Sport Today

    OK, Roger and everybody who is planing with wide boards and 9.5's  in 6 or
8 knots.  What speed (MPH) are you going, compared to me slogging on my
Lightning longboard?  Are you going faster because you are planing, or is it
just that the feeling of planing is so much nicer?
     If you are planing at 8 knots and I am slogging, are you zipping by me or
are we just in different modes?  Sorry if this is a stupid question.

Tufarnorth:

Hi Cindy,

In 6 knots, I can't go upwind real high, on the Formula 155, but I can
go
1.5 X the windspeed (9 mph) at a fairly high angle to the wind.
On a close to broad reach, you can achieve very close to 2 X windspeed
(12 knots).
In 8 knots, 1.75 X windspeed is fairly easy upwind, and 2 X windspeed is
pretty
easy close to broad reaching.

As the board comes up onto a plane, it reduces the wetted surface, so
the board
goes much faster due to the huge decrease in drag.
It feels real good as well. Zipping along, on nearly flat, almost mirror
like, water,
with nothing but the hiss of the water going under the board. No
ratta-tat-tat from
little wavelets, just smooth speed.

I'm doing a serious horizon job in 8 knots (i.e. I'll disappear over the
horizon very
quickly. The wide short board with the big sail will just leave you like
you are anchored.
Upwind, the longboard with a big race centerboard will get to the upwind
mark first (if
it's straight upwind) in under 7-8 knots, or if the wind is very fluky
and the short board
won't stay on plane, even with the increase in apparent wind. At 8
knots, with the latest
wide boards and a 56-62 cm fin, the longboards no longer have the
advantage.

No such thing as a stupid question.
Come up to Hatteras and try this out for yourself.

Regards,
        Roger
--
sailquik (Roger Jackson) US 7011
Sailworks/Starboard/F2/MPB/Chinook/Kokatat/DaKine

1st off, Cindy, congrats on getting the Lightning you were seeking not so
long ago.

mark first (if  it's straight upwind) in under 7-8 knots, or if the wind is
very fluky and the short board won't stay on plane, even with the increase
in apparent wind. At 8 knots, with the latest wide boards and a 56-62 cm
fin, the longboards no longer have the advantage.

So, at 8 knots, the Formula 155 w/9.5 Retro is competitive with, say, an
Equipe on a straight upwind distance race leg?
I can't wait to try the Formula.
What sail size would the Equipe be carrying in such a scenario?  If one were
distance racing into the wind in 8-10 knots, would one now be choosing other
than longboards?  Are longboards preferable for any other reason/conditions
than the lightest winds?

Mark H.
The Bronx

I'd second Roger's numbers. I recently did a fair amount of
testing with a GPS in light winds to see what my real speed was.

Using a 10.6 rx1, 72cm custom course board (Rogue wave) and a
tectonics 56 in about 8 knots I was able to do between 17 to 18
knots going just a tad off the wind. The board is lightweight
with a very short rocker flat so it takes a bit to get going but
rips once planing. Upwind was a different issue with the speed
varying a fair bit depending on current etc but again somewhere
around 1.7x or better is achievable easily.

I've done this with a variety of boards and sails and my feeling
is getting 2x on reach to broad reach is easy.

Interesting corollary - on the day I used the 10.6rx1 I also did
the same test with a Nitro 8.7 in the same conditions. It took
more pumping etc to get the 8.7 going but once planing there was
not much speed difference on the reach (less than 1knot). Again
bears out what Roger said in an earlier post, above a certain
size you don't really get much more oomph for early planing with
a bigger rig though of course for pointing, coasting thru holes,
the bigger rig wins.

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RE/

Yesterday I was paddling my surf ski just behind a guy slogging on one of AHD's
boards and a 9 or 10-meter sail.

He caught a puff, got up on a plane and I sprinted to stay with him.    My
Speedmate was reading 7.5 mph as he very slowly eased away from me.

For sure, he wasn't doing more than 9 mph....and I'd guess more like 8.
-----------------------
Pete Cresswell