Hey I was out off Leighton at dusk yesterday (Saturday) in pretty marginal conditions - doing a heli-shoot as it happens - and I snapped my UJ. There was no way I could save my rig so I had to paddle my board in from a kilometre or so off - which almost made me late for Christmas party!

Anyway, it was out in front of the pedestrian-overpass at Leighton and the wind was WSW (now gone South) so it may wash in somewhere between Leighton and Cottesloe. If someone finds it or hears about it, please give me a shout, and receive the obligatory carton.

The sail is a white / red / black North Warp 7.7 with my sail number on AUS1111, with a Severne boom.

Thanks

Found! Not in prime condition, and missing the boom and mast extension - but the good news is that you can all stop looking

If someone finds the boom, its safe return will be greatly appreciated.

WOW, did the person who found it own an axe and not like windsurfers??

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lotofwind said..
WOW, did the person who found it own an axe and not like windsurfers??

The answer young man is in the original post .
It was a heli-shoot.
Let this be a lesson to everyone , ..., if your going to hire a chopper , make sure the pilot has done his hours.

Aus1111, the items that you are missing are directly behind the red bin, in the shrubs near the steps

Thanks Wilson! Great first post, and gear safely retrieved.

Go Seabreeze you good thing!

Put the sail in a few bags and take it to Jesper. He'll fix it.

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Sparky said..
Put the sail in a few bags and take it to Jesper. He'll fix it.

Or make tote bags out of it.

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Wilson298 said..
Aus1111, the items that you are missing are directly behind the red bin, in the shrubs near the steps

How good is that!

I'm glad it worked out and you could salvage something

So many questions,
why didn't the chopper help you out
did someone find the rig remove the boom and extension? Then why did they hide them in the shrubs and why not clear up the rest of the mess?
how would the boom and extension come of without the help of a person?
what the hell happened to the sail?
and again where was the chopper pilot?
where are the photos of this happening?

And, don't you have duct tape?

If it was an Ezzy sail, it would only be covered in scratches where it would have broken up rocks on the sea floor as it made its way to shore

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FormulaNova said..
If it was an Ezzy sail, it would only be covered in scratches where it would have broken up rocks on the sea floor as it made its way to shore

But there would also be no photo shoot either

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Stuthepirate said..

FormulaNova said..
If it was an Ezzy sail, it would only be covered in scratches where it would have broken up rocks on the sea floor as it made its way to shore

But there would also be no photo shoot either

Oh there would be, its just that it would look like it happened in the 80's

^^^ that's really good

AUS1111, did you maybe use too much downhaul?

^^ I suspect its a combination of not enough downhaul, a conspiracy of some kind, and that fact I was neither foiling nor riding an LT. I should add that what remains of the mast is irreversibly stuck together.

In answer to Ben's questions;

- What exactly was the chopper pilot supposed to do? Reach down and pick me up?
- The sail presumably got smashed up in the shorebreak when it washed in during the night (there was some swell and it's a race sail - they don't like waves.
- Yes, it seems someone noticed that there were a couple of items of value intact and stashed them in the bush, thankfully!

...and...some photos:

Have you tried to unstick mast by putting tip on ground. Holding vertically Grab mast with hands about 1m apart n shake violently. Rotate mast 90' shake again. Rotate n shake it til the base wiggles out.
This method works better than some other methods.

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olskool said..
Have you tried to unstick mast by putting tip on ground. Holding vertically Grab mast with hands about 1m apart n shake violently. Rotate mast 90' shake again. Rotate n shake it til the base wiggles out.
This method works better than some other methods.

I was waiting for your response to Ezzy 80s looks.
Defending them and saying they are at least mid 90s in style.
North would have to be the worst masts I've had to seperate . Such a tight exact fit .
Thats one good thing about old masts , like throwing a sausage down the hallway.

who was paying for the chopper and why?

surely not an old 2016 sail for a photoshoot?

col does take a great photo.

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JakeNN said..
who was paying for the chopper and why?

surely not an old 2016 sail for a photoshoot?

People are so rich in WA that on the low wind days they hire a helicopter to follow them on the water and push them along. They tried it with kites once, but it went wrong.

UJ seems fine in those pics I was hoping for pics of the swim/paddle of shame back to the beach.

Aha! Apparently there is video of the incident. Let me see what I can find out...

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Imax1 said..

olskool said..
Have you tried to unstick mast by putting tip on ground. Holding vertically Grab mast with hands about 1m apart n shake violently. Rotate mast 90' shake again. Rotate n shake it til the base wiggles out.
This method works better than some other methods.

I was waiting for your response to Ezzy 80s looks.
Defending them and saying they are at least mid 90s in style.
North would have to be the worst masts I've had to seperate . Such a tight exact fit .
Thats one good thing about old masts , like throwing a sausage down the hallway.

Imax1, Meh i dont care what others say. Ezzys work for me. Latest n newest doesnt mean bestest. My favourite board is circa 2000. 270 long x77wide. Hehe, im Olskool to the core.

Did the uni have a rope/strap in case of failure like most do?

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choco said..
Did the uni have a rope/strap in case of failure like most do?

Yeah it did, but I kept sailing after the tendon snapped as the chopper was only around for 20 minutes, and I didn't want to let the photographer down. Then the rope snapped too..

What do they call it - the Darwin award?

You asked for video;

That's the one!

you could of derigged passed the bits to the photographer then paddled back with the board, probably not that safe but would of saved the rig if you didn't take the chopper out