windsurfing - self recue techniques

[tbrown]

my apologies if this is already on the site... I broke a boom a couple of hours ago and limped back using the outhaul to tie the (leach end) of the boom in place.

(reversing the boom (e.g. upside down) seemed like it would be difficult, and I saved it for a backup option, but having seen the video I probably should have done that, derigging a broken boom would be simpler than normal.)

Having been considering this post/thread I did a quick search on "windsurfing self rescue", the first few hits are well worth the time.

how to de-rig and so you can paddle all your gear back to the beach

a bunch of simple/good youtube videos, neil pryde sponsored?

fin failure - put your harness through the rear footstraps

SDM mast failure (above boom) - remove broken bit (top of lower half), invert top half of mast and shove the narrow top end down into what's left of the lower half, pull sail up leaving the top bit to flap, limp home

boom failures - lots of variations

carrying a spare length of line in your harness seems like a damn good idea too. Whether it be to allow you to lash down your de-rig, reverse a boom, or just tow someone else's board (could have done that a week ago at nitnat and saved myself a swim).

Anyone got any other ideas that "we should all know"? options for RDM mast failures? tips on towing anything from a windsurfer? And can we skip the obvious "Never sail alone", "never sail far from the beach", etc? If you obey those two, please quit reading now.

-Tom

[KUS]

Anyone got any other ideas that "we should all know"? options for RDM mast failures? tips on towing anything from a windsurfer? And can we skip the obvious "Never sail alone", "never sail far from the beach", etc? If you obey those two, please quit reading now

avoid shopping for old crappy gear to find the lowest possible price on key components or face the consequences comes to mind....other than that I carry the rope, yes sailing alone is stupid, and make the decision and be willing to ditch the rig early enough so you have strength left to paddle in with your board! I made that decision way too late a couple of times and just got lucky!

[rvanderbyl]

I agree with Kus on this. Never going to buy a used aluminum boom again unless it's only 2 years old or less, the person who sailed it weighs less than me and only sailed in fresh, flat water. Only got one season out of it before breaking it on a 30 knot day at the lake.

[winddude]

Ditto to both the above. Be mentally prepared to ditch your rig, I've been very close a couple of times.

Also, keep calm, and don't panic.

[winddude]

Also when the wind is light and you're feeling comfortable, it doesn't hurt to work on light wind/sloggin techniques, light wind water starts, uphauling without an uphaul, jibes, tacks, heli tacks, etc. Playing around with light wind sail handling will help you get back to the beach when it does shut down, or help you get out through surf well slogging.

[nanmoo]

Kill two birds with one stone: figure out how to best carry all your gear on your board to the beach, same technique can be used on the water to roll, stash and tummy paddle home.

[downwind dave]

my boards have 3 fins so if i break off one i should still have a couple on there.

[downwind dave]

this is not exactly a rescue technique, but it can be handy.
Practice sailing powered up with your back foot balanced on the centreline between the front straps, and your front foot extended out over the water to windward. now the next time you go by a drifting kiteboard you can plant your foot on it and waterski it to shore (or out to sea ). this is actually a lot of fun and a good way to mess with your best kite pals.

[more force 4]

Yeah, flipping the boom to get the unbroken side where you need it is a great option. I keep meaning to change the way my uphaul is attached (I simply slip the mast through the elastic loop on the free end). However, that means you can't unclamp it and take it off the top of the sail to flip it, unless you have a knife to cut the uphaul loop. The other way is to undo the mast base and slip it off and then try to reattach the mast. I w.surf with a kite harness now that has a knife accessory built-in, but it would still be good to redo the uphaul attachment method.

[tbrown]

you wouldn't need to take it off the top of the sail... the boom is broken. just loosen or detach the outhaul, unclamp it at the mast, slide it down to the mast base and then manipulate it so the mast comes out the broken part. flip it, put it back on via the same method, slide it back up and re-rig.

Looking back at it, and considering the forces on the boom... specifically the bending torque at the tail, flipping it would have been better than what I did. And anyone doing what I did should remember that you can likely extend the broken side so that the break is ahead of the harness line/balance point (where the break occurred). If I had done that I could have taken some load off the hand that was hanging on to the uphaul line (and unhappy about it)... re-attaching harness lines would have become an option too.

p.s. that boom break video talks about multiple possible breaks, including arm, head, tail, and even describes taking a spare boom out to a friend with a broken boom (trivial, just slide it down your mast and let it ride on top of your boom).

[nanmoo]

I was on my way back across the lake (but still very much on the far side) on RedBarons RBG a couple summers back when the whole boom let go. I was able to up-haul the mast and by just holding onto it the shape in the sail held neutral still had enough forward pull to limp slowly home. This works on the lake when its calmer, but probably not so well in big seas.

[GWIND]

Ya, some years back, I broke my boom on a nasty gusty reach at Nimpkish lake. Boom, I was standing there with one side of my boom in my hands and my rig was in the lake. I fell backwards, splash. Really hard to waterstart this way, so I thought...... I waved in the air, boom, just like magic Uddereef appeared. Hey Udder could you get me a new boom at the beach and bring it to me. OK he said. And then he did. I reboomed, tossed the old boom, oh I mean I recycled it in the lake, and I merrily sailed away. You see all you really need is a good gear caddy. Huh

Oh Ya. While I waited for udder I squirted water up in the air, from my mouth like a whale. And I blew bubbles under water, helped pass the time.

[winddude]

That rides me of an old movie, Ho'okipa Chronicles, where in one scene someone is sailing out with an extra mast. Guess having friends around is a good idea.

[KUS]

-Water start clew first and sail clew first is good practice, no flip required!
-The mentioning of a "broken arm" made me think THAT'S a real challenge sailing one armed cuz your own arm is fractured

Btw I have never broken a full carbon boom! The old first rounds of carbon boom had an aluminum front and which I did manage to snap, when they changed to the full carbon no problem ever again. If you sail in the ocean away from help, highly recommended. Lately also my refreshed universals have been coming apart because the thread lock doesn't seem to be working. Another thing to check because it's a real drag (and usually holes in the deck of your board) when the universal lets go

As for self rescue, it is very difficult to paddle with all your crap on top of the deck of the board.... Hence there are times when I think you should just ditch the rig with the hope that you could recover it, sometimes it floats. Carrying an orange Waterwing in the back of your harness that you can inflate and slip onto the boom might help with this. The harness hook needs to be put onto your back so you can lie flat on your stomach on the deck. This is difficult with some of the new pre-shaped harnesses that you cannot reverse. Even closing the bar can be a bitch backwards. You can shove the masts through one of the foot straps and in front through the boom clew. The boom can be held down/on deck at rear by putting the extension through the straps pinning boom underneath. Rolled up sail on top of it.... Good luck doing all this un 35 kn in rolling seas! I refer to option #1