INGREDIENTS:

• 1x mast bottom section (broken or complete)
• 1x mast top section (to be used as a hammer!)
• Hacksaw & sharp knife/blade
• Sandpaper with block (80-120 grit)
• Acetone & an old rag
• Epoxy & Q-Cell Filler
• 300mm x 200mm piece of 200g per m² “plain weave” carbon
• File (the bigger the better)
• Bank/Credit card (an expired one!)
• Plastic cup & stirrer
• Rubber gloves
• Masking Tape & a Pen
• Clear Plastic film (any thickness, any size)
• Tape measure.
• Glass of beer (optional)

Let’s get to work. I would suggest doing this outside (or in the garage if you’d like to escape your other half).

Step 1 – Cutting.

Cut the broken mast section to a length of 460mm (obviously one end is the bottom of the mast) – important to make the cut square to the edge of the section (otherwise in use the mast will bear on a point instead of the full circumference – refer Step 9.).  You can check by putting the cut edge against the bottom of a mast and marking the high points; sand the high points using 80 grit on a sanding block.

Step 2 – Sliding.

Select the section to use as the spigot which needs to be 270mm long (pink section in Figure 1a).  The mast has a taper starting at about 600-900mm above the base.  Slide the ferrule of the broken mast through the mast extender from the bottom until it is a firm fit.  Mark 150mm above the top of the mast extender; this is approximately the top of the spigot.  Remove the broken mast and mark the 270mm spigot + 50mm both ends of the proposed spigot. I use the masking tape to make these markings.

Step 3 – Knife Me.

Remove any plastic film/stickers/graphics on the mast so that carbon is exposed (best to use the sharp knife/blade to scrape and remove any film).   Give the spigot  a clean with the acetone to remove any glue used on the film and then a light sand to remove any high spots.  Now slide the broken mast inside the mast extender, get a firm fit – maybe force it a little and then re-mark 150mm above the top of the mast extender.  This point may have moved from the mark you made in Step 2. After you have removed the film and given it a sand, remove the broken mast.

Step 4 – More Cutting.

Cut the mast 270mm below the mark made in Step 3. Next, cut the broken mast 50mm above the mark made in step 3.  Now the spigot will be 270mm long + 50mm at the top as a contingency that you will remove later (Step 6) after the spigot is glued to the mast extender.

Step 5 – Cleaning & Peanut Butter

Clean the inside of the top of the mast extender and the outside of the bottom of the spigot with acetone.  In your plastic cup, mix up an adhesive paste using epoxy and Q-cell (filler) to the consistency of soft peanut butter and coat both surfaces with this adhesive.  Slide the spigot up from the bottom until you have 150mm + 50mm of contingency extending above the top of the mast extender.  Now with a rag and acetone clean any adhesive on the inside of the mast extender below the spigot (otherwise it will foul the adjustable mast extension).

Step 6 – Cutting? Oh yes we do.

When the adhesive is set, cut the extension of the spigot to length – 150mm above the tip of the mast extender.  Next repeat Steps 2. 3. 4. & 5 for the reinforcing cylinder (blue section in Figure 1a).  Tap the reinforcing cylinder into position with a mast top section.  Important to get a firm fit;  it will not be perfect as the taper angles vary slightly, but it needs to be firm!

Step 7 – Carbon Time!

When Step 6 is complete before the adhesive sets, you can then build up the diameter of the spigot where it extends inside the mast.  As this section is tapered use 1 layer of carbon reinforcement 150mm long and then a second wrap 75mm long (carbon rectangular strips will be approx 170mm wide – circumference of spigot + 10mm overlap).  Mask the top 50mm of the mast extender to avoid painting with epoxy in the next step.  Give the spigot a light sand and then clean with acetone. Wet-out the carbon with epoxy resin on a film of plastic and then use your bank card to remove the surplus resin.    Apply a light coat of epoxy resin to the surface of the spigot and then lay-up the carbon over the spigot using a gloved hand.  Now you need a strip of clear plastic about 40mm wide that you will wind tightly around the carbon overlapping the proceeding layer by 50%.  If you cannot find plastic, use insulation tape (do not use masking tape – it will stick to the carbon).

This plastic/tape clamps the carbon around the spigot to ensure a good adhesion and squeeze out the air and surplus resin that may be entrapped below the carbon.  Do this step carefully so that the carbon threads in the weave remain straight (If you try to tighten too much the carbon layer will twist around the spigot).  Position the lap in the top layer at 90⁰ to the lap in the bottom layer.

Step 8 – File Me!

After the epoxy has cured, use a file or sand paper to remove surplus epoxy at the step where the mast touches the mast extender.  It is important to have a well defined step to seat against the bottom of the mast.  Now sand the carbon layers on the spigot until the mast will fit; it is preferable to have a firm fit not sloppy. You will need to sand the lapped areas first to remove high spots.  I find it best to get a strip of sandpaper about 50mm wide, 250mm long and use it like you would polish your shoes (covering half a circumference).

Step 9 – More Filing.

When the mast will slide over the spigot check that you have good contact around the full circumference at the step; you may need to use a file to remove any high spots.

Step 10 – Oh yes!

Drink your glass of beer.

SAFETY

Use a pair of disposal gloves to avoid getting epoxy or acetone in contact with your skin.  Step 7 is quite messy as you will have to handle the wet epoxy carbon laminate.  If you get epoxy on your skin it is preferable to use a laundry power to remove the epoxy – not acetone as it is absorbed through your skin and will lodge in you kidneys.

Photos by James Briggs & Sean O’Brien

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.

There are three vital aspects in technique training:

• Understanding the technique and theory behind how to do the manoeuvre
• Repetitive training of the manoeuvre and (if possible) getting feedback on the technique from an observer/coach
• Train, train and train until you can do the manoeuvre under stress in a variety of wind conditions

The fun of all this is that you can improve your sailing ability and thereby your results in competition through real training programs on technique. It still intrigues me why so many of us just go sailing and somehow hope to get better while they do not consequently work on their weaker points of sailing. Sailing combines the complications of strength, technique, tuning, tactics as well as the understanding of weather and difficult decision making processes. Why would you only train 40% of these when you could be training 100% of these aspects?

OK, I have to admit, I also make the same mistake over and over again: cruising around instead of specific training and constant testing if I’m faster than my buddy. Very rarely I take the time to train my manoeuvres and I know I lack consistency and lose a lot of time around the course because of this, so for me it is good to also write this article and get back to the real-deal; starting training with a goal in mind. I know that by doing so I will not only get better very quickly but on top of that I also will enjoy the process of training and fine-tuning my manoeuvres. Let us, this time, look at gybing:

GYBING (hands, hands again): 

Are you able to gybe your FW board whilst maintaining planing? Can you do this in 8 knots as well as in 20 knots? Can you gybe the board any time you feel like it, or do you need to wait for that perfect swell to ride down? Do you know your own weak points on the manoeuvre? Have you been training the manoeuvre or are you satisfied with the 5 gybes you do every afternoon whilst training?! What is crucial in the technique?

Firstly, a good gybe is a quick gybe. But do not get confused, because a good gybe is a very smooth manoeuvre aiming to not disturb the momentum you already have before initiating the turn. Imagine yourself doing a perfect gybe on your FW board, what is it like? How does it feel, close your eyes and feel the manoeuvre. Let me tell you how mine will go:

I have great speed going downwind while my sail is very full with minimal outhaul applied. I have already thought about where I want to execute the gybe as this will give me the right focus leading into the turn. First I will move my backhand further backwards to create a wider grip. Almost simultaneously I get my back foot out of the strap and place it on the leeward side just in the middle of the footstraps. With this I start the curve and while doing so I push the sail with my forward hand while pulling the sail with my backhand. It is the same movement how you would start a laydown gybe on your slalom equipment. As soon as the turn is ‘locked in’ I move my forward hand all the way towards the mast. My grip is now at the widest and I have a lot of control over my sail. Before I go through the wind I change my stance which is directly followed by flipping the sail.

Still, I see a lot of guys flipping far to late, they wait until the board and the sail is through the wind and then start flipping. This is far to late. The board will stall and you are far too late to rebuild the power in the sail and maintain the momentum. Because of this you will stop planing and loose all you may have gained by using the most sexy new fin your money could buy…

Get your manoeuvre right. Start early when changing your stance from one side of the board to the other and flipping the sail. If you have your forward hand close to the mast the flip will be smooth and you will be able to easy cross over with your other hand and maintain the momentum. After the cross get your hand far back on the boom while stepping backwards on the board. Lower your butt and pop the cambers through a powerfull pull on the sail. You may feel stupid lowering your butt so much but it is the only way to fully be in control of the things going on. It will enable you to maintain the planing momentum and you can gain a lot of ground by this, so please feel a little stupid and overdo this lowering of the butt.

A few key pointers to remember whilst gybing:

• Always do a boom-to-boom gybe. Holding the mast at any point in time is inefficient
• The lower you can get your body after flipping the sail, the easier it is to sheet the sail in without getting pulled over the front

Ok, now the manoeuvre is almost completed. If you started changing your stance and flipping the sail on time then the board is still on a downwind course the moment you start sailing again on the new tack and you will be able to hook into the harness easily. Only if you started too late with the flipping and stance-change your board is on a halfwind course or even on an upwind course and you have no chance what so ever to maintain the planing mode, just read the most essential elements below and get in control of your gybing.

FW Gybing, Step-By-Step:

1. Plan ahead where and when to start the manoeuvre
2. If you go too fast then start by luffing a little just prior to the gybe; I call it the ‘S’ shape start of the gybe
3. Widen your boom grip by placing your backhand even further towards the back of the boom (close to your outhaul cleats even). You need to tuck the sail slightly by pulling aggressively inwards with your back hand and dropping the front of the sail away from you
4. At the same time, get out of the back strap and place your backfoot on the leeward rail, engaging the pressure
5. Lean forward and across your board. This helps with tucking the sail and keeping the rail pressure on the board which allows you to cut through any chop (without tucking the sail, you can’t as easily generate the rail pressure necessary to commit the gybe and you will struggle gybing in choppy conditions)
6. Once you are 60% through your turn (60% if you are already heading downwind when beginning the gybe), driving from your back leg (still on the leeward rail), pull the sail upright as well as forward, using both arms. Its an action like throwing a shot-put and you must aggressively force your hips with your back arm and actually PUSH the sail away from you – this is initiating the sail flip
7. Don’t just “flip” the sail. Push it away with your backhand. With your front hand, aggressively pull the sail towards you from a grip that is closest to the mast as possible. This pulling will help the sail flip quicker as well as using the momentum created by your hip-drive to keep the board moving
8. As you flip the sail, your back leg moves to the front position on the new tack. In windy conditions you can do a strap-to-strap gybe if necessary (ie, your back leg goes straight into the front strap to help you with control when sheeting in)
9. As the sail is flipping, you are still pulling with your current front hand and then taking a grip in the same position (close to the mast) on the new side of the sail with your old back hand. Your hands will cross over to do this
10. The board should still be on a downwind course when you have sheeted in on the new side – this will help keep the board planing
11. Take a wide grip on the boom (back hand close to the outhaul cleat) and lower your butt significantly, to be able to sheet in with another pump of the sail to pop the cams
12. Hook into the harness before you put your foot in the back strap

The Planing FW Gybing in 8 knots:

Yes it is possible. Having a bit of swell to roll down helps. The technique is very similar to the above however there’s a few key steps you need to do PRECISELY otherwise you will stall and some mug from 4th place will beat you to the finish line on that last downwind leg.

• The sail flip has to be initiated 60% into the turn. Later and you will stall. Earlier and you will crash. 40% works best if you are already sailing on a downwind leg, so therefore you only need to turn just over 90 degrees to complete the gybe (not almost 180 degrees like a slalom gybe). So in actual fact, 60% has already brought you through the eye of the wind.
• When making the sail flip, focus a lot on the sail upward-thrust of both the rig and your body. With a wide grip on the boom, use your hips to the extent you are even twisting your body with your hips (the same direction the sail is flipping) as you move. As you twist, push very hard with your back hand to “throw” the sail away from you as you pull hard with your front hand to pull the sail back towards you. This allows the sail to flip quickly.
• In light winds you can switch your feet to the new side of the board a lot earlier. Move your back leg to the new windward side of the board in front of the front strap (never IN the front strap). Move your front leg to the new side just in front of the back strap (never IN the back strap).
• On the new side of the board and with the sail still in the process of flipping you can begin to pump the board with your legs. Drop your body weight very low (bend those knees!) and with both legs simultaneously drive upwards, with the motion of pushing the board “forward” with your legs. This is difficult to explain on paper, but easily replicated on the board. You are pumping the board with your legs and not pumping the sail.
• Pumping the board with your legs a few times as you are sheeting in on the new side is the key to keeping the board’s momentum. Sheeting in on the new side with the board pointing very far downwind also helps as you can spin the board the last few degrees as you sheet in.
• Pumping until you are powered enough to hook in is also mandatory. If you have timed your gybe nicely to finish coming down a swell you can use the pumping of the board with your legs to keep the board moving down that swell and ease into pumping the sail more efficiently.
• Practice and practice is the key to this gybe. It takes a while to master.

Working on the gybing techniques it is important to visualise yourself executing this manoeuvre in your mind, imagining how the manoeuvre might feel like and if possible looking at videos where the manoeuvre is executed perfectly. Then start practising the technique on the water. Having someone watching you doing the manoeuvre helps you pin-point any mistakes. An easy way to do this is to train in pairs with each of you watching each other gybe from behind. Even better, have someone videotape the sessions so you can see yourself and evaluate what you are doing for better or worse. If you can perform it again and again at a good level then it is time to train the manoeuvre under stress…

Think of any form of competition in which the manoeuvre is key. In the previous article I gave one possible training option which you can also do downwind. Go with your friend (or in a group) and have the leader of the pack shout ‘GYBE’ or any other signal at which everyone has to execute the gybe right away. The idea of the training is to get downwind as fast as possible. A slowly executed gybe will get you behind others but also a fast gybe in which you change the stance too late and flip the sail too late, finishing pointing upwind too far, will lose you valuable ground to those who execute better and/or are better able to maintain downwind momentum. Keep training until you come out on top, do not rest until you have a solid belief in yourself that you can and will perform a great gybe any time you have to. Being able to execute a great gybe even when you are tired will help you in Race 4 for the day.

Other possible training options are up and downwind battles in which you as a group decide on doing at least 6 tacks and gybes on the up and downwind and then have competition who is best. Train under stress. Do not go sailing without focus. Get out there with the mentality to always perform your best, as there is no substitute for TOW (time-on-water). Do not miss any opportunity to grow, unless you are one of the lucky guys that live in Hawaii or similar exceptional places on the Earth: then you have all the opportunity’s one can dream of.

Remember that learning plateau’s seem to always occur, even at the higher levels. Only those who really examine the reasons behind them will find the learning curve going up again. There is no easy way but what the heck, there is no better place to be then on the water doing what we all love so much, go (formula) sailing and having the best time of your life. Please buy yourself free time to train rather then spending all money on the newest gear constantly (then I will do just that and hope it will outperform all your training!)

Jan Witteveen.

Jan Witteveen has been racing formula since it began and has been a Dutch Champion in windsurfing way back in the Div II days before some of us were even old enough to hold an uphaul. He’s now heavily involved with organising the popular Regio Cup racing events in the Netherlands and an avid FW racer…

Let’s take a step back from your sailing and see what is happening on the learning plateau. All the big, early improvements have already happened for you. You are not making the really big tactical mistakes on the course anymore; your equipment trim is basically ok, as is your ability to sail around the course without dropping the sail. Now it is time to see what is holding you back and why you are on this plateau. There may be a number of reasons but from what I have seen in the past 20 years of competing it is mainly in the way we all going about our training. Most go straight to the water and begin sailing. Maybe tweak to some extent your downhaul and change a fin, but realistically, at the end of the day a couple of up and downwind sessions is all you have accomplished as has been the way with most previous training sessions. You need to step out of this groove and start thinking about what you need to improve on and get your training on to a new path…

In this article we will look at a common reason for being stuck on the learning plateau: when your technical skills are holding back further improvements.

Are you able to tack and initiate planing upwind quickly and effectively out of each tack? So that you can get out of dirty air and not find yourself in the hopeless position? Are you able to gybe your board and keep it on the plane even in marginal conditions? If not, stop and think briefly about some moments out on the racecourse where the leaders of the fleet are going through their manouvres. Whats the difference between the top guys and yourself? A really good manouvre can get you at least 10-20 meters closer/faster to the finish then a normal executed manouvre. Just imagine that your manouvres are not even on par with normal ?? Typically you may tack 4 times in a race. If you are 5 seconds slower than someone else in your tacks then you’ve already lost 20 seconds. A formula board travels at 8m/sec in medium winds. That means you’ve just lost 160m around the racecourse. Is that how much they are beating you by? Thought so…

The big question now is how to improve then?

• First look at your technique (tacking and gybing)
• Then work on this technique in your training sessions so you become used to how it is done correctly and fluently
• Then start training the technique under pressure against other sailors

Mastering Technique (hands are your friends):

A major mistake I often see in tacking and gybing is the way the boom is handled. The handwork is the most important aspect in both the tack and gybe manoeuvre. Most sailors perform their footwork very well but their handwork is so bad that they lose a lot of efficiency in these manoeuvres.

First lets focus on tacking [Fig 1]. The first thing to work on is bringing your backhand a little further to the back of the boom so you can sheet in very aggressively when initiating the tack [Fig 2]. Tacking should be AGGRESSIVE. With your hands further down the boom you can oversheet more easily and quickly force the board direction into the wind. With your feet you are first coming out of the back strap to help the board pointing into the wind and getting ready to move to the other side of the sail. As soon as the board is far enough into the wind (that the sails feels very light in your hands) and you are getting ready to jump to the other side of the sail, move your front hand to the very front of the boom [Fig 3] near the mast (on the SAME side as you are currently sailing on). This step seems to be missed often by sailors who don’t tack very well.

You should have a very wide grip at this moment, giving you a lot of control. Your front hand is right at the front of the boom and your back hand a long way back somewhere behind your harness lines. When you make the jump to the other side of the sail with your body, let go of your backhand first and cross over to the other side of the boom with your back hand. In the process of doing this, with large sails you can actually use your front hand to begin pulling the sail towards you and more upright [Fig 4] (notice I am pulling hard with my right hand in Fig 4).

As you jump around the sail, with your back hand, grab the boom at the front on the new side of the sail [Fig 5]. At this point the sail will most likely still be raked back from pointing so hard to windward to go into the tack. Use your new front hand to aggressively pull the sail back to the upright position and begin to reach back to a wide position with your backhand on the new side of the boom [Fig 5]. Now on the other side of your sail your new forward foot is as close to the mast as possible and your back foot is in front of the back straps but more towards the rail of the board than the centre. Try to grab the boom as far back as possible to get a powerful grip and lower your centre of effort by bending your knees a little [Fig 6]. Start pushing the board downwind wind to get ready to pump and into the new wind.

Push the board aggressively. Punish it. Hard. HARDER. Use your back foot to pull towards you and your front foot to push off downwind, forcing the board quickly into a beamreach position which will allow you to start pumping and get up to speed. As you start to pump you can manoeuvre your feet into the footstraps (wind strength will define how quickly you get into the straps – the windier it is, the quicker you want to be safe inside them).  

Job done. Now you are cruising back upwind on the next tack. Relax and think what you’ve just done over before trying the exercise again.

The best way to train tacking/gybing is simply to drill it into yourself. Repeat this tacking sequence over and over in your head, visualising all the steps while you imagine and feel that you are perfroming it live. Do it on the water as well as in your chair in front of the TV. Practice the technique constantly. It is likely that you may first be worse on the tacks before you start to improve significantly. After practice the “training phase” must start. At best this can be done in pairs or a with a group:

Training Phase: 

In your group (or pair) of sailing partners, one of the group is the leader. The leader decides when to tack by shouting “TACK” or any other signal for that matter. You all agree on this signal to tack immediately. You all need to get as quickly upwind as possible by performing quick and effective tack techniques. Be sure to make really short upwind legs before tacking again. The goal for everyone who takes part is to get as far upwind as possible and to tack faster than the boats around you. After twenty or so tacks you can stop and see who has won this leg. Really push yourself to perform the best tacks you can. By pushing hard you train in the same frame of mind (and exhaustion state) as if you are in a real race. Then sail downwind and start the sequence again with another leader. If you are lucky enough to not sail alone this is great for improving your tacks/gybing and in itself is also great for your windsurf endurance and strength.

• Extra Tip: If possible, it would be very beneficial to get your tacking/gybing technique on film so that you can examine and critique your technique afterwards.

This is really what learning and improving is about. Just give it a try. It may help you find those extra seconds around the course and find a new way to improve your racing – climbing off that learning plateau that has been punishing you and your motivation this season.

Next article I will talk about gybing to complete this series about handling the boom. Have some great TOW.

Jan Witteveen.

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 …

A lot of the below ideas are taken from a recent speech I made to youth sailors (mainly dinghy sailing classes) at an Inspiration Evening in Brisbane. Spending some time after the talk sitting around with the youth sailors and answering their questions, it came to my attention that there is no decent information out on the internet about how to approach sponsors or even just some basic ideas on how to make a name for yourself in the sport. Not everyone can be a World Champion and infact, a lot of the current World Champions have a lot to learn about marketing, promotion and even just updating their websites more than once a year…

Readily Available Information (a website?)

Getting sponsors isn’t easy and it almost becomes a full-time job in itself. There isn’t a sure fire way to attract sponsors but I have had most of my successes from from just networking with people. Making sure that whenever you are out and about; at a bar, at a party or function where there is a lot of people, you are always meeting and talking to people and getting an idea if sailing is something that interests them and if they have a company that is spending money on marketing and advertising.

The important step here, is to make sure you have a ready set of information about yourself that you can easily show to people and give them a visual about who you are and what you do. The best example of this is a personal website. You will notice that most of the top sailors around the world have personal websites. They don’t have to be super fancy, just make sure they have some basic information about you, some photos and even some news if you are competing/travelling on a regular basis. That visual persona of you on the internet is very important. When you find someone you might think could be a potential sponsor, you can say to them: “hey, checkout my website and I’ll give you a call about it in a few days”. You don’t want to bombard people with information on the day you meet them, so you give them a few days to check it out and most likely, if they’re at work when you call them, they’re sitting in front of the computer looking at your website whilst you are talking to them. Then you can say, “here’s this great marketing opportunity for you – sponsoring a sailor and blah blah blah…”. People do react very well to visual stimuli.

That being said, not everyone is going to be a famous webdesigner, or have the budget to get someone famous to build your new website. Don’t be put off by using some of the many exciting free and popular social networking websites out there like MySpace, Facebook, Virb etc. They’re just websites too and the layout isn’t too important, it is just important to have some good photos of yourself and your sailing as well as some background information so that people can get an idea of what you are about very quickly and easily.

Finding Potential Sponsors

The standard response of people asked to talk about how to find sponsors is to ring up the head office of a company, flirt a little with the hot girl at reception and get the marketing guy’s name and number, then ring him and try your luck. I’m sure that’s great in theory, but has anyone actually had any luck with this idea? I certainly haven’t (and for the record there’s just as many guys working in reception as there is girls in Australia). My personal strategy has been just to try people in the networks I know personally. Not everyone exists in great social networks and I realise this strategy takes a lot of time to pulloff, but I think the face-to-face approach and familiarity of the people you are targeting has far greater results than your phone-game skills. As mentioned above, the secret to this approach is putting yourself out there when you are out and about and always taking the time to talk to everyone, get a business card and follow-up by ringing the people later down the track. Its the same as business networking in any job (in fact, a lot of companies put on functions and parties for this exact reason). When you next go to a bar to pickup a girl, spend a few minutes talking to the guy she’s standing next to, he might have just started a new sports company in your area and is looking for a ‘face’ for his marketing campaign.

Print Media

Some other things to consider, down the track, is to make some print media about yourself and your windsurfing campaign plans. This is a great visual tool if you are talking to someone you think could be interested in sponsoring you, especially if they are interested in putting their logo on your sail – you can show them exactly how big your sail is and the opportunities they have for branding. This is also another opportunity to promote yourself as something more than just a windsurfer (if that’s what you want to portray yourself as). Sometimes, its not possible to win every single title you compete in, so why not make a name for yourself as someone who has marketing potential outside of the sport – maybe you can be a brand ambassador for a company, run clinics for corporate clients or even just be a friendly face on the beach who can sell that brand idea to others. Don’t limit yourself.

To give you an example, here is a printed brochure I had previously made for myself which my manager used to get the attention of sponsors before we set up any meetings. Notice how I haven’t gone to a lot of trouble to plug my results/achievements and how great I might think I am at windsurfing. The particular companies I was trying to attract have no interest in windsurfing; they had an interest in people with positive lifestyles, healthy living habits/ideals and who are generally active in sport. The brochure highlights my lifestyle more than just windsurfing. See what you think…

• Print Media Sample – AUS120 (*.pdf format)

Making A Name For Yourself

It can be said that it’s a lot easier to get sponsors if you have already achieved great things. I’m sure Antoine Albeau has no trouble finding sponsors. Hmmmm, great. Realistically you probably won’t get to Antoine’s level without some sponsors to help with the cost of training, equipment, entry fees and travelling costs; so what can you do in the meantime? Make a name for yourself outside of just your results or just make your voice heard in your sailing world and even on the international level.

Think about your attributes as a person (not windsurfing). Maybe you are interested in the sport outside of just the sailing? I certainly am. I haven’t won any international titles yet but I believed that I could write a few good stories here and there and saw a gap in the market of Pro Sailors not writing any reports at the events they competed in. I made a travel diary on my website and began writing stories of my travels around the world as well as daily reports from the events I competed in. At the 2007 ISAF World Championships in Portugal I wrote a daily report from the RS:X Class event which attracted over 100,000 visitors per day to my website. I basically came LAST at that event so I don’t consider myself any good at RS:X sailing whatsoever! That didn’t matter, I had made a name for myself by writing a good story about the event.

That idea really works. Write something. If you are good at it. If you are not, think of something else you are good at. Maybe you are great at public speaking, selling ideas to people, tuning windsurfing kit, designing windsurfing kit; everything you are good at is something that can be exploited.

Remember, everything you do in the public scope is potentially affecting your name in the sport, so tighten a few things up in your act. Write emails with correct grammer (don’t use sms’lingo when you are talking to sponsors), speak politely and confidently in meetings with people/sponsors etc and don’t rock up to a function in an old Metallica t-shirt and flip-flops if you are trying to find new sponsors.

These are just a small group of ideas that I have used to find my current sponsors. An entire book could be written on this topic alone I am sure, but so far nobody has got around to it and the best research I have found is a few random forum posts where people who aren’t sponsored themselves write a small diatribe about what sponsors are looking for etc etc that usually isn’t very relevant. Everyone will have a different approach that works for them, but in the meantime I’d love it if people could share their ideas by posting a comment below. Windsurfing as a sport benefits from sponsors as it helps promote the sport to a wider audience, keeps people sailing who would otherwise quit to get a higher paid job and allows more sailors to travel to international events and keep the momentum of the sport growing.

I hope you enjoyed this article. I will endeavour to write a “Part II” somewhere down the track as there are a few more ideas I have on the topic but they are more targeted at people who already have sponsors and want to take those sponsors to the next level…

A Working Example

In the meantime, to give you a fantastic example of what I have just talked about, have a look at the personal website of Jesper Vesterstrom (DEN-111); a formula sailor from Denmark. Jesper is one of the top formula racers in the world, however he hasn’t won a world title as yet. That being said, Jesper strikes me as a more marketable entity than even Antoine Albeau (who has won and probably will continue to win every windsurfing world title for the next 10 years). Pay close attention to the Team Building and Youth Projects areas of Jesper’s website. See how he is thinking outside of the box and giving sponsors an opportunity to work with him on interesting projects that are outside of just winning titles. His Living The Dream concept is an intelligent example of selling yourself as something more than just a title winner. Jesper is saying, come and sponsor me to live my dream in windsurfing around the planet and the lifestyle that goes with it. As a result, he has attracted strong sponsorship from companies who you wouldn’t normally associate with windsurfing and has most likely secured their support without the need of winning a world title – taking the pressure off him to try and win one. People like that usually end up winning one for that reason!

• Boat-end starboard start
• 1/4 way, middle and 3/4 down the line starboard start
• Pin-end starboard start
• Pin-end port start
• Boat-end port start

That last one might shock some people, but in actual fact its a very important start tactic to have in your toolbox as Devon Boulon proved, taking the first race of the 2005 Formula Worlds in Australia with this type of start. Now that you know there are different places to start on a line, lets look at why you would want to start in these places:

• Starboard; boat-end: courses with the top-mark to the right side of the course, and when the line is favoured at the boat-end.
• Starboard; pin-end: courses with the top-mark to the centre of the course or the left side, when the line is favoured at the pin end (usually, this means more sailors will try starting on port) or if there is light winds and you want to use the full length of the line to get clear from other sailors.
• Starboard; 1/4; middle; 3/4: when the top-mark is to the centre of the course and in larger fleets this can be a more effective place to start as you can cover sailors on all sides of the course as well as use the “transit-sag” to your advantage.
• Port; pin-end: courses with the top mark to the right side of the course, in larger fleets to get clear air, when the line is favoured at the pin end, if the wind shifts to the left in the pre-start.
• Port; boat-end: courses with the top mark markedly to the right side of the course, in light winds when the line is pin-end favoured you can get clear air and one less tack by starting at the boat (this is the most difficult start to do effectively).

Now that we have a few different start options in your mind, lets look at some other important factors to think about before starting. One of the most important factors is knowing the speed/angle of your opponents. The secret to a clean 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 of who the better sailors are and know their strongpoints. You might beat them around the course, but if someone can point higher than you off the startline, its important not to start directly behind them on the line. If you are sailing in an unknown international fleet, do some line-ups with some sailors before the pre-starts to get an idea of who the WORST sailors are – they are your targets on the startline.

The next factor is transits. Before the start, sit at the boat-end and line yourself up with the pin-end mark, looking through the flagpole on the boat. Imagine a piece of string between each end of the line and then extend this mental-string all the way to a clearly visible landmark on the horizon (not a moving cloud!). This is your transit line and will help you judge where you are on the line when you are starting. Now that you have that landmark, drift upwind/downwind a few metres and see where that landmark is in relation to your mental piece of string to get an idea of how far you are away from the line, this is important if you need to sail underneath (or over) someone on the line and want to get back to the startline level as you sail down it. Sometimes you will sail in the ocean on a cloudless day and there is nothing to line you up with on the horizon. I’m sorry, but you’ll just have to wing-it in that case…

The transit is VERY important because in large fleets there is always a “transit-sag” which is that the sailors in the middle of the line will drop 3-4m below the level of the line because they think they are over. This is what makes a middle of the line, starboard start quite famous as you can sail over the top of these sailors by 3-4m, taking their clean air and giving you a gap to accelerate into.

Make sure you are at the boat when the first time signal goes so you can sync your startwatch and prepare your starting tactic. Whether you sail under the ISAF 5-4-1 system or another combination of starttimes you will never get a good start if you don’t have a perfectly sync’d watch. I always like to have a pre-defined starting position in my mind but its important to watch out for changes in the wind and be in a position where you can change your start tactic quickly. If you are sailing on a course with other divisions who have already started, watch the leaders go around the top mark and see what side of the course appears to be favoured (that’s what end of the line you should start on). Look at visual indicators such as flags on boats, flags on the beach or rising smoke, cloud movements to see if the wind has changed direction during the pre-start. A 20 degree shift in breeze to the left noticed early could mean you have enough time to blast to the pin-end, tack onto port, clear the fleet and with one less tack go around the top mark in a clear first position!

Now, the start itself comes down to practice. The above information can serve as a guide and basic theory, but the start is really a test of mental ability and not being afraid of sailing in close proximity to other sailors.

Worried about getting OCS (on the ‘course-side’ of the line, before the start)?? A good international event will have race-directors who know how to apply the ISAF starting procedures. One of the ‘ideas’ that is used with pinging people for OCS is the mentality that the race-directors won’t get everyone for OCS in each race, but sooner or later, sometime in the event they will get that person who was OCS in the first race that they missed. To make sense of that, an example is on the international racing circuit, with +100 boards on the startline they will usually do general recalls if there is a large number of sailors OCS. They’ll be able to pick 4-5 sailors, who will be disqualified instantly (if its run under Black Flag) but there may have been a lot more that they missed, so they re-run the start (still under Black Flag) and again if there are a lot of people over, they will general recall again and ping more people for OCS. I have been to events where we have had up to 7-8 general recalls in a row – and about 25 sailors in total have been disqualified!

Formula Windsurfing boards travel at roughly 8m/second down a startline in medium winds so as you can imagine, at that speed it is incredibly difficult for people on the startboat to pick you as being OCS if you are over a few tenths of a second before the start. For that reason it’s good to make sure you start heading to windward at the 1-second to go mark on your watch (making sure its sync’d perfectly!). Despite what you might think, Formula Windsurfing boards aren’t very responsive to go from a broad reach to a tight upwind angle as you do when you are running the startline on starboard. 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. Don’t waste those precious few seconds as getting off the line right on 0 instead of +1 could be the difference between getting your nose in front of the guy behind you and giving him dirty air instead of him doing it to you!

There’s a few ideas to get you started on your starts. They are without a doubt, the most important aspect of your racing and a shiny new fin won’t help you beat the other sailors if you are simply starting terribly. There’s more to starts than just the points I’ve made (especially on the psychological and emotional side) but hopefully this will help get you started.

Let’s discuss some more ideas and make this article even more useful! See below to post a comment.