ok out on narrabeen lakes last week. probably 12-16knots from north east. never white capping.
First time that i was using harness and footstraps.
1. why did i find it so easy to point much higher then everyone else, yet as soon as i bore away i got slammed onto 30cm deep sand bar. Going upwind planing was easy but downwind very difficult.
2. why did i always carve into some ridiculous-reverse gybe style tack as i hooked in?
lastly, are those rank-looking nose protectors worth investing into?
1. What sort of board are you riding compared to everyone else? If everyone was on shortboards and you were on an old board with a big centreboard then that would explain both why you could point upwind, why you hit a sandbar and also why you could not sail downwind very well.
2. Perhaps as you hook in you shift your weight around and change the trim of the sail, causing it to point into the wind, then the wind catches the sail and pushes it into. Other than that I'm not sure.
3. Not sure what you mean, whether its that funny little gadget that plugs into the mast track or the padding up on the nose, designed to cushion the impact. The general consensus on nose padding seems to be is it does not necessarily stop damage from big impacts on the nose but it does hide any damage done. So perhaps its not worth having.
