Windsurfing: Tips and Tricks
Planing Early
by Dean Karnazes, BayInsider Windsurfing
Getting on a plane early allows you to cover more water more quickly. It gives you the freedom to spend more time trying new things instead of focusing on just getting the board on a plane. Here are some easy tips to help you start planning early.
Get ahead of it
Shift your weight forward to help level the board out. Having your weight too far back will cause the tail to sink and the nose to come up out of the water. This will cause you to push the water rather than popping up on top of it.
Tighten up
Try to keep the sail as sheeted in as possible. If you're in a gust, pull in with your back hand and lean out over the rail of the board. In the lulls stand more upright, but still try to keep the sail sheeted in.
Extension
Extend your arms as much as possible. This will force you to use your body to sheet in. If your arms are bent the sail will be dumping a lot of wind and this will prevent you from getting maximum planing power.
Use the wind
Try to keep the board on a broad reach or directly across the wind. The most common problem people make when trying to plane is having the board pointing too far off the wind. Going down wind in such a manner will, at best, only allow you to stabilize yourself on the board. However, getting the board up on a plane when moving straight down wind is very inefficient.
Quick recovery
If you start to fall back into the water, pump the sail a few times. Try to transmit the power you get from pumping into forward motion. This will involve using your legs as shock absorbers.
Learning to plane early is an intricate balance between many factors. Try to focus on one or two of these tips per session. Soon they will become part of your windsurfing routine and you'll be leaving your buddies in your wake!
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