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 :: WHAT TO DO IN A RECESSION  :: (281 Reads)

Posted by tonym on Thursday, April 02, 2009 - 11:23 PM

On Wednesday 01/04/2009 I looked out of my office window, the sun was shining and wind was blowing the branches of the trees. I just couldn't resist it, so I walked out of my office got into my car and drove off to the dam. The wind there was 5 knots with some gusts of maybe 10-12 knots so I rigged my 505, put on my kit and went out for a blast single handed. It didn't take long to realise that this was going to require a bit of effort but once out on the wire it was awsome. It was a bit skittish down wind with the bag up as the wind was all over the place and I didn't get much chance to get on the wire with all the changes in wind direction. The beats where exhilarating until the lulls hit and I had to throw myself back into the boat.
I spent nearly 2 hours hanging, swinging in and hanging out again, and by then I was knackered!!! If the wind had been steady it would have been a breeze.
The technique I used was just to stand all the way through and walk out in one motion or maybe stopping and balancing on the side of the boat and then just launching myself out without using my hands as they where already full of ropes and tiller. My new harness has a clip which allows me to hook up to the wire without having to worry about the hook coming loose so I just hook up on each tack. My tiller has an extension but I did find it was difficult to manage the boat in the gusts as my mainsheet was a little short once I was fully extended on the wire and left me with not enough movement when I had to depower the rig by dumping. I have to make that adjustment, I also need to look at the footware as bare feet slip a lot, other wise 10-12 knots single handed is a hoot !! It's like an -----!!###big wind surfer. A foot note here is not to try tight reaching with the bag up as it can be terminal. Secondly if you do have the bag up just ensure you have enough space, as space becomes a priority with little or no weight to cart around and runs out very fast.

So now you know what to do in a recession!!!

Tony Murray
8789

"If you have got a long enough mainsheet, try attaching the loose end to the end of your tiller extension! Now you can steer, sheet and hang out hard all at the same time :-) This can be a real hoot, especially at Rietvlei! - Ed."

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