Try a bigger fin when it's rough. i find that it helps to fly the board more so you can hover over the chop instead of dropping ino the troughs all the time.

Re fin ...sounds scary! Re bens see kneess.. they were pretty bent! So much for the gybing video I was watching & going to practise..I found by the time I managed to unhook & get my foot on the rail Id lost so much speed the sail was full of wind & my gybing was almost from a standstill.

At Kyeemagh, I was nearly run down by a wannabe Mogul in his powerboat [}:)]

What about down at Swansee, launching at the back of the lakeside caravan park? Lake Mac is a bit narrower there. We were there last year in a very strong westerly and there wasn't too much chop on the lake and the wind was very consistent. The water looked pretty deep away from the sandbars and in the lake itself.

I couldn't sail as I was recovering from surgery. We drove up to Warners Bay afterwards and there were quite a fair few windsurfers out. However the wind appeared lighter and gustier there.

Here are some pictures I took.

All the flat water there at swansea is shallow.. even the weedy areas..You could go out further but it would be choppy.. still it might not be as big as Belmont as there isnt enough fetch..I sailed there in a W last Winter & you had to keep in the channels between the sandbars in close which was pretty restrictive + some are hard to see..Its a lovely spot though. In a NE we come across there from Coal Pt to have a rest or get some flat water blasting in the lee of the sand islands..
It might be worth a try out beyond the shallows but the dark areas worry me a bit as its hard to tell how shallow they are when your out..
Ive been told Pelican boatramp can be Ok in a NW ..W? I might try that but it has quite a current that could make waterstarts difficult.
Part of me says HTFU & thats why Im still persisting with Belmont Bay even though both sails Ive had there in 25kts+ have been sh..t

When I was there there were a few kiters out. They were kiting beyond the sandbars and were kiting beyond an island. I'm not sure how deep the water is there but it looked alright.

I understand what you mean Sboarcrazy about the current as its the estuary for the lake and there is a strong tidal flow there. I'm keen to go sailing there this winter on a day thats not too extreme, ie a wind up to around 20 knots with no 40 knot gusts.

Yeah it was really windy that day there. The seagulls were using the wind to glide around. I talked to someone who sailed at Narrabeen Lake that day. The wind was the usual gusty westerly, one minute 25 or 30 knots, the next minute 5. Up at Lake Mac it was a pretty consistent 30 knots.


I haven't sailed for over a month either dism. I think the last time I did was in a NE seabreeze at Botany Bay. It was a perfect day, just like summer. Seems so long ago now with shorter days. Next week is a holiday for me so perhaps a front will come through.

Ian1 said...

Moguls are all we have up here. Nothing but open ocean speed sailing. I hated it at first but it makes you a better sailer. Now I can't think of anything more exciting than open ocean speed.

Two tips from a mogul sailer. 1. Like shear tip said, ben ze neez, in the gybe that is. It helps soak up the bumps and keep control.
2. Mast base pressure in the gybe. As you go into the gybe push down on the boom and lean forward to keep the board flat and in control.

I have only just started to master my gybes on open water and I'm no expert but these two things have helped me the most. You have to make a point of thinking about it every gybe though or you just fall back into old habits.

I was all keen to put those tips into practise but facing those chopped up conditions just psyched me out!I just couldn't see a spot to initaiate the gybe..It had been blowing NW all day & then changed to W so maybe if I get there when the wind is more consistent angle it won't be as bad..?I love Valentine in a S as you get lovely even rollers down there so you can gybe on the front of them.

Iceman said...

Well welcome to my world. I sail in a bay and it is usually pretty choppy. I used to always wonder how the blokes in the videos carve such beautiful lines when gybing but then I noticed how the water was always as flat as a pancake. I've found that when trying to gybe I've got to really concentrate on the board, not the sail. I use a step gybe and just make sure I'm low with bended knees all the way through and not try to gybe the sail too early (yes I know this isn't quite the way it should be done but all I'm trying to do is get around without getting wet). This lets me concentrate on the bumps and get the board around safely. Let's face it this is what you are standing on. Sometimes coming out of the turn it helps to go clew first to stabilise yourself before spinning the sail.

I used to always wonder how the blokes in the videos carve such beautiful lines when gybing but then I noticed how the water was always as flat as a pancake.
Thats what I thought..

174 said...

sboardcrazy said...

I found by the time I managed to unhook & get my foot on the rail Id lost so much speed the sail was full of wind & my gybing was almost from a standstill.

One of the (many...) skills you need to gybe well is being able to sail fast and unhooked for a few seconds before carving. It might be worth practising this a little, i.e. sailing along, slide your back hand back on the boom, bear away a bit, unhook and drop down and out back to your sailing position, but not hooked in, and hold speed for a few seconds before hooking back in. You can practise that a few times on each reach which might help.

where the hell are you supposed to be able to gybe?

on the flattest bit you can find

Still, I think the 105 freestyle in those conditions is always going to be tough, see how it goes on the smaller board.

Thanks..I'll give it a go.I'm hanging out to get my new board back from the repairers so i can use some of this wind!