths/weaknesses if you were in a race. It’s not much good being excited your new fin is faster upwind than your friend’s if he is going higher than you - when you purchased this fin to sail in shifty offshore conditions on a fresh-water lake. He will most likely punish you around the course and you’ll be 300 euros poorer.

Don’t forget downwind performance!

That’s It, We’re Done!

This is a pretty ‘general’ write-up about tuning fins, simply because the variables in windsurfing are too great to write a decent article on this unless you are writing about using a particular sail-brand, on a particular board, for guys at a particular body weight sailing in particular conditions. What I hoped to achieve, is to create a reference point and lay-down a few important points about creating your own system to efficiently let you test fins (with or without a training partner/gps-unit analysis) and get people thinking more about “what fins do to your board trim”, rather than obsessing over what fin is Antoine using.

If you remember the few key pointers about fin testing and learn a little about the terminology of fins, it will help you get more out of the millions of forum posts out there on fins (ie, I suggest you Google anything that Boogie has written on a forum in the last 6 years).

Hopefully this article will help with the next fin purchase. Down the track we will attempt to write something more specific to boards as with the new 2-year lock on board shapes, we are stuck with the current gear for some time now … In the meantime, here are a few frequently asked questions on fins from various windsurfing forums around the world.

Frequently Asked Questions Regarding Fins.

Q > I’ve read some Pro’s now prefer softer fins for high-wind; I thought stiffer fins were better for high-winds?

• http://www.star-board.com/forum/showthread.php?t=3526

I think you will find that statement to have been true about 3-4 seasons ago, but it doesn’t apply to the current gear. Since 2006, with the Starboard 160 (and now 161, 162). The tail-widths of the FW boards have increased dramatically; the same for nearly all board brands, not just Starboards. As a result, with even more power from the tail of the board we can run bigger and more powerful fins than ever before.

Although cutdown fins have been around a long time, they probably weren’t as mainstream back in the Starboard 147/158 days, but now look at the R19 (as a 76cm cutdown), which is the “standard” foil to come with a 161/162 board.

If you want more power in a fin, generally speaking, you make it bigger (ie, a cutdown) or you make it softer. So now we are seeing more people using soft fins in all conditions, not just lightwinds. And some (myself included to some extent), using one fin for nearly all conditions – the lightwind fin that works great in highwinds.

So with the extra control we now have with our wider tail boards and everyone using softer and softer fins, the brands have worked on the nose shapes, making them thinner and more boat-like (specifically on the 162 and Gaastra Vapor), which has allowed us to control these soft powerful fins downwind, where before it was uncomfortable with such power under your feet.

Another aspect that I suspect that plays a role is the “twist” in these fins. Hard to know exactly what happens with a fin under your feet, but I suspect the extra twist in the softer fins allows them to depower as they flex when you sail downwind and help with control, whereas a Medium fin would be trickier downwind and a Hard fin even trickier again as they can’t release the power and so end up forcing you upwind instead of allowing you the control to drive downwind.

Q > This new fin I have is making the board sail very flat, is this slow?

Probably. Depends on your board. As mentioned above in the tuning section, you are most likely sailing with one of these newer, softer and more powerful fins (a good example is a Kashy or what Deboichet is most likely trying to replicate with an R20). These fins create a small amount of vertical lift which in a sense, lifts the tail of your board which in turn, drops the nose of your board. I’ve read on some forums that with these fins the boards need to be sailed very flat, but I think you’ll find the fin is making your board sail flat (in other words, you don’t need to work so hard to get the optimum trim out of the fin; it is doing it for you).

Now go windsurfing!

Since this will be a long article, I’ve decided to break it up into two parts. The first will be a tutorial on how to create a GPSAR (GPS Action Replay is a program designed to replay GPS tracks simultaneously for review) to review any race you have competed in. The second part will be how to analyse this data more efficiently and some tips on the easiest things to improve, now that you have a way of reviewing your racing.

For the record, GPSAR was brought to the forefront of the Formula Windsurfing public eye by Devon Boulon and Ian Fox at the 2005 FW Worlds in Australia. Unbeknownst to many at that event, a few of us in Sydney, Australia, had already be doing these replays for over 2 seasons and felt quite robbed by Devon taking the glory. In fact, some of what was done in Australia with the help of Jan (creator of GPSAR) has paved the way for the new version of GPSAR Pro.

To give you some examples of what I am talking about here, please visit the site below. This is a windsurfing club in Sydney, Australia, at which we have run our races for many years with the top riders using GPS units while they race. (You will require only Java Runtime Environment to view these files, see below for a download):

• www.storm-riders.com.au/gpsar/

GPSAR allows you to upload any number of GPS tracks simultaneously onto one screen, and even underlay that screen with a map of the location. With this program, you can change the speed and view of the race whilst you watch and then very easily see how everyone got to the finish line in the positions they did (whereas in reality, you can only see who’s within earshot of you on the racecourse). All you need to do is next time you go sailing, take your GPS unit and make sure a couple of rivals also have theirs. Record the tracks at the end of the day onto one computer then follow this tutorial…

So let’s begin the tutorial.

Please note, the pictures in this gallery are named accordingly with the STEPS in this tutorial to help you understand better. I have also included a link to each figure within the title of each step, to help us lazy people who hate scrolling back up anytime.

GPSAR TUTORIAL

To be able to make the GPSAR’s you will require the following software. I have done this by using FREE software rather than programs you need to pay for:

• GPSAR ver 3.3.3 (old “classic” version) – the new version is paid for.
• Java Runtime Environment
• G7toWin (used to cut the tracks into separate days etc, GPSAR can only work on tracks used for one day, G7towin can do +2 days. It can also handle various file formats and is needed to create the waypoints that sync the maps)
• Google Earth (used to create maps and it gives you the coordinates to place your maps)
• Microsoft Notepad (used as a html editor) – any text editor will work here. I actually use Dreamweaver MX but its paid for.
• Microsoft Picture Manager (used as a photo editor) – any photo editor will work here. I use Photoshop but again, this is paid for and I’m aiming to do this for free.
• NAVi users: GPS Results, GPSAR Pro, or RealSpeed. (please note, these are all PAID FOR programs and are required to convert the .sbn files to .gpx format. Sorry guys, why don’t you just buy a Garmin?)

For the record, I prefer Garmin GPS units for FW analysis. I apologise to all the avid NAVi GPS fans out there but in the time I’ve edited tracks of FW races to put into GPSAR’s, I’m yet to see a clean NAVi track. They seem to be more vulnerable to losing the signal in patches; despite what version software is used. The Garmin Edge/Forerunner series are flawless, everytime.

To begin, you require all the tracks from everyone who sailed that day who you wish to include in the replay. About 4-8 people is best, as more than this and the screen becomes cluttered and more difficult to view the tactics. Take the best 4-8 people in your fleet who wear GPS units.

STEP 1 (Edit the Files into One Day) [Figure 1]

GPSAR has a 24 hour clock inbedded and cannot handle multiple days of data. If someone gives you a track with 3 days of data (as everyone who owns a NAVi seems to do!), you need to use G7toWin to split the track into 3 separate days. The aim is to create files that have 1 day on them.

To edit, highlight the first line of the track to be removed, then scroll down until you find the next day of data and highlight the last of the first day. Right-click and select DELETE SELECTED TRACK ELEMENTS. Save this file as a new file with a name like ‘day1_aus120.gpx’.

STEP 2 (Manage the Files) [Figure 2]

Make a directory with each day’s racing and put the edited tracks into this directory.

• I suggest you come up with a nice and unified way of naming your files to keep it organised and clean. Something like day1_aus120.gpx (where I’ve used the sail number of who’s track it is and the date).

Open GPSAR and open each sailor’s edited track and give them a name (ie, SAIL NUMBER) and then a unique colour (think about what colour map you are going to use to pick colours, so that they stand out), then save the individual tracks again with this new information. To change the name and colour, click the NAME and COLOR buttons on the right hand sidebar underneath the Trajectories.

STEP 3 (Start/Finish Times) [Figure 3]

Pick someone who is in the top of the fleet (easiest to do with the winner). Open his track in GPSAR and using the scroll bar at the bottom, scroll through his track and find the times (roughly) where he starts the race and finishes. GPSAR can only cut the tracks to the nearest 5:00 mins so write on a piece of paper the nearest 5:00 mins before the start and roughly 10-15 mins after he finishes (depending on the level of your fleet who’s tracks you are using – ie, you want everyone to have finished within that 10-15 min window).

STEP 4 (Let’s do Race 1) [Figure 4.1] [Figure 4.2]

Clear GPSAR and then load everyone’s track one by one so all the data is on the screen. I suggest you load them in numerical order (just to be consistent and keep everyone in the same spot each race). Set the start time and finish time by using the appropriate items on the VIRTUAL RUN & STATS menu, then cut it using CUT TRACKS (WITHIN TIME SETTINGS) on the FILE menu. Save that as Race1.gpx. You are basically saving the entire race now.

If you want a shortcut to this step and you have a LOT of ram in your computer: load everyone in and then save all the tracks as one file called DAY1.gpx. Then using the start and finish times, cut it and save it as Race1.gpx. So next time you open it you can just open DAY1 instead of the individual tracks each time. This is quicker, but you would need at least 3-4GB of RAM to be able to handle this, otherwise your computer may explode!

Repeat this step for as many races as you want replays for. ie, Race1, Race2, Race3, Race4, Race5 etc etc…

STEP 5 (Create a Pirate’s Treasure Map) [Figure 5]

To create a map, take your original sailor who’s track you used to define the start/finish times. Take his FIRST race and save it as a file. Go into GoogleEarth and find the location of where you have been sailing, then do a screen dump [Print Screen button] of this location. Then take the coordinates (using your mouse hovering over the screen, you will be given longitude/latitude coordinates on the taskbar) from the very top left corner and bottom right corner of the screen.

Use any photoeditor (I like Photoshop) to edit the picture so you only can see the map, not the control panel of GoogleEarth. Save the edited map file as a .jpg file.

• TIP: put the grid on in GoogleEarth, to help you get your bearings, then take it off before you do the screendump.

Put the .jpg file of your map into a directory called /maps/ within the directory you have all your tracks in(needs to be smallcase).

STEP 6 (Calibrating the Map) [Figure 6.1] [Figure 6.2]

Open up the original sailor’s track you used in Step 6 in G7toWin and insert waypoints for the top left and bottom right corners of the track by using CREATE on the WAYPOINTS menu. [See Figure 6 in the gallery to make sure you've entered the coordinates correctly]. Save this file.

Open GPSAR and load the track (now with waypoints) and switch waypoints on (tick box on right sidebar) and load the .jpg map file using FILE ~ CREATE A NEW MAP. Zoom the scale out so you can see the map in its entirety and the waypoints (WP1, WP2) and then hold down the SHIFT and CONTROL keys and using your mouse you drag the waypoints over the map. This is explained on pages 65-70 on the GPSAR Pro Full Manual. Then save the map: FILE ~ SAVE MAPS.

The map is now calibrated.

STEP 7 (Setup the Applet) [Figure 7]

You need to make a new folder with these 9 files in it (for 4 races); the extra file is the gpsar.jar file. Here’s one I prepared earlier (download mine, because you MUST have all these files included):

• DOWNLOAD GPSAR Sample Folder (1.12 MB zip file)

I have included in their all the race files called race1.html etc. Use these standard files and edit it with your HTML Editor, making note of the screen resolution (you can put a nice heading in it as well) and then save it, like “Race 1 – Champion of the Universe Grand Prix”. In Figure 7 you can see highlighted in pink what parts of the .html file need to be edited.

Open the HTML file in your web browser. It should load the maps (it may ask for cookies or an ActiveX application, select yes). Make sure you remembered to install the Java Runtime Environment, otherwise this could get ugly…

STEP 8 (Optimising for Better Analysis)

You’ve actually finished by this stage, but to help you better analyse the racing here’s a few tips on setting up GPSAR to look nice and clean…

A) Compare Side-by-Side Performance:

Pick on the fastest guy on the course, centre to him by right-clicking your mouse on him. Select FOOTPRINTS on the View Settings panel on the right side. Wind the speed up to around x6 on the top bar and adjust the zoom scale to maximum.

B) Identify Tactics:

If you want to analyse the tactics, tide influences, wind shifts and course differences, adjust the scale to fit the entire race into the screen. Wind the speed up to around x10-15 and select NEIGHBOURHOOD on the View Settings Panel.

If you want, you can get fancy with Photoshop and put the buoys in… But I’ve noticed doing this that buoys actually drift further than you think over a day’s racing!!

That’s it.

Dr. Manfred Curry wrote a famous book in 1928 about yacht racing and the aerodynamics of sails. Thankfully, things have come a long way in terms of boat design since then but nearly everything he wrote about racing tactics are as true today, as they were in 1928. Curry talks a lot about the importance of sailing the ‘next’ tack, rather than the tack you are currently on; thinking ahead and positioning yourself for an advantage on the next tack. To take a line from his book:

“…racing; it is a game of chess of the highest order…It is a game, in which you must reckon out every move beforehand and not only anticipate but also be prepared for the numberless attacks that can or may be made, but with the disadvantage, that you do not have as much time as you may like for your next move…”

This article is focusing on the second tack of a windward leg – which generally speaking should be bringing you to the layline close to the windward mark or to the windward mark on starboard (depending on how you have sailed the course). To get started, a few terms need to be explained and also why this tack should be focused on in a race.

Hopeless Position:

It sounds hopeless. Mainly because it is. Generally speaking, this position refers to anytime you are in someone’s “dirty air”, that is, directly behind them, behind and downwind of them, or behind and upwind of them. Take a look at the photo on the left for a fantastic diagram of the hopeless position. To explain the diagram, Boat II is in the hopeless position. The curved lines (a) refer to the wind. See how it curves almost 15 degrees as it displaces off the sail of the Boat I – that’s why you get punished sailing behind someone in their dirty air. If you are in the zone of (b), you are really in a hopeless position and most likely need to tack out of there as you are sheltered from the wind and likely to be sailing slow and at a poor angle. The line (c) is the bad air displacement coming from Boat I upwind. Notice how even upwind of Boat I, Boat II is still getting dirty air. He needs to be almost five boat-lengths upwind of Boat I to reach the safe leeward position and get out of jail (his options are to follow course 1  or 2)…

Safe Leeward Position:

This is where you want to be. The position of dreams (and of race winners). Have a look at a few more diagrams from Manfred Curry in the gallery below, showing you the safe leeward position. His diagrams are a little vague, but give you the general idea. The safe leeward position refers to the boat who is either in front (spilling dirty air on the boats behind him) or upwind and out of the (c) zone and dirty air of the boat in front – as shown in the above image. The safe leeward position is the white boat in [Diagram A,B,C,D] and the black boat in [Diagram E,F,G] to further explain. This position allows you to control the boats behind you and start to dictate the race – instead of just “sailing” it. It’s what top sailors do all the time.

Close Hauling:

I merely use this term to go along with Manfred Curry’s lingo (in case you have his book and would like to study up). It’s a sailing term and doesn’t really relate to windsurfing in that sense, but just think of it as sheeting in really hard, squeezing with your body and sail trim to pinch as high as you can. You know what I’m talking about…dropping your speed down to 12 knots upwind and really going for a super tight angle. The guys using the uphaul rope technique upwind seem to be able to do this well.

Ok, now we know the terms lets get to work on how you can apply it…

Imagine you come off the startline on starboard with clear air and good speed. Your main competitor is directly behind you, upwind about 2 boatlengths but still in the hopeless position (the black boat in [Diagram C]). You are in the safe leeward position and controlling the race by controlling your main opponent behind you. Two things can happen here: you can close-haul really hard, going slow to out-point him and push him into a very hopeless position (like the black boat in [Diagram B]), forcing him to tack off to get out of your dirty air; or you can go about your race casually and let him force YOU into the hopeless position (white boat in [Diagram E]).

Attacking From The Hopeless Position:

Let’s imagine you are the black boat in [Diagram C]. Currently you are in the hopeless position on starboard coming out of the startline. If you are a comparable speed to the boat in front and you are sailing to the favoured side of the course it’s important not to give up and tack away early but focus on the NEXT tack on port toward the layline. If you can hold your angle (you will likely be going slower) and stay within a few boatlengths of this leading sailor then you can tack at the same time as him, pump aggressively to get upwind a few metres (every metre is important here) and instantly put HIM into the hopeless position. Does this make sense?

A quick tack and initiation of planing at the moment the leading boat tacks is important here. Since you are a few boatlengths behind but upwind of this leading boat it is only natural that if you tack at the same time then you are now in front but downwind of him. With an intense focus on making sure the first few pumps out of the tack are heading you aggressively to windward you can begin to spill dirty air on him and push him into the hopeless position, before he has time to sail over the top of you. If you have sailed all the way to the starboard layline than he will really be in trouble because he can not tack away from your dirty air (he is already on the layline). Now YOU control the race.

That is a quick and simple explanation of how to attack from the hopeless position on the second tack of a race. Lets imagine this another way. It’s the second lap of a windward return course and you are currently rounding the bottom mark in 2nd, only 20m behind the leading boat. If you can close-haul super hard and keep upwind of him (still in the hopeless position, unless you are more than 10% faster/higher than this sailor, in which case you can just sail right over the top of him) you should focus on the SECOND tack of this lap, rather than the awful position you are currently in. When sailing to the layline (to tack on to starboard to run to the mark) you can tack fractionally earlier than him, and squeeze to put him in the same position you were in only a moment ago. He can’t tack away because you are already on the layline and if you are a similar speed he most likely can’t overrun you into the mark if you’ve put him into the hopeless position. Once around the mark ahead of him you are well on your way to winning that race … This idea only works if you are withing 5 boatlengths of the leading boat. Any further back and he will have time to run over the top of you from his higher position after the tack.

Defending From the Safe Leeward Position:

These last two examples I have talked about coming from the hopeless position into the safe leeward position by means of a faster and more efficient tack than the leading boat (focusing on thinking about the next leg, rather than the leg you are on). Thats all good and well but it is certainly easier to defend from the safe leeward position than attack from the hopeless position.

Positioning on the first upwind leg of a race is one of the most important aspects of your racing (once you have got your gear tuned and starts perfected). You should always be aiming to get into the safe leeward position to the boats around you, especially if one of these boats is your main competitor. It allows you to control the race, rather than just sail it. Once in the safe leeward position, you can then wipe off your speed and point super high. The boat behind you won’t be able to sail over you if you are comparable in speed and will be forced to tack away or sail under you at a terrible angle. That being said, never be complacent in the safe leeward position as a good sailor will be always thinking of the NEXT tack and getting ready to put YOU into the hopeless position if you are sloppy in your tack.

The key to defending from the safe leeward position on starboard tack out of the start is remembering these points:

• You must NOT sail over the layline to tack on to port. Doing this will allow the hopeless sailor to tack earlier and put you in the hopeless position on the second leg.
• Depending on the course, it is usually best to tack earlier than the starboard layline if your main competitor is in the hopeless position (even if this means you have to dip below him after the tack, when he is still on starboard). That way you can take advantage of any lifts into the mark on port and also helps you to avoid sailing OVER the layline.
• If you are close to the layline, tack when your competitor tacks. Keep him in the hopeless position and continue to spill dirty air. If he goes too early, let him go, you are in clean air and heading to the favoured side – right?

Hopefully this gets everyone thinking about their tactics more than just thinking “oh, I’m in this guy’s dirty wind, I may as well give up on this race!”

A great way to analyse your tactics is by using a GPS unit to record the tracks of your race. Having the other competitor’s tracks is also a good way to analyse and criticise (improve) your tactics… but that’s a whole other article…

Frank Bethwaite was at the forefront of development of the 18ft Skiffs from the 1970′s through to the 1990′s. He suggested that the performance of boats that sail with the apparent wind forward of the beam at all times (as does a FW board) is governed by the ratio of the sail carrying power versus the total weight.

(See the above picture and read the full chapter, “The Quest for Speed”; pg 164 -High Performance Sailing)

This chapter was written about 18ft Skiffs. A modern FW’er emulates the performance of an 18ft Skiff. A good comparison was the Ronstan Bridge-to-Bridge race in San Francisco. Micah Buzianis (USA-34) and Kevin Pritchard (USA-3) competed against many top 18ft Skiff boats from Australia (including the World Champion from England) as well as the best of the best in kitesurfing. Micah narrowly beat the 18ft Skiff in this race highlighting their similarity in boatspeed:

• http://www.kiter.com/events/bridge2bridge.asp
• http://www.formulawindsurfing.org/news.php?id=587

The “sail carrying power/total weight” ratio for a sailor like Antoine Albeau on FW gear is in the vicinity of 55% compared with 61% that Bethwaite identifies for a modern 18ft Skiff. The total equipment weight of FW gear is around 26kg (unless you have the new Exocet board!). With the hydrodynamic lift that a FW board generates when planing, the “sail carrying power” is perhaps a better determining factor in going fast, rather than Bethwaite’s sail carrying power/total weight ratio.

SAIL CARRYING POWER =
Righting Moment / Distance between the centre of effort of the sail and the combined lateral resistance of the hull and fin.

Antoine, at 100kg has a sail carrying power which is 20% more than someone like Steve Allen at 82kg. With the development of the FW class, raceboards have become wider (up to 100.5cm now) and in the last two seasons, even wider in the tail. This allows for more sail carrying power which has been helped by the stability and handling of the newer wide-luff race sails.

All that being said, there’s more to winning a race than simply eating a few too many meat-pies before you go sailing, which is proved by a guy like Steve Allen coming 2nd overall at a relatively light weight of 82kg. So let’s focus less on what you can do physiologically and look at some things you can “actually” do to help you go faster around the course at whatever weight you are…

Have a look at this photo from the racing in Silvaplana, 2007. The lead boat is Alberto Menegatti (ITA-456), behind him Markus Bouman (NED-6) and 3rd in the line is myself (AUS-120). Notice our distinctly different techniques. With Alberto on the uphaul rope he can get his body much further hiked and still have the sail quite upright. Markus gets out a little further than me but isn’t sheeted in too well in this picture. I believe I am too upright in the photo and have since worked on my technique to improve my stance.

Now have a look at this photo gallery here; a few photos of some of the top guys in FW going to windward. Notice everyone’s technique is slightly different but most of them have the sail very upright and are very hiked out, getting their body as far from the sail as possible. My favourite is the photo of Kevin Pritchard (USA-3) from the 2002 FW Worlds in Germany. His sail could be a little more upright but check out how far hiked he is! No wonder he won two Worlds in a row!

It is hard to get the sail upright and keep sheeted in at the same time. The two things seem to contradict each other when you try it. Work on getting your body hiked and away from the sail first, as it’s the easiest to correct. When you do, you will most likely be sailing with the rig too far on top of yourself. Once you start to drag the sail on top of you, the lift forces you are generating from the fin begin to decrease, so the second part of your training should be to work on ways of getting the sail more upright whilst still keeping your body hiked out. Here’s some tips to get you started…

Feet:

Feet are VERY important in railing the board and positioning your body for a good stance. Make sure you are on the balls of your feet. In lighter winds you can use your front foot to pull up on the front strap and help rail the board – in the extremes you can even do this with your back foot. Keep light on the board as heavy pressure will only dig the winward rail in (that’s slow!). Keep light on your feet; think like a ballerina.

Legs:

The best technique involves having a straighter front leg than your back leg. It shouldn’t be dead straight, but just a slight bend to allow you to absorb chop with your legs (by bending them slightly over the swells) and be comfortable when you sail. The concept should be to apply more weight to your back leg and lifting your front foot to rail the board, which allows you to power the fin and still rail the board. Practice will help with this…

Arms:

There’s no right or wrong here but I personally believe you can get further away from the rig with a pronated grip (both hands over the boom, as opposed to having your front hand under the boom). Everyone has a personal preference and once you have a good technique down-pat, you can do it with either grip – but to help learn this technique quickly I would suggest trying the pronated grip. A pronated grip allows you to roll your shoulders forward and effectively lengthen your arms a few cm.

Body:

Try to avoid twisting your body to windward. The best sailors have a relatively straight stance if you look at them from directly upwind. Have a look at the photo in the gallery of Wojtek Brzozowski (POL-10), he stands very straight on the board which means he can keep the sail very upright and still hike out. Twisting your shoulder forward as some people do when they are overpowered can lead to dragging the sail on top of you more.

Breathing:

Believe it or not, breathing is important with this technique. When you breathe deeper, you open your diaphragm up and can relax your shoulders more to get them rolling forward to lengthen your armspan. Probably, it’s hard to remember your breathing in 25 knots, but give it a thought on that 10 knot day when you next go sailing.

Equipment:

Equipment plays a big role in helping you hike. Your boom height, harness lines, mast-track position and fin will change the way the sail feels in your hands and the pressures it allows you to apply to the fin. This is all personal preference. Try it all. Get a friend with a camera to take some photos of you sailing and see what setup helps you to get more hiked.

Uphaul Rope:

The jury is still out on this one. Many top sailors use it in light winds, many go the same speed without it. My personal opinion is that the theory behind it is good, because the guys using the uphaul are hiked out incredibly far whilst still having the sail upright. There are plenty of guys who can get their bodies out that far without the uphaul rope, so whatever works for you – works for you.

Take some time next time you race to have a look at the stance of the guy’s winning the races. If the fleet is at a decent level, then chances are the guys winning will have a great stance keeping the rig upright and hiking out far from their board to generate maximum lift. That is why they beat you around the course without forking out so much money for a new fin like you did. Now, imagine you’ve worked on your stance AS WELL as buying that new fin …

Background Development

Arriving in Poland in August 2007 to train before the Allegro Cup in Leba, I caught up with Steve Allen and his Polish training partner Hubert Mokrzycki (POL-25). I had heard whispers of Tabou bringing out a formula board for 2008 but I was still suprised to find Steve and Hubert with 2 prototypes of the new board out on the beach. Despite the Tabou footstraps, it was completely blank of graphics and from first view looked a lot like a Starboard 160. The cutouts being the only visual difference; one board with the Starboard cutouts and the other with some deep F2 looking cutouts.

Steve had been riding the Starboard 160 for most of the season (see here why he used the 160 and not a 161) and had wanted to make some improvements beginning with modifying the nose shape and also a slight difference in the bottom shape. Suprisingly enough, from what I could gather there were only these 2 prototypes made, which is a stark contrast to Starboard who usually boast an incredible amount of prototypes tested to come up with their new boards. They tried both cutout shapes but found the Starboard ones to be better than the F2 type. Also note that Steve and Hubert did the entire development on this board (Ross Williams wasn’t included in the development it seems).

From what I was told, Steve’s first use of the production version was during the FW World Championships in Brazil. Hubert informed me earlier that month in Poland that they had decided to brand it as a Gaastra board, to offer a full racing rig/board package and also a racing board as such didn’t fit with the brand-persona of Tabou.

Sailing with Steve earlier this week in Australia he tells me that in early testing with the new board in Brazil, it was faster on all points than the 160. He also volunteered that others who were testing the new 2008 162 had found it to be no faster than their 160′s. Take that with a grain of salt I should think…

Shape

Here are some measurements of the Gaastra Vapor, compared with a Starboard 161.

Gaastra Vapor:

• 30cm off (1ft off) – 5mm vee; 7mm concave
• 90cm off – 11.5mm vee; 5mm concave
• 120cm off – 13mm vee; 7mm concave
• 40cm from front – 14mm vee; 9mm concave

• Width at 30cm off – 813mm
• Mast-track (from back) – 1260mm
• Mast-track length – 170mm
• Finbox (from back) – 90mm
• Flat (from back) – 600mm
• Cutouts 14mm at centre

Starboard 161:

• 30cm off (1ft off) – 0mm vee; 1.5mm concave
• 90cm off – 4mm vee; 4.5mm concave
• 120cm off – 19mm vee; 4mm concave
• 40cm from front – 14mm vee; 1.5mm concave

• Width at 30cm off – 807mm
• Mast-track (from back) – 1267mm
• Mast-track length – 170mm
• Finbox (from back) – 90mm
• Cutouts 10mm at centre

So you can see quickly that the Vapor board is slightly wider in the tail and has a little more vee and concave towards the front – actually the concaves continue right into the nose of the board. The Vapor also has a little more rocker (about 10mm vs 7mm in the 161). The mast-tracks and fin position are exactly the same however.

Ride

This board is a very similar ride to the two previous Starboards (160, 161) in the sense that you can just jump on it, put any fin in, put the track anywhere and just go sailing. I always felt the F2 boards required a little more finesse in your trimming and technique which made them a more technical ride (although still very fast). This board is very “point and shoot” and doesn’t require constant rail pressure or footing off for speed to keep it trucking upwind; making it very easy to tune!

Initially, the new thinned out nose was something I was interested in really testing out when I sailed it for the first time in windy conditions (+25 knots) at Redcliffe, QLD. For those who don’t know where Redcliffe is, it is by far one of the most gnarliest spots I have ever sailed formula at and happens to be my home spot. Think 3-4m swells that are extremely close together and steep as well as few turtles, sharks, dolphins and crab-pots make this an interesting place to test gear – however it boasts some of the most consistent winds (direction/strength) on this side of Australia. I’m not a fan of chicken straps (as you’ll see below) so I took the board out on this particular day to try and see if I could catch the nose downwind!

About 7 waves in a row I lifted my back foot and kicked the board downwind off the top of a swell to try and dig it in (don’t try this at home kids!). I’ve done this a few times on a 161 and subsequently broken booms, fractured elbows and have had a NP boom logo imprinted into my shoulder as a result of catching its nose in +30 knot winds with big seas! The Vapor doesn’t even look like catching…

On the 8th wave I did manage to aggressively sink the nose under a swell but the board’s shallow entry and ‘boat-like’ V shape all the way to the bow allowed the board to pop out of the water very quickly and lose minimal speed. Downwind, I found the board railing very easily which allowed me to ‘fly-the-fin’ (thank Sam Ireland’s Pro Secrets DVD for that term) downwind keeping the speed and forgetting about the swells in front of me. I believe this board’s strength is its downwind controllability (that’s probably not a word!) and speed downwind.

My only negative in the ride of the board was the rail shape under the footstraps. It is a quite boxy board under your feet and as a result I had sore arches in my feet after 2 hours of hard sailing. Something to get used to I guess, but I never had this problem with the Starboards.

Tuning

I have been running my footstraps in the second back hole and mast-track in the middle or 1cm back for 90% of conditions. I don’t like to move my footstraps depending on wind conditions, but on other boards you can get away with raking your fins further upright by moving your footstraps 1-2 holes further forward to get your weight more centralised over the fin.

• TIP: If you are raking your fin excessively forward (nearly upright etc), don’t move your mast-track forward too early. Despite what you might think, raking your fin more upright actually helps to keep the nose of your board down as it creates more vertical lift at the tail.

This board likes power and I felt comfortable using my 12m Gaastra Vapor up to 12-15 knots (although I would normally be on my 11m in 12 knots in racing conditions) and has a wide, powerful tail which allows you to really drive from your back foot upwind, instead of railing the board by pointing the toes of your front foot in the strap. In windy conditions you can keep the track back (still in the middle) if you have the control as the nose shape does not catch on the swells and rides nice and high downwind, allowing you to pick your lines through the swells and go for speed – rather than dodging the deep swells that look a little scary!

I also noticed upwind, the board kept flat in choppy conditions allowing you to really keep the power on the fin. This might mean there’s more potential to spin-out a fin in choppy conditions if you are not too careful, so the board might require a little more finesse in your sheeting/breathing technique over the swells. In flat water (we don’t have flat water where I live) the board should track nicely upwind.

I’ll deal with fins in a moment, but for tuning purposes the secret to getting the board to fly is to make sure to get the nose free and lifting upwind. Mast-track, boom-height and fin make a difference in this sense. Use a combination of mast-track back, boom higher (try one or the other first) to make sure you are getting the nose out of the water and you will notice the board feels lighter under your feet and more responsive. When using a new-style softer-tip fin (see below for what I am talking about), you will need to run the mast-track further back (1-2cm from middle) to keep the nose free as these fins generate more lift under the tail and seem to keep the nose down – which is slow!

You can trim this board by feel with a bit of practice. Go sailing and try and get your weight back towards the fin with mast-track/boom-height settings and when you feel the board is lighter under your feet and more responsive – that is the fast setting you are looking for (this could probably be said of ALL formula boards, but it was more noticeable to me on the Vapor). Try it. Go for a run with your track in the middle. Move it back 1cm and try again. Try 1cm more downhaul and boom up 2cm… I think you’ll notice the difference… try to keep the mast-track towards the middle even in windy conditions if you can handle it (the board needs the nose high to trim correctly).

Fins

The original prototypes were tested with Hubert’s R13 70 S and R19 70 S– fins and one would assume Steve would have tried his Kashy XXS which he had been using most of the year on the formula tour. I was a little disappointed to hear that the R19 was working well in the board as Hubert’s R19 is an early proto which of course was super-sweet and very soft whereas myself and (probably) everyone else in the world couldn’t get their R19′s to work. However, having a board that works perfectly with an R13 70 S is a great asset as this is by far the most popular fin on the market and one of the easiest to tune. So far I have tested the board with:

• R13 70 S
• R19 70 S-
• Select R07 S (2008 prototype – sorry!)
• Select R07 S- (2008 prototype)
• R13 66 S
• R13 73/70 M

Unfortunately for the point of this review, the Select fins were by far the best in this board. These fins aren’t available to the general public for a few months (my French friends tell me that these fins are now available to order from Select – thanks guys!) however the way these fins work is a good understanding of how this board works…

These Select fins are basically a copy of the Kashy fin’s concept in the sense that they are extremely soft in the middle/tip sections whilst having incredible tortional stiffness (no twisting) to create speed. I’m not entirely sure exactly how these fins work in relation to a standard Deb foil like an R13 (I have some ideas, and might write an article about it another day), however they seem to settle the board on the water a lot more than the standard Deb R13 does and help keep the board trimming nicely downwind. By “settle”, I mean that it keeps the board trimming nicely and prevents the side-to-side cantering that can happen with these modern boards that boast double-concaves. I remember Boogie used to talk about the Starboard boards tilting from side-to-side and that softer fins could help with this phenomenon.

So to summarise with the fins: this is another fantastically adaptable board that should be able to be tuned and get good speed/height out of a variety of fins. My recommendations would be that the best performance will be got out of the newer, softer-tip style fins such as Kashy’s, the new Deb R20 and the new Selects etc. Trimming is the key to getting this board to go fast and a powerful, soft fin will help keep the board railing and combined with a higher boom/track further back will help to lift the nose and reduce the wetted-surface area to go for maximum speed.

In higher winds, I still believe these new-style softer fins work far better and would suggest getting off big fins earlier, maybe down to a 68-66cm (depending on your weight) as this board creates rail pressure very easily and with the wide tail you can easily handle the power of these new fins without too much trouble. An R13 70 S/M will still be a great option in higher winds but I have found I can get better angle out of my R13 66 S in +20 knots as I can keep the mast-track towards the back with this smaller fin and keep the power on it at all times. A 95kg guy would probably do better justice with a 70cm fin in the board in high winds (I am 82kg at the moment).

OVERALL SUMMARY

Positives

• Easy to tune/trim
• Fast and safe downwind (probably due to the new nose and slightly deeper cutouts)
• Powerful tail shape allows use of more sail area and bigger fins in higher winds
• Quality construction and materials (although I’ve only owned the board for 3 weeks! – touch wood!)
• Rails easily upwind and trims very straight (no pitching or side-to-side cantering) with the correct settings used
• Gybes very easily

Negatives

• Full carbon might not be as resistant to heel/foot dents as the pine-wood on Starboard boards
• The name is the SAME as the Gaastra sails (c’mon guys, think of something NEW!)
• Slightly more sharp deck rails than the Starboards – may be a little harsher on your feet on the first ride
• Could’ve been slightly lighter considering the full-carbon construction

Overall I give the board 9/10 and (despite not actually being contracted to ride it whatsoever) it will be my board of choice this season for Formula racing. I’m excited to finally see another option on the market that’s a viable competitor to the Starboard as the F2 boards have not been readily available in Australia the past few seasons and it was starting to become a Starboard one-design class down here!