Down wind in the puffs

[ifoxwell]

First sail yesterday and heres the first of many questions.
Puffy F3-4, dead downwind. Goose winging the jib and sitting forward on either side.
The puffs aren't strong enough and don't really last long enough to get us planning much but when they hit the bow does go down a fair bit, nothing scary just feels like we arnt making good use of the extra wind...
So my question is what do the rest of you people do, whats the best way to deal with this?
Ian
3162

[MikeDay]

Running in f3-4:
1. Leeward shroud off, loose foot farly tight, cunningham off, ram or lowers supporting mast,  jib halyard pulled on (if you can be bothered),
2. Centreboard up as much as you dare; ditto kicker off quite a long way.  Both of these are trade-offs between speed and stability. 
3. Don't sit too far forward - keep the fore/aft trim about level. Slight windward heel (but be careful!)
4. Keep the main out as far as it will go - then one small pump of main and jib together in the gusts (but don't overdo it). 
5. Try bearing away a bit in the puffs and up a bit in the lulls.
6. If the wind gets stronger and you're worrying about staying upright, shrouds on, plate 75% down, kicker tighter, both of you sit further back until you run out of boat, pull the main in 30cms off the shroud in the big gusts; close eyes, pray.
7. Look at brilliant coaching tips plus pics and vids in 'owners stuff' elsewhere on this site.
8. Practice for about 20 years!
 
Mike D
N353* (still not delivered)

[Alistair Edwards]

Great summary Mike. I might print that out and stick it on a buoyancy bag. Can you produce similar checklists for all points of sailing/wind conditions please!
Alistair

[Jane Wade]

In the puffy or really windy stuff downwind I try to look backwards (keep the helm looking forwards!!) and countdown to the gust hitting.  Then hopefully you can move back just at the right time to make the most of the gust and get the boat planing.  Moving forward again quickly is also critical so that you come off the plane smoothly rather than the transom suddenly acting like a brake. 
And all of the things Mike says and PRACTICE, PRACTICE, PRACTICE!
Having sailing the DCB yesterday in fairly gusty conditions we can add rudder to the list - doing exactly what I cannot tell you as we still need more practice.
Jane
Crew 3527 Snagglepuss