leaning out over the water

[jason]

hi just realised tt when we sail the lines should be long enuff to straighten ur arms ....also it should be long enuff for u to lean out over the waters so tt u  will not catapult forward...but if i  lean out so tt i can straighten my arms the sail will not be vertical and if i try to keep the sail vertical then i will not be leaning out enough...of coz i can lengthen the harness lines..but  if  i do tt then my weight will not be fully committed to the harness as some of my weigght will be taken by my arms...hmm..can someone out there please enlighten mi on this
also noticed tt some sailors place the harness lines far behind and pivot their body..how do  u do tt?

[sukhdev]

Jas, you sure ask easy questions! (not!)      

first lines must be centred correctly. Should be less than shoulder width. If front hand is getting tired lines are too far back, if back hand then too far forward. Length should be 22 to 26 inches roughly.

Ok some weird stuff. The length of the harness line has NO relation to whether you can straighten your arms or not. Imagine that there is no harness line and your hook is fastened to the boom itself. You would still be able to lean back with straight arms (though it would sure look weird).

Lets assume line length is reasonable and boom height is around shoulder height or slightly higher. The key thing to weighting the harness hook is your legs. Bending the legs alot (like taking a toilet position) will pull the lines down, bring your body close to the boom and inboard, thus weighthing the board down. Straightening the legs would do the opposite. So, keep your legs almost straight, slight bend in the knee to take the shock of the chop.

Once legs are correct, the arms relax, and you lean out your upper body (assuming the wind is strong enough). the body should lean out square to the board (shoulders, knees, hips, parallel to the board). The arms trim the sail, the weight of the body on the harness hook sheets the sail in.

In very very strong winds most fast sailors will revert to the "pang sai" (toilet) position to help keep the board down (eg in slalom in 30+ knots). In light winds you want to do the opposite, get as much weight off the board as possible.

If you have the time come catch me over the holiday season and I'll set up a simulation using boom and pulleys to explain..

[P.J.]

Jas

I hope the following helps :

Basically there are 3 stances.
1-Light wind marginal planning.
2-Power up
3-Overpowering

The mistake I made in the past for [1] was I sheet in on my backhand which actually kills the power. It should be just resting on the boom, no load.  By straightening the front hand, keep the body ( mast ) as upright, somehow trying to feel the sail is taking yr weight off the board. legs straighten just bending the knees to adsorb the chops. On light wind both my hands are infront of the harness. When wind strength increase, my hand hand move back, on overpowering, the harness is between both hand.

So for yr question, yr fist obj is to get yr mast as up right, than by straightening yr arms ( leaning out ) you are trying to get yr weight as much off the baord.

I have seen better sailors using higher boom and shorter lines. The more you can hang ( BALANCE )yr weight on the boom with the mast as upright as possible. the better you are in light wind.
 
 [ 30. January 2003, 11:18 AM: Message edited by: H2O ]

[ek9]

Jas,

Hmm... lots of questions, kinda hard to explain on the web. If you want, you can look for me at PA (I think I have an idea who you are), my sail number is my nickname.. but for the benefit of the other web surfers, here's the 3 most impt that come to mind.

I'm assuming Formula board / big sail sailing:

1) shorten your lines for marginal, lengthen it for strong winds. Get adjustable harness lines. Often, the line length will naturally influence your sailing stance to the correct one.

2) in marginal winds, lean to the front of the board, try to press using your left or right hip, depending on which one is the front one. Relax your arms until you get planing, then lean your shoulders out to drive the board further.

3) in strong winds, your sail tends to fall towards the mast when a gust hits, so sheet out if need be, but press down on the back hand to keep the sail at the back of the board.

My feel is that when sailing a big sail, your sail work has to be delicate. When sailing a small board, your foot work has to be delicate.