Fwd: windsurf Creve Couer Dec 3, 2009

[ted basler]

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: ted basler <ted.b...@gmail.com>
Date: Sat, Dec 5, 2009 at 2:36 PM
Subject: windsurf Creve Couer Dec 3, 2009
To: www.win...@googlegroups.com

got 2 hours windsurfing in from 3:30 to 5:30 Dec 3, 2009.  put wool socks on but they got wet because boots are not water proof.  feet were freezing cold. only got on plane once on 150 L Pacific Freeforce board AHD mold from the House.  Used 7.5 Gaastra sail.  Wind died after my first 15 minutes.  But I just love being out on the water.  I am not trying to be an Iron man or any thing like that. Rich will always have that honor in mind.  I was on Creve Couer the day he almost drowned.  There other guys around here way tougher than me.  When I got done the water on my sail which fell in when I did was com pletely frozen. The water on my boards was all frozen, uphaul was frozen solid.  Trying to de rig my sail was the scaryiest part.  The cloth was completely frozen and was fun to slide off the mast.  The next time I go out I am going to put 2 wool socks on and then put on trash  bags over them and my legs to keep them dry.  I am ordering up some new 6 mil cold water boots.  Hopefully they will keep the water out.   I was dry except my feet .  After I fell in I stayed dry except for feet and face. I had wet suit on. dry suite over it. boots. mittens. and two hats on.  My face got freezing stinging cold but it felt good for some reason.  My core body temperature stayed warm.. I also had thermal underwear on that made a big difference.  Ted. Thanks for the advice on the socks.  I'll let you know how the trash bags work. Ted.  This has been a bad year for good wind.  I want a bigger sail. 

Does anyone have one for sail.  Please write me.  I am looking for a 8 - 8.5 sail.  Ted

[Tim Hossfeld]

That is AWESOME !!!

Tim

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[Chris Mihill]

Nice job Ted!  You may be the rightful heir to the Iron Man.  BTW, I do have an 8.5 Sailworks you can have.  It's Farmer Ed's, so he'd have to respond with a price.   Cheers, Chris --- On Sat, 12/5/09, ted basler <ted.b...@gmail.com> wrote:

[Richard Hunter]

Ted,   I enjoy reading your winter windsurfing session reports. Keep it up so I can enjoy it vicariously. You are the only other person I recall experiencing ice on your windsurfing equipment.   I am not sure what you were referring to when you wrote the following: "I am not trying to be an Iron man or any thing like that. Rich will always have that honor in mind.  I was on Creve Couer the day he almost drowned." I was not the person who almost drowned on Creve Couer, but am interested in the story, as I do not recall it. I haven't sailed CC in years.   Concerning cold wet feet, I have serveral suggestions. I tried dry booties years ago (like 20 years ago), but did not like them. There may be better ones available now. However, my feet are always wet, as I am using regular neopreme booties. However, the water that gets into the booties soon warms. The key is to slow the entrance and consequently, the circulation of the cold water. You want the water to have time to warm up and not shock the feet with the sudden surge of a lot of cold water, which also continues to circulate for the same reason it surged in the first place. Booties with straps around the top help if the booties are loose at the top, but not so tight to reduce blood circulation. Keep in mind everything will get wet anyway due to sweating.   I pull my dry suit over the thin polypropolene socks but pull the thicker socks over the outside of the dry suit before pulling on the booties.   Another important thing to do is to run up and down the shore line before you go onto the water. This will lower the vasopressen levels in your body by increasing blood circulation. When you start to get cold feet and hands, get back to shore and run again until they are warm. When you get back on the water again, you will stay warmer even longer than the first time. Gradually though, your blood sugar levels may reduce to the point you cannot stay warm.   Vasopressin hormone causes your blood to pull from the extremities toward your core, which causes you hands and feet to get cold very quickly. Even the psychological apprehension of getting cold can increase vosopressin levels. Stepping out of the warm vehicle causes a surge of vasopressin as the chill strikes the face. Do not get back into the car to warm up if you plan to continue windsurfing. Aerobic action reduces vasopresson levels. Confidence that you will can deal with the cold reduces its release.   I derig my sail in the water as not to cause it to crack or tear. This was in the 1996 report, a must read.   One other thing, stronger winds seem to make things colder. However, use of smaller equipment such as sails, booms, mast, and boards, along with planing instead of slogging, makes sailing easier on the hands and arms which counteracts the cold caused by the stronger wind.   If I were again to go to CC on a very cold day, and have the time and energy, I would lift weights for a few minutes, don the dry suit and booties at home, and then drive to CC with the windows down enough to not get too warm. This is not practical for a long drive and not beneficial if you can change in the vehicle. You could also leave the car running with the heater blowing full blast while you sail, so that you know you can get warm quickly in an emergency. This supposedly would increase confidence, or at least reduce anxiety, and thus help reduce vasopressin levels. :-)   Cheers,   Rich

--- On Sat, 12/5/09, ted basler <ted.b...@gmail.com> wrote:

From: ted basler <ted.b...@gmail.com> Subject: Fwd: windsurf Creve Couer Dec 3, 2009 To: windf...@googlegroups.com Date: Saturday, December 5, 2009, 5:17 PM