by
: : >That's okay when you have a place to land downwind. Any ideas for an
: offshore
: : >wind?
: : Get your priorities in order. Ditch the rig, unbuckle your hook, paddle
: : like hell toward the nearest sheltered area.
: >And for beginners who are reading this, notice he said ditch the
: >rig, not ditch the board! If you end up having to spend a night on
: >the water, the board is your lifeline. Never leave it.
: You better believe this last statement ... heres my story ...
: After being caught in a sudden storm with 6ft + waves and 50MPH winds I
: tried to swim for 1 1/2 hours with the board and sail and ended up 200yds
: further away. When I realized no-one was
: going to rescue me I ditched the rig but kept some rope which I tied around
: my wrist and around the footstrap. This *saved* my life as when I got
: thrown off the board the board would start tumbling across the water at
: high speed.
Incredibly awesome point! It had never occurred to me, but without
the rig to weight it down, the board would just fly away in >35 mph
winds. So the correct procedure if you are in true nuclear conditions
would seem to be to tie a lifeline from your hand or torso to the
footstrap before disengaging the rig. Thanks for sharing.
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* S2SNet