minimum wind speed for beginners for harnes use

[Scott]

Hi,

I was wondering if I can get some inside about the minimum wind speed
condition one needs if you want to use a harnes.
I am still in the intermediate (beginners)class of windsurfers and I
like it so much that I want to get to the next step, useing a harnes.
Of course the wind speed would depend on the board you use and the
sail size.
So lets say I use a ca. 3m allround board and 5, 6 and 7 sqm sail.
I was thinking going to Margarita this fall to practice surfing with a
harnes and I have read that the wind speed there would be ca. 15kt
around that time. Would this be enough?

Thanks to you all....
Scott

[Tom Whittemore]

basically any time you see any white caps
the wind is good to learn to use the harness and the footstraps.
15 kts with the 7.0 would be interesting. advanced sailors would be
planning with this setup.
but you might want to start on the 6.0 or even the 5.0 to practice
hooking in and slogging around before you begin to worry about planning
in the footstraps.
Note well: Once you want to go for it, you want power so if you want to
plan and be in the footstraps go for the 7.0. And be prepared to do what
we all did, get wet, eventually your body will begin to learn to react
to the wind changes and gusts. Meanwhile smile.

--
(\ ( Thomas M. Whittemore USWA/ABC ( sites:
{_\ ( East Greenbush,NY F2 Xantos/Axxis ( Saratoga Lk.
(__\ ( FIBERSPAR Gaastra/Rushwind ( Kalmus
{i__\ ( "911" racing on Equipe II US-TW ( Rio Vista
++^++++++ ( Adirondack Boardsailing Club ( AVON
Club Web site: http://www.abcsail.org
My Web site: http://www.members.global2000.net/~vikingsail/tom.htm

[Greg Knopf]

I don't think there's really any minimum wind for learning to use the
harness. I would look for steady wind, and not too much. I think you should
learn to hook in to the harness with the lines long and easy to reach. Worry
about planing and getting in the straps later. When you're first learning,
you should concentrate on hooking into the narness and feeling how you can
use it to take the weight off of your arms. Practice hooking in and out and
try to sail in a straight line with your fingers resting lightly on the boom
and your arms relaxed. If the wind is steady, learning will be easier
because the sail won't power up & depower too quickly -- instead it will be
predictable. If the rig is generating a steady pull, then you can
concentrate on counterbalancing that pull either with our arms, or with your
bodyweight through the harness. In Margarita, you should probably go out
when the wind is rather light to learn how to hook in, because they have
plenty of wind there. You don't want to be really powered until you are
comfortable committing to the harness and leaning against the pull of the
sail.

Good luck & have fun,
greg

Scott <asdfg_...@yahoo.com> wrote in message
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[Mike F]

I strongly recommend starting to use a harness full time beginning with
one's 3rd or 4th time on the water, in any amount of breeze, on any
equipment. That = TOW (time on the water) = progress. Our arms are for
jibing, not sailing, until we get into surf, and even then in some
circumstances.

Mike \m/

"Scott" <asdfg_...@yahoo.com> wrote in message
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[Endo]

I found it much easier to learn harness use when the wind was about 15
to 20 kts and STEADY (the steady part is the most important for
beginners, I found).

If it's lower, the sail won't get raked back enough to get easily in
the straps and harness. If it's higher, the fear of getting catapulted
can scare you away from using the harness.

I also found it important to get used to the straps as soon as
possible. I got launched about 50 times my first week windsurfing
because I was in the harness but not yet in the straps (mind you the
winds were about 30 knots). You need someting to react against when
the wind picks up and your rig tries to launch you over the front.

Endo

[Tom McClelland]

Scott

If you aren't trying to get to the straps you can use the harness in 1 Kt,
and you will be saving priceless forearm strength for longer sailing
sessions. You need to feel the wind so that you can anticipate gusts (ie not
be pulled in forwards when it arrives, or drop in backwards as it eases).
This is just practice.

In a 15kt wind you can be flying along in the straps very easily with a 6m
sail. I would suggest that you may find it helpful to get used to the feel
of the harness in 7-10kt winds where you probably won't be able to get
planing in the straps but the sail pulls and the board moves at a fair
speed.

Regards

Tom

"Scott" <asdfg_...@yahoo.com> wrote in message
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[Endo]

The problem I had with learning the harness in low winds is that low
wind usually means a high boom and a vertical mast. This adds up to
LONG harness lines.

If you sail in gusty conditions (like most people), when the wind
picked up, to say 15 kts, I was all screwed up for the straps by the
ridiculously long lines and found it difficult to unhook when the wind
dropped off again.

Endo

[JEZ HAMMOND]

Hi Scott,
When coaching harness use, my pupils need enough wind so that they can
commit against the sail. To much and they find a wee bit scary and have a
few to many catapults. To little and they tend to come up on their toes and
thus get capitulated again.
Basically, as long as you can lean back against the sail, feel confident
that it will support you, but are still in control ,then you have it right.

Hope this helps.

Simon
2nd Wind Sailboards
Perth
WA

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