ka222 said...

for the speed sailing guys I think that the neck brace idea is the way to go.

I
http://www.leatt-brace.com/index.php?page_id=14&id=3

they are not cheap at over $1,100.... hard to not justify it though really.
I had a massive crash late last year and broke my brace in half... i broke my shoulder and injured around the area but saved my neck!

I
Spotty has been looking at mine and trying to work out how to use it for sailing..
i think the foam ring idea would work better...

This looks very interesting, for the extreme speed sailing catapults??

Most of the technique advice here is excellent.

king of the point said...

Hitting the bottom or an object will produce a better out come injury wise than catching a down wind rail .

Catching a down wind rail will tend to stop the equipment in front of you

and catapult you into the mast boom and sail........this is something to aviod ....because it will hurt .........

Which is the biggest danger in speedsailing!

Yeah, the one I started this thread about went something like this:

. Super gusty day, 5 - 30 knots, more rain than air.
. First time on new sail (I'm sure only medium downhaul at most, long story)
. Me getting too ballsy and bearing off a lot.

I probably got hit by a gust coming from behind. This is the first and only time that a catapult has really, really hurt. Went to waterstart but the rig was no longer connected, the mast base quick release had come undone. I thought perhaps it was the cause but I most definately went ass over. Then I couldn't sink the board enough to reconnect and everything was blowing/bobbing around. Luckily there was a guy out on a tanker of a board we could reconnect it on.

Water started, went to hook in but spreader bar was bent 90 degrees (another spare for the list). End of day for me. Sailed back to beach to nurse headache.

dammit, and heres me thinking giving away competition motocross last year and taking on a water sport was gunna result in less dramatic wipe outs and injuries.

speaking of which am still recovering from a catapult into the mast 8 days ago

the neck braces used in motocross that ka555 suggested, like most things came about due to demand creating the supply, maybe the windsurfing world hasnt felt the requirement for such a device, to create a similar product. that said like motor sport other sports like this one are all getting faster and and maybe its only a matter of time before something similar comes available.... after all theres impact vests helmets etc all in common use now.

interesting point someone bought up about looking at the clew of the sail....
while i dont doubt it may work, im just trying to work out the effect looking at the clew has on the end result...........and if ill have time to think about doing it

could'nt agree more, suffering from ankylosing spondilitis I should not even be windsurfing but love the sport more than any other, tuck your head into your chest and keep hold of the boom. I've been catapulted, landed on my back and had my head thrown back in the water jarring my whole spine. Took me half a carton to get back on my uneven keel

what's ankylosing spondilitis, I think that may bewhat I have fractured vertebrae which has moved out of alignment and squeezing the spine. In the future, I can look forward to nappies and ****ing myself as it gets worse.

JUst perfect a nice turn onto your back while still holding onto boom and enjoy the ride. Works for me.