Hi,

New member here, i had been trying to register since last year, happy to be a member :)

After destroying my sail on the beach last week, i feel like i lack some important techniques to avoid such accidents and protect the equipment in general.
Wind dropped to -10 knots suddenly and i head back to shore to finish the day, separated rig and board, while i was walking to get the bags, a huge gust (30kts+ out of nowhere) picked the sail up 5 meters high and hit it to an electric post, board olso got airborne and rolled for 10 meters hitting rocky surface on the way but luckily survived with small scratches. There were many people and kids around as well, so safety factor is olso very important.
I leave the board standing on its nose and fin, fin direct downwind, mast facing the wind, tip of mast a little downwind. Similar thing happened before when i was having a break and board was attached, beach was sandy and no electric posts that time so no damage was done.

Is it safer to leave the rig clew facing the wind?
Tip downwind or upwind?
Pack sail or board first?
When taking a break, should the board stay upside down (fin facing sky) over the mast or fin on the ground under the mast?
Etc.any tip will be appreciated.
Note: i taped some parts of my boom to prevent damamge on beach, leave a big towel on monofilm part of the sail when having a break.these kind of tips would be nice too, doesn't have to be "on beach" ??

Cheers

Neither of those for the sail

Mast base facing the wind, then move the mast tip toward the wind slightly. Hmm how to describe it.
OK imagine a line from the tack to a point about 1-2ft above the clew..... thats the line you want the wind to follow.

Mast tip into wind is maybe ok if it is weighted down.
For gods sake don't leave it with the clew into the wind you will kill somebody.

As to the board, never had one take off when pointed direct into the wind and never heard of it either..... you must have had a major wind shift also...?

Better yet, don't leave it unattended. Mast base into wind, remove boom and lay it on sail so it is weighted. Board nose into wind. Sail does not dry well like that but if its salt water you want to pack it away wet anyway.

you should not separate the rig and board. keep mast base facing the wind and roll the board on top of it. Then when you are ready to unpack separate the rig, orient the board facing the wind and take the rig first

Leaving the sail clew facing wind made sense because boom keeps the mast high and clew low, so wind would not get under the sail, instead press down on the sail. But i get it, its wrong, hard to do as well and i never tried to do so, just asking if its safer.
If i got you right, i do the way you suggested, mast base in windward and tip downwind maybe 30-40 degrees into the wind. Accident happened in this position.

I was surprised about the board as well, I don't think wind direction changed a lot, but it was a very strong gust which blew several sunbeds away. I later learned that those gusts are famous and has name "crazy mehmet winds".

How about putting the board on the sail, passing between sail and boom?

Yes, I separated rig and board to derig, I don't separate them when having a break.

Ok, i kind of got it, i guess. So mast is almost along the wind direction, tip downwind. Board prevents wind get underneath the sail. But if no board, then still problem.

But the board direction on that photo confused me, why did you rotate the board the other way around?

yes never seperate is a great idea .blade of the sail facing the wind .And Marks idea of boom off is also good .

I always ,if no rip ,take board off put it on the beach then go get your sail out of the water and carry it up then derig straight away .

its always that one unexpected wind gust that gets you .

in cervantes ,its not uncommon to see sails tied to peoples cars .if they come in for lunch ,as even a 30-35 knot gust will still pick it up off the beach ...

Yep as the guys have suggested. Board upside down across the wind upwind of mast tip as per photo. If its derig time disconnect sail n take straight to safer windless location. If necessary use uphaul to loop around a post or tree. Leave board nose to wind, fin in the sand.
Have had my Phantom 380 RB launched about 30 ft to be luckily stopped by a small bush. Startling sight seeing a 3.8m n 17kg RB hurtling about 6ft high towards the roadway. It flew so fast. Landed,not a scratch on it.

If you can get therig to a windless location great, if not then:

Keep the board and the sail together and position as mentioned above (powersloshin) Only disconnect the sail when you are derigging it (not wandering back to the car for a drink / bags etc.. )

Then always pack up the sail first, leaving the board 'unattended' with its nose pointing into the wind (fin in still so the wind pushes on the board, without the fin the wind can get under the nose and blow it away)

Once sail is away you can then disassemble the board.

Not much new info here but hopefully helps you with the sequence of events

Thanks for the tips guys, i will be less stressed on the beach now.

If i have to walk my kit a distance to the water and both togerther not an option i take the sail first and if windy Ill put/drive the tip of the sail into the sand at about 2oclock to the wind with the foot at 7 or 8, mast into the wind clre down wind. This works for me and clock positions are approx, ill take notice next time. Never had a sail take off.

This is similar to walking with your sail on your head holding boom & mast above boom either into or with the wind.

Also ill put the board fin down with nose into the wind so that it cant take off. Even fin up the board can take off

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Mark _australia said..
Neither of those for the sail

Mast base facing the wind, then move the mast tip toward the wind slightly. Hmm how to describe it.
OK imagine a line from the tack to a point about 1-2ft above the clew..... thats the line you want the wind to follow.

Mast tip into wind is maybe ok if it is weighted down.
For gods sake don't leave it with the clew into the wind you will kill somebody.

As to the board, never had one take off when pointed direct into the wind and never heard of it either..... you must have had a major wind shift also...?

Better yet, don't leave it unattended. Mast base into wind, remove boom and lay it on sail so it is weighted. Board nose into wind. Sail does not dry well like that but if its salt water you want to pack it away wet anyway.

Sorry for change of subject but don't often sail salt water so sorry if this is dumb..why is it better to pack away wet?

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Mark _australia said.. Sail does not dry well like that but if its salt water you want to pack it away wet anyway.

I'm curious too!

When salt water dries out it turns from a lubricant to an abrasive. Not good for vibrating all the way home? Yes I'm curious as well.

If it's really windy and you need to separate the gear try and leave the sail by itself for as short a time as possible. Sit the board with the nose into the wind and fin at the back / downwind. Carry the sail to somewhere where you can tie the uphaul to secure it ( tree / pole ).Tie it up short so the boom where it clamps onto the mast is close to the pole etc. Deal with the board then get the sail and try to find somewhere sheltered to derig or someone to help you hold it.

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olskool said..
Yep as the guys have suggested. Board upside down across the wind upwind of mast tip as per photo. If its derig time disconnect sail n take straight to safer windless location. If necessary use uphaul to loop around a post or tree. Leave board nose to wind, fin in the sand.
Have had my Phantom 380 RB launched about 30 ft to be luckily stopped by a small bush. Startling sight seeing a 3.8m n 17kg RB hurtling about 6ft high towards the roadway. It flew so fast. Landed,not a scratch on it.

I'm too late. It's already been said..

Saltwater derig prevents MOULD growing on rolled up sail if not used regularly. If washed in fresh n put away wet, mould can appear.

If you have or use an uphaul its quick and simple to use it to loop over or around tree, pole, fence, dog etc.

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ka43 said..
If you have or use an uphaul its quick and simple to use it to loop over or around tree, pole, fence, dog etc.

Or someone lurking in the shallows waiting for the gust of the day

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Sea Lotus said..
Leaving the sail clew facing wind made sense because boom keeps the mast high and clew low, so wind would not get under the sail, instead press down on the sail. But i get it, its wrong, hard to do as well and i never tried to do so, just asking if its safer.
If i got you right, i do the way you suggested, mast base in windward and tip downwind maybe 30-40 degrees into the wind. Accident happened in this position.

I was surprised about the board as well, I don't think wind direction changed a lot, but it was a very strong gust which blew several sunbeds away. I later learned that those gusts are famous and has name "crazy mehmet winds".

How about putting the board on the sail, passing between sail and boom?

Yes, I often do that, usually after removing the fin, to hold the sail down while I get around to derigging the sail.
mast base and fin end of the board pointing into the wind

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eastcoast said..

Mark _australia said..
Neither of those for the sail

Mast base facing the wind, then move the mast tip toward the wind slightly. Hmm how to describe it.
OK imagine a line from the tack to a point about 1-2ft above the clew..... thats the line you want the wind to follow.

Mast tip into wind is maybe ok if it is weighted down.
For gods sake don't leave it with the clew into the wind you will kill somebody.

As to the board, never had one take off when pointed direct into the wind and never heard of it either..... you must have had a major wind shift also...?

Better yet, don't leave it unattended. Mast base into wind, remove boom and lay it on sail so it is weighted. Board nose into wind. Sail does not dry well like that but if its salt water you want to pack it away wet anyway.

Sorry for change of subject but don't often sail salt water so sorry if this is dumb..why is it better to pack away wet?

It doesn't cause mold , , as for abrasive, so minimal not a issue.

The gent with the only photo so far, has it all correct.
your other option on position relative the wind is look at what's working for others, assume some are there.

^^^ it makes no sense to have the sail that way around in the photo. Just needs flipping over around the mast axis. Would need to flip the sail to leave it there and flip to lift and carry it.

Salt water thing, yeah poor wording by me..... You don't have to put it away wet its just that you can.
If fresh water, or hosed off after a sesh it pays to fully dry it before rolling up

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powersloshin said..
you should not separate the rig and board. keep mast base facing the wind and roll the board on top of it. Then when you are ready to unpack separate the rig, orient the board facing the wind and take the rig first

Correct, also take your gear to n from your vehicle without the sail and board bag its uncool to do this, and a waste of time

When it is very windy and the board starts to dance in above position just kick sand up and along the rail. This stops the wind getting under it and deflects air flow up n over the board n rig. Sand will also end up accumulating on the foot of the sail which will also hold it down otherwise just kick it on there as well.

Lifes short and sails are meant to get wet and sandy, you really only need to wash them every once in while when conditions get like this below. Otherwise just take them straight from the water minus sand, drain/dry em' a bit, roll em up.

And yes some of these rigs are pointing into the 50 plus SW wind, put enough sand down and it will be fine '88 SandyPt

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Spotty said..

Ha,Ha ! good for a caption comp... thinking of future archaeologists unhearting strange fossilised creatures...

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ka43 said..
If you have or use an uphaul its quick and simple to use it to loop over or around tree, pole, fence, dog etc.

dog...

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Sea Lotus said..
Pack sail or board first?

doesn't sand loose rig on windy beach
not sure why it blew into powerpole

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Ian K said..
When salt water dries out it turns from a lubricant to an abrasive. Not good for vibrating all the way home? Yes I'm curious as well.

As I understand it salt is too soft to scratch monofilm. The stuff that does the damage is sand.

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Sea Lotus said..
Is it safer to leave the rig clew facing the wind?

leaves clew facing the wind
moments later, clew facing away from wind

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powersloshin said..
doesn't like UV frying sail
slips on fitted bedsheet for protection

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Sea Lotus said..
When taking a break, should the board stay upside down (fin facing sky) over the mast or fin on the ground under the mast?

leaves board on beach fins up
running kid trips and falls, gets impaled