How to do the swim of shame?

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General Gps & Speed Waves Foiling Gear Reviews Lost & Found WA NSW QLD SA VIC TAS

Harrow

NSW

4521 posts

Harrow

NSW, 4521 posts

13 Jul 2006 5:25pm

Last time I got becalmed was on a 100 litre board with a one piece mast and a soft sail that could simply be wound around the mast. It was an easy matter to pack up the rig and lay on top of the board and paddle in.

So I'm wondering, with an 80 litre board, 2 piece mast, and modern sail that cannot be wrapped around the mast, how do you get all your gear together for the swim in, on a board that is on the verge of sinking? Or do you just leave your rig all set up and drag it all in?

Gestalt

QLD

14953 posts

Gestalt

QLD, 14953 posts

13 Jul 2006 5:48pm

hi harrow,

i lost a complete carbon rig and ezzy sail doing a self rescue. once rolled up and tied up i was swimming in, got hit by a wave and lost the lot. the masts were the first to sink, then the sail and boom etc etc.

but basically you roll the sail around the 2 halves of the masts laid beside each other as if you were rolling the sail up to put it back in the sail bag. then tie the outhaul around everything to hold it all together. take the downhaul off the extension and tie that around the whole bundle.

lie it on top of your boom and use the uphaul to tie everyting to the boom. you will also need to tie the extension to everything as well.

then lie it all on your board, lie down on top and start paddling. it is actually not that easy to paddle like this. especially if you are cold and tired.

md74

QLD

1064 posts

md74

QLD, 1064 posts

13 Jul 2006 5:50pm

mmmm, im guessing I would swim and drag, or alternately lay on the board, have the sail and mast etc tied by the uphaul to a rear footstrap dragging behind and just paddle the board in surfboard style, I guess! good question though!

If it was a life threatening situation I would ditch the rig and paddle the board. again i guess!

decrepit

12872 posts

decrepit

WA, 12872 posts

13 Jul 2006 4:01pm

Agree, life threateinig, ditch rig, paddle board.

If totally becalmed, adjust rig so boom will sit on back of board, (move mast fully forward, lower boom). Then either push from the back or pull from the front.
If the wind isn't strong enough to fly the sail but strong enough to push it off the board, you can try the waterstart position, one foot on the board, one foot kicking, back hand pumping sail.
Again lower the boom as far as it will go, that allows the sail to be more vertical.
There's a certain windstrength when this is faster than swiming, and if you happen to get a gust, you're back on the board.

Gestalt

QLD

14953 posts

Gestalt

QLD, 14953 posts

13 Jul 2006 6:16pm

yeah, you guys are right, if it is bad, ditch the rig...

i should have said as well that i made a decission to let the rig go once it broke apart. based on the fact the sun was dissapearing fast.

and never leave your board. that is your floatation.

kato

VIC

3527 posts

kato

VIC, 3527 posts

13 Jul 2006 7:17pm

As I run a kidsProS I do tend to swim in a fair bit and have found that a long cord on your wetty helps.Tie the cord to all your board and you can swim back to shore with it behind you.

leper111

108 posts

leper111

WA, 108 posts

13 Jul 2006 6:35pm

At the end of last season i swam in from lano main break- was NOT fun!

as soon as i saw the mast had snapped i de-rigged and started swimming. Put the mast in the footstraps, then boom, sail, and tied it all on with downhaul rope.

in the end it was still impossible to paddle the kit- too unstable in the ocean. Also the sail fills with a fair bit of water and drags. I got to the piont where it was hole in the wall (and further north whatever that is called) or ditch the sail and paddle the board. I ditched the sail. This made it easier to paddle but still couldnt lie on top of it. An hour our so later i made it in, minus one sail and with a broken mast (my new 360

).

MORAL: paddling kit through surf and high winds for long distances without assistance does not work!
Best bet for saving your kit = waving your arms maddly for assistance. Maybe one of those kiter dudes with there awesome pulling power will lend a hand. Maybe...

MikeyS

VIC

1509 posts

MikeyS

VIC, 1509 posts

13 Jul 2006 8:36pm

Ah, the sun disappearing doesn't make any difference, Gestalt. Well, not when you're safe in PPB. Lights along the foreshore give you something to navigate to when the wind drops from 25kt to nothing and you're caught way out on 74 litres with a 4.7! Swimming sidestroke dragging everything sure is slow.

greenleader

QLD

5283 posts

greenleader

QLD, 5283 posts

13 Jul 2006 8:55pm

with todays rigs and boards, the best thing in my opinion is to sidestroke the bastard in.
always look upwind because there will surely be some little gust which you might just take advantage of to get you closer to shore.
don't disable your craft by derigging.
last resort, ditch rig. painful but necessary.
always carry an uphaul!!!!!

NotWal

QLD

7436 posts

NotWal

QLD, 7436 posts

14 Jul 2006 6:53am

Well I've tried side stroke pulling the board. It really isn't an option if you have any distance to cover. It's just too slow and ultimately tiring. Although you can keep it up for a long time the effort to distance ratio is not the best.

Next time I might try disconnecting the rig and tying it to a back footstrap and dragging it.

Harrow

NSW

4521 posts

Harrow

NSW, 4521 posts

14 Jul 2006 7:37am

I'm now thinking that it might be possible to place the rig (still rigged up, but disconnected from the board) in such a way that you could lay on the board like a surf board, with the boom crossing under your stomach, but the sail over the top of you. With the mast base pointing to the front, and the head of the sail trailing over the back of the board, this may not have too much drag and would allow your to paddle properly?

Crash Landing

NSW

1173 posts

Crash Landing

NSW, 1173 posts

14 Jul 2006 7:57am

That's a good picture series - although on a huge board like that paddling in (and sitting on it whilst de-rigging) would be a lot easier than a sub 80ltr wave board!

I used to sail in a spot in Wales where the tide ran at 12 knots (I kid you not) so you had to be quick otherwise you'd end up in England! I used to have a 4 metre piece of spectra rope looped up and tied into the boom bra/pad. This was then used for tying kit up when wind dropped or I broke something. It also worked as a tow rope to help others in difficulty!

Would it be worth somehow securing on of those big orange markers divers use inside the mast protector - just in case?

Harrow

NSW

4521 posts

Harrow

NSW, 4521 posts

14 Jul 2006 8:48am

quote:
Originally posted by Crash Landing

I used to sail in a spot in Wales where the tide ran at 12 knots (I kid you not) so you had to be quick otherwise you'd end up in England!

Crash, with a 12knt tide, wouldn't you be able to sail without any wind? Imagine being able to water start in a dead calm!

MikeyS

VIC

1509 posts

MikeyS

VIC, 1509 posts

14 Jul 2006 8:55am

Yeah, the guy in the pictures is obviously smiling because he's not in freezing water, and he has a nice wide board and no shards of broken gear ready to cut him to ribbons. Plus doing it on the beach helps. But having had to self-rescue a few times, it does work but paddling lying on your gear is bloody uncomfortable, and sidestroke is slow and tiring, but at least you can rest by just hanging off the board.
The thing I've learnt when having to self rescue is to wear a wetsuit according to the water temperature when sailing, not the air temperature, at least in cool to cold water. If something does break, like gear or a body part (as has happened) at least you can stay warm. I was perfectly happy to sidestroke for an hour in 11degree water, because I was toasty with booties and a hood and a 4/3. If I wasn't warm it would have been a ditch the rig affair before hypothermia set in.

grumplestiltskin

2331 posts

grumplestiltskin

WA, 2331 posts

14 Jul 2006 7:15am

I know this topic is about being becalmed and not necessarily about breaking things.

But, this is one of the best tips I've seen with regards to self rescue, in the event that you've broken the mast and need to get back in

www.codemaker.co.uk/ww/rescue1.htm

nebbian

6277 posts

nebbian

WA, 6277 posts

14 Jul 2006 8:02am

Had to self rescue a couple of times, the easiest way I've found is to hook a foot over the uphaul rope and swim "Australian crawl" aka freestyle.
You can lessen the drag by putting the boom over the back of the board, and leave everything connected. Perhaps a little bit of string to tie the boom to a rear footstrap might help. You have to push the board away at first, but once you get everything sorted it all drags behind you and you can cover a decent bit of distance.

Luckily I usually stay within 200m of the shore so a swim isn't that big a deal, but the hook a foot through the uphaul seems the easiest and quickest to me.

Can't see how sidestroke will do anything apart from tire you out quickly...

eyeMhardcor

255 posts

eyeMhardcor

255 posts

14 Jul 2006 9:41am

I sail with duct tape and aluminium foil in my harness. If anything breaks I just make a new one magivar style. I snapped my board once, made a new one out of duct tape and aluminium foil and kept sailing. The new board was so good that the design got stolen when I got to the beach and the evo shape was born.

mineral1

4564 posts

mineral1

WA, 4564 posts

14 Jul 2006 9:56am

Harrow, you got 16 before somebody hijacked the topic.
#17 EMHC ya yoyo, not bad, not bad.

Anybody got a better one

Crash Landing

NSW

1173 posts

Crash Landing

NSW, 1173 posts

14 Jul 2006 12:10pm

quote:
Originally posted by Harrow

quote:
Originally posted by Crash Landing

I used to sail in a spot in Wales where the tide ran at 12 knots (I kid you not) so you had to be quick otherwise you'd end up in England!
Crash, with a 12knt tide, wouldn't you be able to sail without any wind? Imagine being able to water start in a dead calm!

Harrow, unfortunately the usual wind direction (SW) ran with a SW Tide, and I have got caught in the stongest part of the tide and the wind drops from a force 5 to a 2! So there is no way of sailing. Sometimes it happend the other way around - but not very often.

fotzen

17 posts

fotzen

17 posts

15 Jul 2006 4:21am

do wat ben fawkes does, lose the board and hold on to the sail an get swept out to sea on a big day at lancelin, and then just 10 seconds before you get rescued ditch the sail.

WINDY MILLER

3183 posts

WINDY MILLER

WA, 3183 posts

15 Jul 2006 5:52am

agree with lepper, trying to swim in with a full rig is impossible at Lano, tried it and got washed down past the hole...

saved by a craypot boat....

lesson = never sail on your own at main break.

next time, stay calm and think about a self rescue before franticly splashing for hours and getting no where!!!!!! There is normaly a better way than swimming...

waveslave

4263 posts

waveslave

WA, 4263 posts

15 Jul 2006 10:00am

Self-rescue when becalmed is standard stuff.
Don't derig anything.
Lie on the board with the fin(s) first, the tail is now the 'nose'.
Straddle your legs over the rig, mast pointing towards the horizon.
Now start paddling for the beach like it was a surfboard.
It's slow but very effective.
It's standard proceedure at Margies when the wind drops out with no hint of warning.

Donk

NSW

390 posts

Donk

NSW, 390 posts

15 Jul 2006 5:46pm

Hi Fotzen
I rescued his boom b 4 he got thrashed in the washing machine!
I had a similar story to Ben a few years back when sailin at soldiers beach. Mast high out the back when the wind died.Caught wave in got smashed.The current ripped me back out and smashed again & again & again.An hour later after dark i ended up on the beach, sail trashed, mast broken in 4.How good it was to feel sand again.

qwerty

NSW

807 posts

qwerty

NSW, 807 posts

15 Jul 2006 5:59pm

My trick is never to rig up in the first place. I roll my sail up around my mast (in 2 pieces) then paddle out the back and catch waves like that.

MikeyS

VIC

1509 posts

MikeyS

VIC, 1509 posts

15 Jul 2006 8:37pm

Nebbian, with a narrow 74 litre board that weighs about 6kg, that gives you 68 litres of buoyancy. Put on top of that 70kg of person, 4kg of soaking wetsuit, 2kg of mast, 4kg of wet sail, and several kilos of fin, base & boom, that basically means you're underwater or having a hell of a time trying to paddle without rolling off. So by swimming sidestroke, at least you're above water, stable and moving.
Might have to give your technique a go, Waveslave.

nebbian

6277 posts

nebbian

WA, 6277 posts

15 Jul 2006 7:53pm

MikeyS,

I didn't explain it properly. Using my method, the sailor is completely in the water, doing freestyle, with only the uphaul rope wrapped around his foot connecting him to the board+sail. He's not lying on anything. You can still kick a little bit, and use both arms for propulsion. I've never found lying on the board to be much use at all, but then again I haven't tried to drag my rig more than 200m...

ymmv.

waveslave

4263 posts

waveslave

WA, 4263 posts

16 Jul 2006 7:22pm

quote:
Originally posted by MikeyS

Might have to give your technique a go, Waveslave.

Yeah cheers Micky.
But try it before you buy it.

Next time when you rig-up to go windsurfing.....
Don't buckle on your harness.
Drop it on the shoreline instead.
Then position your rig over your board (in the shallows) as described earlier by me;
and lie on the bundle and paddle like a surfboard.

It goes without saying that you can't wear your harness when you paddle a board.

MikeyS

VIC

1509 posts

MikeyS

VIC, 1509 posts

17 Jul 2006 6:13am

In fact, towing the board like Neb' has suggested, but in reverse, ie tie the uphaul or a bit of cord onto the rear footstrap with the boom dropped and lying close to the nose of the board might work. Ah the possibilities! Just can't wait for the next windless day to try 'em all out!

NotWal

QLD

7436 posts

NotWal

QLD, 7436 posts

17 Jul 2006 10:58am

Hey Wave, is that with the mast pointing forwards (ie direction of travel) or backwards?

NathanReeves

61 posts

NathanReeves

WA, 61 posts

17 Jul 2006 9:04am

I have done the front crawl technique many times. with your feet hooked round the boom, head down and just swim with your arms. Do that for a while, then a bit of side stroke when you get tired and you will get in.

Towing your gear with rope attached to back of harness, back footstrap whilst you swim will be a good.

Other best technique, is have good friends on the beach. If not to come out and help, at least they can be getting you a cold one for when you get in.

racycoot

315 posts

racycoot

WA, 315 posts

17 Jul 2006 9:23am

Why do you want the fin first, waveslave? Doesn't that just make the board turn one way or another?

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