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dllee
Joined: 03 Jul 2009 Posts: 5329 Location: East Bay
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Posted: Thu Nov 17, 2016 7:41 pm Post subject: |
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Skill that helped me get to shore at least 4 times the past 10 years is sailing without a fin.
Easy to maintain direction, easy to stay where you are, but really hard to go downwind, and of course, upwind.
Speed here is not your friend. |
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shamran
Joined: 21 Mar 2010 Posts: 23
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Posted: Thu Nov 17, 2016 8:29 pm Post subject: |
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You could also sail backwinded. |
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makaniman
Joined: 03 Oct 2005 Posts: 22
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Posted: Fri Nov 18, 2016 2:44 pm Post subject: |
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Sailors, if you sail out, have a plan to get in when a breakdown happens, cause they do happen. Don't go out with sketchy gear or rigging, over half of breakdowns are rigging errors/gear errors. Practice your skills; swimming, paddling, de-rigging in water, carry extra line and even a small knife.
Stay calm, act - don't react. Lifeguards are there for emergencies for sure, but don't depend on them as a "tow service". Be smart, stay safe. |
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coachg
Joined: 10 Sep 2000 Posts: 3559
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isobars
Joined: 12 Dec 1999 Posts: 20936
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Posted: Fri Nov 18, 2016 5:17 pm Post subject: |
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makaniman wrote: | Sailors, if you sail out, have a plan to get in when a breakdown happens |
VITAL advice, plus dressing for the swim, plus assuming you will be on your own.
A bud has been a waterman for > 50 years ... MAJOR college swim team captain, near-pro Hawaiian surfer, expert windsurfer, and more. But when the wind quit on him in a little old river, he had to abandon his rig and board and swim back to shore, hypothermic, well after dark because he's never had to swim his gear in and had no clue how to derig or swim it any distance.
Spoiled trust-funder? Not exactly; he doesn't have two dimes to rub together, and is in debt up to hie eyeballs. He will just have to do without that size of gear.
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fxop
Joined: 13 Jun 1998 Posts: 202
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Posted: Fri Nov 18, 2016 6:15 pm Post subject: |
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Iso recounted:
Quote: | he had to abandon his rig and board and swim back to shore, hypothermic, well after dark because he's never had to swim his gear in and had no clue how to derig or swim it any distance. |
If he is still a great swimmer, and the wind died on him really late, and he was hypothermic after the swim, did he make the right decision to leave the board? He definitely should have ditched the rig. Towing the board sidestroke would have prolonged his swim 2x at least. This is back on my original question, how can we leverage swimming skills and still stay with the board? You and others have given some good pointers.
Coachg, re: sailing with a buddy, what % of the time is that rule ignored in our sport?
fxop |
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dllee
Joined: 03 Jul 2009 Posts: 5329 Location: East Bay
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Posted: Fri Nov 18, 2016 7:08 pm Post subject: |
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Why would anyone toss their only floatation device, one that keeps them out of the water for hours, and one that can be paddled at 3 mph for hours?
Swimming? In the ocean? Trolling for sharks? Get cold? Almost invisible? Sounds like a dumb idea to me.
Detach the rig, leave it, and paddle home. |
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isobars
Joined: 12 Dec 1999 Posts: 20936
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Posted: Fri Nov 18, 2016 8:19 pm Post subject: |
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For brevity, I omitted the reason he abandoned the board: he was so tired from racing up a mountain that day ... TWICE ... on his bike that he couldn't disengage his rig. He made many other errors before and after the wind died, but knowing how to swim his assembled gear would have overcome them.
Two other factors that others might learn from:
1. He was very afraid he was going to die before reaching shore, but he sucked it up and kept stroking.
2. He repeated most of those same half-dozen errors a few days later. We can only hope he takes more time to think about it over the winter.
As for sailing without a buddy ... it beats not sailing, and if the problem is urgent, that buddy's going to be too far away to help you even if he could find you. That takes us back to being self-sufficient. |
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coachg
Joined: 10 Sep 2000 Posts: 3559
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Posted: Fri Nov 18, 2016 8:34 pm Post subject: |
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fxop,
At places like my small local lake, sailing alone is probably a common occurrence. Sailing alone on an isolated beach along the ocean with strong offshore winds or currents, I would hope rarely.
You wanted comments on what to do in case of a break down in dangerous conditions. Sailing with a group or buddy is not only fun, it is way safer. They can tow you in or bring out a replacement for the broken part.
Coachg |
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windward1
Joined: 18 Jun 2000 Posts: 1400
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Posted: Sat Nov 19, 2016 12:26 am Post subject: |
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I agree with Coachg on most everything he has said on most forums. However, I will take exception to this last one.
Sure, life is important, but sometimes windsurfing is more important. If I had to wait for a sailing buddy every time I windsurfed I would miss more than half my sessions! I am not going to go just because no one else is going.
I take into consideration whether I have dependent children ( I do not) and whether the wind is offshore or whatever else the conditions are that up the risk, but I am not going to not go because I do not have a sailing partner. |
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