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viento
Since 18 Dec 2005
56 Posts
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 Sat May 21, 11 12:42 pm |
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| By the way I cracked a carbon helmet wide open when I was first starting to jump due to the leash snapping the board into the back of my head! I would say losing a board is worth the risk of not using a leash.
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pdxmonkeyboy
Since 16 May 2006
6081 Posts
forever labled as the
retired kiter & motorhead Unicorn Master
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| Sat May 21, 11 12:42 pm |
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Dakine I think makes heel straps. I started using them about 5 years ago and noe find it difficult to ride my twin fin without them.
Drift launching is just like relaunching. Typically not a problem but can get sketchy in high winds. I would just use the fold one edge over and pile sand on it technique to self launch. If there trees or drift wood, the leash technique described above works great.
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wylieflyote
Since 30 Jun 2006
1648 Posts
Puget Sound & Wa. Coast
XTreme Poster
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| Sat May 21, 11 1:19 pm |
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| fredf wrote: | | If you are willing to suffer the real or imagined stares of disdain and save some bucks use a wheelbarrow innertube through the board handle. It may not be quite as efficient as a GoJoe but costs a fraction, is easy to mount and remove with only a screwdriver, gets the board high enuf in the wind either right side up or upsiide down and folds down flat so as not to be quite so conspicuous. |
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Blazeheliski
Since 30 Mar 2011
659 Posts
Mosier
Addicted
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| Sat May 21, 11 1:26 pm |
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All great ideas guys! Thx for all the tips. They should come in handy when I head out to Jones and other places again. Just dont laugh too hard if you see a guy out there with an wheel barrow inner tube on his board! 
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MarkWorth
Since 02 May 2011
149 Posts
Hood River
Stoked
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| Sun May 22, 11 7:36 am |
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You won't need an inner tube if you learn to bodysurf upwind.
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Have More Fun!
Mark
Gorge Kiteboard School
http://gorgekiteboardschool.com |
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Blazeheliski
Since 30 Mar 2011
659 Posts
Mosier
Addicted
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| Sun May 22, 11 4:41 pm |
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| good point
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kochease
Since 03 Jul 2008
760 Posts
In Ft. Stevens, OR
Opinionated
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| Sun May 22, 11 8:44 pm |
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Awsome body dragging tips on here. When I crash I immediately start body dragging in the direction my kite is facing. Mental not of the board and how far behind me it might me. Those few seconds of starting immediatly vs going to twelve then body drag can make the difference between a lost board or not. There are times I have spent 30 min charging up wind body dragging with my head under water and still kissed my board goodbye, but that was in fluky winds and at willow grove that has a insainely strong current, makes jones current look wussy. But Friday was fluky wind and a fairly strong current at Jones. I was careful not to push it to hard when I was on the Wa side myself.
For my heel straps I took a bike tube tire and just cut it around 6" long and screwed it in with my foot straps, cost ya 3 dollars and work great.
I have a GoJoe for students when there taking a board lesson now I am using some times on strong current days so I dont have to go fetching my board so much. They work just like they say they do.
I don't worry about losing my board much anymore because I have my body dragging dialed in. Good body dragging skills will get your board 95% of the time. I still carry 2 board leashes with me so if the wind shuts off I can hook one to my board foot strap and focus on my self rescue.
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stinkyskate
Since 18 Feb 2009
22 Posts
Tri-cities WA
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| Sun May 22, 11 10:58 pm |
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| Quote: | | GoJoe... Question is - if I use it - will I look like a "kook? |
Yes.
But if you're going to be in cold water, fast currents, big wind and swell (gorge in spring) it might pay to use one. Especially if you ride by yourself!
When it's blowing 35+ and you've got more than a few feet of swell, it doesn't take much of a wipeout to put your board out of sight. Once its out sight, you're hosed. The cold water doesn't give you much time to drag around looking for it.
Caveat: if your board gets away while your kite is disabled , GoJoe can cost you your board.
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Blazeheliski
Since 30 Mar 2011
659 Posts
Mosier
Addicted
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| Mon May 23, 11 8:05 am |
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So I figure I will carry a couple leashes as others have suggested for self rescue situations. I will probably use an inner tube or GoJoe for the next couple of months. I do not see the current in the Columbia slowing down anytime soon in the next couple of months, and losing 2 boards in one season would be hard to deal with! At the end of each session - I will spend probably about 15 - 30 mins practicing the body drag techniques described on this thread so that I can get the whole thing dailed in and ditch the GoJoe/innertube by the end of the season.
For those of you who carry an extra leash or two - where do you carry them? Do you hook em to your harness and let em dangle? wrap em around your waist?
Last edited by Blazeheliski on Tue May 24, 11 7:12 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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Sasquatch
Since 09 Mar 2005
2102 Posts
PNW
Bigfoot
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| Mon May 23, 11 9:26 am |
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| Wind Slither wrote: | Here are some tips have have kept me from losing my boards in strong opposing currents...these may or may not apply to your situation, but may have value for others.
1. Dress warm enough so that you can last for an extended body drag. This is just good saftey anyway. Right now at least a good 5/4 with a hood.
2. When you know board retrieval is hard, kite a little more conservative in order to avoid long distance separations. Just keeping a toe hooked in your footstrap as you go down can make the difference.
3. Most important: When you do separate, don't hesitate at all to commence body dragging up wind. If you fly your kite high and try to spot your board first, the game is lost. Make some mental notes where approimately you think the board should be as you start hauling ass upwind.
4. The board can only go as fast as the current, but with good technique, you can go faster than the current. Keep your body horizontal, deep arm wedged, your whole body one big keel knifing upwind. This means keeping your head and face down in the water which is a show-stopper for a lot of newbies. Kite low-ish, powered and forward in the window. Take long tacks and make your transitions fast and efficient. A constant flutter kick helps too.
5. At certain points, you're going to have to try and spot your board, but try not to lose your upwind progress as you raise up to look.
Good job making it back...Jones can be super sketchy!  |
All of Slither's advice is right on the money.
I would just add that I have found it useful when starting the long tacks with your head down in the water, or up, to start counting (one one thousand, two one thousand, three. . . ) this will give you some semblance as to where you crashed--even if you crashed and then got tea bagged downwind some. This helps in areas of big swell (middle of the river) or big swell outside the break on the ocean, where references points are hard to establish/locate. Another area would be right on a current seam, like upwind of the sandbar, where the wind is strong north of the seam, but current is weaker and wind is shadowed south of this seam.
I also think that when one wears an impact vest/floatation device, some upwind efficiency with regards to body dragging is lost--it is a tradeoff, but one that I make.
Great post and subsequent threads by the way and so timely with the flow of the river now. Keep up the progression.
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Gman
Since 11 Feb 2006
4911 Posts
Portland
Unstrapped
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| Mon May 23, 11 10:27 am |
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leave the hemorroid pillow home - spend a full session aggressively body dragging upwind - experiment with kite position and actively signing/moving and see what gets you upwind a mile fastest - coming back will be a piece of cake
if i am body dragging in heavy current (or worse heavy current and light wind) and see i'm going to miss my board by 10 feet or so - kick like a mofo and swim that bitch down
good job getting back
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pillow.jpg |
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Blazeheliski
Since 30 Mar 2011
659 Posts
Mosier
Addicted
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| Mon May 23, 11 10:31 am |
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Thanks for the info Sasquatch. I hadn't thought about my PFD reducing my upwind dragging efficiency. But I don't see myself losing the PFD anytime soon. I would imagine that my helmet would reduce efficiency also if I am sticking my head in the water. Due to my schedule so far - I seem to be kiting by myself or with few others around, so I will keep using the helmet and PFD. I will just practice getting good at body dragging with all the stuff on!
When I was out there dragging after my board the other day, I was thinking to myself - "it would sure be nice to have some boogie board fins to help power to the board!." After reading these meassage boards - I am now going to be carrying a custom attached knife, a couple extra leashes, a credit card and some cash (for Washington side landings) - why not atttach some fins to the back of the PFD?! LOL Something like that might have helped that one guy that tried to swim across the channel with his deflated kite and had to bail when the ship was faster than he could swim!
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Skamaniac
Since 10 Oct 2008
76 Posts
Gorge
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| Tue May 24, 11 4:46 pm |
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| Most common mistake for beginners in swift water is that they assume the water is traveling at the same speed. If your board is in the swiftest part of river and your tacking in and out of that area you will never catch it period. The speed of river can be 1/2 in 50ft.
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Blazeheliski
Since 30 Mar 2011
659 Posts
Mosier
Addicted
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| Tue May 24, 11 7:26 pm |
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| True - I lost my board right where the current was fastest in the alley. And as I made my tack towards the island - I could tell the current was a lot slower there. On my tack back towards the Washington side, the current would pick up again. I could only tack so far that direction because my kite was getting close to the rock wall of the highway. I figured it wasn't very safe to fly a kite over a highway, so I would tack back towards the island when my kite was within 50 yards of the wall. So if there is a huge difference in current speed in the channel vs the outer edges of the river - is it better to do shorter tacks and try to stay in the fast water? That would mean more transitions - so I would think that you would have to be super efficient with the transitions.
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Blazeheliski
Since 30 Mar 2011
659 Posts
Mosier
Addicted
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| Tue May 24, 11 7:31 pm |
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| Good points Gman - LOL - Hemorrhoid pillow.............
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Macaframa
Since 06 Jul 2010
81 Posts
California Delta
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| Tue May 24, 11 8:13 pm |
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[quote] ...kick like a mofo and swim that bitch down
[quote]
The OG way
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MarkWorth
Since 02 May 2011
149 Posts
Hood River
Stoked
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| Wed May 25, 11 8:31 am |
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To avoid losing the board, take a bearing. For those of you who were not taught to how to take a bearing, the idea is to line up the last seen board location with 2 objects on shore. The line defined by the 2 points needs to be along the expected drift line of the board.
Counting as you tack will not work because it is always faster bodysurfing in one direction. If you have a center line (your barring line) for the search you will be looking in the correct place and you will find the board if you are going upwind even in big swells.
Skamaniac is correct; you need to be in the same current as the board or faster current.
Changing direction will only move you downwind about 10 feet if you:
1) Keep the kite low
2) Sweep it through the sky at the edge of slack line
3) Get it back down low fast.
Kite control is critical. Allowing the kite to get powered up and take you away from the board is a common mistake during transitions.
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Have More Fun!
Mark
Gorge Kiteboard School
http://gorgekiteboardschool.com
Last edited by MarkWorth on Thu May 26, 11 8:33 am; edited 1 time in total |
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