Speedsurfing technique

Tips from Bjørn Dunkerbeck

42-time world champion Bjørn Dunkerbeck opens his bag of tricks for DAILY DOSE readers and reveals how even amateurs can go really fast.

They were (and still are) a team that is hard to beat: while Bjørn Dunkerbeck achieved success on the regatta course, Victor Couto had the world champion's back in terms of organization and ensured that the equipment was optimally prepared.

Now the team, which has been complemented for many years by Victor's wife Anne Schindler, is primarily concerned with getting as many people as possible out on the water and organizes decentralized GPS races, among other things, in which amateurs and professionals can compete. How anyone can take part in one of Bjørn's events is described below.

But first to the riding technique and equipment: you can hone your own speed technique and learn the basics with almost any windsurf equipment. In principle, you first ride against yourself and get to know your equipment in the best possible way.

On the beach, Bjørn's boom (without mast base) is at about chest height. He attaches the straps of the harness lines relatively far apart.

"The most important tool is not the rubber mallet, but the GPS."
This means that only the GPS, whether as an app on the smartwatch or smartphone or as a special GPS tracker, can provide information on how successful the setup really is. This is the only way to measure whether a change just feels faster or actually is. "A fast run often feels slower than a slower run, e.g. on choppy water. This is because an impending loss of control or a disturbing choppy wave is perceived by us as a feeling of speed", explains Bjørn. That's why you should trust your GPS and not your gut feeling.

"Only change one setting on your board or rig at a time."
If you change settings, you should never change several parameters at the same time so that the parameter change can be clearly traced. It is best to write down the changes and keep a kind of diary in which you also record the wind strength and the conditions of the spot.

"Always change settings only a little bit."
For example, there is no benefit in adjusting the mast base by several centimeters. The changes should be made in small steps. These steps should be documented (e.g. by marking them) so that you know later what and how much you have changed.

Remember: "Only when you have surfed five times at the same speed for more than 10 seconds should you change something again."

A perfectly balanced rig not only helps with speed. Good trim and optimally adjusted components make windsurfing easier.

Rig
First set up your rig according to the manufacturer's instructions. The manufacturers have invested a lot of time in establishing the basic information. Based on this, you can trim in a little more loose leech and put a little more tension on the clew if you are overpowered and cannot switch to a smaller sail. In principle, it is better to change the sail than to trim more loose leech. Similarly, less loose leech is used on crosswind courses than on downwind courses.

Speed is surfed on a downwind course and the pros even use spacers that sit between the cambers (profile clamps that support the batten on the mast) and the battens to make the profile even stiffer and deeper. The profile is not flattened for speed.

Boom height
Björn likes to ride the boom at shoulder height. His arms are as horizontal as possible to the boom. If you have control problems with your sail, for example with chop, you can try lowering the boom a little. If you want to get more power out of the sail, you can raise the boom slightly. In general, Bjørn moves the boom further up when the board is big and there is less wind, and further down when the board is small and there is a lot of wind.

Position of the mast base
The mast base should first be mounted according to the manufacturer's instructions. Based on this, you can then vary. When the board starts to fly, the mast base can be mounted forward slightly. If the board seems to be sticking to the water, the mast base should be moved back a little.

Harness
For Björn, the seat harness for speed is still the benchmark for getting as much tension and power onto the board as possible. Nevertheless, you can use a waist harness, for example, if you value agility more than gaining control.

Harness lines
"The harness lines are the most personal thing about the whole rig", says Bjørn. You often see sailors who have mounted the harness lines extremely close together. How you ride the harness lines is a matter of taste, but Bjørn advises not to ride the harness lines too tightly, because tight mounting also means less control. Bjørn himself rides the two mounting positions of the harness lines relatively far apart.

Fins
Use the smallest fin possible. This is the fastest way to ride. Carbon fins have been in fashion for a few years now. Bjørn rides carbon fins about 2 cm shorter than in G10.

The fin to sail size ratio
Bjørn uses the following combinations. However, it is important to know that he rides very overpowered and naturally has outstanding board control: br>

• Sail: 9.4 / Fin: 46 - 50 cm
• Sail: 8.6 / Fin: 40 - 46 cm
• Sail: 7,8 / Fin: 36 - 40 cm
• Sail: 7.0 / Fin: 30 - 36 cm
• Sail: 6.2 / Fin: 28 - 34 cm
• Sail: 5.5 / Fin: 20 - 26 cm
• Sail: 5.2 and 5.0 / Fin: 18 cm - 28 cm

The variances depend on the width of the board. The narrower the board, the shorter the fin.

Board
S Slalom boards are ideal for beginners in speedsurfing. But of course anyone can use other boards, whether it's a wave or freeride board, for example, to improve their speed. The most important thing is that you make progress on your own material. But you have to understand that at some point it will come to an end. Real top speeds can only be achieved with special boards.

Body tension
Move as little as possible during the speed run; your body should be under complete tension. You must try to 'lock in' to your speed position. If you fidget around, you will slow down.

The perfect line
After each run, Bjørn looks back to assess whether his line of spray was straight based. The direct line from A to B guarantees the best speed in both GPS measurements and conventional speed competitions. You lose time if you're speeding around in turns.

Spot
You should know the spot very well and familiarize yourself with your spot in advance. You should know the spot very well and familiarize yourself with it before entering the water. An example: ebbing or rising water produces currents, which in turn affect the speed. Of course, wind covers or areas with a choppy water also slow you down. If you are looking for maximum speed and take part in GPS speed sessions, you can have a considerable influence on your speed by carefully planning your own speed strip.

Tip for women
German record holder Anne Schindler says: "Don't let anyone talk you into it! Trust your skills and instincts when choosing materials. Men often suggest smaller sail sizes because they can't imagine that you might ride the same size sails or more than them."

Anne Schindler holds the German speed surfing record. Here she is riding along the speed channel in Namibia.

Participation in the race
For example at Bjørn's annual Dunkerbeck Speed Challenge. There are lots of prizes to be won and participation is free. Although professionals also take part, amateurs and speed beginners are very welcome. Incidentally, the same competition also exists for windfoilers (www.gps-foilsurfing.com).

To participate, you must first register at gps-speedsurfing.com. In very simple terms, your speeds are calculated by the server from uploaded GPS tracks. The server then selects the fastest tracks from your runs. It is important that your runs are at least 250 meters long.

For the beginning, any kind of GPS tracker that can write a GPX file will do. In principle, this is any smartphone (with the corresponding app), but smartwatches can also write these tracking files. Only professional trackers such as those from Locosys are accepted for top places in the rankings.

The GPX tracks can also be exported from the Apple Watch using a trick without an additional app if the session was recorded by the fitness app installed as standard. (Open the Health app, click on the user icon at the top right, then select export all health data. The GPX tracks are exported to the workout-routes folder).

14.10.2020 © DAILY DOSE  |  Text: Anne Schindler, Bjørn Dunkerbeck, Christian Tillmanns, Victor Couto  |  Photos/Videos: Dunkerbeck

Speed Speed Level ★★★★★☆ Rider: Björn Dunkerbeck Text: Anne Schindler Text: Bjørn Dunkerbeck Text: Christian Tillmanns Text: Victor Couto Photos/Videos: Dunkerbeck DE