question - how close to straight downwind does your course need to be?

[AGK]

We did about a 4 mile Roanoke Sound downwinder in 35 mph winds gusting into the low 40s yesterday – my first time paddling in over 20 mph and only my 3rd downwinder.  I’m hooked – catching the waist high runners with all that wind was amazing, and being able to feel acceleration on a runner (maybe imagined) just from holding the paddle out flat beside me was pretty cool.

However, I thing we were about 20 degrees off true downwind in the course we chose (across the sound from the east side of  Roanoke Island (NC) out to a park in Nags Head).  I spent a lot of time paddling on the left side and constantly trying to go right on the waves in order to stay on course. My question is – how close to true downwind do you need your heading to be in order to easily hold your course? Most of our potential courses are point to point across open water, so figuring this out will be really helpful to planning.

Thanks for any experience or advice.

Andy

[headmount]

I think you should be good for 20 degrees on either side of straight downwind.  Our coastline here runs at about 070 and we often go if the wind is 050 as long as the wind strength is there because with the glides you get that much angle anyway.  We also go when it 090 though as it clocks more easterly here, it gets more offshore and the wind cuts out, especially on the inside.  30 degrees either side of straight downwind begins to get more difficult but still doable.  Check your run out on a topographical map and see if there are land features that can channel or bend the wind slightly on different parts of the course.  We have that on Maui where an easterly wind can bend onshore a taste towards the end of our run as the wind is channeled through the valley between east and west Maui.  Paddling on one side is a fact of life you'll learn to live with without a rudder.  Even with a rudder you can still be one sided.  We have a bunch paddlers with asymmetrical backs walking around here in Hawaii.  I spent some time in your area when I was a kid and your run sounds very cool.

[AGK]

Thanks for the information, Headmount!  I'll keep experimenting -- maybe I can make a little more angle off the wind when I get better board control on the runners. 

[1paddle2paddle]

Answer - how much fun do you want to have vs. how much work do you want to do?

Kidding aside, the more sideways the wind is to your direction the more work it will be, but will teach you how to be a better paddler.

What really separates people in runs with "texture" on the water is how good they are at using the ocean to increase their speed.  If the run is truly with wind and swell at your back its fun but not that much work.  When you are having to surf and paddle at an angle then it gets really interesting.

[headmount]

I disagree with 1paddle .....If the run is truly with wind and swell at your back its fun but not that much work.  I've worn a heart rate monitor and when I'm angling out or flat water paddling my heart rate is much slower, around 110 to 120 and when I'm gliding and my  stroke is rate is faster around 150-160 (because you don't want to just catch the glide but stay in it as well) If heart rate is the definition of working hard then catching glides is harder work.

[1paddle2paddle]

I disagree with 1paddle .....If the run is truly with wind and swell at your back its fun but not that much work.

Lol, that is what I was trying to convey.  As my wife would say, too many words...

[headmount]

1paddle... you did convey that ... the quote you posted from my post were your words... that I disagreed with.

[1paddle2paddle]

Perhaps I will disagree with Headmount then.  My point was that conditions such as the Molokai-Oahu race, which is a wind & swell angle of around 30 degrees of the direction of where you want to get to, is far more taxing than going straight downwind where you are only concentrating on catching bumps.

IMO fighting a sidewind push and trying to catch bumps is more challenging than being able to go straight downwind and trying to catch bumps.

[headmount]

The side angle, especially 30 degrees is more balance challenging yes, but your heart rate will be higher when your stroke count goes up which happens when you catch glides.  I had an A-fib 3 years ago and wear a monitor sometimes.  So I see what happens with my rate at different angles to the wind.  I know it seems counter intuitive but when the paddle is flying through the water like butter, up goes the heartrate.  Perhaps we disagree over term definitions.