How to carry your gear with ease.... Related links: High Wind Rigging,  Jibing, Jumping, Spin-out, Waterstarting                          No-tool Rigging, Wind Scale
Not always can we rig, park and launch (i.e. the Event Site, the Hatchery, Rufus, or the Hook) from exactly the same spot. With a little forethought, carrying your gear can be made easy. The following tips are particularly handy at places like Doug's Beach where the walk is one hundred yards or so.  Sometimes it is difficult to read the conditions away from the beach. To help with this click here for information on water conditions for different wind strengths. There are a few precursors to the following steps. Firstly, leave your sail bag in the car. It will inevitably blow away somewhere from the launch while you're out sailing. Only take the bag if you have something to hold it down with, or if you use an easy-rig tool this is a great place to stash it, but the tool is not heavy enough to hold the bag down. One of the biggest problems with this technique is the age-old question of where to stash the easy rig while sailing, but there is a very simple technique that eliminates the need for hand cleat rig tools. If you use the lever or crank type this tip won't help, but those devices fit nicely in the sail bag, so maybe bring it along. Secondly, for this technique to work your boom should be no longer than it needs to be while sailing. Sometimes this isn't quite enough, so shorten the boom before assembling the package. The shorter the boom length is compared to the rolled up sail length the easier this is.
Step #1.	Lay boom on ground, and thread both pieces of your mast through one harness line. Remove sail from the bag and leave the bag in the car. Thread the clew of your rolled-up sail through the same harness line. Sometimes the combination of short harness lines and big sails call for a different approach. If it does not fit easily, see alternate methods below.
Step #1 Alternative.	Lay the sail and mast on the boom and wrap with the downhaul line around them and one boom arm. Fix the line in the cleat of the extension or with a slip knot. Do not tighten so much as to crease the sail.
Another Step #1 Alternative.	Wrap the cummerbund of your waist harness around the boom and mast, and through the harness line. This is less secure than the above 2 methods, but if you carry the rig level to the ground nothing will slide out.
Step #2.	Rest the luff end of sail on clew of boom with about 6" of sail hanging over the end. Loop outhaul line around mast and sail and through the clew cleat. Tighten outhaul, Just enough to add a little friction but not so tight as to crease the sail.
Step #3.	Click extension and base together and attach to board. That is if not extension is not already wrapping rig bundle. If so, just attach base to board or extension.  Put on wetsuit (to the waist if it's warm out) and harness, grab board under leeward arm and the rig bundle with windward hand and head for the water. This way if a gust hits you the board will blow up out of the way. If it is on the windward side of your body it will push you off track.
Go Sailing!	Remember the following mantra and you won't forget anything:  sail, mast, boom, base, extension, board, wetsuit, harness. This technique will get you on the water quicker, guaranteed.

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