Hi
The last time I went out I had a few spectacular wipe outs and need some advice on picking the correct board and rig combination for staying afloat in challenging gusty conditions.

The wind was blowing a solid 28-30mph. It frequently gusted 10 mph above that (max gust was 43mph).
I used a 95 litre f2 board with a 4.25sq metre sail.
The gusts led to a few uncomfortable moments whilst there were also a few times when I was underpowered and had trouble making progress upwind. Should I have gone for a bigger board (120 litre old mistral was the only option) and a smaller sail?


What combination do you think works for such gusty conditions?

Thanks
Ed

Sail size sounds just about spot on, board would be a bit on the large size for me (80 kgs) in the waves but on reasonably flat/choppy water would be fine.

The trouble with strong and gusty winds is there are often quite big lulls as well so it it sounds like you just need more practice in these conditions so you can react to all the constant changes, bearing off a bit to try and keep planing through the lulls and then really locking down to take advantage of the power of the gusts.

Just make sure your sail is set right for the gusty conditions so it helps rather than complicates matters.

/waves @ Ken!!

Also, make sure you are rigging/ tuning your sail correctly. Modern sails have a range of settings, & varying the amount of downhaul/ outhaul has a HUUUGE impact on how your sail will handle gusts, and it can be a case of changing those settings while you are out on the water to optimise your session.