If the gust you're longing for just won't come, you have two options: Either accept that the wind, at least with the current sail and board size, is simply not enough for planing, or work on your planing fun. By pumping, you create your own wind - the rest is done by adjusting your equipment correctly.
The right trim for little wind
The easiest way to break the glide threshold earlier is of course to choose larger equipment. If you don't want to or can't do this, you should first adapt the available equipment to the light wind conditions in the best possible way:
- Reduce trim sheet tension: The more belly/profile your sail can develop, the more propulsion it will develop. At the lower wind limit, you should therefore reduce the boom tension, the sail may also rest lightly against the boom on the leeward side.
- Reduce luff tension:Only give your sail a slight loose leech at the lower wind limit, i.e. reduce the tension on the luff slightly. This keeps the leech tauter, which means that the sail twists less and builds up more tension when pumping.
Pump correctly to start gliding
If the material is optimised and the wind is still not enough to get you passively planing, you are in demand! In displacement mode, each board pushes a bow wave in front of it and the resistance in the water is correspondingly high. Once you manage to lift the board over the planing threshold, the water resistance is reduced, but at the same time the relative wind increases with the higher speed, as this is made up of the airstream and the atmospheric wind, i.e. the wind that is actually blowing. Once pumped into planing, the conditions improve to such an extent that you can remain planing without any further pumping movements.
Pumping can be divided into preparation, pull phase and return phase - we show you all the steps in the gallery above!
Tip: For effective pumping, the pull phase must always be slightly faster and more explosive than the return phase. When pumping, don't do things by halves! Fanning and half-hearted arm pulls are of little use, use your entire body instead.
