How do you get the board and rig up onto your shoulders/head? I've tried a few times, with comical results.

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evlPanda said...

How do you get the board and rig up onto your shoulders/head? I've tried a few times, with comical results.

nawww you mean I missed seeing these attempts at Wello!? damn

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evlPanda said...

How do you get the board and rig up onto your shoulders/head? I've tried a few times, with comical results.

i wait till liz is around and tell her i need help launching my new kite setup.

then when she is not looking i jump under the rig and walk off.

dont do it when its 30-40kts

Justin... shhhh! lol

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WINDY MILLER said...

dont do it when its 30-40kts

hehe I can imagine that becoming more of a spiraling wind dance that ends in pain...

Actually last I was at Wello I saw someone trying to get their gear on shoulders for "the walk". Somehow they got the uphaul rope caught around their neck in a gust. Very funny. Anyone want to admit to it?

Peter Hart's "Turn for the better" explains it very well, with video! Highly recommend you check it out.

Otherwise:

1) Turn mast so sail tip is facing downwind, with the mast just facing into wind slightly.
2) Grab board and lay it along the mast so that the rear of board is just underneath the boom (but on top of the mast)
3) Grab the rear footstrap and the mast with the same hand, grab the mast near the boom with the other hand, lift mightily and jam your head underneath the sail.
4) Move your mast hand so it's on the foot of the sail. So your other hand is still holding the rear footstrap and the mast.
5) Play around with sheeting angle, you can steer the sail in the air.

When walking, make sure you stay so that the sail is mostly downwind, if you rotate too far across the wind then it will all fall off....

Good luck, enjoy!

My method....

1) Point the board into the wind no matter which way you are going to walk.

2) Walk around to the side that will be the windward side when you pick it up.

3) Holding the mast BELOW the boom so the sail clew is blown to the opposite side,
bend down and grab the REAR footstrap with the hand closest to the board. As you bend down allow the sail to come to rest on your head. The balance point for the sail with the board hanging off it will be well below the boom so that's where your head goes. You can use a bit of body english and judicious board tilting to get the wind under the board to help you lift it.

If you have done it correctly you are now standing facing into the wind with the sail resting on your head holding the mast with the windward hand and the other holding the back of the board up fairly high by the back footstrap.

From this point you can just walk off into the wind or, if your destination is downwind, you can (gingerly) change hands and turn yourself through 180 and walk off with the board pointing behind you into the wind. You can also lift the back of the board onto your shoulder, (comfy) or onto your head (not so comfy).

Ezzy sails with the vinyl window are particularly comfortable to carry this way. Don't do this with an old crispy mono sail or you may well put your head through it. For those you should use the Harty method above where the head supports the board from the get go.

hey panda how much weight you talkin??

I position my kit on the ground with the board facing into the wind sitting on its fin. Stand next to the sail and position the sail so that it is over the board with the leading edge towards you (e.g. stand to the right of the board). Crouch down put your arm under the board and grab the foot of the sail on the other side of the board and lift the whole thing onto your head/shoulders.

Head goes between the leading edge of the sail and board and you balance your kit on your head. Hold the board on your left bicep/shoulder in this example and grab the foot of the sail on the other side of the board with your left hand. Your right hand grabs the mast somewhere between the boom and the foot of the sail.

If you are going down wind, just do the same thing, but facing the other direction relative to the board.

Very stable way to carry kit into the wind, and decent down wind. Maybe not quite as stable as the usual way of carrying kit around waist height one hand on boom one on footstrap, but heck of a lot better if you need to trek with your gear any distance more then 20m in my opinion. Also superior if you need to get around obstacles, up stairs, down stairs, everywhere!

I find that putting the thing down is probably the harder part.

Oh and that might have been me at wello? I dunno, I've only recently started carrying kit on my head, but first time I remember doing it was at Wynnum for the first round of racing. Don't think I've managed to get the uphaul tangled around me, thou I have dropped my kit back in the water a few times. I have a black+white North Duke, and a Yellow Starboard FreeSex (freestyle board). Eitherway it's the best way I think of carrying kit now I got the hang of it.

oh p.s. if you really wanna learn to do it, learn to do it in the shallows, then you won't drop your kit on hard stuff if you screw up, and its also a lot easier to crouch under your kit to lift it up too.

Good thread Panda! Lots of people are too scared even to try.

I used to put the board on top of the sail Peter Hart styles, but found that it generated too much downforce, and was less than stable in the gusts. Now I do it with the board underneath, but resting on my downwind shoulder. (which also takes some of the weight off your head).

So, what swoosh said..

or if you have the rig upright already, you can duck, and let the rig lift most of the board as you stand up again.

Another option, and easier if there's a bit of wind, is with the board across the wind, to lie the rig back along the board, grab the mast and front footstrap with one hand, and the boom with the other, lift it up (it will be flying a bit already), and keep lifting until you can throw it up and get your boom arm under the board. Then drop the footstrap, pull the mast over your head so that the sail is on your head, and you're away.

By having the board underneath, and up the right way, it generates lift from the nose rocker, which is balanced by lift from the sail.. The key is that it's all lift.. None of it is trying to squash you into the beach, and it carries some of it's own weight.

I use this method with my wave gear in 30 knots, and also with a 'Start' in 10 knots. The Start needs the mast at a really wide angle because the board is just too wide to balance properly on a shoulder.

Putting it down again.. I do what swoosh said - hold the foot of the sail, turn into the wind, bend and twist so that the clew and nose of the board touch the ground, and then let the rest roll off my and over the top.. You end up with the board on top of the sail, pointing into wind, and the top of the sail pointing down wind. Which also just happens to be one of the safest ways to leave your kit unattended without it blowing away..

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westhammer said...

hey panda how much weight you talkin??

7.5 + 3.5 + 2.5 + 3.5 = holy smokes! About 18Kg+ when wet.
The heaviest I'm thinking of carrying overhead is a 110litre Carve, 6.4 Ezzy Wave SE (heavy) and Chinook boom (heavy).

Thanks for the tips people.
I'm tired of crab walking along the beach.

Not Wal sounds similar to the way I do it.

I don't bother with the board on top of the sail, it's much easier to control if you have the board below the sail. Just watch the nose of the board when walking under low branches

Start off with your small gear, it's lighter and wont catch as much wind, and if your at the beach start off doing it on the soft sand...less damage to be caused.

I've found that Peter Harts way with the board on top of the sail the fin can cut into your boom grip. Also this way with the sail resting on your head is very uncomfortable.

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Bayblaster said...

I've found that Peter Harts way with the board on top of the sail the fin can cut into your boom grip.

That's either a long board, or you need to look at putting your boom up/mastfoot back or both! I will admit to having done that with my first set of kit too though...

The shortboard experts seem to think that somewhere between 2 fingers, and a fist and a half between the tail of the board and the boom when it's laid right back should be about right...

Guy Cribb to the rescue again...

www.guycribb.com/windsurfing_technique_holiday_DVD_0076v01.htm

Look at "Short Take off & landing" for picking up and carrying technique.

JB

Crouch down in a beam to close haul position, put the sail on your head, upwind/front arm grips mast below boom, grab footstrap (normally windward one) with other hand, pick up board and stand up, then when balanced put the board on your downwind shoulder (fin down obviously), reach around and grip the bottom of the sail with your downwind arm.

It's a great way to do it and lessens amount of weight on your head. I picked it up from the boys at NSWWA and it's by far the best way to carry.