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techno900
Joined: 28 Mar 2001
Posts: 4161
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 Posted: Fri Jun 26, 2015 2:38 pm Post subject: |
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NOVAAN said: | Quote: | | I would never carry a sail on my head. There is just no reason to do that. |
It probably is best to keep the sail off your head. However, one's age, strength, size of the rig, wind conditions, distance to walk, all determine what's going to happen. Try carrying an 11 meter race sail on a 550 mast and a 300cm boom. The sucker is heavy and difficult to carry except on my head.
So, for me in the last 31 years of windsurfing, probably 50% of the time, my sails are on my head going to and from the water. Never had an issue with any sail. It's a non issue, unless one has a defective or really old sail. |
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isobars
Joined: 12 Dec 1999
Posts: 20935
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| Posted: Fri Jun 26, 2015 2:55 pm Post subject: |
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| Ask Dave Angulo ... or any chiropractor ... about it. |
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NOVAAN
Joined: 28 Sep 1994
Posts: 1551
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| Posted: Fri Jun 26, 2015 3:03 pm Post subject: |
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| I seen a guy carrying on his head. He got a gust from an odd direction and got hammered into the ground. He could not sail the rest of the season with a bad neck injury. He missed a month of work. |
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NOVAAN
Joined: 28 Sep 1994
Posts: 1551
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| Posted: Fri Jun 26, 2015 3:05 pm Post subject: |
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| If I had an 11 meter sail, I would ask a friend for help if I couldn't get it to the water safely by myself.. |
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techno900
Joined: 28 Mar 2001
Posts: 4161
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| Posted: Fri Jun 26, 2015 4:22 pm Post subject: |
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I am not carrying an 11 meter sail in winds that would make it an issue.
Accidents happen, but because one guy has some bad luck, doesn't mean that it can't be done safely by many others. I have been turned around a few times as gusty, variable winds have hit me, but never lost control.
I do what works for me. Anyway, the initial point is that a head in the sail doesn't damage a sail in good condition.
I have watched many pro formula sailors flip both their board and sail (usually 9-12m sails) on their head and walk into the water from the beach. Not something I would try or recommend. |
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DanWeiss
Joined: 24 Jun 2008
Posts: 2296
Location: Connecticut, USA
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| Posted: Fri Jun 26, 2015 5:39 pm Post subject: |
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| techno900 wrote: | SNIP
I have watched many pro formula sailors flip both their board and sail (usually 9-12m sails) on their head and walk into the water from the beach. Not something I would try or recommend. |
That technique often is the only one to allow entry into shore break with the long fins and wide boards. The entire kit balances nicely and one avoids getting slashed by the fin when putting it down. A traditional head-carry holding front strap proves very unstable with huge sails and wide boards.
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dllee
Joined: 03 Jul 2009
Posts: 5329
Location: East Bay
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| Posted: Fri Jun 26, 2015 5:45 pm Post subject: |
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| Watched Palo and his bud carry his Formula gear, sail atop their heads, board by the footstraps, fin down, right side up downwind of them. Worked as well as any other combined carry, and they had no trouble clearing the railing at Berkeley's docks. |
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joethewindsufa
Joined: 10 Oct 2010
Posts: 1190
Location: Montréal
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| Posted: Fri Jun 26, 2015 6:28 pm Post subject: |
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so we have established MANY people carry sails + boards on their heads successfully
adywind suggests that since some sails do NOT last more than three(3) seasons - i should expect the worst from a 7 year old sail 
some of my most used sails get used about 10 times per year
in 3 years that's 30 times - NOT A LOT
i expect more from my sails
isobars says older sails were worse than the current
feels to me like the inverse is true
REALLY OLD sails have to be tossed out or they will be around forever
just to say - i am still disappointed
and if you feel i should NOT be surprised
then i am definitely in the wrong sport - not enuff $$ to replace sails every 3 years
do kites last longer ?? 
guess as long as you keep em out o' the trees u r ok ... |
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isobars
Joined: 12 Dec 1999
Posts: 20935
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| Posted: Fri Jun 26, 2015 7:18 pm Post subject: |
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| joethewindsufa wrote: |
isobars says older sails were worse than the current
feels to me like the inverse is true
REALLY OLD sails have to be tossed out or they will be around forever
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What I was trying to say was that a larger number of cheaply built sails were being made in the 90s than in the teens (i.e., today). IOW, some brand new sails 20 years ago were flimsy in design, materials, and construction. It wasn't an aging issue; it was a phase in the evolution of the sport.
Ditto booms, as evidenced most clearly by my initial trial of the hundreds of booms I tested. That trial was to step on one boo arm, grab the other arm in one hand, and pull upward. We never even bothered to rig the boom that kept going until my hand was over my head ... and stayed that way when I let go. |
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NOVAAN
Joined: 28 Sep 1994
Posts: 1551
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| Posted: Fri Jun 26, 2015 9:44 pm Post subject: |
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| Depends on how much and where you sail. Three years in Maui, say a hundred times a year, taking a beating in the surf is a long time.. Three years at your local lake on weekends in the summer, not so much. Proper care and feeding go a long way to extending sail life. Kites break too! |
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