IBU
Consol
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Sometimes I do an annual "Wind Surfing for Beginners" day
for Beer Gardeners, so
I converted an email to some notes they & others can
read.
Try to learn on a calm lake/reservoir if you can, rather
than open sea with waves.
Hire a real old big plank of a board, nothing flashy. All
modern boards look good, but are unstable compared to some old
ugly barge of a board, but rental shops can't rent old boards
at least here, as Germans always want flash new gear. Everyone
falls off countless times while learning, so get a big stable
board. You really will have more fun on an old wide stable
board - that you fall of less - than some flash board you'r
totaly incompetent to even stand on, without falling off
countless times. - Yes this par was repetitious. - That's what
you'll be doing too: repeatedly falling off your flash narrow
board , getting tired, having less fun than you could ! Point
made ?
After learning not to fall off too often, everyone learns to
sail - downwind - but not back up wind - imagine what an off
shore breeze does to you at that stage ! Good Bye - Forever, if
open sea & not a lake - Death ! Make very sure you have an
on shore breeze. Make sure someone on land has a power boat to
tow you back to land, & that the person will be monitoring
you, & will take action without needing further incentive
from anyone else.
Avoid sailing near national borders/ restricted military
zones: Off North West Greece, if you drifted NOrth, at the next
country up ( Albania ? ) apparently sometimes they machine
gunned you ! Seriously ! That was before fall of iron
curtain.
Avoid ferry routes: the swine that steer the ferry near
Frauen Insel on Chiemsee, Bavaria, Germany are particularly to
be avoided, one bastard there asserted his supposed Germanic
law of ferry ultimate priority over us, even when we were a
defenceless small sail boat with no wind to move aside, he came
charging at us from afar, & completely un-necessarily
steered within meters of us - scaring the hell out of us, any
slight mistake on his part & we'd have been dead. [
Personal experience ]
On open sea, maybe (speculation) sharks might consider a non
moving wallowing wind surfer + you (after youv'e fallen off ) -
as large dead fish floating on the surface, ready to be biten ?
I've seen pic's of boards with shark size bit marks. Perhaps
you'r OK while moving fast, till you crash. Consult local
surfers if any. I wouldn't know.
In cold lakes EG Attersee, Austria, or Walchensee Bavaria
Germany, when you fall in too often, & struggle out each
time, you get colder & colder & hypothermia or similar
sets in, & you dont have strength to pull sail up, & or
cold water & no gloves & nylon shroud (to pull mast up)
cuts into flesh of hands. So always best to wear gloves. Get
out early when getting tired, dont leave it too long, as when
you get tired you fall off more often, & a vicious circle
cuts in. [ Personal experience self on Attersee, + helping
friend on Walchensee]
Later, when you graduate to wearing a trapeze (reinforced
over-swimming-trunks, with steel hook to latch to rope on boom)
never let go of boom till you've complete your crash &
laying on top of sail, else boom may punch your teeth out (as
you cant fall away from it, as still hooked to it)
When you get a sudden gust, lose control & fly off front
end of board, close mouth while Shouting Oh Sh.... or
similar, _before_ wide mouth scoops water at high speed &
you get 2 lungs full of cold water. (I haven't typed the full
phrase above, not from dubious politeness, but because it
actually happens so fast I've never completed the phrase) Fresh
water is bad enough, probably salt water is worse.
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