Upwind for speed sailing

Upwind? Whats that got to do with speed sailing

It may not be obvious at first thought, but being able to get upwind efficiently on small boards and small fins is a very important part of speed sailing in many places. The best speeds are achieved on a deep downwind course, so naturally you can get more runs and save energy if you can get back upwind quickly and efficiently. The more runs you can do, the more chance you have of getting just the right gust. Of 'being in the right place at the right time'

While reaching at high speeds is great fun, it going upwind and downwind where real skills become much more important, That is why virtually allsailing racing is on upwind/downwind courses. That's where skils come to the fore.

For many of us, the saitisfying skills of speed sailing are very much around choosing and 'feeling' the fastest course angle downwind. At some venues, this is not as possible, the Luderitz canal is a prime example. The only variable you can work with there is the wind angle, which often chages slightly during the day. But on the open expanses of the 'weedy lakes', you can pick your angle at will. This is where it counts big time.

But first you have to get as high upwind, as quickly as possible.

Here is a trick I have learned to judge your efficiency using another sailor as a reference and a video to illustrate it:

An interestig comparison here. Both on small slalom boards and smallish fins going upwind for another speed run. My friend John went flying past me but pointing lower. I held my high line and used the hill in the far background to compare our distance made good upwind. You can see that initially I gain on him but then it alternates as we alternatively pass trough lulls and gusts and our speed and angle varies. In the end I recon I made a net gain. This is a good trick to use when judging your upwind. Pick a landmark in the far distance and see which way it goes. If it is getting ahead of the other sailor, you are gaining. If it is going behind the other sailor you are losing ground.

Similar thing out here wave sailing, those that make the best ground get more waves. If wind is marginal, I'll drop right off the plane and use the rail to go upwind, those that stay on the plane can't point any where near as high. Not only does it get me to the take off quicker, I can pick the best wave of the set better. From out the back the swell can be misleading here, as it's heading downwind. If you get the biggest wave out the back, by the time you hit the impact zone, there may not be much left of it.

This is one reason I prefer to use more efficient, less raked fins at Lake George if I can. A 40-45 degree raked fin with a moderate aspect ratio can be quite a bit better upwind than, say, a 50 degree raked fin, or a delta type. And often, there is very little downside, even in the thickest LG weed. (unless you stop right in the middle of it of course! )

Another thing I have noticed has helped me to really refine my upwind sailing, is the use of GPS-Logit with the 'speed talk' activated. With the gear combination is this video (JP70L SL- Tribal WeedSpeed 21cm - KA Speed 5.7m) the sweet spot for pointing high seems to be right around 21 knots. If the speed drops below 20K, I start to struggle, but there seems little gain in going faster than 22 knots. Of course, this will vary a bit depending on the gear combo and the wind and water conditions. In rough water, I find I need to go a bit faster to avoid stalling when I hit waves, bit not too fast where I bounce too much and lose fin grip.

Sitting in the Cafe, waiting for the wind to build a bit more! It should be a nice 25 knots later this arvo.