Hi, I was wondering people's thoughts on the best way to unhook when stuck under the sail. Is it best to just unhook the same as when upright on the board?
Or is it best to grab harness rope and hook and do it that way? Or whatever way do you think is best?
Thanks for your time.

Rotate one way.
If it loosens, keep going.
If it tightens, rotate the other way.

Most wave sailors do not hook in when riding waves or slogging, in or out.

Thanks Lee D. Yeh it happened once and couldn't unhook .
I actually end up taking harness off underwater ??

Happens to most sailors, sometimes multiple times.

Know how to take off your harness, only by feel.

Should last only as long as wave is pulling. When it stops pulling you can reach and unhook by bringing your hook closer to the boom.

You can practice by the shore with someone by your side if that can help develop some technique. We can get hooked on the uphaul line, the sail sleeve, the boom, etc. All fun times!

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Manuel7 said..
Should last only as long as wave is pulling. When it stops pulling you can reach and unhook by bringing your hook closer to the boom.

You can practice by the shore with someone by your side if that can help develop some technique. We can get hooked on the uphaul line, the sail sleeve, the boom, etc. All fun times!

Thanks Manuel so basically just unhook just like you do when you are upright on the board a?

For the few times I have accidentally got hooked back in when getting washing machined on a wave, I've been able to drag my body towards the boom to get unhooked. The only time I had a struggle was when I was being pulled down the length of the boom (towards the clew) and the harness lines were twisted. Having a good breathold is definitely of benefit. Wait til the pressure eases, then release.

Thanks Martyj4

Pull yourself toward the boom with one hand and pop the line out the hook with the other, easy..

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PHILDINYET said..

Manuel7 said..
Should last only as long as wave is pulling. When it stops pulling you can reach and unhook by bringing your hook closer to the boom.

You can practice by the shore with someone by your side if that can help develop some technique. We can get hooked on the uphaul line, the sail sleeve, the boom, etc. All fun times!

Thanks Manuel so basically just unhook just like you do when you are upright on the board a?

Yes you reach and feel with your hand.
Very easy to do when there's no tension in the line.

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P.C_simpson said..
Pull yourself toward the boom with one hand and pop the line out the hook with the other, easy..

Thanks PC ??

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PHILDINYET said..

P.C_simpson said..
Pull yourself toward the boom with one hand and pop the line out the hook with the other, easy..

Thanks PC ??

Sorry about ?? That was supposed to be an emoji saying thank you

Its an important problem, very difficult to think which way to rotate etc. when under the sail in the water.
I have an "dakine" harness with a hook with an "acute releasemechanism", but it with a bad funtion when you are under the sale.
I have bought a PROLIMIT hook with a rapid release which is good.
Another solution is to buy Harnesslines from POINT-seven. I have bougth them and I have tried the release-funtion when under the sail.
100 % secure. one problem is that it can selfrelease when sailig, but it has not happened often, a couple of times.

point-7.com/quick-release-harness-lines/?v=f003c44deab6

With regards,
John

If under the sail and disoriented always work your way along the boom to the surface. It's only a short distance in either direction.

I came very close to drowning from harness lines twisted around hook. I ended up inverted mid catapult causing lines to twist. Winded upon landing n could not free harness lines with hands. Tried repeatedly to get to mast to breathe. No go could only get my forehead to mast. Starting to freak out by now!! In desperation I grabbed mast with both hands n physically dragged the lines along the boom enough to get a sip of air between the chop. Back under to untangle the hook. Came up seeing stars n just floated for about 5min. Waterstarted n packed up straight after that lil episode.
Was maybe 15 sailors out that day n no one knew. It all happened so quickly.
As fun as it all is,
Things can go wrong.

or for the less adventurous

This thread has reminded me of the few times this has happened to me with various degrees of severity, usually in waves. The most useful skill I found was to practice getting out of the harness underwater, on a single breath & not looking.

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asturcon said..
Its an important problem, very difficult to think which way to rotate etc. when under the sail in the water.
I have an "dakine" harness with a hook with an "acute releasemechanism", but it with a bad funtion when you are under the sale.
I have bought a PROLIMIT hook with a rapid release which is good.
Another solution is to buy Harnesslines from POINT-seven. I have bougth them and I have tried the release-funtion when under the sail.
100 % secure. one problem is that it can selfrelease when sailig, but it has not happened often, a couple of times.

point-7.com/quick-release-harness-lines/?v=f003c44deab6

With regards,
John

Thanks John ,

That seems a good setup Point7 harness lines and the Prolimit quick release harness

That happened to me once. After the incident, I started looking for easy release harness, point seven harness lines, etc. Then I realized I just need to remember (and practice) how to undo my harness with one hand, remember to hold the boom when crashing, and now that it already happened once I will spend less time (two sec max?) thinking what happened and what to do. otherwise you won't be able to rent gear or sail your buddies' gear because it won't be "safe" enough.

Scroll down and you will see it in function
www.surfpirates.de/Point-7-QR-Harness-Lines_1

JJ

One thing i would suggest, small but worth considering. Dont buy floppy harness lines. A lot of good brand lines are still floppy when attached to the boom. I think this has become worse as boom diameters have become narrower. Try them on your boom before purchasing, and check length if changing brands as there can be up to 2 inches difference between same size lines!! from different brands ,believe it or not.

Surprisingly it dose not happen that often .

Always a scary moment when it happens .

Whilst being a smart ass learning in the 80s ,

My focus was on the rails of my board and my mates board not clashing with an outcome to flash past spraying him.

i accelerated a bit faster, we were both comfortably planning , i overtook him upwind .

As i passed I was whip into a violet catapulted ,flung upside down hooked in under the rig.

The back end of the boom had clip his body , he instantly ran over me, also catapulting hooked in on top off me.

We were both on 5.0m bomborra rigs .

Now i was shocked, panicked, out of breath , hooked in and under 2 rigs covering 10 m squared with him on top .

After applying ALL your solutions plus his assistance i some how escaped for breath from under the carnage .

IF YA SEE A NASTY CATAPULT ,immediately check on that person, you can also get knocked out , or have gear damage .

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geared4knots said..
One thing i would suggest, small but worth considering. Dont buy floppy harness lines. A lot of good brand lines are still floppy when attached to the boom. I think this has become worse as boom diameters have become narrower...

Yeah for sure. Using my inner tube trick does add some diameter to the boom but still they'll tend to swing more and wear faster too. Long lines (which are recommended) will even suffer more from the problem.

How about when the bar hook jams over the top of the boom itself. That's a bit of fun to detach.

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rob101 said..
How about when the bar hook jams over the top of the boom itself. That's a bit of fun to detach.

What's the solution there?

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PHILDINYET said..

rob101 said..
How about when the bar hook jams over the top of the boom itself. That's a bit of fun to detach.

What's the solution there?

Probably a super skinny boom....

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sprayblaze said..

PHILDINYET said..

rob101 said..
How about when the bar hook jams over the top of the boom itself. That's a bit of fun to detach.

What's the solution there?

Probably a super skinny boom....

Or a super fat one

I heard about someone getting stuck hooked in once so I decided to not use a harness. I am buff as and reckon anyone using a harness is soft.

I got a new one, got hooked on the harness bar loop buckle on the side ??

Other annoying one are when we just the tip of the hook hooks on the lines, it'll often pop off and all of the weight falls in our arms and back.

There's the hook in right before flipping the sail on the beach when carrying it. What a sport!