bearing away for a speed run

I know it has been posted before but
http://www.windsurfermag.com/magazine/windsurf-speed-sailing-slingshot/?params=MjR8Mjg0fDA=
has what you need to know.
However understanding it and getting used to the feel is the hard part.

Key parts "The board should almost start to fly before you slingshot. The best moment to start the slingshot is right as you enter a big dark gust patch."

You should feel the board change as if it is about to be blown off the water but not quite. Try and bear away slightly before the dark patch to avoid being lifted.

"At this moment you're pushing your front arm as far forward as you dare - a bit like initiating a forward loop.

Stay sheeted in and really pull/push your board forward with your feet to keep-up with the sail to such an extreme that you are almost pulled out of the straps into a catapult."

Try and increase your sailing speed across the wind as this will carry in to the slingshot and increase your peak.

Also gear set up. You need to use an adjustable outhaul to allow a flatter sail across the wind and a much deeper profile (negative outhaul) just pre bear away. Plenty of downhaul to let the sail twist off.

Well I tried just that yesterday with my 7.8 in 20 knts and I only remember thinking "I'm going to die !"


Next thing I had kissed my mast quite brutally and was trying to breath underwater.

I'll try some other time...maybe.....

I scissor my legs, kick with the front and move my weight by pulling over a bent back leg. The hard thing to learn is to keep the sail angle the same as it is natural to tend to oversheet once at a large angle to the wind, to stop this myself I move my back hand up to the rear harness line as I am quite heavy handed, and where I sail is very gusty so one second I am accelerating with the gust, then the next I have pulled the foot of the sail too close to the rear of the board and lost power.

You know when you have it right as your weight is countering the rig perfectly with your body really outboard and quite low, front leg straight and pressure on the rear foot 'feathering' the fin. I have noticed that on these rare prefect runs I can put a lot of pressure on the back foot to lift the fin higher out of the water as I go into the next gust, this part of the run becomes instinctive, like all other sailing does after enough time.

I am still at the experimenting stage as to when to slingshot, with the gust lines here I do it in stages. I let the gust carry the board round and dont point the nose first before the gust hits like lao shi suggests.....but will try his idea at the next opportunity. I think the technique needs to vary according to the wind, when sailing very efficiently (30knot runs in 15knots of wind) I think you need to be in the gust before bearing away as you lose power if you do it too early due to changes in the apparent wind. When overpowered big winds (25+knots) then I expect you can bear away before the gust so you harness all the power of the gust and convert it into acceleration.

I concentrate more on my feet, but am not the fastest on the water at my spot....will try with the front arm as well.
Let the outhaul off before the run, you will still light up across the wind, it just makes it harder to get back upwind with the outhaul off. I tend to pull it on at the end of the speed run and crank upwind a bit, gybe and make it back to the start which usually still is a bit upwind of the run, here I either gybe or drop in depending on the wind strength and how much ground I would lose (should learn to tack small boards).
Still with the outhaul on I make it as close to the shore as I can then let it off to pick up speed across the wind looking for the gusts. Once settled and comfy I start to shift my weight which naturally changes the board angle to the wind, maybe the front arm thing will give that little extra, though I can hold my own with most people now there is one who is still significantly faster......

If you dont have adjustable outhaul then let it off before you get on the board, and put it on at the other end to help you get upwind......or keep it neutral making it slower and more hard work upwind but less faffing around overall. It is noticable the difference in speed that negative outhaul creates though, especially when really deep off the wind.

The best tip I was given was when you think you are going deep, bear off some more, and some more......It still surprises me that some of my fastest runs over 1ft+ chop come really deep off the wind and that these are faster than a lot of the runs not so deep but in flatter water :-S