84 COACHING FUNDAMENTALS
WINDSURFING
101:
PLANING
MADE
SIMPLE
WORDS: SIMON WINKLEY
PHOTOS: JOHN HUMPHRIES
ILLUSTRATIONS: PETE GALVIN
A REMARKABLE ARRAY OF CHANGES OCCURS WHEN
A WINDSURFER MAKES THE TRANSITION FROM NON-
PLANING TO PLANING. WHEN THE BOARD
DRAMATICALLY SLIPS INTO HYPER-DRIVE FOR THE
VERY FIRST TIME THE FEELING FOR THE RIDER CAN BE
BOTH EXHILARATING AND TERRIFYING IN EQUAL
MEASURE. FOR ME THIS HAPPENED ON A SMALL
GREEK ISLAND IN A HARBOUR RIDDLED WITH YACHTS
LASHED TO MOORINGS. With no idea of how to handle
the kit at such speed I simultaneously
whooped/feared for my life as I blasted a sketchy line
across the water whilst the menacing hulls flashed
by. After slowing down again and dropping the rig I
collapsed onto my board in a kind of trance having
finally realised what windsurfing was all about.
So, in simple terms, what’s happening when planing occurs and how
on earth can a windsurf board travel at greater speeds than the
wind? To get things started we need to go back a few years to
understand what stops a board sinking in the first place.
The original ‘Eureka’ moment
Archimedes of Syracuse, whilst famously stepping into his bath over
2200 years ago, discovered that an object, wholly or partially
immersed in a fluid, is buoyed-up (supported) by a force equal to the
weight of the fluid displaced by the object. This principle explains how
a buoyant force is exerted by a fluid on any object that is placed on
or in it. Basically this is the only reason why a stationary board, rig
and rider float either on the surface or slightly below it according to
volume of board vs weight of rig and rider.
uk
WIND
SURFING