beached57 forum posts in last 60 days

Today I took a fall winging in the worst spot, right at our local sandbar about 200 yards offshore. No reef, but good size breakers coming in. Normally I try to hold my wing over my head and let the board go (on leash), but the waves were too high today and they took me and all my gear for an unwanted ride. After coming up and realizing nothing was damaged, 3 more waves were waiting for me to do the same thing. I was amazed that I escaped the carnage without a tear in my wing but quite relieved as it is still fairly new.

It got me wondering if holding the wing is the best course of action here. Would it be better to hold the board close to my body when getting pummeled by waves? Or does anyone have a better plan? Or is there no good plan?

personally i don't see any advantage of a PW in flat water. you need more wind than a wing and those lines are just one big PITA to me. Guys I know who are into the PW still wing when it's not windy enough to PW, so I wouldn't say it's a 'one or the other' situation. unless you're doing a lot of long term flagging, i just don't see any advantage of a PW (except its travel-ability).

my experience has shown that the smaller the board i use, the better pump i get, and therefore the better glide. for example, my Cabrinha Swift midlength board at 6'2" 100L is harder to pump then my Appletree DW Prone 5'7" 57L board. But the Swift is obviously much easier to get up in light conditions. Smaller (and stiffer) boards are more responsive to your input, and therefore seem easier for pumping...at least, that how it works for me.

i wonder how all the new mini pods coming out will affect the integrated mast realm. the cost differences are staggering and you still have height flexibility with the minis.

thx for all the help! finally hit it with a real hammer and it popped out. no damage to fuse/mast.

the screws are all out. that would be pretty embarrassing if i left them in while trying! but no tapping or pounding is budging this thing. after many attempts, the screws actually still slide right in, so I'm not moving it at all. afraid i might damage the fuselage and/or the mast , so unless someone knows of a method, this is a permanent pair.

today i had to put a different fuselage into my mast and it was a very tight fit for some reason but it went in and screws aligned with holes. however, after my session i could not remove it. struck it with a rubber head mallet many times but to no avail. anyone out there have a tip for removal? thx.

my old 5.5 North Mode needs replacement and don't like their new track system. i have a duotone float 3.5m. have seen plenty of favorable reviews on that and the 4.5 float, but nothing on the 5.5. no interest in the Unit. has anyone tried the 5.5 float and can comment? thx.

p.s. - i'm mostly interested in wave riding, no jumps, flagging/low end is main concern. i'm about 90 kgs.