Sport Today

Well I guess someone had to be first.  tuesday I was rescued by the Yerba
Buena Coast Guard. San Francisco Bay From Tibiron to Dumbarton Bridge Is
patroled by this group of fine men and women. and when self rescue in a
flood tide at Oster point did not work, current too strong, fin broken off
Harness useless as fin, Rescue attempt by friend towing ineffective. the
Coast Guard Saved me from 8 hours on the Very chilly bay Rescue complete
at about 6:30 pm with the delivery of myself and my remaining equipment to
the harbor master of Oster Point Marina for a quick ride to my car and friends

So what happened you may be asking?
My fin broke, How, I was using the little quick fin attachment very small plate
that rotates into the slots in a chinook box choppy conditions and the plate
must have rotated so fin dropped back and sheared at the back
I no longer recomend this fin plate!!!!
Try to use fore fin kept in harness , Useless
Harness in the straps for drag at first it just popped back over the tail.
tried to use front straps no directional control.
loosing ground now off Flying Tigers.
ditch rig new mast 5.7 wave sail and base Sail cloth stuck in ring on base
friend comes out and sails back with boom to bring back rope
Tom Roberts Thanks again for trying
attempt to tow back straps to Universal Joint This results in Tom pointing
stright up wind after 10 feet or so of progress too much strain and can't
hook in
!!!! tow from universal to universal so the towing sailor has Board Control
Rope will be in his way,but it will work.!!!!
After the old tie down strap broke and Tom's Arms were Worn out He had to give
up the attempt. I asked he have Harbor master call coast guard.
Others friendly to sailors had already called, Thank you Genintech People
They were on 2 way radio giving directions to the coast guard, who where
not able to see me due to swell and sun direction untill they were about
100 yards away from me. I waved they waved and they directed me to the side
for pickup.
It took 3 due to my 270 lb. of sailing muscle. I was not much help after my
swim-tredding for 1 1/2 hours.
The men directed me to go below and warmed me up with fresh towels and blankets
Took my name checked for signs of hypothermia and drove to the marina where my
truck and friends waited
so I suggest
Review your self Rescue ability
Of course carry some line 20 feet in several peices
2 to tie sail mast etc to your board and one for a tow line
have you tried to put your harness on the straps?  try to pull it over the
tail of the board if you can the water can.and you will spin out Try the other
board. as well.
pay attention to sun and current It was still light but in twilight
the Coast Guard may not have found me at all. those on land may not have
the radios that the people who helped me did.
Use a Floaty board on marginal days I was on an 8'8" with a 5.7 sail
very sinky and hard to handle with the fin but impossible without it
Know how to remove your boom and sail in the water.
Will your uphall mess you up mine did if you must unclamp the board tie it
to yourself first
Did I mention several lines 5 to 6 feet!!!
I will take a day or two off and be back on the water friday or so but with
more respect for the  Conditions of Spring sailing 1. Cold air getting very
cold at dusk. It will be several weeks before it is over 60 f. at 6pm.
Wind almost always Gusty.
Frontal conditions v.s. Thermal
Early shut-downs of wind.
Buddy system very important.
Fix or repair Known problems i.e. sail sticking to extention
 may not have had to ditch mast and base could have tied sail to board. but
 rigged it was not possable to tow in. 30 min of stiching would have fixed sail
Bigger board smaller sail is safer, than smaller board bigger sail
Hope my story will amuse and caution you for a great season

Thanks
Team A U.S. Coast Guard San Francisco
Harbor Master Oster Point Marina
Tom Roberts
The guy with the radio
and the other sailors who kept an eye on me

Ron Malmgren (Big Ron) going back to my 9'5" Seatrend  And Waddell Race sails
untill I Swim much better.

... "Yield to temptation, it may not pass your way again." - L. Long
___ Blue Wave/QWK v2.12

|> Well I guess someone had to be first.  tuesday I was rescued by the Yerba
|> Buena Coast Guard........
|>
|> So what happened you may be asking?
|> My fin broke, How, I was using the little quick fin attachment very small plate
|> that rotates into the slots in a chinook box choppy conditions and the plate
|> must have rotated so fin dropped back and sheared at the back
|> I no longer recomend this fin plate!!!!.......

i had a similar experience two years ago.  i  went for an early morning sail
on long island sound.  i was sailing alone, approximately two miles off the
beach on my 9'6 board.  i had a device which was either called "fin saver" or
"skeg saver".  it consisted of a piece of *** encased in a metal sheath
which takes the place of the nut for the front***on a chinook-type
fin.  the idea is that as the***is tightened the *** expands, forcing
the metal sheath into the slot on the fin box.  i believe it is supposed to
release if the fin is run aground, yet be easily reinserted (without tools)
in order to continue sailing.

while sailing fully powered on a reach i experienced what i thought was just
an unusually bad spinout, which threw me into the water.  on trying to restart
i realized that i had no fin.  it seems that the quick release had released
just because of the force generated by my speed, which caused the fin to
rotate backward, pivoting on the rear pin.  in this position the torque
on the rear fin tab was too great and the fin snapped off causing my spin
out.  i am certain that i didn't hit anything with the fin which could have
caused it to release.

i had also heard about using a harness wrapped around the rear of the board, i
tried it but it didn't work for me either. the wind was side-on-shore so i knew
i would eventually drift back to the beach. i found that it is possible to
sail dead down wind without a fin but my progress was slow and there was large
chop which kept knocking me of the board.  it is difficult to get any support
from the rig when you have no fin.

it took more than one hour but i eventually made it to shore with all of my
equipment.  i still have the sheared-off rear tab as a memento of the occasion.

i have not used any of these fin saving devices since then, and i recommend that
other sailors not use them, especially on large, open bodies of water.

jeff

Previous rescue reports on rec.windsurfing have suggested that the best tie
points are:  Towing, loop line over harness hook.  Towee, nose of board, or
if no nose hook, universal joint fully forward in box.

Without rope, it is possible for the towee to lay flat on the board and
hang on to the tower's rear footstrap.  Requires power, but I have done it.

I am wondering why a fin was not brought out to this towee.

Ed the Shred  

I have another story from yesterday.  I was out in Long Island sound (Stamford,
CT) in gusty NW conditions on a Presto with a 6.5 and a new Windsurfing Express
mast base.  After a not-particularly-bad slam, the mast base broke.  I was not
too concerned because I was sailing with friend and was only a few hundred
yards from shallow water.  Having dealt with a previous broken boom with my
friend's rig in March a few years ago where we paddled in without unrigging,
this time I quickly unrigged, piled the gear on top of the board, and started
paddling in.  My friend, who was about to head in, came over and offered m***
support while I struggled to paddle (drysuit and gloves = not fun).  My story
had a much less dramatic ending, although I was really beginning to feel the
cold (water temp 41F).  I got to the shallow water, was able to get to dry
land, and then had my friend drive around to pick me up.  What's my moral?
Don't skimp on equipment, especially critical pieces.  Don't push your luck by
sailing out as far as you might in the summer.  BTW, any recos on a new mast
base?

Something very much like that happened to me once too.  So I swore off
windsurfing and wrote my thesis.

Something I have wondered about is what one does w/ a monofilm sail in such
a situation. According to the standard self-rescue technique, you're
supposed to remove the boom, remove the battens (place in mast sleeve),
wrap the sail around the mast, place mast on board, get on board and
paddle. However, it seems to me that a monofilm sail may not tolerate that
kind of treatment as would a mylar sail. Am I being needlessly concerned
(you have to admit that monofilm looks rather fragile), or is there another
technique I should be aware of?
--
Jim Robinson

{ubc-cs!van-bc,uunet}!mdivax1!robinson

: So what happened you may be asking?
:My fin broke, How, I was using the little quick fin attachment very small plate
: that rotates into the slots in a chinook box choppy conditions and the plate
: must have rotated so fin dropped back and sheared at the back
: I no longer recomend this fin plate!!!!
: Try to use fore fin kept in harness , Useless
: Harness in the straps for drag at first it just popped back over the tail.
: tried to use front straps no directional control.

Last season, the same thing happened to me.  I was sailing at 3rd Ave
(SF Bay, California) and I was *way* on the outside . . . suddenly
I had the spin-out from hell . . . so much so that the board shot
out from underneath me and I fell back in the water.  When I tried
to waterstart, I realized the real problem.  My Rainbow fin in a
Chinook box just broke off & sunk to the bottom.  The bolt, the flat
nut, and 2 little pieces of fin were all that was left.  At first
I tried the well-known "strap your harness to the rear footstraps"
technique . . . don't even bother trying it.  It's like tying a
sea anchor to the back of your board.  I would waterstart & then
*slowly* slog along.  My arms were aching since it was late in
the day.  (Yeah, yeah, I shouldn't have been out so long.) I
realized that there was no way I was going to make it back that way.
I then untied the harness from the board & put it back on.  
I water started & then sailed 45 degrees downwind.  The 45 degree
downwind combined with a full flood tide meant that I was not
going to make it back to the launch site, but at least I was moving
fast and would make it to shore.  I continued downwind and went
under the tall section of the San Mateo bridge.  I eventually reached
shore down in Foster city.  I hiked a mile or so back to my car &
drove back to get my board.

The moral: Don't bother strapping your harness to your footstraps
if you lose your fin if it is OK to end up downwind from the launch site.
It is much easier to walk back on land.

            -Dag
8'10" HiPer Tech, 9'0" Seatrend, 9'4" ASD

: while sailing fully powered on a reach i experienced what i thought was just
: an unusually bad spinout, which threw me into the water.  on trying to restart
: i realized that i had no fin.  it seems that the quick release had released
: just because of the force generated by my speed, which caused the fin to
: rotate backward, pivoting on the rear pin.  in this position the torque
: on the rear fin tab was too great and the fin snapped off causing my spin
: out.  i am certain that i didn't hit anything with the fin which could have
: caused it to release.
: i had also heard about using a harness wrapped around the rear of the board, i
:tried it but it didn't work for me either. the wind was side-on-shore so i knew
: i would eventually drift back to the beach. i found that it is possible to
: sail dead down wind without a fin but my progress was slow and there was large
: chop which kept knocking me of the board.  it is difficult to get any support
: from the rig when you have no fin.

Heh.  That sounds just like the story I just posted.  (I should have read
through before posting.)  Anyway, I'd just like to emphasize that it is
possible to said 45 degrees downwind as long as you keep pushing the
leeward rail down into the water.  It requires some concentration, but
it is a hell of lot easier than trying to sail with the harness/sea-anchor.

I would roll the sail around the mast in a manner that is similar to
when you roll your sail up before you stuff it in the quiver bag.  In
this case you dont have to take out the battens except for the foot
batten.  Here are the steps to take:
1.  pull sail off mast,
2.  start rolling the sail head around the mast,
3.  After finishing with rolling the sail around the mast use your uphaul
or any rope to fasten sail/mast,
4.  try not to lay on sail (crease the film) when paddling in.
                                                    Frank