sailing distances

cgoudie1 · Posted: Tue Nov 25, 2014 10:53 am Post subject: Re: sailing distances

I would never suggest leaving your board. But I would suggest, that
getting separated from your board is possible, and that you may not
be able to swim fast enough to catch it while it's headed out to sea,
so which way are you gonna swim.

I'm probably good for about 1/3 of a mile as you suggest (maybe 1/2).

So, when the other end of the fetch is Fiji, I take pause (doesn't
always stop me) in how far out I'm willing to sail in the open ocean
without backup.

10 miles is doable, I get tired around 7 if I haven't changed direction,
but I spend 90% of my time in the Gorge these days, so I might have a
3/4 mile paddle max if I broke down in the middle at 3-mile. and no place
has a fetch longer than 1.5 miles.

-Craig

isobars · Joined: 12 Dec 1999 Posts: 20935

cgoudie1 · Posted: Tue Nov 25, 2014 12:26 pm Post subject:

Nope, I meant fetch, but I hadn't considered Boardman. 3-Mile
is the widest (about 1.25 miles) part of the river I sail on (typically),
but your point is well taken, if the wind were an unusual Southerly
direction, heck you might could get a 100 mile reach ( even though the
maximum unimpeaded distance the wind could travel is about a 40 mile fetch ;*) )

-Craig

isobars · Joined: 12 Dec 1999 Posts: 20935

Fetch = straight line distance over water the wind traveled before hitting your sail. It affects swell size.

Reach = how far you can sail in a straight line before hitting land. It affects your board's nose ... and possibly yours.

The two are unrelated.

robmorrkb · Joined: 23 Nov 2014 Posts: 2

Thanks for the replies!
I was considering crossing Biscayne bay in Miami, FL.
Large bay protected by barrier islands.
I had suspected that 20 miles was not that far on a windsurfer and you all have helped me confirm this.
I will of course use a high volume board. Thanks.

isobars · Joined: 12 Dec 1999 Posts: 20935

Sounds like fun!
I'm sure you would take water and a cell phone with GPS and a preloaded USCG contact number, 'cause $#!+ happens, with both gear and the wind. I suggest some short tack changes/course reversals before any muscles protest, just because it would feel SO good and should eliminate the prospect of a cramp from sustained isometric contraction. Even just changing from broad to close reach occasionally would stop the screaming (of abused muscles). The risk isn't in the distance; it's in the wind, the wide open expanse of the bay, and that big gap in the barrier islands. And, of course, tell someone who gives a crap about your sorry butt exactly where and when you're going and when you should arrive, rather than just, "I'm going windsurfing". Very Happy

GURGLETROUSERS · Joined: 30 Dec 2009 Posts: 2643

Please Rob, if going far out alone, think of carrying split kayak paddles. They can become a life saver in case of breakage, or failure of wind. And don't forget to have a compass, in case of mist etc.

Believe me, I speak from experience of long solo sea crossings.

nw30 · Posted: Tue Nov 25, 2014 3:11 pm Post subject:

Might want to take some notes from this vid~
Published about 3 years ago.

"After a failed first attempt 2 years ago, watersport master Kai Lenny attempts to windsurf 56 miles across Lake Michigan."
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jwcx0NnTTQo

It can be done,,,,,,,,,,,,, if you're young.
Youth, always wasted on young people. Confused

dllee · Joined: 03 Jul 2009 Posts: 5329 Location: East Bay

Oneill Classic is 18 miles.
Most good sailors complete it in just over an hour, while great sailors break 55 minutes.
My worse of 3, one hour and 48 minutes, including towing Buck Pollack, the Fanatic rep, to TI, about 2 miles, taking over 25 minutes of my time. I know it seems slow, but I feared for my Mistral track tearing out, so I only slogged slowly. Buck derigged and laid on his UltraCat.

GURGLETROUSERS · Joined: 30 Dec 2009 Posts: 2643

Mast tracks (adjustable) are an interesting study, are they not zirtaeb? Some of them, in the early days, were a hit and miss, trial and error carry on.

The thing going for the good long boards (Mistral, Fanatic, F 2, and later Ace Tec Bics) was that the tracks were a snug fit in recesses in the deck, with sides and front and backs taking the main loadings. (Except for direct upward leverage from rigs crashing over decks.)

You'll remember the old Lipsticks mast track. (I had two boards with them.) The track and slider seemed strong enough, but because of the width of the slider, mine were mounted on top of the deck, with the fixing screws taking the full leverage forces. They always worked slack from it!

Even worse were some of our custom surfboard makers attempts to cash in on the booming early windsurfing market. Some had no idea of the forces involved, and simply glassed a standard slot track into the deck.A friend had his rip out as he stood in the shallows, waiting for a gap in the sets, and was left holding his rig with a yard or two of fibreglass deck flapping about on the end. That 'shaper' returned to surfboard making - something he knew more about!

My 20+ year old Bamba mast track ripped out a couple of years ago because the alloy track and stainless steel screws had reacted to the salt water (the alloy was the sacrificial lamb in the reaction), but it was easily repaired. I carefully flattened and straightened the track and fitted large thin (4 of them) stainless steel washers beneath new stainless steel screws.

The board is back in full use, and will remain so. To me, it's a golden oldie and built to last. (Bic Ace Tec and Mistral early German made DCS constructions are sill an industry standard for durability.