High Wind Rigging
Related links: No
Tool Rigging, General
Gear Maintenance, Jibing, Jumping,
Spin-out, Waterstarting
When it is windy, excitement usually overrides common sense.
Here are a few tips on rigging in high winds to make sure the
session starts and ends well. This guide is based on
"optimal" conditions and may not be applicable to all
situations.
Getting Out
1. Park the nose of your car into the wind and upwind of the
crowd. That way other peoples gear can't fly into you and your
doors won't fly open damaging the car next to yours.
2. Rig First. Find any shelter you can. The car is usually
sufficient. Get your mast and mast extension ready. Unroll your
sail on the ground and put the bag somewhere safe. If you get wind
under the sail it with flap and thrash around, beating it up.
Thread the top half of your mast in the sail, then insert the
bottom piece into the top piece and insert the mast into the sail
with a pushing/twisting motion. Without letting go of your
sail/mast, grab the extension, put it in the mast and thread and
tension the downhaul line. (Hint- Sit on the tail gate of your car
to downhaul. The sail won't get scratched up and you will be less
likely to get a facefull of dust and a wet backside.) DO NOT put
the boom on yet. The sail should be safe on the ground as is (not
if it has cambers) for the moment. Maybe throw your wetsuit on the
sail to anchor it, or tuck the tip/base of the mast under the car.
leave the sail facing the direction and side up you will want when
you are ready to launch.
3. Carefully loosen the straps and remove your board from the roof
to the rear of your car. NEVER leave a board sitting unstrapped
on the roof rack.
-If you are
broadside to the wind, remove the strap around the tail, then
loosen the strap around the nose while holding onto the board and
pushing down on the tail. Slide the board off on the leeward side
of the car and quickly bring the board down into wind shadow.
4.Place the board out of the wind. Tuck the nose under the car is
a popular move. If there is no shelter anywhere, place the board
fin down with the nose pointing directly into the wind. This is
the best option, but is not foolproof. See note below if you have
multiple boards up top.
5. Get dressed.
6. Connect your board to your boom-less sail, with you and your
board upwind of the sail. This technique will keep things from
flying away and causing trouble.
7. Go to the tip of your sail and slide the boom on like normal.
Attach the front end, then outhaul. Now grab your rig and head for
the water.
8. Now is not the time for showing off. When it is windy, gear is
much harder to control, so don't carry it on your head. There are
some who pull this off, but it is a recipe for disaster. Grab the
windward front footstrap with your front hand, and the boom
forward of the harness lines with your back hand. Don't fight the
wind, let it do the work, the wind will provide plenty of lift.
Move slowly and purposefully to the water with your gear. If you
try to fight the wind, you will lose. Carry your gear with the
same mindset as when you are sailing.
9. Shore break can be a problem. If it is less than waist high you
should be able to walk through it. If it is bigger than that, try
to time your entry in a lull in the waves. Get up and away form
the beach quickly as getting caught in shorebreak can be a
humbling and expensive experience.
Getting In
So your session is nearly over, and it's still cranking.
Coming back in is much like launching in reverse.
1. Approach the beach at less than full speed. Take your feet out
of the footstraps and unhook early as you come in. If there is a
shorebreak, try to ride in on the back side of the wave,
remembering that the water will become very shallow very quickly
after the wave breaks. Step off your board and quickly walk up the
beach holding on to the boom with your back hand and the mast
above the boom with your front until the board "sticks".
At this point you are probably a safe distance form moving water
and have a decision to make. If you are going ot go back out, it
is easiest to grab the back footstrap with your back hand and pull
the tail of the board through the eye of the wind while letting
your sail flip at the same time. Then walk backwards/sideways up
the beach to higher ground. Be careful how you set your gear,
whole rigs can and have blown away. If you are done for the day,
pick up your gear by the footstrap and boom like before and head
for the car.
2. Once at the car, set the rig down with the mast tip pointing
downwind. Hold the board under your arm around the midsection and
disconnect the sail. Place the board on top of the rig fin down
near the boom. This will allow you to catch your breath and think
about what to do next. The longer the rig lies in the wind, the
more chances of something bad happening to it, so use your own
judgment.
3. Lift your board off the rig and set it somewhere safe (see #4
in Getting Out). Don't forget about your sail here. It is very
possible to set the board down without letting go of the foot of
the sail. If you do let go, maybe step on the foot of the sail to
hold it down while you put the board out of the way.
4. Move to the clew of the sail, while holding on to the edge of
the foot. This will cause the wind to hold the sail down while you
move to undo the outhaul. This is preferable to having the wind under
the sail while you are standing downwind of it for obvious
reasons.
5. Undo the outhaul and unthread the line from the boom and sail.
6. Release the front end and remove the boom.
7. Release the downhaul and remove the extension without putting
the rig down. This is to keep dirt from entering the mast.
8. With the base of the mast still pointing into the wind (even
though you are in a sheltered area right?) remove the mast with a
twisting and pulling motion. When the bottom section of the mast
clear of the luff sleeve, pull it our of the top half and set
aside.
9. Carefully lay the mast and sail down and move to the head of
the sail. Roll up the sail tightly walking towards the foot, not
dragging the sail towards you. this causes scratching of the sail
and the sail could flip up into your face.
10. When you get to where the mast tip, set the rolled sail down
and remove the mast tip and put it away. Finish rolling up the
sail, put it in the bag and then in the car.
11. Don't forget your board. Put the board back on the roof
positioned in the same way as it was before. Get your straps
organized first as they often get messed up in the wind. Slip the
nose in first, then hold the board down while securing the strap
over the tail. Tighten both straps and head for the taco
stand.
Strapping multiple boards - If possible, use one of the
metal "stacking" racks available to avoid the following
advice entirely. If you are dealing with multiple
boards on the roof you will need to exercise extra caution as one
can blow away while you are handling another. It is not necessary
to strap each board individually (if stacked vertically), but you
will need some patience and forethought.
1. When you get to the beach decide if you are going to pull one
or more boards off the roof. If you wand the bottom board it might
be easiest to take them all off and put them in a safe place. If
you want the one on top, loosen the strap on the tail first and
pull it over the fin and under the top board. Then tighten it over
the bottom board. It doesn't have to be perfect, just snug. Loosen
the strap on the nose and slide the board off the car and set it
somewhere safe. With one strap snug on the tail and the one
over the nose (even if it is a little loose), the board can't
really go anywhere.
2. Putting them back up is the same in reverse. First get the
straps organized around the crossbars. If both boards are on the
ground, put one up first in the manner described above in #11. |
