Dave Stanger is going to do a Q&A on Friday before the Fall Classic. He's the real guru, but here are a few things I have picked up. Please add your $.02 too.
Read the sailing instructions and especially understand the starting sequence and the courses. Make notes or course diagrams on your monofilm sail with a marker if you want. (It comes off easily w/ acetone or MEK).
Go out before the start and sail upwind. Tune your sail for the wind speed then get your harness lines set. Sail downwind and get a feel for the angles that you can make. Usually one tack is running with the chop– the other, not so much.
Starting is a big deal. It's a lot easier to start ahead and stay ahead than it is to pass people later. If the wind is light or the course is short, getting a good start is especially important.
If the race committee is really sharp, the start line is perfectly square to the wind. That's hard to do and shifting wind will usually make one end of the line favored. There are a couple of ways I use to figure out which end is favored. Get well above the line near the center, stop the board and let your sail luff. The sail will point to the un-favored end. Another way is to get a friend to sail from the opposite end of the line from you. You both 'start' together and sail upwind. Whoever crosses ahead was on the favored end. If you don't have any friends, just sail upwind from each end of the line and see which end seems better. Try to be near the favored end at the start if you can, but it's more important to be in clear air than it is to get tangled up trying to 'win' the start.
'Sighting the line' before the start can make you look like a genius. To do this, you just look down the line from beyond the end you expect to start on and find something on the shore that lines up with the ends. There is almost always a 'sag' in the line of starters because it's so hard to tell how close to the line you are... unless you've sighted the line. You'll be above all the saggers, in clear air and they'll be amazed that you're not over early.
Most races are won or lost on the upwind legs. There is a lot of technique that comes into play going upwind. 'Rail' the board in light wind by standing across the centerline. This puts the leeward rail in the water to resist leeway and making it track better. Getting your weight back on the board loads the centerboard and fin much more, lifting you upwind. Check out Stanger in this picture (he has the girly pink sail).
In more wind, the board wants to rail itself. Plugging in to the beating straps and working upwind in a breeze is one of my favorite longboard things to do. In strong wind, slightly retracting the centerboard will keep you from railing too much.
Playing the wind shifts is how you win going upwind. On each tack, focus on your heading by finding a spot on shore that you're aimed at. If you find you have to sail below that heading to keep your speed up, you are being 'headed'– it's time to tack. Likewise if you find you can sail above that angle, you are being 'lifted'– stay on that tack. Light wind is usually shiftier, so you'll tack more. In a breeze, tack less because you're losing speed with each tack. Keep looking upwind and go where the wind is.
On the downwind legs, retract your centerboard to reduce drag unless doing so may cause you to fall (the board is more stable with the centerboard down). Working the waves downwind takes a lot of practice to do it well. Technique varies with whether you are overtaking the waves or vice versa. Generally, try to stay on the downhill side of each wave as long as you can. Pumping at the right time to surf a wave can really pay off here. In light wind, aim directly at the mark. As the wind increases, many boards will get there faster by 'tacking' downwind. It takes some practice to figure out how and when to do this.
Some people make a big deal about 'The Rules' and they might seem intimidating but usually there are only four that ever matter:
• Starboard has right-of-way over port.
• Leeward has right-of-way over windward.
• An overtaking board has to stay clear of her prey.
• An inside board with an overlap is entitled to room at a mark.
You are not required to, but most people will hail another sailor to assert their intentions. For the above situations you might hear:
"Starboard"
"Coming up" or just "Up"
"Darn you, you rat fink for passing me"
"Wh'sup dude, hey yo I'm gonna need a little room here" or just "Room"
Here is a link to the Longboard Windsurfing Site where they have some racing tips.
http://www.lbwindsurfing.com/windsurf/racing-tips/
Bill's thoughts...
1) Wear a watch with a timer. Start the timer at the five minute warning horn is sounded. If you miss that, just wait for the others (i.e. 4 min or 1 min). Try to cross the start just after the start horn (but not before).
The start/finish line is from the committee boat (see picture) and a bouy across the wind from where it's anchored.
2) The start sequence for the last four years has been:
a) 5 min before start-Class flag goes up (1 horn blast)
b) 4 min before start-Preparatory Flag goes up (1 horn blast)
c) 1 min before start-Preparatory Flag goes down (1 long horn blast)
d) 0 min START-Class Flag goes down (1 horn blast)
3) The Preparatory Flag is a dark blue rectangle with a white square in the middle.
4) You'll find out what the class flags are (Sport, Open, Melges, Viper, etc) at the sailors meeting.
5) There's a couple other flags for postponement and come by the committee boat to read the message board on the back. I forget what they are. There's one with red/white vertical stripes in the picture below.
6) It would be nice to see that actual flags and go through a dry run for all the newbies. Wouldn't hurt me either.
7) The flags on the LLSC committee boat (party barge) are hard to see. Get used to what and where you need to look at. See pic below.
http://windsurfatlanta.org/modules.php?set_albumName=30th-Atlanta-Fall-Classic&id=2_G&op=modload&name=Foto&file=index&include=view_photo.php
9) Don't go through the start/finish except to start or finish. That will get you disqualified.
10) Commodore Chris says we're sailing with the Melges/Viper sailboats. That's new this year. I wonder how that is going to work, like will the windsurfers and saliboats be on the course at the same time?
Bill Herderich
L flag means "come within hail", usually because the course is posted on the back of the boat. If the boat is moving it means "follow me".
The red & white Answering Pennant, is the postponement signal.
P is the preparatory flag in the starting sequence.
Those are the only ones you'll likely see.
X is the individual recall.
First Repeater is the general recall.
Just ask somebody if you're not sure what a flag means.
There are more flags that concern the start that are kind of interesting: I Flag signals the "Round the Ends Rule", the scary Z Flag and the dreaded Black or Death Flag... but this is the 101 course, not post graduate work. (And there's no chance we'll see those).
We will use the same start/finish line as the other boats, but we will have a separate start and sail to a closer weather mark.
Chris, excellent tips, let me try to add a few...
Clear air is key, the point about start ahead, stay ahead is right.
If you sail in a crowd you will always be in the crowd. its kinda like drafting, the whole pack stays together. Try to follow the shifts and get away from the crowd. Get yourself "out of synch" while tacking. But remember tack on the headers, tacking on the lifts and you will watch everyone sail away from you!
Know where the lay lines are to the next mark.
I have seen it over and over again where racers go way beyond the lay lines ( over stand the mark ). Sailing a longer course is slow. I usually try to stay in the middle of the course when the winds are shifty. You can find these by sailing up to the windward mark before the race starts if you get out there early enough. Over time it becomes instinct, there is a certain angle when I look at the mark and I know when to turn. Let me know and I can help show it to you.
Understand how to use your sliding mast track. This is huge!!
Different equipment reacts differently to mast positions. As a common rule you want the board as flat as possible to the water going upwind. The longer waterline will give you better tracking. You will be able to point higher. Some boards do sail upwind well with the track all the way forward, my Equipe I set it 2 stops from all the way forward.
Downwind in light air, again flatten out the board to the water. I move my track all the way forward because I am usually standing further back on the board than when going upwind, so it keeps the board flatter.
Learn to "hang from the booms". You want to put more pressure on the booms to push the power through the mast to the board.
Don’t keep your feet in one spot unless you are using the footstraps.
I usually put all my weight on the forward foot and use the back foot for subtle adjustments. As you sail upwind the wind and water changes, move your feet around to keep constant pressure on the rail/centerboard and to maintain the angle of the board to the water.
I will also add Practice, Practice, Practice.
Then when you think you have it figured out, go sail more. When we were preparing for big races my training partner and I would sail for an hour every day. Light wind, no wind, heavy wind, rain, whatever. We sailed every day until the way we held the booms was instinct. Where we stepped on the board was instinct. The mechanics were instinct.
Our minds were free to focus on the strategy, watching the wind, and planning our next tack or jibe.
Hope this helps and as always anytime you see me out there and you have a question or someone to test something with, let me know!!!
KO
Anybody have any tips on racing with a formula board?
Bill Herderich
Please make sure your sail(s) have legible numbers on both sides. I have a few office supply 6" numbers that will do in a pinch but 8 or 10" is better. Sign shops can cut numbers for not much $. Given the forecast, you might want to have some sail size options ready.
Also, pre-flight your gear... lines, universal, etc, etc. I think we will be sailing some distance from shore and we are limited in boats available for helping w/ breakdowns.
Bring neoprene, long & short. PFDs are not required for windsurfers in Ga, but that doesn't mean you can't wear one, and it might make a lot of sense if it's honkin'.
This great info. I was thinking if I didn’t have any strategy to just stay with the pack, but it sounds more fun to plot your own way. I think my biggest concern is being ignorant of the rules and messing someone else up. If there’s less than 7k, it sounds like us foilers will have to forfeit unless we have other boards to use. So hopefully there will be enough to fly. I am really looking forward to my first race.