Windsurf towing was: Re: Sat PA Report

From: Jim Paugh (James.Paugh@Eng.Sun.COM-DeleteThis)
Date: Mon May 02 1994 - 13:36:18 PDT


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Date: Mon, 2 May 1994 13:36:18 -0700
From: James.Paugh@Eng.Sun.COM-DeleteThis (Jim Paugh)
Message-Id: <9405022036.AA00876@jalama.Eng.Sun.COM-DeleteThis>
To: wind_talk@opus.hpl.hp.com-DeleteThis
Subject: Windsurf towing  was: Re: Sat PA Report
Cc: matt@hpisod9.cup.hp.com-DeleteThis
X-Sun-Charset: US-ASCII

A friend of mine towed a broken down windsurfer in at the Gorge, and
recommended tieing the tow rope to the back of your harness (through
the seat). This way, it won't have the tendency to jerk your board,
and catapult you over the sail. This allows you to hook in, and put
the load through your harness directly to the sail. Still not easy (my
friends sailing day was over after towing in this sailor), but it makes
it much easier than tieing the line to the mast base or foot straps.
The stretchy uphaul lines are a great idea, even if you tie one to a
tow rope, to offer some give on the tow line.

~Jim Paugh

> From listserv@jr.hpl.hp.com-DeleteThis Mon May 2 13:01 PDT 1994
> Date: Mon, 2 May 1994 12:59:36 -0700
> Comment: Windsurfing Discussion Mailing List
> Originator: wind_talk@opus.hpl.hp.com-DeleteThis
> Version: 5.41 -- Copyright (c) 1991/92, Anastasios Kotsikonas
> From: Matt Yamamoto <matt@hpisod9.cup.hp.com-DeleteThis>
> To: Multiple recipients of list <wind_talk@opus.hpl.hp.com-DeleteThis>
> Subject: Re: Sat PA Report
>
> > And Matt went to Crissy to drive and extra 2 hrs and
> > go a sail size smaller.....maybe.
>
> Conditions at Crissy on Saturday were kind of up and down but in my
> opinion worth the drive to get some higher wind and chop. I rigged my
> 5.6 and sailed my ASD 8'8" CS from 4:30 to 7:15. I was mostly powered
> to way overpowered. A 5.1 would have worked fine. As others have
> recently reported, the wind kept shifting around. When I first got
> there, the wind was strongest near shore. At about 5:30 when the wind
> peaked, the wind was strongest near the North tower. There was some
> good ramps near the launch and mostly flat water outside.
>
> On my way up to Crissy, I stopped by the point just north of the main
> beach at Coyote to check the wind and had an interesting discussion with
> one of the people fishing there. Apparently some of the windsurfers
> have been sailing very close to where they have been fishing and their
> lines have been broken by passing windsurfers. Needless to say, they do
> not appreciate this. Some have resorted to throwing rocks at
> windsurfers. I agreed to pass along their concerns to other
> windsurfers. They asked that we not sail within 100 yards of any
> fishing areas - a reasonable request. The fishing areas I know of at
> sailing sites would include the pier at Candlestick, the pier at Oyster
> Pt, the point between Oyster Pt and Tigers and the point just north of
> the main beach at Coyote.
>
> On Sunday I sailed Coyote. At 4PM it was strong, but gusty 4.5 - 5.0
> conditions outside. After about 1/2 hour, I found some guy about a mile
> out with a broken mast. I offered to tow him in. He started to de-rig
> and after he got the boom and mast pieces out of the sail and started
> gathering his stuff on top of the board, we both noticed that his sail
> was no where to be seen. We looked around for a few minutes and saw no
> sign of it. We concluded that it must have sank. I offered to hold his
> board for him while he dove for it but he was wearing a PFD and couldn't
> get down. We abandoned the search - scratch one North 2 piece aluminum
> mast and a fairly new North Prisma 6.5 (and I thought I had bad luck).
>
> We then prepared for the long towing session. We tied our two uphauls
> together and attached them from mast base to mast base. Fortunately the
> wind had picked up a little and filled in to shore. The stretchy
> uphauls made ideal towing ropes as they gave a little when starting and
> sailing through the chop. At first I tried hooking in to the harness
> but the wind was too gusty and I kept getting catapulted before I could
> unhook. I finally gave up on the harness. Initially I headed directly
> across the wind toward the main beach. The water was very choppy and we
> were making slow progress. After a couple hundred yards, it became
> apparent that with the strong flood we would not make the main beach. I
> altered course and headed off the wind about 30 degrees toward the
> harbor. Heading off the wind slightly was much faster than trying to go
> directly cross wind. After about 40 minutes, we finally reached the
> last beach next to the harbor.
>
> My observations from this experience:
>
> On self rescue:
> - Never *ever* let go of your sail when de-rigging
>
> On towing:
> - Uphauls make great towing lines
> - Setting up the tow line from mast base to mast base works well
> - Don't hook into your harness if the wind is gusty or the water
> is choppy. Just take several Advil when you get in - towing
> without using your harness is very hard on the arms and lower back.
> - If at all possible head off the wind when towing - this
> is much faster. This probably applies to paddling in to shore too.
>
> -matt
>



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