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Messages - onshore

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I posted this on this board in 2014:

"I believe I windsurfed right over Katherine late in the afternoon on May 14, in an area where I and many others paddle, right off of the Boca Raton Pavilion. Pings from Katherine were registered Just north of Boca Raton on May 13, and just south on May 15. I sailed over the largest shark I have ever seen in 50 years in these waters, as it passed about 10 feet deep under me going in the opposite direction; it appeared to be twice as long as my 8 foot board - just the upper tail fin appeared to be 3 feet. Immediately after passing over the shark I passed a pair of turtles on the surface; maybe the shark was stalking them? Oddly, I was not scared, just puzzled - I did not know about Katherine's presence in the area until reading the local online news that night. We know sharks like that must be out there somewhere, but all we normally see at the surface are much smaller spinners and blacktips. I see all kinds of interesting sea life out there - one of the great things about both windsurfing and paddling is the standing position from which you can see really well into the water. Even now I don't feel any fear as the result of the encounter, just amazement; it ranks right up there with the whale shark I sailed over a few years ago. You can see Katherine out of the water being tagged last year off of Cape Cod on Osearch.com - now that's fearsome."

You can still see the video as well as Katharine's (with an "a") tracks on ocearch.org (with a "c").

Despite my decades in the water here, I never knew that whites came this far south. I just saw this enormous shark which I knew did not look like anything I had ever seen; I was able to identify the body type later on the internet. Ocearch now has many others tagged and shows many of them passing close by the coast here; Katharine herself has been back several times.

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SUP General / Re: Video: Great White shark scare
« on: May 20, 2014, 02:33:26 PM »
ocearch.org, click on All Sharks at left, then Katharine on drop-down, then Pings, then Where Have I Been

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SUP General / Re: Video: Great White shark - not so scarey?
« on: May 20, 2014, 09:04:27 AM »
I believe I windsurfed right over Katherine late in the afternoon on May 14, in an area where I and many others paddle, right off of the Boca Raton Pavilion. Pings from Katherine were registered Just north of Boca Raton on May 13, and just south on May 15. I sailed over the largest shark I have ever seen in 50 years in these waters, as it passed about 10 feet deep under me going in the opposite direction; it appeared to be twice as long as my 8 foot board - just the upper tail fin appeared to be 3 feet. Immediately after passing over the shark I passed a pair of turtles on the surface; maybe the shark was stalking them? Oddly, I was not scared, just puzzled - I did not know about Katherine's presence in the area until reading the local online news that night. We know sharks like that must be out there somewhere, but all we normally see at the surface are much smaller spinners and blacktips. I see all kinds of interesting sea life out there - one of the great things about both windsurfing and paddling is the standing position from which you can see really well into the water. Even now I don't feel any fear as the result of the encounter, just amazement; it ranks right up there with the whale shark I sailed over a few years ago. You can see Katherine out of the water being tagged last year off of Cape Cod on Osearch.com - now that's fearsome.

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Gear Talk / Re: Kenalu egro or egro T?
« on: October 05, 2013, 07:34:38 PM »
Very true, the suggestions for a loose grip - I have been very aware of this and have found some relief from it as I have gotten more proficient paddling and have been able to relax more. The principle also holds true for the other sports I mentioned. (I don't play golf, but golfer's elbow comes from anything you do that overstresses the muscles running from the wrist to the medial side of the elbow - tennis elbow is on the lateral side and also can come from many things other than tennis, including paddling I imagine.) The comment about the gearshift knob hit the nail on the head, that's how it feels to me. I'm going to go for the Ergo T - I do think I'd like a smaller and thinner grip. Thx for the replies.

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Gear Talk / Re: Kenalu egro or egro T?
« on: October 05, 2013, 08:28:19 AM »
Any opinions on which handle is easiest on wrist/elbow/shoulders? I have golfer's elbow and rotator cuff problems, and generally find thinner grips (windsurf boom, oar handles, bike handlebar grips, tennis racquets, etc.), easiest, even though my hands are not small. I've been using Ergo for awhile, but thinking of trying a T or Ergo T. The Ergo seems to make me bend my wrist back as I push with my palm - I'm wondering if more finger wrap around T or Ergo T would allow me to keep my wrist straighter. Thanks in advance, sorry for any hijack/drift.

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SUP General / Re: Sophie's Choice
« on: February 20, 2013, 06:25:16 AM »
My apologies back at ya. I didn't think offense was intended, and I shouldn't have made it sound like I did. It just seemed to me that something very grave (the history, not just a fictional character) was being joked about. Some things are too serious to bear joking, and some kind of response can be called for, no matter the context. I have never heard it used as a colloquialism and hope it doesn't catch on. Boards? I only have one so far but I can dream - that is why I read these threads.

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SUP General / Re: Recycle your broken boards
« on: February 19, 2013, 11:20:07 AM »
There's plenty of recyclable old windsurfing equipment around.

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SUP General / Re: Sophie's Choice
« on: February 19, 2013, 07:55:21 AM »
Your use of the term Sophie's Choice when talking about your quiver of toys is highly offensive. In case you don't know, the choice handed to Sophie in the excellent novel and movie was between her two toddlers - upon arrival in the cattle car at the Nazi death camp, she was made to choose which one of her children would go into the ovens so that the other could live; if she refused to choose, both would go into the ovens. I fail to see the parallel with your lifestyle decisions.

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SUP General / Re: Blood ang gutz... Bring out the wounded
« on: January 05, 2013, 08:27:33 AM »
Seeing this fin carnage only reinforces my decision a dozen years ago to use only Surfco Hawaii Proteck fins, which have rubber edges. I was talking to a lifeguard on a crowded surfing beach one day and he told me some sickening fin wound stories. I then put Protecks on my surfboards, and when I took up SUS a couple of years ago my first accessory purchase was a Proteck longboard single fin; I also use Proteck sidebites occasionally. I'm still not very experienced at SUS, but to me the Protecks work just fine, even in good surf. A couple of weeks ago I got rolled in the shorebreak and sat down hard on the fin, close to a tender area. Tore my wetsuit, but not a scratch on me.

I guess I have to add a disclaimer of any commercial interest.

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Sessions / Re: Spooked at Lanes
« on: May 04, 2012, 04:49:20 PM »
Kite knife? I now have one on my windsurfing harness.

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Gear Talk / Re: fins for stability
« on: February 08, 2012, 06:13:49 AM »
OP here - OK, I tried out some of the suggestions in 5-10 knot chop. Placing the feet closer together has a very noticeable effect, great suggestion. Two other things have lesser but still noticeable effects - shortening the paddle, and the "Connor" grip; I just started using these for shoulder relief, and found that they helped with stability as well. I put a rubber grip below the "T" and go to it when things get shaky. Kalhoe has also confirmed something I noticed before - it seems that while a large fin slows down the sideways tilt, too large a one also slows down the recovery, and therefore is not much help. The remarks about a smaller fin allowing quicker course adjustments, which can also aid stability, also confirm my more recent experience. On the whole, other than the paddle adjustment, I agree with the majority that technique is more important than equipment, although as I said before it can't hurt to do what you can with the equipment. For now, I'm sticking with the 9 inch fin. Next, I'll work on Talldude's suggestions about fore/aft foot placement, seem to make sense. Thanks all.

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Gear Talk / Re: fins for stability
« on: February 03, 2012, 04:24:32 PM »
Thanks, good suggestions all. I am aware of the value of TOW, just want to make it as easy as possible equipment wise. I weigh 170, I think the board is fine, basically a large wave board, RRD Diamond, it was the most stable of the few that I tried. I have no problem paddling several miles on flat water falling only a couple of times. I have tried different fins, could feel the difference on flat water but not on chop. The most surprising suggestion was to keep feet closer to the center, the opposite of what I have been trying to do, will definitely give this a try. I guess at this point I am most frustrated by not being able to keep my balance while trying to look over my shoulder for oncoming waves; I can't turn the board fast enough to wait for waves sideways like surfing. I'll keep at it. Thanks again.

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Gear Talk / fins for stability
« on: February 02, 2012, 02:07:52 PM »
Hello, newbie here. As a learner, I'm still falling off a lot in Florida ocean wind chop. (Doing OK in flat water.) My board is stable enough, 11'2" x 30". I would like to know what fin setup would aid in these conditions. I'm learning to SUS, but just paddling when it's rough is my immediate concern. The board came with 9" center fin, thruster-size side bites. I'm using it without the side bites. I also have a 7" center SUP fin and various windsurfing fins up to about 11" which will fit the box. Any small addition in lateral stability would help - what fin(s) would be best? (This is really just an equipment question - I'm studying everything I can about technique and working on it as much as possible.) Thanks in advance for any help.

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