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Back to windsurfing now. When a windsurfer is carving with control, the centripetal force is the inward pulling
force that ensures the centre of mass (definition: the average position of all parts of the system – board, rig and
rider) moves in a circle as if it was actually being swung in an arc whilst fastened to a rope. The opposing
centrifugal force, or inertia, is what pulls our feet down onto the board and pulls the board towards the water. So,
being governed by inertia, wherever our feet are on the board and wherever our body is positioned relative to our
feet will determine the angle of the board during the carve.
During our carves we must maintain speed at all costs. Too much of a reduction in the velocity would make the rider fall
into the water to the inside of the turn. Similarly, with the spinning bucket, a significant slowing of the person spinning
around would reduce the tension on the rope which would make the bucket drop to the ground the water pour out.
The sail provides (as long as the wind stays constantly strong enough and the rider does a good job) the constant
power to drive the board into, through and out of a planing turn. It’s the same for either a direction-changing
squiggle on the water or a full-blooded carve gybe or planing tack. Other sports which make fast, angled turns
such as snowboarding, wakeboarding and cycling work in pretty much the same way so think about how your
experiences in any of these can give insights into the sensation of planing windsurfing turns.
Newcomers to planing can be hesitant when it comes to leaning into carves as they fear falling into the water
towards the inside of the turn. As such they might actually lean away from the inside of the turn, colliding with the
water in style. If this is you then ask yourself how disastrous things could get if you took a fast corner on a
mountain bike yet chose to lean to the outside of the turn.
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