Waves and more waves

Originally posted by tmoore or is it simply a matter of sheeting out and curling the front of the main? i hate doing this upwind because of the extra drag im creating which slows me down. on the other hand will be overpowered be slowing me more?

if the boat heels it is slow because you will end up fighting the rudder better to let the sail out or pinch

which will depend on the type of wave, if the wave is square on upwind you can flatten them out by sailing at an angle over them either pinching or footing which ever allows you to get over the difficult waves with out slamming them,

if you want to foot then you will have to play the main alot to keep it flat, the other option is to pinch over the waves which is slower but silular vmg.

if you are very light and its windy reaching of is often and rapid trimming the main the best option but you will need to be fit.

 

Tom,

Talk to class coach Alastair Wood. He is a light weight and last year moved from an A to B rig. You can email him on the Yahoo group.

Thanks for the all info. Lots to think about. Like you Redback i was overtaking the chop but then every 4th and 5th wave were a bit bigger so when I got to those it was surfing with the subsequent loss of pressure in the rig. basically up wind I need to get more in tune and work the boat with the waves as Sten suggests and off wind I need to formulate a stragegy depending on where the waves are coming from to bear off and surf the big un's and then down wind it will be surfing with by the lee in the troughs to get me to the waves I want to surf.

I know my rig settings were fine for the conditions.In the 300 when you get to a certain point you tend to be on pretty much the same settings  when sailing off wind as to sailing upwind. Down wind it was only less kicker used. Even the board stayed up 10 inches all day!

 

Sailing in waves?

Doh, where shall I start. A lot depends on what kind of waves.

Lots of questions, are they tidal ( I don't mean tsunami tidal) I mean is
there current involved, and are they wind with current or wind against
tide.

Then there's the wave speed, are they travelling faster or slower than you.

Then there's the height thing, how much is the rise and fall.

Then there's the how much wind in relation to the wave thing.

All offer different techniques and opportunity for advantage to you, and
disadvantage to your opponent if he or she doesn't spot any of what's
going on.

Far be it from me to get off on one here, especially in such esteemed
company, and I'm also coming from a bit of a beginner angle here trying
to make a boat do the same as what years of making a board do by
instinct has proved successful. Lots of it is transferable especially the
down wind in waves bit.

You can use waves to overcome an unfavorable current, just dont get
stuck in a trough.

You can use faster waves than slower shorter waves when the currents
favorable.

Up wind, sometimes avoiding the waves pays, sometimes they can be a
sign of a faster moving windward current, so go get in there and work
them.

If they're slamming footing off and powering through them is best.

If there's not a lot of wind but the waves are big, the rolling effect under
the wave surface (and look up jefferies sheltering theory) can help with
some times sheeting out and in to balance, to legally propel you faster by
sheeting out staying upright as the wave approaches then sheeting in on
the recovery.

There's simply too much to put in a single forum post, it's an entire
chapter of a tactical sailing book, how to deal with waves, but one thing
to definitely do, make them your friend, annoying buggers that they can
be when they're icy cold and smack you in the face. they do make sailing
more fun.

the faster you go the less gusts blow you sideways though, if I were light id be making the most of every lull to bear off and gain as much speed as possible