Trapped under the sail under water
Scott
There was a thread a while back about getting stuck under your sail with the
harness lines tangled in the hook. Well that very thing happened to me over
the weekend. Went to jibe, was tearin' into the turn and when I went to flip
the sail, I noticed that my harness lines had gotten swung back into the
hook (guess my knees were not bent enough). Too late to avoid the chaos that
ensued as I was already flipping the sail - I went flying and did some sort
of 180 or so, because I ended up under water, under the sail with the lines
so twisted I could not un-hook. I somehow found the mast and managed to pull
my head around for a gulp of air (I know from experience that my head can
clear the mast while hooked-in), and then a wave and a gust hit (it was 4.2
conditions) and the whole rig flipped over with me again under it all. Not
sure how, but I managed to to belly up to the boom to release tension so I
could unhook.
The whole thing kind of spooked me and for a fleeting moment I thought I
should give up this sport (that idea quickly passed). I thought later about
comments people made in this group about using a knife for this sort of
situation. I really doubt that would have worked for me - my biggest battle
was disorientation from the impact and being all tangled up. I just had to
tell my self to not panic and work it out.
Scott
John Peters
necessary. I haven't had a situation yet where I've had to use it yet,
though, and you risk losing the hook if it slides off the belt into the
water.
"Scott" <ma...@halcyon.com> wrote in message
news:al3oub$gib$1...@brokaw.wa.com...
westoz
the
> harness lines tangled in the hook. Well that very thing happened to me
over
> the weekend.
Scott, by description that is exactly what happened to me.
westoz
"westoz" <wes...@xxxxwestnet.com.au> wrote in message
news:3d76...@quokka.wn.com.au...
gone bad with just a breath of water.
From what I remember about that thread there was a lack of comprehension as
to how it can happen and the seriousness of the action.
Glad you survived.
Tom.
Alan
and the other plastic. I always opt for the plastic one because I've had the
metal one slip around and become jammed. I know I can always slip the belt
through the plastic ones in case I become pinned under.
Alan
--
Windsurfing Club: http://www.ibscc.org
Homepage: http://pw1.netcom.com/~alannc44/qsl.htm
"John Peters" <jpete...@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:tzed9.350771$UU1.59769@sccrnsc03...
Benjamin Kaufman
Ben
Scott
Scott
Benjamin Kaufman <robomechan...@pobox.com> wrote in message
news:jn3cnug763kgjmevj...@4ax.com...
John Hass
That same sort of thing also happened to me, was launched and
did a rotation and twisted the harness line arount THE HOOK, and
landed under the sail......it was a very serious situation..my
solution is to not use a hook....went to the reactor bar with the
roller pin...so far so good... that has also happened to another sa
sailor I know...launched overpowered over the front of the board,
and then spun around on the boom, tying the harness line
around the hook then pulling the sail over on top of himself..
heavy air, getting slammed, disoriented,lack of oxygen, while
trapped under the sail......hope the roller pin plan works for
me....as once was more than enough of that stuff...
Jerry McEwen
situation. Hooks get smaller as you get toward the end while a roller
gets bigger at the top.
Dan Weiss
wriggling often works to free the hook, as does getting the hook closer to
the booms. Second, release the velcro from the harness line where it
attaches to the booms. The hook should release then. Third, open your eyes
and figure out the tangle. Fourth, release the bar straps and slide off the
bar. Remember, nobody has ever drowned under the sail. It takes a very,
very long time before you pass out. Minutes. Stay calm and figure it out.
But it can be very unnerving especially in the waves.
--
Dan
"Scott" <ma...@halcyon.com> wrote in message
news:al56dg$2mr$1...@brokaw.wa.com...
Davide
something similar happened to me a couple of years ago and the thing
that annoyed me the worst was how unprepared I was for it. Before I
regained composure and did "the right thing" (that is stop for a
couple of seconds to do anything, and then disentagle myself) I almost
panic. The good news is that when it happened again a few months
later (don't ask how) I was much more ready to cope with it and I got
out of the situation without any panic and quickly.
I am not sure about the idea of the knife: it takes time to cut
through a harness line, releasing a buckle of the harness (and learn
how to do that quickly) should provide more then enough extra room to
reach the side of the mast even if the lines are all twisted
D
Frank Weston
problem.....hopefully.
Frank Weston
"Scott" <ma...@halcyon.com> wrote in message
news:al3oub$gib$1...@brokaw.wa.com...
Alan
Powell's school a couple of years ago. I'm pretty sure it was discussed on
rec.windsurfing.
Alan
--
Windsurfing Club: http://www.ibscc.org
Homepage: http://pw1.netcom.com/~alannc44/qsl.htm
"Dan Weiss" <dwusDON'TSP...@bellsouthSPAMSTER.net> wrote in message
news:6Axd9.280$%
frusdniw
I read that they finally decided that he had a heart attack and that was
the cause of death. I don't know for sure if this is true any more than I
know that he might have been trapped, but it's just what I heard, and the
poster seemed to have some local knowledge:
Hans
--
Hans -
http://www.windsurfingradio.com/
http://windsurf.hansanderson.com/
**** remove the z's from my email address to reach me ****
Alan
hadn't read this follow up post.
Alan
--
Windsurfing Club: http://www.ibscc.org
Homepage: http://pw1.netcom.com/~alannc44/qsl.htm
"frusdniw" <frus...@hanszanderszon.cozm> wrote in message
news:Pine.LNX.4.21.0209050803420.2158-100000@balingwire...
Dan Weiss
it was a drowning.
-Dan
"Alan" <alannc44@{nospam}ix.netcom.com> wrote in message
news:d2Id9.3792$ip3.3...@twister.southeast.rr.com...
WARDOG
A couple of things to help minimize this in the future...
Swinging harness lines can lead to inadvertent hook-ins...
The Windsurfing Hawaii Hard Ones do not swing:
http://www.surfingsports.com/product.asp?prod=wsh_09106B
It also helps to have a harness that you can quickly release the bar.
The Windsurfing Hawaii waist harness has a big plastic buckle that
releases the spreader strap easily when under load:
http://www.surfingsports.com/pimages/wh_waistharness_buckle.jpg
Just lift on the ear on the plastic buckle and easily gain breathing
room.
I have used it at Jalama when trapped under my sail hooked in, in big
surf...it works...scrub the idea of a knife...the McJiber (sp) hero
thing rarely works in real life...
WARDOG
http://www.surfingsports.com
Will V
it was because of the old floppy harness lines.
They just twist too easily and they were soft which made them even more
difficult to get off. "Hard Ones" come off the hook much easier.
-Will-
"WARDOG" <moon...@gte.net> wrote in message
news:3D777D07...@gte.net...
Glenn Woodell
>
>The Windsurfing Hawaii waist harness has a big plastic buckle that
>releases the spreader strap easily when under load:
>http://www.surfingsports.com/pimages/wh_waistharness_buckle.jpg
>Just lift on the ear on the plastic buckle and easily gain breathing
>room.
I have been using a Dakine waist harness for a few years and when I had it
repaired when I was in the Gorge two years ago they "upgraded" it to the metal
buckle that they use today. I hated that buckle. It was so hard to release
even when my hands weren't cold. I recently had it repaired again and in the
process of replacing the strap I had them put it back with the old plastic
buckle similar to what you described above. It is truly a quick release buckle
now. Cost me all of $15 to do it.
My gripe with Dakine, WH, and others is that they never speak of their buckle
system or show it to you. All you ever see is the rear of the harness. I'd
suggest that other Dakine wearers switch to the old style buckle as well.
Glenn
sailquik (Roger Jackson)
Sorry about the "old floppy harness lines".
They may be floppy, because they are adjustable and the strap makes them a
little floppy, but they aren't old. They were replaced at the beginning of the
year.
I too like the "Hard ones", but if I set all my booms up to my specifications,
with
18-22" lines, lots of people would have problems with them, so I use the
adjustable
lines on the demo gear.
Regards,
Roger