What to learn in high winds? (adv beginner/intermediate-ish)

NOVAAN · Joined: 28 Sep 1994 Posts: 1548

There are front and rear straps on a board for a reason. They are placed in the proper position for a reason. To be used for speed and control. You are much less likely to get pitched if your in both straps. Sailing in the front strap only puts you in a upright stance with your feet close to gather. This limits your control over your board and sail making it more likely to eat it. If your fear is the big slam then learn to use both straps asap. That said I sail at times front strap only to keep on a plane in very lite winds. When I do this I pull my front foot almost all the way out of the strap to avoid a foot injury if I do go over. In general a big slam gets you wet, might wound a sail of even get you a bloody nose. A foot injury can end your season or worse...

willysp · Joined: 11 Jun 2013 Posts: 32 Location: Seattle, WA

Getting into the strap was a leap of faith for me. Everything was happening fast, I was not in total control, I did not want to fall, etc. But as soon as I got into them it felt like a different sport. The board suddenly does what you want it to do.
The same with the harness. I started using the harness before the straps.
When I started using both at the same time, everything changed again... the experience was amazing
And yes, it took me a lot of time to go for the straps.
Oh, and don't forget that with enough wind, if you use the straps and harness you will cover a lot of ground in no time; don't forget you need to know how to go back to the same spot

jingebritsen · Joined: 21 Aug 2002 Posts: 3371

too often, this sport's culture mistakenly emphasizes hooking in before using straps. bad on all of us.

if one is hooked in, and in big chop with big gusts, one is destined to high rates of failure. so our sport has gone....

sure, being hooked while schlogging is okay, but teaches one what? how to resist planing. not much else.

kmf · Joined: 02 Apr 2001 Posts: 503

Well I almost always hook in before strapping up, and I have my harness lines long enough to slog in them, and do it more often than not.

So again.....what works for you doesn't necessarily work for me. There are many ways to skin a cat.

Neither way is good or bad.

KMF

techno900 · Joined: 28 Mar 2001 Posts: 4161

The more advanced you are, hooking in first is not an issue. I do it to save arms asap and never get pulled over. However, for novices and some intermediates, you WILL get pulled over occasionally if you hook in first.

The down side of straps first is that without enough speed, weight back in the straps can sink the tail or put too much weight on the rail causing the board to head up, which will stall the board. If this happens, you have to be going faster when you go for the straps.

Joris00 · Joined: 23 May 2013 Posts: 13

Thanks willysp, I think you capture very well the place I'm in.

Some people asked for an update, so here it is: last 2 days were more windy. I was on 4.2 and 3.8 with a larger board. The first day the wind was a bit gusty and I didn't feel in control enough to try new stuff, maybe a bit overpowered. (Because of that) the next day I got a smaller sail, though the wind dropped a little and I ended up underpowered. I spent some time in the front footstrap, but couldn't really pick up speed. I fell in several times on purpose to make sure the foot comes out of the strap w/o any issues.

So I didn't do the leap of faith, but... I'm close, and I feel more confident. If/when I have similar conditions this summer, I'll try more! The waterstart improved too.

Thanks for the input everyone. Now it's more about time on water, and less about "how to ..." / "you should ...".

jingebritsen · Joined: 21 Aug 2002 Posts: 3371

kmf, FYI, if one hooks before being in straps while going thru impact zone in surf, one is asking for a severe amount of washing and tumbling.

if you have aspired to sail in surf, or intend to, you may want to keep that in mind.

advice i give on these forums may seem to be dogmatic, yet if one wants to embrace more than flat water blasting, one may wish to develop habits that create adaptive skills/physical training for a more broad array of our diverse sport?

kmf · Joined: 02 Apr 2001 Posts: 503

I appreciate the diversity of our sport, and realize that wave sailing in the ocean is difficult and perhaps the most demanding of sailing. But I don't sail in the ocean, I live in the Hood River area, and the conditions here are raw, gusty and powerful. Different techniques are used and different equipment is required if one wants to sail here. All I am saying is there is no carved in stone set of techniques that works for all in all venues. We all adapt to our particular sailing sites. To insist that there is one correct way of doing things is reducing the sport to golf.

KMF

westender · Joined: 02 Aug 2007 Posts: 1288 Location: Portland / Gorge

I usually hook in before I get in the straps because there is enough wind to hook in and save the arms, before there's enough wind to move back on the board into the straps. If there's a powerful wave or swell about to get you, I doubt anyone will think it's a good idea to be hooked in??