Hope you guys aren't too tired of footstrap questions, as I have yet another. Very comfortable in and out of the straps barefoot, but this fall with booties on I've had a couple scary moments and lots of annoying ones where my boots get stuck in the straps. Sometimes it's annoying when I'm trying to gybe or tack, and a couple times when I've stuffed it it's been freaky when both feet stay in the straps and the only thing I can do is flip the board with my feet to avoid injury.

I have the straps quite wide and tall: would it be better to have them tighter to keep the top of my foot from getting all the way in?

Also, any advice for going faster? I have a 25kt bet with a friend and would really like to win a beer. It seems like every time I go out I hit 21kts and don't go faster.

You want to watch using boots that have too much tread going up the sides of the boots. I like Atans. You could post a photo of your foot in the strap. It might help us see what's going on. Straps should be slightly looser with boots than barefoot. You also just have to get used to it.


For more speed you have to broadreach (farther downwind than beamreach). Riding on "just the fin" also helps. You beamreach and slowly "peel off" to broadreach.

So I may have sorted this out, on a really nice sailing day yesterday. I'd been doing reading online and initially set the straps narrower/higher so just the toes were showing, and I did two runs before coming in to fix it, as with any pressure at all my toes would jam in by the time a turn came up. I cam back and just made them super wide and loose (like 1" wider than my foot) and in another 2hrs of sailing only had one issue at the end.

Pics of current setup which I was thinking was great unless you guys see some issue with it. The only potential problem I could see was less ultimate control, and the possibility of getting the foot too far in the strap, but the latter wasn't an issue except on my own big crash and it still came free on the way down. Yesterday I was able to use the heavy boots on the right which is great as last year the only boots I could get into the straps were the 3mm Oneill ones I had previously used as water shoes. I tried putting some PTFE tape across the top of the Oneill ones without much effect, but yesterday had much better luck and a safer feel with the heavy ones.






As to going faster, I just had an AWESOME day at Silver. First day in a long time I've felt overpowered, as me and the other guy out there were both on 9.5 and got pretty worn out as the wind really built for the last 20-30mins. Experienced spinout for the first (and second, and third...)time which I know isn't a good thing but it was nice to know how it felt and how to respond. On the very last run of the day I had the single best bit of sailing I've done. I was taking a breather on a little sandy point, and realized I had to get going to get the kids, and the beach was quite far downwind, probably 130deg true wind, and I got to/had to absolutely send it. Got my first couple jump-like things where the board completely left the water off a wave and came down somewhere else, and my buddy was watching from a ways away and was convinced I'd just won our 25kt bet. Sadly, insta360 is acting up so didn't catch the massive crash I still don't entirely understand, and my wetsuit sleeve kept turning the GPS off, so right before the run I'd hit the button thinking it was off, and naturally instead turned it off. Still had an absolute fine time and am really feeling like I'm getting better this fall. I think with a smaller sail that I could sheet in more I could have hit 25kts. Going forward I think my attempt is going to consist of having a longer day on the water (I always seem to suck for the middle of a session but then get better about a half hour before it's time to go), probably re-rigging if I'm super over or underpowered, and making sure I'm aiming quite broad towards a run and then just sheeting on. I also found today in the lulls I could go quite quickly by putting a lot more pressure on my back foot it seemed.

Thanks for the tips Reid.

Wide is good for footstraps because sometimes you want to change the angle of your foot for upwind/downwind. You want to the footstraps tight enough so that your foot doesn't go too far in, goes in just right amount to have control but can still lift heel. Some boots have more friction with footpad/strap than your bare feet, you just have to get used to that, for those boards I have to consciously back my foot out a tiny bit before the move.

THanks for the tips, I really liked that setup and made for a nice day on the water. I think I might push bigger with sails as that was a hoot. When we came in on 9.5 another sailor I know who is ~200lbs said he was going 6.5 and small board, so I at least had outside confirmation it was winded up!

David: Last week I was at Andrea and two wingfoilers showed up, after chatting I asked if one of them was you. No luck obviously but they seemed to know you. Hope I bump into you in person some day, been a lot of help.

few more thoughts:
- Strap with boots: To prevent getting foot-stuck during jibes, I slightly disengage my front foot just before I initiate my jibe. Very effective.
- Freeride speed tip for reaching above 25kn (in random order):
Pick a high-wind and gusty day where you’ll ride sail size 7.0 and below. (Larger sails will be harder to move fast …too much drag)
Rig for the lulls - you want to be overpowered in the gusts.
Bear downwind and start your speed run when you’re about to hit a gust.
Use a smaller fin size than usually recommended to minimize drag - might be more prone to spin out but will help control the board lift when broadreaching.
Get a carbon race or freerace fin if you want to spend the cash! Select carbon fins (like the S-Max) offer a great ratio price/performance.
Tip the board on its leeward rail (toe pressure - no heel pressure).
Keep your legs stiff to maximize power transfer to the board at all times.
Keep the sail leech loose (lots of downhaul) to help fast wind exit off of the sail.
Don’t over-out hall - you need a relatively deep profile
Maybe invest into cam sails - 2-cam freerace is good enough.
During speed runs: Sheet-in and close the sail gap at the foot of the sail.
Use longer harness lines (at least 30-32cm) and maintain you rig upright and as steady as possible.
Set your mast base back if the board has a hard time to fly off the fin (to minimize wetted surface).
Set your boom height a bit lower to help with control especially if you are overpowered in gusts. Set it higher if you lack power.

We’ll be waiting for your results!
Cheers!

Great stuff Greg, thanks!

Curious about a couple things

Seems like as I've gotten quicker I end up with the sail more raked to windward, is it more efficient true upright?I could see that from aero perspective bit it seems like having it more overhead let's you lift the board more?

I've been on weed fins lately, would it be worth going to the stock 42cm upright fin for speed? If so I could just back down to shed weeds in between runs.

Cam sails... I can get Ezzy or the new North sails direct, any idea which would be better?

I'm running a school field trip today, staring out the window at the wind in the trees.. Hopefully sailing next week!

Vertical rig: what I meant is keeping the rig/mast as upright as possible in the axis perpendicular to the board. Longer harness lines will help you do that. Raking the rig back as you build speed downwind is perfectly fine and will help close the gap between the board and the sail foot.

I never liked weed fins. They don’t provide lift, the create lots of drag. I’m pretty sure you could get a couple more knots on your upright standard fin. However, after some years of practice and sailing, you’d most likely notice a big difference with a carbon fin 2-3cm smaller than your stdrd G10 fiberglass fin. But before you go and spend $250/$300 on a carbon fin, I’d suggest you try first to build experience with your stock fin. What size/model board do you ride with that 42cm fin?

The North would be “better”. But that depends on who rides it, with what board and what fin. i think you would enjoy the Ezzy Lion significantly more. The Lion is a great, powerful and sturdy 2-cam sail. Easy to rig and waterstart too. with a huge wind range. I sailed the Lion for many years (from 6.0 to 8.5) and I’m glad I did versus going for something else. The North Freerace looks mean and effective but will likely be more technical and I’m pretty sure you won’t enjoy any gain in speed on the water. With the North vs the Ezzy. Also, I wouldn’t pair the North freerace with a freeriding board while the Ezzy Lion would be just a perfect fit.

Many people don’t like cam sail because they take 2-3 more minutes to rig. Unless you ride wave or free wave boards, I think 2-can sails are the best options to do freeriding in the Midwest. I owned 5-batten bump & jump freewave and no-Cam freeride sails before. My conclusion is that as my riding consists of mainly doing back and forth runs with power jibes in between in gusty Midwest, 2-cams are the best option: Keeps me planing in the lulls, provides more bottom end grunt, handles gusts more comfortably and in control. They are a bit heavier (~1/2lb more on average) but will keep you riding while others will watch. One last thing: 2-cam sails have a softer power delivery which is nice because it lets you settle in your harness and straps before you’re fully blasting, and it won’t yank you around in gusty conditions. This is my take and others might have a very different experience.

The fin is actually a 44cm fin, looks like G10 or some similar compressed epoxy glass stuff. I've found my deeper fin works well to get planing fast but the 44 is a really good fit for most of my sails under 9.5. I think Silver and Wolf are late enough in the season the weed fin might not be necessary any longer. I use it with an 85cm wide RRD Firemove 135l Lovely board but when the chop built up yesterday you really notice how wide the hips are! I also have a beat up JP Xcite Ride 120l that I've only sailed once, but might come out if I get another windy day.

Next time I order from Ezzy I'll get a Lion, probably 7.0 as that's the biggest gap I have in my set of sails. Very curious to see how a cam sail handles. I rig pretty quickly so don't mind snapping cams on.

My lines are 32" long which matches the "arm trick" measurement and feels pretty good. I've barely ever dipped my arse in the water when fully sheeted in so think if anything I could go longer, as some of the other sailors look lower than I feel.

I'll keep my eye out for higher tech fins, honestly I think just ditching the weed fin and picking a smaller sail for conditions like yesterday might be enough. That and not turning off the GPS by accident! My buddy recommended a phone app to run concurrent with the GPS watch in case that happens again: windsport tracker. Seems cool and gives you a color coded speed graph over your track which sounds super cool.

I've got possible free days Mon, Tues and Wed so hoping to get out again for a day or two, very thirsty for a won beer!

Just going to bug you (but maybe too late this season) but nothing like a good long run with lots of room to get everything tweaked for speed like an inbound reach (favorable chop) on L Michigan toward Greenwood Beach on a SW wind, sub-7.5 sail size (18-22 knots Crib reading). Maybe a few Indian summer days left. My friend Bob was blasting his way in overpowered on a 6.2 a few days ago, said he hadn't gone that fast in years. I was almost blown off the water with my 4.0 wing, but my beginner foils max out on speed.

Greg gave you awesome tips, he’s very good at this stuff! IMO you may not want to invest in expensive fins for a intermediate freeride board like yours, it can only go so fast. I’d use the stock fin as much as possible and work on the power jibes and water starting if you haven’t got them yet. I’d leave the speed trials for when you outgrow your current board and buy yourself a better faster and smaller one. Good sails are fine to have with any board, so you could look for something at a good price /if there is such a thing nowadays/.

I'd be all about Greenwood, but this late in the season would only go if other sailors were going to be around. I also have a weird schedule where most of my sailing is in between 10 and 1 as I have to pickup the kiddos. Usually I'm leaving just as the wind fills in and the parking lot fills up! A friend just got back from OBX and described the steadiness of the wind as making him really lazy where he barely looked ahead for wind, which frainkly sounds awesome and hopefully I could get a little of that on the lake.

Ady, that's certainly good advice but there is a pressing matter of a bet for a beer riding on 25kts. At first he bet 25mph but I've hit that a bunch, so I stupidly suggested 25kts. My last couple days have been: 20.5, 21.7, 21.9, 17.1 (longboard) 19.8, 20.2, 21.9 so at least I'm consistent. I'm going to keep an eye out for a used carbon fin to try.