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Worst Experience While Learning
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castnoshadow



Joined: 20 Oct 2001
Posts: 11

PostPosted: Sat Dec 07, 2013 4:44 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

This isn't really a "while learning" experience, because I had been sailing for 10 years when it happened. It relates to being trapped under the sail while hooked into the harness. This happened in the gorge on a typical 30 MPH day of B&J sailing. I did a standard 5-10' jump and landed more or less nose first and sailed out of the jump off the wind. My momentum was still going forward a bit too much and essentially, while hooked in my body forward looped and my rig did not, and the harness lines twisted around the bar hook.

When everything stopped, I was pinned under sail pretty tight to the boom with no means of unhooking, because the line were wrapped tightly around the harness bar hook. I pushed up on the sail to get a pocket of air, took a big breath, then swam around in a circle underwater opposite the direction which the lines had twisted to get free.

I immediately bought a roller type bar and have never had this happen since. I will never use a standard hook bar again. This occurred maybe 10 or so years ago.
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grantcantsail



Joined: 09 Sep 2013
Posts: 12

PostPosted: Sat Dec 07, 2013 10:13 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

When I started I thought wearing sneakers would be a good idea.
First time I went barefoot I was like hey!
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RichardMueller



Joined: 26 Jan 2007
Posts: 85
Location: Phoenix, AZ

PostPosted: Thu Dec 19, 2013 8:07 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Sailing the Gorge when I did not REALLY know how to waterstart.
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Brian_S



Joined: 11 Jun 2005
Posts: 249
Location: SE Michigan

PostPosted: Fri Dec 20, 2013 9:38 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I'm a lifelong beginner who's probably made every mistake, but here's a few:

Trying to self-teach on a rough, wavey day in Lake Michigan - sure, I can do that! Couldn't even figure out the tie-on boom. Got so frustrated thought I'd never try it again.

Going out in off-shore winds. Winds got stronger the farther offshore I got. Friend called the Coast Guard (didn't know that of course). Watched the cutter go back and forth from the shore where I eventually ended up.

Crash and Burn:

Jumping up on to friend's board to try WS'ing, and split my big toe wide open (Y-shape split) on a clip on the mast track. I wear booties now.

First day of a Hatteras trip, hit a sand bar with my fin, fully lit. Went over the handlebars hooked-in. Broke my boom and a rib. Landed in a channel and had to swim my gear though the deep water.

Bought my first short board, and drove to a new spot to sail - so pumped. Rigged too big, and sailed for about 30 sec, straight offshore, way overpowered. Hit something submerged (maybe a log?), crashed and burned. Took the fin right off. Tried to sail with the harness strapped under the board - no luck. Derigged, and paddled back to shore. Took probably 1.5 hours to get back in the strong side-shore conditions.


What a great sport!

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ramps



Joined: 07 May 2000
Posts: 94

PostPosted: Fri Dec 20, 2013 10:07 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I think I have y'all beat - I swear that the following really happened in 2004:
Sailing Stevenson late in the day, already a bad idea! Rigged up, schlogged out to the wind line, just got up on a plane but converging on this medium-sized sailboat on nearly the same tack - I remember the kind of ugly brown color of its hull. As I said, I had just caught a puff and got up on my plane, thought I had speed enough to cross in front of the sailboat, NOT! I think what happened was that the sailboat ran over the back of my board, and the next thing I knew I am under the boat being dragged along, still hooked in. I remember feeling the slime on the underside of the hull with my hand but I was making my way aft, so the rig had not stayed hung up for long. Luckily it spit me out before too long and I surfaced as the boat continued past - you should have seen the looks on the boaters' faces - very ashen. I hollered that I was all right, but my boom was broken so I swam everything back. I still have that board, and it still hs some indelible slime marks embedded in the graphics.
Funny thing, there had been some paramedics at the beach when I put out, I think they were tending to someone's having been gashed by a fin - I told them not to run off 'cause I'm going out now!
Safe to say I had made a really stupid misjudgement, you can bet I keep a wary eye out for all watercraft when sailing today. I was pretty damned lucky.
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gpadmos



Joined: 09 Jul 2009
Posts: 55

PostPosted: Fri Dec 20, 2013 4:16 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Seeing the Berkeley sensor showing 20 kts and believing that it would still be blowing when I got there 30 minutes later.

Or, for that matter, seeing the Berkeley sensor showing 20 kts and believing it.
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Arrgh



Joined: 05 May 1998
Posts: 864
Location: Rio

PostPosted: Sat Dec 21, 2013 10:00 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Sailing Berkeley.
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pierrec45



Joined: 12 Oct 2007
Posts: 28

PostPosted: Sat Dec 21, 2013 11:10 am    Post subject: Great thread ! ;) Reply with quote

Hey guys, great thread, fun to read.
To me, all those misadventures are fun stuff to go through, great stories to talk about later.

I have done a lot of teaching to newbies, ever since the early 80s. Boy, has the game changed. Used to be that people would persevere for 3-4-5 outings on a crappy board, and end up getting the hang of it.

Now people give up after 5 minutes, on much much better gear - "too difficult, too much work". I saw it again just 2 weeks ago at a school in Cuba.

Anyways, since I have only good memories from learning, including getting stuck under the sail, I'll pitch in with my best memory. That is, the guys around me showed me really early a few freestyle tricks, a.k.a. as fun sailing.

I thought at the time doing that and falling was soooo much fun that I had to do it right away. I've never stopped since - mostly falling, but whatever.

Best sport in the world !
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fxop



Joined: 13 Jun 1998
Posts: 202

PostPosted: Sat Dec 21, 2013 2:03 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Was sailing towards the pier, daydreaming, and didn't notice the fishing lines until too late.

Dropped down in the water to avoid sailing through the lines and got immediately hooked in my wetsuit by a 5 hook lure. Started trying to get the hooks out of my wetsuit by pulling on the line and was rewarded with a nice deep cut as the nylon lines cut right through my fingers like butter.

At that point I heard a kid on the pier say "I got it!" and looked up to see another 5 hook lure drop onto my brand new Neil Pryde World Cup Race sail with the 18" deep draft, which was floating offshore while I struggled with the embedded hooks in my wetsuit.

I swam over to my rig and pulled the 2nd lure out of the dacron luff. I waterstarted and caught a great puff. As I sailed off I felt a brief tug as the hooks in my wetsuit gave way, taking a little skin too. I didn't look back but I like to think nobody lost their pole.
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ascott72



Joined: 12 Jun 2006
Posts: 124

PostPosted: Thu Dec 26, 2013 5:19 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I have had my share of accidents and mishaps - but most of them weren't while I was learning.

The worst part back in the day was the old tie-on booms that would always come loose.

But, like several of you, my mom fell in, the mast hit her in the head, and she never tried windsurfing again.
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