Surfski Knowledge Base

Reivers Dustin
01/12/08 #3990

It's harder than I thought to do the right thing. A few of us went out last Saturday when it was borderline. I went down at 9:00 but no one showed. It was heavy, but do-able. I didn't want to go by myself, so I went home and came back at 1:00 when a gang was planing to go. At that point it was pretty wild. Somehow we got it into our heads to do a downwind run from Larrabee. Off we go. One in our group bailed out early and drove a vehicle back rather than ride the wild. I had great fun, but there was a patch in the middle that was a struggle.

Today it came up that we acted stupidly. I have to agree, meanwhile recognizing that to err is human. It is very difficult to decline the adventure. We who surfski have developed our skills by crowding the edge. It takes uncommon fortitude to step away from the thrill of the moment and appeal to reason.

Today was another good case study. Seven of us launched into what appeared to be a very boring Saturday run. But somewhere along the wall the wind went bannanas. Most of us continued to attempt our regular run beyond what was sensible. Complicating this, we had spread ourselves out with poor visual contact. Speaking for myself, I just didn't shift modes when the conditions worsened. Food for thought.

Today's situation was spiked by a leash coming loose from the boat. It did not break, it just found a way during a remount tangle to come loose. So at our coffee session afterwards we all compared leashes to see an incredible variety. Many of them have weaknesses. In the incident today there was no damage or loss. I thought I had the most bomber leash, but Eric W. has a more solidly built ankle leash from Huki.

While the topic is leashes; I've decided to go back to a paddle to boat leash. Yes, the boat is a higher priority than the paddle. The problem is equipment management under duress. If a leash is likely to come into play, every piece of gear needs to be bone simple.

What say you?
rd

Re: This is hard
leanne.robinson@…
01/12/08 #3992

I would like to weigh in on this one. Last winter I made it a point to mount and remount with a variety of leashes and leash configurations. I also did this on nasty big days in the lake and on some paddles where I didn't plan to test the leash system. The bottom line is that flatwater practice alone isn't enough to determine what works; it changes when there is wind and waves- it is more easy to get tangled in conditions. Of course everyone needs to figure out what works for him or her but here is what I do:

First I always do body to boat. One day when I was out the wind caught my boat and it did a flip and hit my paddle- I lost the paddle. Even though I was able to get the padddle I had to let go of by boat in order to do so. I realized that the belief of “I always keep hold of my paddle” doesn't always work.

I have a Huki leash (like Erics). I got one that was a little longer and attach it below the knee. I found that for me I don't get as tangled, if at all, with below the knee. It also gives me some play when the boat flips and the leash get wrapped around the boat. I also can't get my feet tangled below the knee and I can easily reach the velcro pull if there is some tangling- I couldn't easily do that when it was on my ankle. The bungy aspect of the leash also seems to keep it from getting too tight when it does wrap around any body part. I didn't find this true when I used a rope type leash with no give.

I keep a backup leash in my PFD. Doing a double leash creates a huge tangle in conditions, but if I am uncomfortable I have quickly slipped the backup onto my paddle so that I can't lose either, knowing that I feel comfortable enough in the water to take the time to untangle myself- if I needed to, although the huki leash doesn't seem to tangle like straight line leashes seem to. I am not sure why.

I've thought about putting together a short wrist to paddle but haven't gotten around to it.

The Huki leash is bomber and simple. I'd try it before I went back to paddle to boat and I'd try some remounts in some conditions.

LeAnne

Re: This is hard
Dale McKinnon
01/12/08 #3993

Lose your boat, lose your life. Bone simple. Thanks for speaking up about shifting modes based on conditions.

Re: leashes
Erik Borgnes
01/12/08 #3994

After reading about the time one of you had an ankle leash break . . . I've been paranoid about mine. I'm frequently between 1 and 6 miles from shore and alone. This summer I might double up on the leg to boat leashes, anchoring them to two different points on the ski - just in case.

Re: This is hard
Larry Goolsby
01/12/08 #3995

One thing that Reivers didn't mention was that when were sipping coffee and camparing leashes, Simon came up with a good point. When we go out on our group paddles, we often get spread out because some are faster than others. We usually re-group at our destination and then spread out again on the return home. We need to start re-grouping a little sooner. Today's mishap was unknown to most of us because we were out ahead of Simon and the paddler that lost their boat. We thought that there were 3 paddlers behind us when in reality, one had already turned because of changing conditions, leaving just two behind us. Luckily, shortly after the leashed failed and the boat flew away, a boat full of duck hunters appeared and rescued both paddler and boat. At this time, Reivers, Larry B. and I were turning around because the wind had gone from light to nuclear in a very short period of time. We were not very far off of Clark's wall so if we needed to rescue someone by surfski, it was probably possible to get them to shore in a short period of time. However, we won't always have a power boat in the vicinity. We need to be aware of each other's position and status. Simon suggested that we re-group at every point. Those that want to go fast can do an interval to the next point and then rest as the others catch up. I agree and like Reivers said, we need to shift modes when conditions are going to hell and re-group again. This morning, we only stalled slightly at the beginning of the wall and continued on with the assumption that the others would be right on our tails.
LG

Re: This is hard
kathleen petereit
01/13/08 #3997

When I was in Maui and in my first year of ski paddling the group there had me go ahead for a distance with one experienced guy beside me then would catch up to me, let me go ahead again but with a different experienced paddler beside me so the first guy could have fun and go for it. This made me feel much safer.

The guys do this with me quite often up here….seeing as how 2 of them are now able to kick my arse…sigh. Nathan says it is better training for him to let me go ahead and then work really hard to catch up to me.

Re: This is hard
Larry Bussinger <lbussing@…>
01/13/08 #4001

I think Kathleen has an excellent idea. It can take a while to catch someone with even a short lead, and then we can keep everyone in sight, regardless of ability. We do this every Wednesday in reality, but haven't applied it to this. The other thing is for everyone to show up on time so we can go paddling at 9:00. Waiting for the late comer has been frustrating for some and is part of the reason we don't have a meeting before we go. Being on the water to warm up has a tendency to speed up the slow-pokes.

Re: This is hard
Dale McKinnon
01/13/08 #4004

Survey: Who leashes body to boat, and paddle to boat? It seems that the majority of paddlers leash the paddle to body. Inquiring mind would like to know… And thanks.

Re: This is hard
Larry Goolsby
01/13/08 #4006

Dale….I think a majority of us leash the paddle to the boat (at least Shaun and I do). If we get seperated from the boat, we just maintain a death grip on the paddle. Bob Twogood had us do this in Hawaii because when a large wave comes down and seperates you from your boat, you just need to hang onto the paddle. Otherwise you could get dragged through the surf by an ankle. I have lost my ride on many occasions in big winds (San Francisco 4 times) and my homemade paddle leash has held (Spectra kite boarding line). The key thing is to never release the grip on your paddle. If the boat and paddle should get away, the paddle dragging behind the boat slows the escaping boat. I have been keeping my eye out for a good leash that will go from pfd to boat but I will still keep a tether between the boat and the paddle.
LG

Re: This is hard
piddlertom
01/13/08 #4007

And I never thought it made sense that surf skis don't have deck lines? Easy cheap addition to increase the chances of staying with your boat in the soup.

Re: This is hard
Brandon Nelson <brandon@…>
01/14/08 #4008

Deck lines, bow and stern handles and leash attachment points are the future of surfski design. It’s a no-brainer as more and more of our time is spent “adventure paddling” and not in the relatively safe, chaperoned arena of “racing.”

When Sterling and I began designing the Vector’s deck and its features, Heather and I had just been out on the 80+ mph day, 9-12 feet, etc. Safety features were fresh on the mind, and with the Vector we had the opportunity to integrate all the things that sea kayaks have gradually gained over the years. If you look back far enough, sea kayaks didn’t have those things either. It took a passionate, vocal group of paddlers (and enough tragedy on the water) to get the message across to the manufacturers about deck lines, end toggles, etc. Even still, you won’t find them on ALL boats. But look at any serious adventure kayaker, and their boat is rigged for survival.

And using the Vector as an example, it’s still a blue-ribbon fast, sub-30-pound ski. Safety features don’t dumb a boat down or need to weight it down.

I think an important thing to remember about this sport is how “in its infancy” it really is, especially in this country, but globally as well. There is no other “they” out there to take care of design changes, improvements, the development of safety standards, skills and gadgets. We ARE “they.” Look how closely linked the people in this group are to Jude, Greg and Oscar, Jeff and Daryl, Sterling, Rob Mousley. There are no “degrees of separation” – it’s one-to-one. So to everyone I just mentioned who’s reading this: We, the surfskiers of the world, are concerned about survival more than ever. We want proven leash attachment points to start, STANDARD, on every boat, and while you’re at it, go ahead and include a proven leash with every new boat sold. Because as my buddy Manny taught me when I first started paddling 16 years ago, this sport is – above and beyond everything else – about one thing: Longevity.

As for leashing body-to-boat or paddle-to-boat, be sure to think of the worst case on-water scenario and whether or not it might make you loosen your grip on that paddle for even a split second. Remember the bloody photos when Morris got clinked in the face last year while out soloing? If that happened to you might you loosen your grip? If you don’t know 110%, leash your boat to your body. And in my opinion, if you’re serious about survival and consider yourself a storm paddler, leash your paddle to your wrist AS WELL.

It might be the only smart thing he ever said, but Mike Tyson hit the nail on the head when he uttered the words: “Everybody has a plan… until they get punched in the face.”

Brandon

Re: This is hard
Jeff Hegedus <jhegedus@…>
01/14/08 #4009

I go boat to PFD, and consider boat to paddle to be unsafe. Hang on to the paddle, but stay connected to the boat.

Re: This is hard
kathleen petereit
01/14/08 #4010

I also go boat to the front of my pfd, absolutely no tangling, even when I dumped at the US Champs in rough water.

Re: This is hard
piddlertom
01/14/08 #4011

Brandon, I've been thinking along similar lines: Skis have not been used in cold water climates like this before with any real regularity by any groups of significant numbers like they are here and now. Therefore, the critical mass needed for a paradigm shift in ski design hasn't happenned. Sounds like you're on your way to developing the surf ski, “NW Storm Edition.” Good onya, mate!