Leash string breaks in the surf - Fixed with whistle

[Off-Shore]

We were out on a downbreezer last week, and near the end there is a reef break that we went and did some BOP style practice in. One of the guy's leash strings broke, and so we had to improvise... The only thing I had was a whistle on a leash, tied to my Camelbak Hydration pack.. but it did the job...and for our purposes worked until we got back to shore.

[Night Wing]

"Necessity is the mother of invention". Quick thinking on your part with a nice and workable improvise.

[TallDude]

I had a similar thing happen years ago during a Hobie Cat race in Mexico. The wind was howling the first day so we had raked the mast back to get more camber. The second day the wind was super light. While bobbing around waiting for the start, we decided to back off the rake in the mast. As we removed the adjustment pin on the port shroud, SHIT! The pin went into the deep blue. I'm sitting there holding the shroud /cable hoping a puff of wind doesn't send the mast crashing onto another boat. Then I spotted the bungee cord we had strapped our food bag down with. The metal hook on the cord fit right where the pin went. I bent the hook into a closed loop and everything was good. Ok, attempting a mast adjustment in the water, at the start of a race was a stupid idea from the get go. Not the dumbest thing I've done    

[surfinJ]

That reef break looks fun, especially on those boards.

How often does it break?  It looks like the kind of surf spot that is made possible by paddle board due the access issues.

[Off-Shore]

That reef break looks fun, especially on those boards.

How often does it break?  It looks like the kind of surf spot that is made possible by paddle board due the access issues.

The Shelter Island break goes off when we get a swell from the East, which is most common at this time of the year. This is a 2-4km / 1.5 - 2 mile paddle out from the put in points depending on when you set off from, so perfect for SUP. The main issue is tides. If the tide is going out, then you get pulled closer and closer to the the island (and some pretty shallow rocky water).  There are surfers who take boats out there when its going off.

More info here...

http://www.wannasurf.com/spot/Asia/Hong_Kong/nw_reef_-_shelter_island_sai_kung/

[wrybread]

Ha great idea.

And if anyone breaks a leash and needs to finish a session, a bowlin knot works great. Tie the bowlin as usual and then thread the end back through one of the loops so it can't come undone. Works great.