Feb 19 - stance tuning

3470km

Bonaire Lac Bay. NP EVO 5 7.8, iSonic 107, Drake carbon slalom 38, JP Magic Ride 118, Ride 40. Wind: 10G13 knots E

I knew the wind would be marginal but since it had been a week without a decent session, I was ready to give it a shot. First run was on the iSonic, managed to get a run across at about 21 knots. Slogged back and switched the iSonic for the Magic Ride and gave it a go. Same basic results and essentially the same speed. Not really surprising since the MR, although 6 cm wider, the width is farther forward than on the iSonic where it really isn't too useful. Waited a while then tried it again with the iSonic. Wind was a little stronger and was able to plane in both directions. 

Observation:

Last Sunday, as I mentioned, I sailed briefly 'with' Taty Frans. I had plenty of time this past week to contemplate why he is so much faster than I am, besides the obvious that he is a Pro and more skilled. But WHAT was he doing since we were on essentially equivalent rigs. To answer that I spent time reviewing the video I took of Taty and reviewing some videos that were taken of me. There were some obvious differences in our stances, which to some will likely be a 'well duh' response. Taty was much closer to the water, legs almost parallel to the water and his mast was tilted much more to windward, maybe 10 degrees off vertical where mine was basically vertical. This difference is significant to me in that I thought I was sailing much lower than I really was. My hypothesis is that this stance off-loads some of his weight from the board and the weight is carried by the sail as it is 'flying' him. I have noticed that it is not just Taty, but most of the really fast sailors here have variations of this stance. 

So, even with the light wind, I tried to mimic the lower stance. While Chatty Cathy wasn't impressed enough to significantly alter her speed pronouncements, what I noticed was an increase in stability in the slight wind gusts. This makes sense. A week ago, every gust seemed to push me a little more vertical, which I had to fight. I suspect that with this stance I'll just 'fly' a little more in the gusts. Sadly, I'm just now finally doing what Taty told me to do a year ago. I thought I was following his advice but the videos told a different story. On the plus side, I have learned a lot about slalom board control in the last year and am comfortable going faster in chop.

For Bonaire, I think this new stance will work well for me. For the Gorge, I'm not convinced that it makes sense due to the much bigger chop/swells, which might create control issues for me. As Roo says, a good sailor has to adapt to the conditions...

Unfortunately, the next decent wind is a week away - the learning experiences are coming slowly for now. 

I commented:
Regarding 'stance for Gorge': I just finished watching some of the Fuerteventura PWA Slalom 2016 races which had 'big winds' and big chop with the Pros all sailing at their power limits. Sure enough, they all were in a more upright sailing stance than what I recorded for Taty on Bonaire. Adapt for the conditions...

Roo commented:

There's a limit to how low you can go in the swell and chop in the Gorge. I prefer to drop the boom and stay low without my bum smacking the chop. With bigger sails and flat water you can crank over even further.

I commented:

Roo, Roger that! The 'bum smack' was part of what I felt would be a 'control issue'  .

Assuming mast sleeve openings are somewhat similar between sail brands, your boom height is very similar to what I am presently using, and comfortable with, here on Bonaire.

Looking forward to some decent practice sessions here on Bonaire so I will be better prepared to attempt to chase you around on the water this Spring/Summer . I'm going to purchase a dry suit to eliminate my 'cold water aversion' which caused me to tense up last year and not properly 'go for it'...

Peter commented:
Barton, that was a good observation about Taty's stance! Both Nina and I played around with it today, and liked it a lot. GPSLogit announcements seemed to go up by a knot or two everytime I got down into "Taty stance". It also made it a lot easier for me to keep the front leg straight, which I otherwise can only do when fully powered, or for a short time, and to close the gap. We did not have great conditions today (planed maybe 30 minutes in 4 hours on the water), but we will try again next time. 

I commented:

Peter, good to know that I'm not just 'talking to myself', and Roo, with my postings, although mostly I'm just writing to reinforce/remember what I thought I learned, and am providing a place for me to refresh my memory in 6 months when I've forgotten it . 

Glad to know that GPSLogit showed some difference, and this observation may improve the comfort of your stance. I was only able to get a couple of short trials which were not conclusive. We may get some wind again on Saturday or Sunday...

Regarding the 'Taty Stance': the day it really struck me what he was doing differently was a day or so after I took the video. Taty was out just as I arrived at the beach, and before the wind died. He made a couple of runs close to the beach doing laydown jibes and was in 'Full Taty Stance' and FULLY powered. His stance was even closer to the water than in the video and it was very clear that he was approaching 'lift off' just before initiating his jibe. Unfortunately, he wasn't wearing his GPS as I would have loved to look at that track - he was smoking fast for the wind conditions ... [maybe not as SCARY fast as Roo in the chop at Waterfront Park, but still impressive ]

I commented:
[May 21]
Just finished a very interesting FB message chat with Taty Frans (he is in Costa Brava Spain for the PWA Slalom race). I was amazed he spent the time to immediately answer my questions regarding stance/harness lines. Here are his thoughts...

• About the chops hitting my body it's a fact that it could happen but i always adjust my body position depending on the conditions
• And if I am sailing in windy conditions with bigger chops 30 inch or even 32 inch lines
• For flat water - 28 or 30, depending on sail size. His general rule is : everything from 7.0 and smaller is 30 inch, bigger then 7.0 is 28 inch
• He said I could use 28
• Longer lines gives you more space to play with your body position and adjust your body stance while sailing
• In the past when I was with Maui Sails I was using only 30 inch lines and I like it still do prefer long lines
• The reason for longer lines is because then you are more far from the sail
• The shorter the lines the more upright you are on the board, so every chop you encounter you will feel it directly and you will be moving constantly and will be slowing down unless you are committed.
• 28 inch lines will be good enough for you. Then you can try 26 vs 28, But it depends on the conditions if you need 26 or 28 inch lines. You should use 28 in choppy, And 26 in the lake. All pro do use longer lines in choppy.
• Taty says he does NOT change boom height, it stays the same while he is changing the line lengths.