Sport Today

i was pumping like a maniac while exiting a jibe, and i'm not
sure exactly what happened - either i went for the footstrap
too agressively, or my foot slipped on the board. whichever
happened, my little toe hit the front strap hard, resulting in
really intense pain - i had to stop sailing.

so, of course the next day was a nice 5.0 day. i tried, but it
hurt too much. basically, any kind of compression (like a foot-
strap) was too painful. after one jibe, i missed the strap by
just a cm or so, stubbed it, and was screaming in pain. so i quit.

the funny thing was that a guy i met, had just the day before
been explaining to me that i should wear booties on vacation
because of the risk of a foot injury ruining my trip. "no way",
i said. oh well.

as it turned out there wasn't much wind anyway, so i didn't miss
much. i did manage to do a fair bit of training in a laser (they
can be rented from the bic center), which - since i race a laser -
was pretty much fun, and not nearly as *** my little toe as
windsurfing.

i got home on sunday, and had it x-rayed yesterday. it's pretty
well broken. i'm kind of surprised that i did so much damage just
by hiting a footstrap with the toe.

i guess it should be okay by the time the season starts here in
connecticut.

jeff

However, now I'm second guessing myself.  Did my foot break because the
booties made it harder to come out of the strap?  Basically, my fin hit
a rock, and the board stopped, I kept going.  I do remember getting
hung up in the strap, but I did come out and land with my foot on a
rock.  I can't be sure if what broke the foot was the impact from the
rock, or the pull of the footstrap.

I guess the question is whether it's safer to go with booties or
without.  I'm guessing that without booties you are more prone to
smaller injuries, but with booties you might hang in the straps and
break your foot or ankle.

I'd appreciate some advice from the pros on this, including how to
setup your footstraps so that you will come out easily.

I also think a lot of this might have to do with what kind of footstrap
you are using.  I think some footstraps are easier to exit than others.

1) I don't want to adjust my footstraps. (I'm lazy)

2) I actually feel "***" without booties now!

3) My feet stay in the straps better with booties

4) Less injuries to feet when sailing = more sailing time and a better
windsurfing vacation experience. ;-)

Personally, I love the Okespor "Florida". It's similar to the "Gorge"
bootie which has a strap. The key feature of the "Florida" is that your
toes are covered by the *** of the sole that wraps around, so the
booties last longer (ie. don't blow out the toes) than the "Gorge"
model. I got some Prolimit booties in the Gorge last year, and they're
a little thinner in the sole - which gives better board feel, but they
probably wont last as long with the Zebra Muscles here.

Lucky et al.  Never understood the problems with foot straps.  They should
be tight enough to keep you securely attached to the board, but not so tight
as to prevent your foot from inserting enough and thus make the board
uncontrollable.  Footstraps should be loose enough to allow your feet to
gain leverage over the board, but not so loose as to allow your foot to
loose contact with the deck.

Adjusting footstraps is fast and easy.  Do it once per season, or twice when
booties become necessary.  Or more if you like to tweak.

I've never been prevented from exiting the straps that are too tight.  Tight
straps prevent getting my foot in deep enough to get caught in the first
place.  Straps that are so loose as to grab my ankle are far to loose anyway
to use effectively.  The board will flop all over the place.

Boots tend to make it more difficult too get my foot in as the sole offers a
lot more grip than the skin on the sole of my foot, so I find adjusting
strap tension for boots to be slightly more exacting.

Never been hurt by straps, but I don't do much freestyle.

-Dan

Windsurfing injuries that limit your sailing suck, especially while on
vacation. Toes tend to heal well, so you will be as good as new soon. I
don't know what to think about the bootie/strap tension debate. I find
I have much better feel without the booties, and my feet enter and
release easier without them. I wear booties when I visit different
locales, so I don't slice my feet on the bottom and prematurely end my
sailing time. As you guys know, I snapped my ankle almost exactly a
year ago in Hatteras, slamming into a sandbar during a gybe. It
happened fast, straps were set loose for my clumsy bootied feet, and
there was no way for my foot to release. The board would not flip over
because of the fin being stuck in the sandbar. I have relived it over
and over in my mind. It happened so fast, and I am not quite sure
exactly if the booties had a significant role in keeping my foot from
releasing. I now set my straps wider and tighter, instead of just
looser (I have big feet). I try to sail barefoot, but I will likely
sail with booties again, especially when I think the bottom is
questionable. I like deep water now!

I hope you heal fast. Let us know how long it takes to recover. I think
the worst part was not knowing when I could get back on the board, and
how long it would take to heal. I sailed on my ankle at 6 weeks, but it
took 9 months to get back to 90% strength.

Take Matt Prichard's advice...get out your credit card and call Brian
at Side-Off and catch up on your videos....

Mark

I'd be interested in hearing more opinions on this issue.

It took about six weeks to sail relatively pain-free, however I was back
on the water in 14 days. I am sure the bone had fused by that time - and
I had purchased the aforementioned volcano pad in the meantime.

BTW, Jeff: was it windy in CT today?
According to iWindsurf, the breeze seemed to have been pretty confined
to the south shore of LI.
We sailed from 4PM in about 30kts until the rain turned to sleet and
snow and it became impossible to look upwind.

florian /FFF/

i noticed some wind in the afternoon, but i didn't get near the water
to really see it. i don't think we had 30kts though.

i think you guys on l.i. are crazy  - it seems like everyone there
likes to windsurf in snow. don't you guys know that that's what lasers
are for?

jeff feehan

 > BTW, Jeff: was it windy in CT today?
 > According to iWindsurf, the breeze seemed to have been pretty confined
 > to the south shore of LI.
 > We sailed from 4PM in about 30kts until the rain turned to sleet and
 > snow and it became impossible to look upwind.

i was talking with jim karabasz yesterday, and he had an interesting
thought - he thinks that guys who usually sail with booties at home,
but occasionally sail without them when they travel to launches where
they aren't needed, are more likely to injur themselves. he thinks that
they aren't used to being careful when they stick their foot in the strap,
that maybe they are used to just jamming it in there and letting the
boot protect their toes.

i am pretty sure that's what happened to me - i know my little toe
hit the foot strap (not the universal), and i'm pretty sure it wasn't
a slip. i think that as i was pumping really hard out of a  very
light wind jibe, the board popped right up on a plane, and i wanted to
get in the strap right away, so i tried to do it really quickly, but
missed and hit the strap with a lot of force.

anyway, it's definitely a lesson learned. i will be more careful. in the
few runs i took the next day, i tried to be realy careful to avoid the
pain. i was very deliberate about using the rotating method for getting
in the back strap - something i am not usually very concerned about,
but it is definitely safer than just trying to stick it in there, and
it is just plain better because it upsets the board less.

jeff feehan

jeff feehan

Come on, Jeff - of all sailing vessels the experience on a Laser is just
as wet and cold as on an 80 liter board.

florian /FFF/