I think we should have a forum page titled 'what would you do?'
I will kick it off - this happened to 'a friend' in FL this week - refer to the rough sketch attached:
You are on the foil, approaching a sand dune. You are just powered enough that heading upwind might get you off the foil and a tiny drop in the gust might require bearing off a little. If you can stay on the foil, there's enough water depth over the sand dune to carry you thru unsketched. If you get off the foil over the sand dune - you have an 85cm mast; you do the math!
Which of the 4 paths shown would you take:
A. Tack and get away
. Pro: safe bet to miss the sand dune
. Con: chicken! Or- what's the fun in that?
B. Try to stay on the foil going upwind
. Pro: On or off the foil, will be safe, avoiding sand dune
. Con: likely will come off the foil - what's the fun in that?
C. Try straight, hoping that gust doesn't die down and you pass thru
. Pro: shortest distance thru the sand dune
. Con: a tiny drop in the gust will bottom you out
D. Bear off, picking up speed to stay on the foil longer
. Pro: faster on the foil, have margin to handle small drop in the gust
. Con: longer distance over the sand dune, increased chance to bottom out at speed
So, what would you do?
Feel free to guess what 'my friend' did and how it worked out for him or her?
PS: drawing not to scale.
To clarify, the thing
youyour friend hit is called a sand bar (not dune). The windsurfing industry appreciates your continuing patronage and support.How did I do?
(Winds cause dunes which are above water, water currents primarily cause bars which are underwater.)
wikipediaguywebguy to not answer the main question (what would you do) or comment on my fine suggestion (of a new educational) forum page but comment on my friend's command over his/her non-native language!According to my friend, you did well - though equipment is amazingly in tact and no bodily damage either.
I would chose a.) - the boring, cowards way out. Breaking gear is bad, but not as bad as breaking some body part you are attached to. I've learned that sometimes body parts break (or at least bend) more easily than WS gear.
What happens in a black hole stays in a black hole.
webguy
I got cured of wanting to foil at SGI by getting to know the sandbars there. In fact it was on that formula board that I
pawned off on yousold to you at a great price. I broke the nose and munged up the fin box on one unceremonious return to shoreThe other inconvenience is getting out. If there's enough wind to go, the shorebreak is gnarly enough to make it hard, especially where there is a second bar to get over– the gap between can be too deep to walk. There's a lot to be said for foiling at Lanier (steady wind is not one).
webguy
Just didn't want you to go windsurfing with Barrett in Nags Head some time and then have you telling people you sailed into a sand dune. Glad nothing broke. I fix enough broken stuff that I don't need to add to my pile of repairs. I would vote A. Why ptentially ruin a good day on the water by not tacking a couple of times? There's a big sand bar off from the Clearwater sailing center and a few brave souls foil over it. The rest of us foil around.
Jockey's Ridge in Nags Head aerial view. We sail up there from Nags Head especially in NE winds
B, no A... no B, ....... I can’t afford another foil so definitely not C or D.
Final answer A. Lock it in.
Did you hear the one about the crab that walked into a sandbar?
Alan
You don't have to go all the way to Florida to play "crash or dare". Much of the time only the tippy top of the landbar is visible.
What happens in a black hole stays in a black hole.
I heard he couldn't get
itin because they didn't have a door on the side.Edit: how to make a bad joke even worse with a typo.
--- The Arrogant Jerk: Crabby and irritable since 1998.
I needed a drink because he had just pulled a mussel.
He almost didn’t go after seeing a sign that said no side walks.
Alan