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 Wellington Windsurfing
Association |
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Wellington Windsurfing
Association |
Brian (Alohalohalo) Scrimshaw has foolishly left me to copy and send out this and some subsequent newsletters while he swans off to work (thats a joke) in Hawaii for a couple of months, and as he forgot to put my superb top of the line state of the art 2nd hand gear in the for sale section I get to add an extra page....
I take somewhat of an interest in Petone/ Seaview and Eastbourne and have been negotiating to get some minor improvements. Those who sail at Petone will notice that the fence has been cut down to facilitate carrying sails in and out of the grassed rigging area. Hopefully the posts at the low water mark opposite the dairy will also be cut off soon. If you have any issues you'd like addressed to do with these areas feel free to contact me. There are also WWA notice boards at Petone (on the fence at the Eastern end of the foreshore) and Eastbourne (on the fence by the ramp south of the yacht club), these are available for ads by members and may(!) have notices of coming events.
I agree with the "fin down and fin first" methodology. Also, I want to pass on the best idea I have seen regarding straps. (tip o' the hat to Steve Yong of City Front SailBoards)
Instead of using tie down straps, I use shock cords. Take approximately 4.5 feet of elastic shock cord; tie the ends together SECURELY. You now have something that resembles a big rubber band. Loop this band around the uncovered part of your roof rack--arranging the knot so that stays next to the roof rack pad. Pull the other end taught so that passes over your board and over the end of the rack. You may need to adjust the length of the shock cord so that it fits the width of your boards.
To tie down more than one board, add a loop of regular line to the end of the shock cord loop--I usually carry three boards on top of my Pathfinder, so my line loop has a knot half way (so the loop looks like a figure eight) so I can carry 1,2, or 3 boards easily. I also add a piece of nylon webbing to the end of the line loop. This webbing is used to wrap around the rack post as well aids the "throwing" of this whole assembly over the boards when I am loading everything up.
I have used this homemade system since 1988. I change the cords every two years. It costs about 5-6 bucks per strap.
I was told this by the race director at the Hawaiian State Championships this weekend:
Don't leave your sails unattended. Tie them to a tree, board, car, etc. Don't leave your boards unattended either, especially short boards. A kid went to the hospital last week because a fin (attached to a board) hit him in the neck.
Sobering thought!
Coming in future issues: AGM announcement, membership renewals, stories of bizarre happenings in Hawaii (Life of Brian) etc.
Tom Seto writes:
Does anybody have any suggestions for kids windsurfing equipment.
I have been contemplating getting something for my 5 year old
daughter. I've heard about Bic's stuff, has anybody had much
experience with it?
Heather E. Stewart responds:
Last summer I started helping two kids learn. ( I'm a part-time
nanny for a w'surfing family.) The girl is an athletic 6 y.o.,
while The boy is a lanky, clumsy 7 y.o.
Initially, we let them stand with us on an old Malibu using a 4.7 sail & little wind. So they could get the feel of the board, hang on the boom,etc...Later, we tried putting them on the Bic's board & rig. They did o.k. but we had to stay right with them because of the current in the Sound & because they'd loose balance, fall off frequently then get discouraged.
So plan B...
While in St. Barth's, we discovered a better method. Get a HUGE board or get the attachable floats used by instructors on beginner boards and then put the Bic's mast/sail rig on it! This way both kids and an adult were able to be on the board. We had a great time doing it this way, because the kids could take turns sailing and we didn't have to chase them. Surprisingly, even with all the bodies and giggling going on, the child sailing rarely fell off and managed to keep the board pointed well.
So I'd say get the floats (seen them in catalogues) & the Bic rig. Play with that for awhile then gradually deflate the floats until the child is ready for more. I suspect they'll learn quickly, because we saw 9-10 y.o. boys doing planing gybes and hoping the waves while in St. Barth's. We couldn't decide whether to shoot 'em or ask 'em for a lesson!!!
Well, here's my 2 sense (not cents); I'd like to hear other reports.
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