Please secure your gear!

[johnl]

Coming back from Maryhill today I had the excitement of dodging flying boards on I84. It was between Rowena and The Dalles (where the wind was lighter). The car was driving eastbout (I really don't get this) when 2 SUP's (I know what a LOOSER )flew off the roof, up in the air spinning and landing in the westbound lanes. Luckily not when a car was there. One car hit the boards with their tires after they landed but maintained control. 5 seconds later and they would have been right in my face.

I'm amazed that people spend thousands on gear then use thin nylon straps to secure them. Spend the extra money and secure them better. Dakine makes excellent straps that are wider and thicker than any others I have seen. More expensive but IMHO worth it. Big Winds among others sells them....

[jse]

I get the Chinook extra wide burrito straps. The cleat folds up inside a neoprene wrapper to both hold the excess straps and protect your car when you throw them over your board. They have them at Gorge Surf shop. Get the extra wide ones, they know which ones they are.

Steve

[Mulekick84]

That's odd. I thought most of the SUP boards were actually bolted to the cars. So many people just drive around with them to be cool.

Let's face it, SUP is as non-action as you can get and rapidly dying in non-coastal areas.

I predict a flood of used boards for sale cheap.

[beaglebuddy]

SUP is anything but dying.
You know I believe it's not such a matter of strong enough straps but rather applying the proper tension, board forward and aft, number of boards stacked, not paying attention to see if it's wiggling loose etc... i.e. I think The boards were doomed to come loose from the start.

[johnl]

If you think SUP's are a dying sport you should stay away from Waterfront Park and the Event site this weekend.

As to what caused the SUPs to come loose, who knows unless you saw it. 😎 But I can say no rack parts were seen flying in the air so I don't believe it was a rack failure. Also both boards came off simultaneously. But without investigating it any inference would be a guess. (Prior experience writting up traffic accidents rears it's ugly head 😆).

[SPQR]

I get nervous whenI am driving behind a car with a Costco surfboard on it. Always a newbie that doesn't know how to put a board on a car. I can't believe how many I see with boards flapping on the roof. I'm glad folks are taking up water sports, but those things should come with instructions on how to put a board on a car rack or roof as it seems a huge proportion of these folks have no clue.

[beaglebuddy]

Funny, but yes flapping in the wind. Not strapped down tight enough.
As a slight diversion I'm a fins back guy, I feel it's much more likely I'm going to have to lock up my brakes for some idiot and the board will fly off the front of the vehicle rather than the board will come loose while driving down the road and the strap will catch the fin and keep the board from flying off the back.
Never had either happen but I was that idiot once, I did have a bungie fail and the sails and masts flew off and someone ran over my Superfreak and Hot Rod RDM mast but it didn't do a thing to them!

[johnl]

[techno900]

For the last 15 years, everything is in my van, but before that, I carried up to three board on Tule racks along with a mast bag with several masts. The rest was inside the car, booms and sails.

On a long trip back from a regatta, just after exiting the freeway, the front strap broke sending all the boards off to the side at a 45 degree angle, but still on the car held by the back strap. Luuuuuuuuuuuuucky!

After that, I always used two straps on the front, just in case of another break. The strap was worn out, but I hadn't noticed it. Hours in the sun takes its toll.

[boggsman1]

The key to securing a SUP is tying down the front. A rope from the nose of the board bag to the front of the vehicle keeps it from getting lift, which loosens it, then BAM!!! the straps give way , and you have an 11 foot 35 pound hazard.