Wrestling upwind

Question
QUESTION: Hi!

I am practising my upwind skills with my new Tabou 145. My immediate purpose is not so much tacking, as testing how close and how easily   I am able to  sail  upwind w/out a daggerboard. From a slightly downwind course, I  bank on the windward rail, tilt the rig backward a bit and, at times, when the wind is stronger, I push on the fin, to create additional lateral resistance.  In most cases  I seem to be doing O.K.: even though the board loses speed dramatically,   I have been able to go upwind so well, that I  even rounded up a few times, probably  because I forgot  to re-position the mast across/forward  to go back down-wind, just before reaching the eye of the wind.  

Yesterday, however, I found it harder than ever( if not impossible ) to sail upwind. And this is why I'd like to have your comments.

I was sailing on a fairly small, very gusty lake, shaped roughly as a triangle. My launch site was a beach at the base of the triangle and the wind was on shore, coming down directly from the vertex, at 12 o'clock of the wind dial.  
The windspeed might have been around 15 knts and  I was using  a 7.5 sail . I had given a very strong downhaul, with the upper part of the sail loose until about half of the leech. The outhaul was halfway between  maximum flat sail and maximum depth, with the sail well shaped, but not touching either side of the boom. After having waded for about 100 yds from the shore to get out of the shallows,  I   started  out on  a beam reach, soon to find out that, within a few minutes, because of the geography of the lake,  I was happily sailing ...back to the shore,  less than a hundred yds  on either side of the starting point.   The only other alternative was to sail directly  upwind in small increments, by tacking,   to reach the middle of the lake and then having fun alternating beam reaches and broad reaches to get back to  the shore. This proved however impossible, because my usual upwind technique failed miserably: at the onset, I  was happy to  see the nose veering towards the wind and  the board holding the course for a short distance. But then the board would invariably lose momentum, struggle hard  to move and finally stall and being pushed back to the shore.

I wonder why my upwind technique, unlike previously, failed here.  Maybe I was doing something wrong or  do you see perhaps anything else which  could have worsened the situation?  Sail too small, too large?
Fin size? The Rocket comes with a  standard 48 cm fin. It should be O.K., though.
I am wondering whether one is   supposed to sail upwind at all on an onshore wind ! I remember having read that this is the worse scenario, but I am not too sure.   As I said before, I had no other choice, because it was impossible to start out downwind, given the geography of the lake .. Perhaps I should have packed my stuff  and moved to another lake or simply gone  home!  But our  Canadian lake was fantastic, as was the scenery and I decided to enjoy a few hours swim. Besides, I 'd have hated to drive 100 miles for nothing !  

As usually, I'd appreciate your comments. I know it is difficult to... coach  from a distance, but may be you see some clues, from what I said.

Thank you


Franco

ANSWER: Hey Franco,

Your fin is just about the right size for your board and the 7.5, maybe just a touch long but still should work well. The technique you describe at the start is good. The only thing I can find wrong from your description is the rigging. I think you downhauled too much and maybe had too much out haul. If the wind was fully 15kts or just peaking at 15 with an average of say 12-15, then you had your sail rigged too tight. With proper downhaul and outhaul, a 7.5 should perform perfectly in about 18kts. With more downhaul and outhaul, you were basically depowering the sail when you should have maybe had just a bit less downhaul and outhaul to get maximum draft in the sail for max power.

Being rigged in a depowered mode changes the location of the draft in the sail. You have less power so harder to power upwind. Also, if you didn't change the location of your harness lines, then you may have been positioned wrong for good upwinding. Also, where was your mast base positioned? It should have been almost all the way forward. If you know that you have to do a lot of tacking upwind, all the way forward would be best. If you are going to run on beam or broad reach, then the mast base can be at about 1/4-1/2 the way back from the front, depending upon wind speed and how powered up you are. But, with a large sail, light to medium winds, upwinding required, then the base should be 1/4 or less from the front of the mast track.

Even with a direct onshore wind, you should still be able to upwind away from the beach. An upwind tack should be at about 45 degrees from the wind. Even with a narrow body of water, with a number of tacks, you should be able to work your way up to the open area and then stay there fairly easily. Remember too that with an onshore breeze, there will be a current flowing the same way. This will make it a bit more difficult to upwind as the current will be mostly a surface current and anything on the surface will be affected. This means that you will need to utilize all your upwind skills and techniques to overcome the current and the wind.

Hope this helps.
Keep on sailing,
Windlover

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Hi again!

If I was a bit overpowered with  a 7.5 ("  just a touch long" in your own  words) wouldn't I add  even more power by reducing both downhaul and outhaul, as you suggest? Or should I try a 6.5 next time?

As to the mast-track adjustment, I was keeping the mast in the middle position and later moved it a bit more forward. I never considered the fully forward position  for upwind,  because  I thought I was already helping the upwind traction by shifting my weight on the front leg around the mast-base area and banking on the windward rail with both feet outside the straps.
( But I must say that , when I did move the mast 1 cm or so forward , the nose was sinking more into the chop, thus braking the board..)

Next time, I'll  however  try the full forward position to go upwind.

Thank you again for your comments

Franco

Answer
Hey Franco,

I guess I didn't word it very well but the 'just a touch long' was in reference to the length of your fin. Most recommendations for a 7.5 sail are around 42-45cm depending on the sail, board, and type of sailing. A 48cm fin should be okay with your board and the 7.5 until you reach very overpowered conditions.

You are correct in depowering the sail by adding more downhaul and outhaul. But, 15kts or less should not be overpowering for a 7.5. If anything it should be underpowered and just powered in the gusts. So, with your sail depowered, you basically did not have enough power in the sail for easy upwinding. Depowering your sail greatly affects the performance when you are in light/med wind conditions.

As for the fully forward position of the mast track. This position to about 1/4 back should be used most times until you are fully powered. If the winds increase to fully or slightly overpowered, moving the base back and depowering the sail just a bit will keep you on the water without having to make a sail change.

When you have your base in the forward position, to keep the nose from dipping, you need to shift your weight back on the board just a bit to compensate. This can be as little as moving your feet back and inch or up to three inches and maybe more as board speed increases.

Hope this helps.
Keep on sailing,
Windlover