Karin Jaggi is currently the no. 1 in the PWA women slalom ranking. This year it all seems to get together, the Boards from Patrik and Sails from Severne. Again, Localsailing.nl is proud that a Top PWA slalom racer is willing to share her race secrets in this article.  

 If you want to ga faster with your gear, if you want to have more control when needed, if you want to beat your friends on the slalom course or you feel like winning today!!! Then you should definitely read this.  

Karin really goes into details about sail trim, footstrap positions, boom height, etc.

And best of all, attitude:           NEVER GIVE UP!!

LOCALSAILING: Last time we’ve met at the Costa Brava event, you also won it. You were happy with your new gear and seemed to have found the right tuning of it. Did you change anything in respect to the gear tuning or gear?

KARIN: Yes I am stoked with my equipment this year. It was already good at the first event in Korea but by then I was simply not yet in “racing mood”. The best thing and biggest change this year is that there is such a motivated team behind everything. Naturally with Patrik we are constantly developing, testing and changing our board and fin set-up. And now the same is happening at Severne. Every day on the water helps you find new tricks. So basically since the beginning of the season I changed fin and also fin sizes, learned to adjust the straps to the different water conditions, changed the battens, camber pressure, batten tension and also masts on my sails. All only small changes – but sometimes that makes the little difference.

LOCALSAILING: Looking at the PWA 63 slalom rule, what sails sizes are you using for which wind forces? And in combination with what board sizes.

KARIN: Because I am quite light I don’t need as much gear as others (like the men... ;-)). I registered only 5 sails (from 7.8 down to 5. 1) and mainly race on 2 new PATRIK boards (Slalom 87 and 110). So far I only used my biggest two sails (7.8 & 7.0)and biggest board (Slalom 110). The best combination for me is the Slalom 110 and the 7.8 with a 40cm fin. When it gets windier I change to the smaller sail but stay on the big board to be safe around the marks. When it gets windier the 87 comes out of the bag – but so far this season unfortunately it never was windy enough yet.

LOCALSAILING: What can you tell us about the ability to cover a wider wind range of the Severne Reflex Slalom? It looked like this has been improved from the Code Red’s of 2009.

KARIN: This is probably the biggest change from last years sails. By then the gap between the different sail was much smaller – and somehow you really needed as many sails. Now the new Reflex have a much wider range. Mainly that’s because of a completely different shape. I was always early planning on the code reds but when it go windy it quickly got out of hand. The sail felt “draggy” - especially in the head of the sail. And the cambers didn’t rotate so well so in a jibe it was really difficult. Now the handling is simply amazing, the low wind range as excellent as before but in high winds the sail really starts to work – hold the pressure for acceleration but also releasing it to give you control. 

LOCALSAILING: What is the role of the newly developed Reflex Batten Tensioner in this? And how do you trim this system. For example do you vary batten tension for different wind forces to realize a different breathing effect of the sail?

KARIN: The new batten tension system for sure supports the big range of use. Basically the batten tension ends after 2/3 of the batten which lets the end part work free and adapt to the different conditions. That means exactly that you won’t have to change your batten tension anymore for the different conditions. I personally give a little tension at the middle point (where it’s fixed to the sail) and absolute minimum tension in the back. Like this the front batten part shapes the sail and the end batten part adapts it to the different wind conditions.

 "There is nothing what you can’t do if you are willing to concentrate on it."

LOCALSAILING: How and when you do you vary the trim the Reflex Slalom for different occasions in respect to sail shape; depth (where and how much), loose leech, etc? occasions like down wind slalom races, speed sessions but also long distance races?

KARIN: I pretty much have one downhaul setting. On the beach it looks like a lot of loose leach but once the sail is standing up in the wind it gets less loose. Basically I give as much downhaul as possible – without that the sail starts “flapping” while sailing. Naturally the head constantly opens up during sailing – that’s ok – but when I feel the head of the sail flapping back on my boom then it’s too much.  

The outhaul trim I constantly adjust. In perfect conditions my sail is quite full – it touches the boom nearly till the harness lines. As soon as I get overpowered I fatten it out. When I feel a risk of stopping planning then I make it even fuller.

Sometimes I even adjust outhaul trim during a race.

Basic rule for trimming the sails on different courses: the more downwind the course the more downhaul and less outhaul you give.

For long-distance racing I would always give a lot of downhaul – because in the long run comfort is everything.

LOCALSAILING: Can you tell us about the trim of your sails in general in respect to boom height, downhaul and outhaul tension? And does this vary for you depending on the conditions? (chop, swell, flat, gusty, etc).

KARIN: Everybody has a different style sailing and therefore needs a different set-up. For me I have the boom just above my shoulders, a lot of downhaul and various outhaul. Now when I get out of control I make my harness lines longer and lower the boom. This brings my body further away from the sail (due to long harness lines and boom height), the board has less lift (due to boom height)  and less weight on it when passing the chop – all together I gain control but might loose a bit speed. If I am really out of control I even put the mast foot to the front to simply “glue” the board to the water. When the water gets really flat I put my boom right up (to get the extra lift of the board), shorten the harness lines to bring my body over the board and maximum body weight over the fin to gain speed. I even change the foot straps position: wide stance for control, narrow to get that little bit taller on the board in light winds... ;-)

LOCALSAILING: How do you prefer the set-up of board, rig and fin (what works best for you) when you have a down wind slalom race and when you need to sail higher courses (figure 8 style slalom).

KARIN: I definitely change the fin size. When going upwind that is what you feel most. Otherwise I don’t adjust too much. Probably play a bit around with the outhaul tension – more tension for figure 8 and less for deep downwind courses. But I would have to try that out on the day.

LOCALSAILING: Maybe you can tell us a bit about the Patrik Slalom boards that you use? And perhaps some special tuning tips. How do you set the mast base, foot straps and do you vary this per board rig combination?.

KARIN: For a first set-up we recommend on all PATRIK boards to put the mast base in the middle of the track and the foot straps in the second whole from the back. That is what we think works best overall. But then it depends on the sailing style, level of rider, wind and water conditions, course to be sailed, etc. There are a few basic tips – but ultimately everybody has to find out what works best for him/her. The best advice I can give is to try out different things.

SO MY GENERAL TIPS:

Adjustable cut-outs:

Not many people “play” with them. We are persuaded that they are a great way to adjust your board to different conditions and different sailors. Do try it out. General idea:

with adjustable plates in =

the board has more surface/less rocker = means earlier planning, more control in difficult conditions.

without adjustable plates =

bigger cut-outs = less surface in the water while sailing = later planning due to “more rocker and less surface in the tail”, faster acceleration and higher top speed due to less surface in the water.

So I put them in when it’s marginal planning conditions. Take them out when it’s constant wind, easy sailing and I want to be really fast  and put them back in again when I start loosing control because of too much wind or extreme choppy conditions.

Mast base position:

• further back: more lift, for me higher speed but less control

• further forward: only when I get really out of control

Foot straps:

Comfort is everything! So try to find your position. Things to play with:

• Stance (distance from your back foot to your front foot). Generally probably the taller you are the wider you stand. For me I put them rather close together in light winds (to make myself taller) but for survival high wind conditions it also happens that my back strap is all the way back and my front strap all the way forward.

• Width of individual strap. I have really small feet and therefore always screw my foot straps narrower than the original position. In the back this is very easy by choosing different holes. But I also do it on the front strap. This alters a little bit the angle of my front foot but so far I actually came to like this – I’m more fixed in the strap like that.

• Position on the board. That really depends on the board and sail combination. If you have a sail that presses the nose of the board down you will automatically try to “free” your board – foot straps all the way back will help do that. If you nearly fly away – then put the straps forward again. Naturally the fin has an influence on that as well...

Fins:

This is endless... Again you just have to try it out. But with all the other trim possibilities you have on your equipment you can also just make it fit to your given fin.

LOCALSAILING: What fins sizes and types work best for you and why?

KARIN: I have a fin set from 28 to 40 (2cm steps) for Slalom. Basically I use 2-3 fins per board. Right now I use

• SLALOM 110 / 7.8 m2 with 40cm for light to moderate conditions (whenever there might be a bit of upwind for sure as well). If the wind is really consistent and I am well powered I move down to my 38cm to gain a bit on speed.
• SLALOM 110 / 7.0 m2 with 36cm for max speed and control
• SLALOM 87 / 6.3 m2 with 32 cm
• SLALOM 87 / 5.6 m2 with 30 cm
• SLALOM 87 / 5.1 m2 with 28 cm

Basically that means I change fin when I change sail size – which makes sense the pressure the sail gives me I have to hold against in the water.

LOCALSAILING: Karin, you are not only team rider but also marketing manager for Patrik Boards. How is it going with this new brand I understood that the board range has been extended quite a lot since Patrik Boards started. Can you tell us something about it?

KARIN: We started on the 1st of October 2009. To start up something ourselves was a massive step for Patrik and me – and naturally it wasn’t always easy – there were the normal problems a young start-up company faces – laws, rights, financial difficulties – and endless work. Taking a breath right now and thinking about the last 10 months makes me realize how well it went.

We started on the 1st of October with one single board – the Formula one. That board won its first major event in January (Miami), then the next one in February (midwinter's), first continental title in March (South American Champion) and a Vice World title in April – beaten only by the unbeatable Antoine. That we could not afford a top rider only added to the value of the results.

By middle December we launched the 3  Slalomboards Patrik and me use in the world cup. In May I won the first world cup since 20 months (!) on the new SLALOM 110...

Over the European winter we did extended wave board tests in Australia. We honestly tried and tested endless boards, fin box systems, fins, any number of fin box per board, any production board on the market...  And by the end we think came up with a pretty ultimate design: 3 simple and super easy to use single-fin-boards and 3 sizes of a completely new concept which we call TrailerWave.

And the two freestyle boards? Theoretically came out beginning of July but completely booked and sold out till at least about October.

Today we are still fighting with many little and also bigger problems – we for sure still can improve endless – not only on the products side but also in marketing and sales – but I guess we also have to be happy about where our “two-man/women show” stands already. To start up our own business has definitely been the best decision we have ever done! We are far away to have reached our dreams – Patrik has some crazy ideas about products and I hope to get in a much better position to help promote and grow our favorite sport in the future. 

LOCALSAILING: How would you like to encourage girls who want to participate in windsurf slalom races in general? Would you have any tips?

KARIN: First I think girls should try to race as much as possible – it does not matter if they compete in club races, junior events, national championships nor what equipment they use of even what discipline they do – the more events you do the better you will get. If you like it get in contact with somebody on the world tour. It helps so much to just get all those simple questions answered to prepare yourself for an event (from sailing technique to equipment or travel arrangements) and we can all help you on tour at the events as well. Don’t hesitate to contact me! And the most important tip: never give up! There is nothing what you can’t do if you are willing to concentrate on it.

LOCALSAILING: Karin, thank you very much for your interview, I am sure that this article will help a lot of racers go faster. Localsailing also wants to wish you all the best with racing in the PWA Tour and with Patrik Boards.

Photo's: Jaco Kleijwegt