Yeap

Yesterday i had my first crash with a winger.
It was a women that gybed in front of me and the hesitated between going downwind or upwind.
When she gybed i saw her coming to me so i went downwind has she had the priority but the problem is that she also when downwind, so i saw that and to avoid her i went upwind, well she did the same and we crash front to front.
I have only board damage but i think she injured her shoulder!!


I was frustated and angy because missed out on a great session i was having and destroyed me most loved Fox 95, one of the best boards i ever had.
Going to repair it and sale as i just ordered a new Fox 95

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mmilhazes said..
Yeap

Yesterday i had my first crash with a winger.
It was a women that gybed in front of me and the hesitated between going downwind or upwind.
When she gybed i saw her coming to me so i went downwind has she had the priority but the problem is that she also when downwind, so i saw that and to avoid her i went upwind, well she did the same and we crash front to front.
I have only board damage but i think she injured her shoulder!!


I was frustated and angy because missed out on a great session i was having and destroyed me most loved Fox 95, one of the best boards i ever had.
Going to repair it and sale as i just ordered a new Fox 95

It's called target fixation ... a common cause of collision. I found that it is important to keep steady to avoid collisions, at most try to slow down but no trying to avoid the "target" by changing direction. You start following each other moves and then time runs out. Anyway, it must have been pretty bad!

Around here, San Francisco Bay Area, winging is probably now 95% of people at the beach. Kites all but disappeared, and the 5% are windsurfers. There are interestingly quite a lot of new "sailors", coming from surfing. An informal survey, asking them, shows that none has any idea about right of way rules. There was a similar problem with kiters, but with wingers it is easier to stay away. Most of them are stuck well under 20 knots. You just go around ... using large margins.

Good luck fixing the board ... and I hope this is your last crash with a winger!

Perfect example why we have "right of way" rules. I've been in similar situations with another windsurfer, but fortunately, we both jumped off in time. He then asked me what he was supposed to do. I told him to keep his course if he has right of way.

This only works if everyone knows the rules and follows them. A local windsurfer who has been at fault in several incidents claims that "you do the same thing as when getting out of the elevator". He's too challenged by lack of intellectual capacity "balanced" by bad attitude to learn.

Wingers can be problematic because many newbies have no watersport experience and learn on their own (or from someone who never gets to explain the rules). It does not help that the rules can be more complicated - "right foot in front" fails when you're winging toe side. Or they may come from kiting, and most kiters I see on the water do not look before turning.

The right of way rules don't always help, even if everyone knows them and wants to follow them. In this case, it sounds like the winger turned pretty close to you, which would mean she did not have right of way, but rather the obligation to change course. If she thought that, while you thought you were the "give way" boat, then we have a problem again. Jumping off works great with two windsurfers on collision course, but a foil board won't stop right away, and could become even more dangerous.

I'll take wingers heading downwind over all the kiters going for airs without a single look around them.

Troubles is not everyone knows "the rules" (or even what port or starboard is in my case).

I've found that unless the other person has left their glasses at home if you piont to your chest and then where you are going then the message is received.

A wing dinger doing a turn in front of a windsurfer without looking????? No way they would never do that!

Nor would they every try to sail between 2 powerboats in a narrow channel?
or not check depth of the water where they sail............

A lot of wingers out there with sweet FA sailing rules experience - I treat them like they all are going to cross my path and I will try to avoid going near them before they are likely to turn in front of me.

Having said this - there is a few wing ding friends of mine who are switched on and know to keep a respectful lookout while they are sailing or turning - and they are trying to get the message across to the newcomers in the sport.

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duzzi said..

mmilhazes said..
Yeap

Yesterday i had my first crash with a winger.
It was a women that gybed in front of me and the hesitated between going downwind or upwind.
When she gybed i saw her coming to me so i went downwind has she had the priority but the problem is that she also when downwind, so i saw that and to avoid her i went upwind, well she did the same and we crash front to front.
I have only board damage but i think she injured her shoulder!!


I was frustated and angy because missed out on a great session i was having and destroyed me most loved Fox 95, one of the best boards i ever had.
Going to repair it and sale as i just ordered a new Fox 95

It's called target fixation ... a common cause of collision. I found that it is important to keep steady to avoid collisions, at most try to slow down but no trying to avoid the "target" by changing direction. You start following each other moves and then time runs out. Anyway, it must have been pretty bad!

Around here, San Francisco Bay Area, winging is probably now 95% of people at the beach. Kites all but disappeared, and the 5% are windsurfers. There are interestingly quite a lot of new "sailors", coming from surfing. An informal survey, asking them, shows that none has any idea about right of way rules. There was a similar problem with kiters, but with wingers it is easier to stay away. Most of them are stuck well under 20 knots. You just go around ... using large margins.

Good luck fixing the board ... and I hope this is your last crash with a winger!

Sorry to hear that. I had a similar accident back in the 80s but with a windsurfer coming the other way. we both changed course multiple times before colliding. Now I just maintain my course as long as I can. I fall in if that doesn't work.

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boardsurfr said..
Perfect example why we have "right of way" rules. I've been in similar situations with another windsurfer, but fortunately, we both jumped off in time. He then asked me what he was supposed to do. I told him to keep his course if he has right of way.

This only works if everyone knows the rules and follows them. A local windsurfer who has been at fault in several incidents claims that "you do the same thing as when getting out of the elevator". He's too challenged by lack of intellectual capacity "balanced" by bad attitude to learn.

Wingers can be problematic because many newbies have no watersport experience and learn on their own (or from someone who never gets to explain the rules). It does not help that the rules can be more complicated - "right foot in front" fails when you're winging toe side. Or they may come from kiting, and most kiters I see on the water do not look before turning.

The right of way rules don't always help, even if everyone knows them and wants to follow them. In this case, it sounds like the winger turned pretty close to you, which would mean she did not have right of way, but rather the obligation to change course. If she thought that, while you thought you were the "give way" boat, then we have a problem again. Jumping off works great with two windsurfers on collision course, but a foil board won't stop right away, and could become even more dangerous.

I'm about to give winging a go . They don't seem to have much visibility. I expect it will be hard to lift the wing and look around without falling in when you are learning. They should have big clear windows like windsurfing sails.

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AusMoz said..
A wing dinger doing a turn in front of a windsurfer without looking????? No way they would never do that!

Nor would they every try to sail between 2 powerboats in a narrow channel?
or not check depth of the water where they sail............

A lot of wingers out there with sweet FA sailing rules experience - I treat them like they all are going to cross my path and I will try to avoid going near them before they are likely to turn in front of me.

Having said this - there is a few wing ding friends of mine who are switched on and know to keep a respectful lookout while they are sailing or turning - and they are trying to get the message across to the newcomers in the sport.

Like driving - expect everyone else to be an idiot and drive / sail defensively.

I noticed some wingers raise their wing to look out for windsurfers passing the other way, and some have jibed right into me without looking but no collisions. Also wingers down in the water were a little intimidated by two windsurfers ripping by in formation