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SlightlySalty
Joined: 19 Jul 2008
Posts: 92
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 Posted: Mon Jul 06, 2009 3:09 pm Post subject: |
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| WMP wrote: | Just as with everything in Windsurfing, there needs to be balance. When it comes to footstraps... too tight is bad, too loose is also bad. Need to find that place that is safe and relaxed for happy feet. I find that my feet come out during jumps if straps are too loose. Also, I like to keep my feet in the straps during crashes so the board doesn't get blown downwind or catch a swell without me. I've not had any serious injuries to my ankles, so this has worked very well for me.
- WMP |
Ok this business of falling with your feet in the strap is just plain stupid. Unless you're coming in and are coasting in to the beach to take a break and drop your sail and all is calm and good, it is just plain bad practice to fall with your feet in the straps. This is exactly why people have injuries, falling with their foot in the strap. Your board is not going to get blown down wind with your sail attached to it. And if a swell or wave catches it you surely don't want your feet in the straps after you've fallin in. I'm sure you've been doing it for years and I have also done it at certain times. But overall it's bad practice.
You want your foot to go in the straps all the way to the arch on the top of your foot and be just slightly loose so that when you want to stay in them you just scrunch up your toes and when you want to come out of them you relax the toes. You'll only need to scrunch the toes when you jump or loop for the most part.
Don't be a toe jammer. |
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SlightlySalty
Joined: 19 Jul 2008
Posts: 92
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| Posted: Mon Jul 06, 2009 3:12 pm Post subject: |
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| WMP wrote: | That's why I've got black electrical tape wrapped around my straps... not only does it extend the life of my straps, also makes it easy for my feet to slip out in the event of a major, catastrophic crash.
- WMP |
and the electrical tape idea...??? Don't tell Dakine.....they might come out with a line of electrical tape straps.
I much prefer the soft suppleness of neoprene. |
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cgoudie1
Joined: 10 Apr 2006
Posts: 2599
Location: Killer Sturgeon Cove
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| Posted: Mon Jul 06, 2009 5:12 pm Post subject: |
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Hey Pete,
Stuart and I were on our way out of town yesterday, and we spotted
a guy with a Green Tri-lite Northwave ripping it up all by his lonesome
right near the Narrows. Kinda looked like he had electric tape around his foot straps too. ;*)
-Craig
| WMP wrote: | That's why I've got black electrical tape wrapped around my straps... not only does it extend the life of my straps, also makes it easy for my feet to slip out in the event of a major, catastrophic crash.
- WMP |
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billgfc
Joined: 20 Aug 2006
Posts: 226
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| Posted: Mon Jul 06, 2009 6:41 pm Post subject: |
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if you do want to slash swells in your straps, try a double rear strap. One flick of your rear foot and you can pressure the leeward rail quicker that with single. You also gain a bit more leverage because you are standing out slightly and you keep to ball of the foot is posted solidly wher you have most power.
This assumes you have plenty of space for your whole foot to stand and slide in/out.
Freestyle and Ocean wave sailing are different.
Try laying your board on a carpet with two rear straps near center. Try to pressure opposite rail. After observing result, try same with single fin.
Single rear straps are way overdone frequently. Try double close in for more slash in the gorge. Be certain you have lots of space for your foot to stand solid.
Try both , in the end your preference rules |
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30knotwind
Joined: 30 Aug 2005
Posts: 239
Location: White Salmon, WA
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| Posted: Tue Jul 07, 2009 12:47 pm Post subject: |
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I just started downwind swell sailing this year--I now have inner peace. I am finding it best to:
Aim for the trough or backside of the target wave--it seems weird, but makes sense when you think that a surfer starts paddling in the same place. You have to adjust your eye to 'imagine' where the wave will be, kinda like those funky 3-D posters back in the 90's.
I put a ton of weight on the opposite rail using the backfoot/ball of the foot that is over the centerline in a loose footstrap; stance is kinda knock-kneed with a 90 degree bend in the back leg--think yoga 'chair' position but favoring the back leg.
Unhook. Turn slowly, adjusting the backhand forward, as much as just in front of the harness lines, adjust as needed or let it go to jibe or surf with the sail forward and one hand on the mast clamp.
It is a very smooth realaxing way to sail the river and a totally different experience than gorge blasting/jumping. The first time I did the above and wave-jibed it was a religious experience, better than your first waterstart or first power jibe, which were satisfying but so violent.
Threemile Canyon is a great place for this: never any crowds and best, longest waves on the river.
Peace brothers/sisters |
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flaherty
Joined: 01 May 1997
Posts: 437
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| Posted: Wed Jul 08, 2009 10:23 am Post subject: |
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So as your going down the swell, the sail has no power?
It's parallel to the wind? Same as the board?
I'm trying to learn this, as well. |
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30knotwind
Joined: 30 Aug 2005
Posts: 239
Location: White Salmon, WA
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| Posted: Wed Jul 08, 2009 11:41 am Post subject: |
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| flaherty wrote: | So as your going down the swell, the sail has no power?
It's parallel to the wind? Same as the board?
I'm trying to learn this, as well. |
yes. It's like the middle of a 'speed' jibe when you flip the sail before moving your feet relying on momentum to take you around the turn--no power from the sail--but on the swell you get pushed by the wave so you don't need to get back the power from the sail immediately.
The board 'falls' down the wave which keeps it on a kinda-sorta plane--although this 'plane' is more like a little slow-moving cushion of water created by the board peeling water off the larger wave.
The trick is to 'catch' the wave by turning and depowering at the right moment, switching to the wave for your power source.
Check out the video earlier in this thread for examples
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cgoudie1
Joined: 10 Apr 2006
Posts: 2599
Location: Killer Sturgeon Cove
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| Posted: Wed Jul 08, 2009 6:55 pm Post subject: |
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Right, the sail has no power, and as suggested here, it's a little like
on-shore conditions. Here's an example of a few Gorge Surfrats
with a swell ride in the middle.
http://www.utahwindriders.org/images/teaser07.WMV
-Craig
| flaherty wrote: | So as your going down the swell, the sail has no power?
It's parallel to the wind? Same as the board?
I'm trying to learn this, as well. |
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isobars
Joined: 12 Dec 1999
Posts: 20935
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| Posted: Thu Jul 09, 2009 9:07 pm Post subject: |
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That's just one way to ride swell. Another, as I have repeatedly discussed, is just the opposite in every way. Take your pick.
Mike \m/ |
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isobars
Joined: 12 Dec 1999
Posts: 20935
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| Posted: Thu Jul 09, 2009 9:21 pm Post subject: |
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| billgfc wrote: | | if you do want to slash swells in your straps, try a double rear strap. |
That forces one's back heel further away from the centerline, reducing the lee rail pressure one can apply with that foot's toes. I guess if a board is so wide that one must use his shin to torque the board onto its lee rail, one vs two straps may not matter much, but on a board which will carve 180 degrees in literally a heartbeat with only a quick toe stab, I want that toe way over the centerline.
But my biggest problem by far with double rear straps is getting my feet in them at speed on a narrow board tail in bumpy water. I HATE it when I step on the water with that back foot at 25 mph; the splits HURT past about the age of 10.
Mike \m/ |
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