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 Wellington Windsurfing
Association |
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Wellington Windsurfing
Association |
Daylight saving has ended. here ends the evening sails after work at Plimmerton in mast high waves! (Maybe just a tad smaller). Even if you have the luxury to live on Plimmerton Beach and be able to get out windsurfing at five o'clock, in the depths of winter, it gets dark at 5.30pm. So while we still have the light, get out there and use it.
As winter approaches the issue of safety is brought to mind. always sail with a friend. This means that if you are pushing the limits of daylight and you break a piece of equipment, someone is able to help you or get help. Mind you I think that those sailors at Plimmerton and elsewhere are very aware of other windsurfers around them. In a recent burst of midweek nor'westerlies there were some equipment breakages and I am pleased to say that everyone made it back to shore safely, even if only some of the equipment made it back.
On the 11th of March we held a fun slalom racing day in place of the Wellington Regional Slaloms due to be held on that weekend. Sorry, for all the sailors who were looking forward to the more formal event but some problems were encountered. The most obvious was that we did not have a boat which did not cost $150 per day. we were only expecting 20 sailors and we would be under before the event started. We are a non-profit organisation but also a non-debt one. Another problem was that we could not find an area in the harbour which didn't have boat racing and which was acceptable to most wind directions. Our aim is to have this event in October/November when we are able to sort out the problems which we encountered in trying to organise it this time.
back to the fun slalom event. everyone had a great time and if you weren't there, be at the next one. Originally everyone met at Seaview at 10a.m. The wind was fairly patchy and light, due to the S.E. wind direction, and the decision was made to move the event to Balaena Bay (only after I had rigged up my 6.3 and been out for a grovel...sink...swim!). At Balaena Bay the wind was significantly stronger and everyone was powered up on anything from 5.0m upwards. Two successful figure of eight races held of varying format aftre the relay marathon (as in time) relay was abandoned. The first was won by Dean Dougan and the second by Ken Gillies. Racing was not everything however and the emphasis was on fun.
Not having a boat was a disadvantage. For a start, in the figure of eight we had to use one of the yacht racing marks as our outside gybe mark. Though this made sure the gybe marks were crowded and exciting, I'm sure the windsurfers were not overly popular with the yachties on that day. We also had to call the police when someone lost a fin and could not be rescued by us.
On the 23rd of March we held a meeting of all "wanna be" and current committee members. Some of the previous members were stepping down and ther was a need to fill their shoes. brian Scrimshaw stepped down as President, Kim Burton-Wood as Treasurer and also Cath Jones, Paul Cooper, Dean Dougan and Rory Hocking. I would like to thank all those people for all the hard work they did for the committee over the years. On the 27th of April we will have the Wellington Windsurfing Association AGM in WildWinds. We have already filled the following positions and these will be made official at the AGM so if you have any complaints about these appointments speak out on or before the 27th of April.
President - Peter Durham 233-8802 Treasurer - Ken Gillies 380-8768 Secretary - Helen Harrison 473-8123 Editor - Bruce Spedding 384-1213
At this meeting we also had the largest turnout for a while and it looks good for the future of windsurfing in Wellington. Even though we are just going into winter we are getting everything organised now , so that we can have an awesome Summer Season in 95/96. A number of issues were brought up at this meeting and these will be discussed and actioned on at the AGM so if you have anything to say - be at the AGM and let us hear your ideas.
We will hopefully be able to organise the idea of getting a boat. This has a number of benefits. We could have fun events at minimum cost anytime we wanted. The boat would be used for setting courses, teaching and rescuing at "Have a Go" days, and as a rescue boat at wave events.
We would also like to see the possibility of changing the Committee to a club. We are trying to encourage a more relaxed atmosphere at meetings. Meetings would be held roughly once a month and they would be held at WildWinds where there is a lounge and other facilities. Afterwards we can have a chat, a drink and watch windsurfing videos. Organising and getting involved in windsurfing would be fun and not a chore. Other ideas brought up were the development of Kio Bay and the amount of support given to Windline. All these issues and any ideas that you have are open for discussion at the AGM.
Over Easter we are going to have another fun event. This will be held at a destination around Wellington depending on what the wind is doing, we will try to have it out at Plimmerton, Pauatahanui or Eastbourne but if the wind is marginal it will be held again at Balaena Bay. Basically the event is where the wind is. More information will be in a flier which will be dropped on car windows, left at Wild Winds, put on Windline and got to you by numerous means of comunication. Anyway keep your eyes and ears open. Any other queries and you can call Helen on 4738-123.
Keep sailing through the winter and make sure you keep windsurfing fun. How do you windsurf ad not enjoy yourself?? See you at the beaches, at Easter and at the AGM.
Peter Durham.
OK, well here's the next newsletter, and hopefully by now we've got eveyone on the mailing list that should be on etc... (any problems, ring Bruce on 384-1213 evenings). In case you missed it (heh heh) the AGM's on soon and we'd really like you to be there, one thing is obvious, we need to establish sub groups with areas of interest to take responsibility for various aspects of the WWA's activities. Peter has already mentioned some issues, like;
RESCUE BOAT. If we purchased such a beast it could be used for all WWA events and should certainly ease the organisational work, plus enable a lot more "impromptu" events (short notice). To get underway we need an interest group to firstly look at what the intial investment would be together with ongoing costs, and then determine how it could be used effectively. Issues such as storage, access, transport to venue, licencing of users and maintenance will need to be addressed.
RACING. This tends to be the main focus for a hard core who will probably also have a keen interest in the boat. This group would be responsible for bouys etc. and organising races. There is a growing interest in longboard racing so perhaps there is a need for a separate longboard group as there is only a partial overlap.
SOCIAL. This is a popular area, probably the easiest to arrange in many ways and well in hand at the moment with Helen and Peter it seems, but possibly one of the more satisfying and also perhaps the area with the widest appeal to WWA members, and hence as Peter mentioned, the most important?
PROMOTION. Promoting the sport through "Have a Go" days and various "Introduction to ...", clinics etc. is quite a big job, and like all these areas, requires people with an interest or it can become a burden. There is significant funding available for these activities if the energy is there.
ENVIRONMENTAL. Fast ferries, Queens chain, pollution etc. Do we need to make our voice heard on these issues? I think so, but to take a stance we need to get communication going within the organisation.
REGIONAL. Access, parking, facilities. We need to have regular and ongoing contact with all the local bodies or we may find ourselves cut off from our best resources!
SPECIAL ISSUES. Like the rescue boat there are a few special areas of interest which have been expressed, such as the upgrading of Kio Bay and the possibility of a "club house" at say Seaview. Anything like this requires someone to act as a focus to get things moving.
My energies tend more towards the environmental/regional stuff, (although if provoked I've got opinions on everything) so if you're interested in these please contact me.
Petone Foreshore Upgrade.
I attended the council meeting on this (possibly unecessarily)
and the consultation is ongoing, however the main impact on us at
the moment would appear be a loss of access to the park where the
harbour blast traditional starts/finishes, this would be in
favour of a cricket pitch for the local island community. I have
never been aware of any conflict here and would be dissappointed
to see this access removed.
Have a Go Day
Well this finally happened, after getting blown out by 60 knot
winds on the first try, only a dozen or so turned up but thats
better than nothing. My thanks to Pete (Cucumber) Glover and
Mathew Wood (who is a trained windsurfing instructor now, if you
need one!), as well as Pete Durham who is always helping out.
Finally, a request, do you like this format for the newsletter? We get little feedback when in fact for many of you it's just about the only contact you have with the association for most of the year. Thanks for the suggestions, we will try to put more "how to" and "tricks of the trade" stuff in, and also a structured diary type list of upcoming events. Don't forget you can advertise gear for sale / wanted or lost / found. Local event reviews and other stuff would be appreciated as I don't manage to get to many of these (too busy doing this?), as well as letters etc. my thanks to Brian (have-Kombi-will-travel) Scrimshaw for his contributions in this issue. The overseas stuff is relatively easy to get and often very up to date (we scooped the NZWA and NZ Windsurfer on the IBSA rule changes last time it seems). No one's complaining about this (so far). Not a cross word about the crossword either, want another?
see you on the water
Bruce
Windsurfer's Toolkit by Brian Scrimshaw
You know those plastic downhaul tools, the ones that fit your hand and have a cleat in them? Well I just about lost a couple of fingers with one of those. I had an old mast extention with only a 3:1 ratio on the downhaul (and my Neil Pryde sail takes lotsa downhaul) and while pulling with all my strength(I'm 6'3" 200 lbs) I broke the downhaul tool, it shattered in my hand and sliced my fingers wide open. I'm lucky I didn't loose any fingers.
The second half of this story is that a few weeks later, after my hand healed, and I bought a $10, metal downhaul tool(the same design). At the same time I bought a new mast extension, it's a Chinook, that has up to a 8:1 downhaul ratio. Any downhaul ratio over 4:1 makes downhauling simple! Even my 110lb., 5'1/2" girlfriend can downhaul anything with a 6:1 ratio!
The same thing happened to me TWICE! The first time I had a minor cut, the second time my husband cut his hand pretty bad. I had another easyrig that is made only of plastic. It never broke but does not work as well.
regarding this discussion of the "cheap" downhaul tool, I have learned that ;^) $39.95 is NOT cheap! (Actually it was "cheap" to me cause it costs me $30 a pop (pun intended) to visit my chiropractor and get my back straightened out after downhauling by hand - or broomstick , usually 3 -4 visits and lost sailing time in between. Increase that to 2 -3 months if the stick breaks as it did to a friend of mine! )
I find that I only need the tool for the Sailworks sail. My Neil PrydeWave Slalom works fine with those "pulling" type tools!
The tool that I'm using requires NO pulling. It consists of a plastic dowel that fits into the end of the mast base with a pin to secure it there thru the holes for the push buttons of the universal assembly. Then there is a metal crank handle with a hole in the end through which you put a couple inches of the downhaul line. Then as you turn the crank the line wraps around the shaft and voila ( bonjours mes amis ) you have produced lots-o-force of downhaul with only a small amount of arm power.
Another nice thing about this tool is when you break a line you don't slam down onto the sand or whatever else may be behind you. And I am told that if you don't break a downhaul line from time to time then you are'nt using enough downhaul.
So for me, this tool works fine. I would'nt be using a Sailworks sail if I had to downhaul by pulling ( bad back :^( ) and I do LOVE my Sailworks Race sail!
In a mail regarding sail advice I read that you can buy a downhaul tool for $39.95, that sounds quite expensive to me. Therefor I would like to give you fellow board-heads a cheap alternative. For example I use a piece (30 cm) of an old broken boom (the part with grip). Just roll the downhaul line a few turns around the boom-piece (in the middle) and pull, no sore hands here! If you don't have an old boom use a mastfoot (not the one in the mast) or a mast extension.
I'd like to add something to this. I also use a 30cm long, 3cm diameter cylinder (part of a broomstick), to help me getting the necessary downhaul. If you just turn the downhaul line a few times around, it will tend to unroll itself when you pull. This makes it not so easy to get the downhaul fully loaded (lot of torque!).
To prevent the unrolling do the folling little trick: wind the line a few times around the 'help-tool', then cross it over the line (-part from tool to sail) and wind a few more times IN THE OPPOSITE DIRECTION! Now the tool has no more tendancy to unroll itself from the rope when you pull. Especially for the last bits of downhaul, it really helps a lot!
thanks to ... Wouter, Christopher, Paul ,Florence , Todd
Lake Cleawater also by Brian Scrimshaw
Question: I recently bought my first short board a while ago, and I am having problems sailing upwind, getting into my foot straps, and jibing. The short board is 9'-0" and about 110 liters. Should I have progressed to a some what more floatier short board before buying the nine footer? What is the best position for placing my mast foot on this short board for someone like me? What's the trick to getting my feet in the foot straps quickly while working with less real estate on the back of the board? What techniques can I use to improve my jibes? And lastly, what are the secrets to sailing upwind on a short board while in the foot straps?
Answer1. Getting upwind on a short board is important. The first thing most beginners do when they take off is head downwind. If you watch a good sailor take off, they will bear off, pump the board on the plane, and then carefully bring the board round on an upwind course. On a short board It is a good idea to stay upwind from your point of departure. If the wind drops on you whilst you are way out, you can still catch a bit of chop, bear off, and pump it to get a planing ride back to the beach. Heading back up in a dying breeze, not planing, is hard work on a short board...
Basically, to go upwind on a short board, you need to be on the plane and in the straps. From a non-planing situation, you are out of the straps, standing well forward of the fin (front foot between forward strap and mast, back foot between forward and aft straps), keeping the rig upright (boom horizontal) to keep the board off the wind. Make sure the board is riding flat, and not digging the windward rail in, by having your weight over the centre line. Having your weight too far aft will also slow you down as this pushes the tail under (tail dragging).
The other reason you are standing forward is because you are not yet planing, so you can't load up the fin without breaking out, once the water is moving faster over the fin it will be able to take more sideways load.
When you feel a puff of wind that will get you going, catch a bit of swell or chop (lift your heels to prevent windward digging),hook in, bear off, and carefully pump the sail to increase speed. As the board starts to plane, you slide your front foot back into the front strap, being careful not to overload the fin, keeping the board flat at all times (or even slightly railed to leeward allowing the chop to travel onder the board without catching the windward rail).
Once you pick up more speed, you quickly kick your back foot into the strap, leaning forward putting downward pressure on the mast base by hanging off the rig. As your speed increases you put more load on the fin by moving your weight from your front foot to the back foot. Rake the sail aft to close the gap between the foot of the sail and the deck, and slowly bring the board round onto an upwind course. You will need to lift your heels slightly and point your toes to raise the windward rail. If you are throwing up sheets of spray at the bow, caused by the front of the windward rail biting into the oncoming chop, pushing up the wet suit over your ankles and waterblasting your face, you are not railing properly.
To go upwind, your mast base needs to be back, but not so far back that the point of power in the sail is aft of the fin! If you are sailing with all your weight on the back foot, and none on the front, chances are your sail is set too far back. If you are stabbing the bow into the chop, your mast and weight are too far forward. Also, on a short board, you sail with the boom set much lower than on a long board (chest height), and short harness lines.
A stiff dagger fin of sufficient surface area to take the considerable sideways loading works best for upwind work. Your sail should be set reasonable flat to allow you to creep closest to the wind without hooking the wind with the leech. The leech should not be too loose. Of course you are fully sheeted in but not over sheeted...
Gybing a short board is another (even longer) story altogether....keep at it and you'll be tanking upwind.
The few replies I have seen on this are most helpfull when trying to sail upwind when planing. Also there is a very comprehensive article in the NOV/DEV edition of the UK Windsurf mag.
It is also possible and sometimes vital to also be able to get upwind when the conditions leave you with a sinking feeling. This technique can be worked on by taking a short board out in lighter airs. Although I would initally suggest a safe location with little if any current. Also dont go for that massive 7.5 meter sail but something a little more throw about perhaps 5.7. First point is to get your equipment positioned in the water so as to make life easier, ie sail down wind from board and all pointing in the direction you wish to proceed. When uphauling keep a wide low stance and keep the board flat in/under the water. Try and be as snappy as possible and even a little aggressive in getting that rig upright. When the sail is reaching this point keep concentrating on keeping the board flat as you are are going to have to alter your foot positions. Now you should be sailing along, albeit a little slower than you would like. Still concentrating on keeping the board flat alongits length you can depress the windward rail. This should have the effect of driving the board upwind and you will feel this in your stance. There are two reasons for this firstly the curve of the board and secondly the sunk rail acting a little like a dagger board. Dont be afraid to dig the rail in to what may seem a ridiculous angle, basically experiment and see what works for you.
At the same time it will be quite natural to practice a low wind tack. The same principles as the long board version except that a little more aggression speed and agility is required. The best pointers I can give are to get the board as close as you can without actually stalling as the momentum no matter how small will give you a little bit of extra stability. Put you foot in front of the mast foot, touching the UJ and almost on the other side of the sail. When you have to change sides keep low and think light footed. Once round throw the sail forward and alter the trim of the board flat again and keep your body low. Then once stable you can concentrate on digging that windward rail in again and driving upwind.
Have fun, get wet and practice on them lighter wind days when you know your safe. Then when you need it in ernest youll have the confidence to attack the situation.
Windsurfer magazine has endless articles on the art of jibing, or gybing, whichever you feel works best for you. These issues contain numerous photo sequences on how to nail a perfect jibe. track em down its a good way to get a theoretical foundation,and a mental image of the perfect jibe. I've noticed some trends amoung beginner and intermediate shortboarders at the local lakes, as well as on the Columbia river. Take note of the following:
1. People dont bend their knees. They go into a jibe straight legged, with their ass sticking out, trying to counteract the pull of the sail. BEND your knees
2. Keep your weight forward putting downward pressure on the booms can help too
3. People often dont depower the sail resulting in the ass in the air phenomena to keep their balance. Put your backhand back on the boom and sheet in hard to depower the sail, then start your carve
4. People go into a jibe too slow. Keep your speed up by bearing off slightly. You need speed to carry you thrugh the turn.
5. I often see sailors carving 200 ft arcs. Try putting hard pressure, initially, on the rail with your back foot. this will make the board come around faster. Then decrease the pressure near the end of the turn to bear off and maintain speed. Tight turns gives you the sensation of pulling g's and are loads of fun.
Theres WAY more but I dont got time. Keep practicing
The first two problems are definitively caused by a bad stance. Transitional boards are generally so stable that you can probably go on sailing with a horrible stance for ever without noticing anything (except that everobody's sailing faster than you). However, on a shorter board you run into trouble immediately! The problem is that you have too little mastfoot pressure, which means that you have almost all your weight on your feet, causing the tail and the windward edge to sink. To solve this problem you have to lean forward and use your harness to get as much weight on the rig as possible, which means that the downward pressure on your mastfoot increases. When you do this you will notice that the board feels more stable, and your feet lighter, allowing you to take a couple of steps toward the tail and jump into the straps. Now you're into business!
One trick that can help you with increasing mastfoot pressure it lowering the boom. (a good boom height is nipple height +-5 inches)
As soon as you stand in the straps, you have to deal with the windward edge that sinks. If you have enough mastfoot pressure, this will be a piece of cake! Just edge your board to leeward by pushing down with your toes and lifting your heels! Don't worry if the board edges a litte bit to leeward, to keep it flat is the best, but to sink the leeward edge a bit isn't too bad either, it may even improve upwind performance since the leeward edge acts like a daggerboard.
When you're planing at some speed, it's time to rake the rig back to close the slot between the sail and the board. This will cause the board to go upwind, and should be balanced by applying pressure on the leeward edge. That's your clue to fast upwind sailing!
Don't worry about when to switch to a short board, you will have the same troubles whenever you do it. The only thing is that knowing how to waterstart is very useful to understanding how a short board reacts, so if you don't know how to waterstart, learn it immediately! (it shouldn't be too hard, it took about two hours for me on a Bic Calypso without any assistance)
About the placement of the mastfoot, it's a question of delicate tuning, and it cannot be viewed without taking the entire setup into consideration. First, place the fin and the straps correctly. The rule here is that the fin's leading edge should be lined up with the back straps back mounting. If you have the reactions of a superstar, you can move the back strap even further back, gaining a little speed but making it very easy to overload the fin... If your board in quite new, the finposition is fixed, so this is a matter of moving the back strap.
Now put the front strap in the frontmost place, and move it back if it feels uncomfortable. This gives you a wide stable stance that will allow you to control the high speeds that you will get from following my advice ;-).
Now, put the mastfoot so that the sail's center of effort is as far back as possible when the slot is closed. With as far as possible i mean as far back as you can control. If it's too far back the board will be bouncing around and frequently spinning out, because the mastfoot pressure will be too small and balancing the sail's center of effort (COE)against the fin will be increasingly difficult, increasing the risk of overloading the fin. On the other hand, the further back you put the mastfoot, the faster you sail, as long as you can control it. The best riders all have the COE very close to the fin. However, it should never be behind the fin! On the other hand don't worry too much about putting the mastfoot too far back. The worst thing that can happen is usually that you get more speed than you can handle... The problem most windsurfers have is sailing with the mast too far forward, which means that the boom fells too low, that the board naturally heads towards leeward, and refuses to go really fast... There is, however a situation where placing the mast way too far forward is a good idea, and that is when the moderate breeze suddenly becomes a raging hurricane, and you only want to survive! Now this de-tuning of your setup might help you to at least imagine that you are in some kind of control...(when monumentally overpowered, the only problem about going upwind avoiding it)
About jibes, all i can say is that increasing your mastfoot pressure is part of the clue here too, but explaining the powerjibe takes too much writing, so i'll save that for another writer..
thanks to ... Peter ,Derek, Wilbert and Tom.
I found this on Monday, but I didn't have time to type it in until today. If anybody finds out when this thing will be available please post it here, I want one.
>From the N.Y. Times business section.
Speed is an important component of many sports. Windsurfers enjoy high speed in the relative safety of their environment; in most cases a mistake results in a shocking but harmless sling-like motion called `faceplant.' Unfortunately, speed is addictive, and windsurfers spend large fractions of their disposable income in high-technology equipment that will grant them even the slightest speed gain. A young Silicon Valley engineer and speed addict himself, Jerome LaBlatte has developed a device, the hoverboard, that combines hovercraft and sailboard technology. A funnel mounted on the hoverboard's bow conveys low-pressure air to a system of pipes ending in nozzles on the board's bottom surface. When the board gains sufficient speed, the interaction of air and water under the board generates a thin layer of froth which greatly reduces frictional forces. With a properly shaped sail and under ideal wind conditions, a hoverboard is 15 to 25% faster than a conventional board.
LaBlatte initially planned to use the device in his quest to break the world sailing speed record. He set up a trial run near the south tower of the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, a location nicknamed `sweet spot' for the lack of chop. His sailboard `Fat Lady' featured an oversized funnel and a rubber skirt to trap more froth under the board. He reached a speed in excess of 55 mph but did not complete the course. A `dynamic instability' caused the board to go `nonlinear' and quickly convert its kynetic energy into a loud fart-like noise, heard as far as the Financial District. As the board came to a sudden stop, LaBlatte was launched forward. His harness broke and he skipped all the way to the beach. He was not hurt. His first words were `Holy cow!'
LaBlatte received patent 5,385,123 for the hoverboard. He plans to market a smaller and safer version for recreational use.
new on the internet ... for those with web access there's a new site to visit, the Maui Windsurfing Report ... try it! http://maui.net/mauiwind/MWR/MWR.html (P.S. I have unashamedly pinched some of the cute graphics for this issue from there!)
March brought us the most amazing wave contest in windsurfing history. For the first time ever, a contest was held at Hookipa Beach Park in southerly (port tack on the waves) wind conditions. Most of the sailors flurbed and kooked. But, to no ones's surprise the victor was the King of windsurfing, Robby Naish. This reporter saw some of the best wavesailing in history as Naish masterfully demonstrated that he is untouched at wind surfing. It was the first victory for Robby with his namesake line of sails. His choice for the Maui Wave Contest was the Hokua, which appropriately means, "crest of a breaking wave." Number two was Bjorn Dunkerbeck. His best move was swimming for 20 minutes.
The MCS system has been helpful over the years in comparing the overall stiffness of masts of the same length. There is a bit of confusion however, when you compare masts of different lengths. In defense of the MCS system, it was invented in Germany when all masts were about 460cm - 465cm long. Now we have masts ranging from 400cm to 545cm. The confusion exists when a shorter mast with a softer relative stiffness is labeled with a higher MCS.
Higher MCS numbers only mean a stiffer mast when you are comparing masts of the same length. Take for example a 430/27 and a 460/25. Even though the 430 has a higher MCS number (27), when you add a 30cm carbon base extension you get a stiffness very close to the 460/25.
So how do we fix this? The thought of an entirely new system is unappealing. However, just by indexing all masts to one length, say 465cm, we can still use the MCS concept and compare masts of different lengths. We call it the "Indexed MCS" or "IMCS". With a little more arithmetic, every mast stiffness can be related to a 465cm length (which Surf Magazine has set as the industry standard). Of course the average sailor on the street doesn't have to know the arithmetic. He just has to know the Indexed MCS number (and what curve percentages) are recommended for his sails.
OVERALL LENGTH 3
INDEXED MCS = -----------------------------------
MID-POINT DEFLECTION X 465 2
For example, compare two masts: 430cm with a midpoint deflection
of 159 460cm with a midpoint deflection of 184 Old MCS Indexed
MCS 430cm Mast 27 23 460cm Mast 25 25
PBA
NEWS (Check out Scott Fenton)
IBSA NEWS
(Check out Terry Vernon)
Being quite inexperienced (despite the normal talk exterior that we all try to carry which I do not pull off as well as some), this leaving a sail all salty is contrary to everything I have heard. I was taught that doing such would surely send Mylar to an early grave. I don't use my sails as much as most of ya'll so storage is a REAL concern. Most of my sailing is lake stuff so should I wash my sails with salt water?
PLEASE HELP!! I'll be sailing soon!
About mildew, salt etc. Whenever possible I hose off my sails with freshwater after use, and then dry them as much as practical. They rarely get 100% dry. The main reason for this is to get the sand and salt off and stop it from scratching the monofilm. My sails are kept in plastic tubes, so if they go in wet, they stay wet. I use them about once a week or at least fortnightly. The result is : no mildew, no evil smell and very few scratches.
Mind you I'm no expert, I've only been at it for two years. Ps. I live in a warm, humid area where even windows can go mouldy at times and leather things grow back their fur.
I heard one time that if you sail in the ocean that you should not rinse off your sails with fresh water because fresh water soaked into your sails fabrick will tend to mold and mildew. On the other hand salt water will not mold or mildew. This is what I heard. Is this true? Anybody?
Yes! I sail on the sea and never rinse my sails, and they never get any rot. One year I went on holiday and sailed on a freshwater lake for a week. Packing up, I made sure all my (mainly dacron) sails were dry before I rolled them up and put in their bags. A couple of months later I got one out (having had no wind all that time) and AAAARGH! Black spots all over it, grey fur in the webbing and a smell that would knock you over at 100 yards. The smell wore off eventually after enough saltwater sailing, but the spots never quite went.
Since then I try to keep all my sails nice 'n' salty, and they do seem to last well. Exact opposite of booms, though. Admit it - do you rinse your booms out every time you use them on the sea? I do now .... (but that's another story).
Well, I'm really glad to hear that! All this time I thought I was just lazy, now I find out it's cause I take such good care of my gear. I just got in from sailing, guess I'll leave the 3.9 soaking in the trunk where it's safe and won't mildew (nothing could live in there!). Thanks again.
Alan, Chris, Bill from Oz
: Afterburner 9'10" slalom board, 3 sails, mast, boom. $900 - Bruce - 3841213.
NZWA news... well
there's no news since last time, but we are following up on NZL
numbers for those who want them, remember, you have to rejoin the
NZWA every year to keep your NZL number (I wonder how much Scott Fenton paid for NZL1?)
No windline data this time either, the Easter-AGM deadline has won out, but we hope to bring it up to date with another issue real soon.
In the meantime, if you've something to say, something to tell, something to buy or something to sell ... drop us a line, the next issue isn't far away.
Don't forget the AGM!
TEACH YOUR FRIENDS! USE THE WWA WINDSURFING SIMULATOR AVAILABLE FREE TO ALL WWA MEMBERS CONTACT WILDWINDS
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