Received: from hplms26.hpl.hp.com by opus.hpl.hp.com with SMTP (1.37.109.8/15.5+ECS 3.3+HPL1.1) id AA18803; Thu, 16 Jun 1994 11:15:45 -0700 Return-Path: <boehm@mri.com-DeleteThis> Received: from mri-gw.mri.com by hplms26.hpl.hp.com with SMTP (1.36.108.4/15.5+ECS 3.3+HPL1.1S) id AA29581; Thu, 16 Jun 1994 11:17:40 -0700 Received: from mri.com ([192.9.201.130]) by mri-gw.mri.com (4.1/SMI-4.1) id AA18479; Thu, 16 Jun 94 11:11:53 PDT Received: from sun224.mri.com by mri.com (4.1/SMI-4.0) id AA21593; Thu, 16 Jun 94 11:11:49 PDT Date: Thu, 16 Jun 94 11:11:48 PDT From: boehm@mri.com-DeleteThis (Geoff Boehm) Message-Id: <9406161811.AA21593@mri.com-DeleteThis> To: wind_talk@opus.hpl.hp.com-DeleteThis Subject: Re: lucky to be alive today Cc: boehm@mri.com-DeleteThis
The story about losing the board at third was pretty scary - that has
always been my number one fear in those kinds of conditions when far
from shore - I thought about it a lot on Tuesday.
I always run my downhaul through the holes in the cup on the universal,
then loop it around the extension with a few tucks under, so the sail
is essentially bound to the top half of the universal. So far, I have
never had the universal separate from the extension - but if it did,
this would maintain the connection.
The webbing on the hourglass prevents the top and bottom halves of the
universal from separating if the hourglass breaks (which has happened
to me 3x).
I know of no easy way to connect the star base to the board, in case
the star unscrews and slides out the mast track, as Luigi has
experienced. You could probably drill a hole through the star, and
then tie it to the "ring thing" in the nose of some boards (like my
ecstasy).
However, none of this solves the problem I had one sub 4.0 day in
Kihei, when the bolt that connects the star base to the bottom half of
the universal (the one you see when you pull out the spring clip and
have to get at with a socket driver) just decided to unscrew from its
nut (the loctite used on these just didn't hold) and the universal
essentially separated in 2. Somehow, I was able to screw the thing
back together hand tight in 6 foot seas and make it back to shore.
Luckily, the sail and board didn't go far before I caught up with
them. But, I was younger and a stronger swimmer back then. Since this
is a revolving joint, there is no way to really tie the pieces
together.
Personally, I like the idea of my foot being tethered to the board, but
it seems like it would get tangled up, and be especially scary when you
got slammed and trapped under the sail, or wiped out bigtime in the
surf. On the other hand, the most frightening experience I have had in
a few years was losing everything in what (to me) was big surf at
Waddell, and trying to swim in, gasping for breath as I got washed
repeatedly - which would have been no problem if I had my board. Of
course, I might have been strangled, or tangled up and unable to get
out from under my sil to the surface if I had been tethered.
Repugnant as it seems, a PFD looks like the best solution to these
kinds of problems. Is there an inflatable PFD, so I wouldn't have to
wear it, but just carry it in an emergency kit? I have no fear of
being knocked unconsious, and needing a PFD to hold my head above water
until I come to. All I care about is something to float me so I don't
drown when I'm too tired to tread water. Furthermore, since I can kick
almost as fast as swim (and for a lot longer), an inflatable kickboard
(like they use for swim instruction) would probably be the best
solution of all for me.
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