Raceboarding & light wind technique

While the Northern Hemisphere gears up for their racing season, winter is upon us down here in Australia. After a long season of racing, it’s a time to finally get those board and sail repairs done, and abit of fine tuning. The winter traditionally on the East Coast of Australia (NSW) is alot of the time blowing a 30 knot freezing southerly but mostly it puts on a sun filled, light 2-8 knots. So if you wish to brush up on your light wind technique & tactics it’s a good time.

The photos of AUS 053, Russell Jones from Illawarra Yacht Club in Australia, were sent to LBWS as an example of light breeze upwind technique. They were shot in a race with 3-7 knots of wind. There is no doubt about it Russell is a great sailor and with good technique that nearly all raceboarders can learn a thing or to from.

The photo’s show a number of critical elements to overall speed and getting to the top mark first including:

1. Keep the board railed – leeward edge down and biting into the water.
2. Sail on your toes with your weight through the harness lines on the boom as much as possible.
3. Always keep looking ahead and around at what your opponents are doing and where the next wind shift is.
4. Set transit marks to keep track of your height
5. Sheet in so that you don’t loose any of the limited wind that you have.

Also, don’t forget to set the rig a little fuller in light winds.

The longboard in the photos is an old Australian made raceboard called a ‘Caveman’, which like many raceboards disappeared about 8 years ago and Russell still swears by it. The sail is an Australia made 9.5m Barracouta. Barracouta is one of the few sail makers in Australia still catering for raceboards and has been supplying our fleet here for a while. As the raceboard class picks up in numbers worldwide, we should see more race sails around. Severne and Starboard are one group developing a modern looking 9.5 race sail seen here is the LBWS discussion forum. Other raceboard sail makers include; Demon Sails who have the ‘VG5 Race’, Loft Sails with their ‘Blade’ and Aerotech with the ‘Dagger’ to name a few.

Racing longboards may not be everyone’s cup of tea. But many windsurfers feel the natural urge to compete against their buddies to see who can get around that course the quickest. Most of us are happy to do this at the local club level while some take their passion for racing to the National and International level (Check out the International Raceboard Association). What ever the case, the Racing Tips section has a series of articles which aim to provide a range of helpful hints and tips on how to improve your racing.

The information below has been written by two legendary Australian windsurfers Stuart Long and James Grunfelder, and has generally been written with raceboards in mind. However, much of it is applicable to racing any type of longboard. Some of the hints might appear obvious to some, but you would be surprised to see how many people, including experienced racers do not implement them and get caught out.

Race checklist

BEFORE LEAVING HOME Equipment is in 100% working order. Gear is packed securely on the car or trailer. Sailing bag is packed and includes wetsuit, towel, sunscreen, food, drink sailing instructions and any necessary race registration information. Toolbox is packed and includes screwdrivers, emergency repair kit, shackle key, spare rope, spare parts etc. Make sure you leave with plenty of time to spare. ARRIVAL AT THE RACE VENUE Check briefing and race times. Check weather conditions and local forecast. Register and sign on if necessary. GETTING READY Rig… [Read more]

Racing sails - shape & rigging

Barracouta Sails has been building longboard racing sails since 1980, over that time the sails have evolved a lot from Dacron soft sails set on soft fibreglass masts, to the monofilm and camber induced sails set on carbon fibre masts of today. Longboard sail design is very different from Formula sails, I consider that what works for one won’t work for the other. What I am looking for in a Longboard sail, is that it has enough power, (depth and tightness of the leech). I would always sail a Longboard with an adjustable outhaul and I think it is handy to have an adjustable… [Read more]

Raceboard handling - the basics

1. KEY POINTS - Be decisive. - Do not give up. - Use the art of visualisation. - Be observant. - Trust yourself. If you think that there is a lift go with it. 2. UPWIND - Railing the board is critical – push the leeward rail down to create an edge for the board to push against. - Stance – straight body with shoulders back. - Dagger fully down in light to moderate winds. May need to rake slightly in windy conditions if the board over rails. - Make sure that you always have a transit line to monitor your knock and lift performance against. - Track fully forward… [Read more]

Railing a raceboard - The key to good Pointing

The art of railing a race board is one of the keys to upwind success as it delivers critical extra height compared to riding the board flat. If you are to be a successful “uphill” Raceboard sailor you will need to master this in all wind conditions. While there is no hard and fast rules on how to do it and different people have different techniques the following points may help. 1. PLANNING CONDITIONS In over powered conditions the board may want to rail up on its own. If this is the case you will need to control and work with this through moderation of your daggerboard… [Read more]

Race tactics - The basics

The following basic race tactics are a must for all LB racers. 1. PRE RACE Make sure that you go to the briefing. Get to the coarse area early to investigate wind including patches, lifts and knocks. If possible sail the course before the race. 2. START LINE Start is critical to a successful race. Get clean air – don’t be afraid to head down the line. Pump your way to clean air and to get the board railed up and away. Where a watch that allows you to count down the start so that you can be on the line at go time. Use the starboard rule when manoeuvring at the… [Read more]

Getting a good start

We have discovered over the years that one of the most critical elements to any race is the start. If you don’t get it right and end up at the back of the fleet it can be very difficult to fight your way through all the dirty air and your position will often get worse as a consequence. The key to a good start is preparation. No doubt you may have seen a sailor, or you yourself have barley made it to the start line in time. You hit the line with speed at the favoured end and end up in the front end of the fleet, or, better still in first place. While this is a great… [Read more]

If you have any other helpful hints or ideas for better longboard racing that might be missing please let us, adding to LBWS is easy. you can add comments below each article or send us an email. Perhaps you have noticed something particular to your type of board that maximises board speed. Drop us a line or article.