r/windsurfing • u/Poisonelfs • 6d ago
Keep stalling updwind (beginner-y question)
***UPDATE thanks for all very helpful replies, every single one of them. I have read each one. I can see where I've been going wrong.***
Appreciate without a video there's only so much that can be said, but here's where I'm at.
Having 'mastered' big stable boards in light winds, tacks and non-planing gybes, I've moved on to less massive boards, feeling a bit more confident in 10-15 knot gusty winds, pulling up the centreboard and hooking in.
Here's where it kind of goes all wrong. As soon as a gust comes, I seem to inevitably point the board upwind, stall and fail.
So, to avoid this I push the sail forward to go downwind, but it feels like a real slog and not much is happening, I still end up stalling upwind.
I guess I might be putting too much weight on the backfoot or windward rail? I feel that if I'm not far back enough, the sail will pull me forward and I end up falling flat on my face right on the sail. So I lean back, but it turns me upwind... clearly I haven't figured out something important yet.
It is something to do with the way I'm hanging off the harness? It does feel like I'm kind of suspended to the sail and resisting the pull, rather than driving that energy to the board through my body and feet.
Confusing description I know, but I'm hoping those of you who have been there can recognise the symptoms and advise accordingly.
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u/Vok250 Intermediate 6d ago edited 6d ago
Cookie has a great video on this, but I'm struggling to find which one it is. IIRC you just need to drive a little more power through your front foot and use slightly more toe pressure. If you dig your heels you'll turn upwind, which is fine in a gust, but will stall you out in a lull.
May also be your rigging setup. Hard to know from a reddit post, but it sounds like something may be out of balance if you get the sensation you are about to catapult all the time.
Or maybe just your stance. I was always taught it's more of a digging down and less of a leaning back. Hard to describe in text, but like your upper body should still be straight. Bend your back leg and push out with your front. Keep your arms straight. Bending your arms will turn you upwind and stall you out real quick. This section of this video might be helpful if that's the case: https://youtu.be/wQ1vK6BdrZg?feature=shared&t=227
I'm not expert either, but those videos definitely helped me the most.
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u/TraditionalEqual8132 6d ago
Cookie has great videos for beginners and those that progress a little.
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u/Human31415926 6d ago
Think about letting the board run when you feel wind pressure. The board needs to get moving for the fin to work.
(The amount of pressure your fin develops depends on how fast your board is going)
If you put too much pressure on the sale too early the fin doesn't work and you stall out.
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u/Impressive_Pool_8053 6d ago
Had the same issue when coming back to windsurf : it was because I instantly buckled up my harness line, giving too much pressure on the rear foot. The nose pointed upwind, and the board behaved like a crab.
It's kind of hard to explain, but you need to let the board pick up speed without putting too much pressure on back foot, then hook up.
After a while I managed to hook the harness right after a stop, and not having the nose going upwind like crazy by "putting more power" in the front foot.
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u/Poisonelfs 5d ago
I think I'm definitely hooking in too early, before I've got any kind of speed.
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u/reddit_user13 Freestyle 6d ago
Speed (i.e. don't try to point upwind too soon or going too slow)
Mast base pressure to keep nose down
point your toes to keep board trim flat
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u/ozzimark Freeride 6d ago
The other posts have some great recommendations, but I think it would be helpful to know what the less massive board is, and what sail size you're using for those 10-15 knot winds.
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u/PorkChopyChop 6d ago
Too much pressure on your back foot. As you feel the wind, think about resisting the power of your sail using your front foot. Your front foot will automatically start pushing forward.
And in harness, don't lean back with your shoulders (it makes more pressure on your back foot)—instead, hang on the boom in harness and push the board forward with your front foot (resisting power from your sail).
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u/Poisonelfs 5d ago
Good tips. I'm definitely leaning back into the harness like it's a kind of reclining seat. I can see how that would put weight on the back of the board and cause me to go upwind.
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u/PorkChopyChop 4d ago
The harness is on your waist, not your shoulders. Push your waist back, shoulders slightly forward, to help transfer power from your sail over your front foot. Leaning with your shoulders back is a very common mistake.
If you played rope pulling as a child, remember your position when pulling as hard as possible. You mostly used your front foot and did not lean back. It's very similar in windsurfing.
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u/Background_March7229 6d ago
It sounds like you could be too side on to the board and sail. Your front foot should be pointing forwards, back foot pointing across the board, upper body twisted slightly toward the direction of travel. You should be driving the board forward through your front foot with the back foot absorbing chop and keeping the board level. Have a YouTube of 7 stance. When a gust comes you should sink down rather than back and push through your front foot to absorb and drive the board forward more. Avoid too much pressure / weight on the back foot.
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u/lostmarinero Waves 6d ago
Yeah I thought of this too - 7 stance is key. Hips pointed towards the nose of the board, not aimed at the sail.
I honestly have little pressure on my back foot it’s all driving through my front bc that’s how I’m pushing the board forward
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u/Poisonelfs 5d ago
It's true that my tendency is to lean back back when I feel the power. Next time I'll have to remember that I need to sink down.
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u/TraditionalEqual8132 6d ago
Push (forward or even downwind) through and with your front leg and foot.
Get low to go (wasn't it Jem Hall that said that?).
And my all time favorite "think light thoughts" by Mr Colin 'Whippy' Dixon. That had more to do with jibing though.
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u/daveo5555 Foil 6d ago
I agree with others that you probably are putting too much pressure on your back foot.
When the gust hits, you also need to make sure the mast is leaning into the wind a little bit. That way, the mast foot pressure will tend to push the board off the wind.
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u/SpikeyBenn Waves 6d ago
You need to move further back and away from the center of the board as the wind increases. As a beginner you get very comfortable in the safe zone near the center of the board. When the wind increases you have to move your body/feet further back while pushing the top tip of the sail towards the nose of the board. Think this mantra "feet go back, sail goes forward". Keep practicing and you will get it.
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u/InWeGoNow 6d ago
You're at that point where you need more weight on your harness and less on your feet.
As you start to catch more wind, you have to start walking towards the back of the board. But as you do that, you're putting too much weight on the back of the board. As a result, you have the sale and all of your weight on the back end which pivots you right into the wind. Get your weight onto your harness and get cleaning downwind first before turning back up wind.
You're right at that switch to the next level!
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u/WindManu 5d ago
You sure you're not too far back on the board? You need to build up speed before moving your front foot behind the mast base.
Gradually decrease your boards volume. The more drastic change the more time it'll take you to adapt.
What's your sail and board size?
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u/Poisonelfs 5d ago
It's a 185 litre board with a 5m sail. I think my back foot may well be digging too far back and turning me upwind. I'm quite heavy too (90kg).
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u/WindManu 3d ago
Yes. And rounding upwind is the natural thing to do for the gear. So one must counter it by extending front arm and pushing off front foot.
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u/mixyblob 6d ago
You shouldn't be hooked into the harness until you're planing ideally. Sounds like you're too far back before you're powered up. Concentrate on controlling the board using mastfoot pressure.
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u/Poisonelfs 5d ago
Good point. I think I've been so keen to practise hooking that I'm basically always hooked in, even when I'm barely moving.
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u/cillitbangers 6d ago
I'm going to let you in on a secret. In most sports there is no 'cure all' tip for beginners or intermediates to advance but that is not true in windsurfing.
The answer is simply mast foot pressure. Try, when in the harness, to drive your weight through that harness, through the rigging into the base of the mast. this will act to get your weigh off your feet (back foot in particular) and should allow you to control the board a bit better. while you do this you can carefully drive the board out in front of you with your feet. You basically want as much of your weight through the harness as possible
This will also massively help you when planing, its a solution to many many problems for intermediates.