Crazy wind downwinder.

[DavidJohn]

It was crazy wind in Melbourne yesterday.. Not only was it gusting well over 50 knots the direction was so so wrong with way to much off-shore in it causing us to keep close to land to stay safe.. Unfortunately staying close to land in an off-shore wind keeps you in flat-ish water and away from the big waves.. Trying to carry your board in such strong wind can sometimes be the hardest part.

Here's some vid with some rare music from the sugar man.

[Area 10]

Holy crap! That's a pretty alarming ending - adding to the list of "things DJ has done so that we don't have to" If someone had been walking on the beach there downwind of you that could have been unfunny.

I think something like this has probably happened to most people who DW in serious winds. So the question is why you weren't carrying the two boards together with your buddy. In extreme winds like this we find that doubling up (with two people carrying two boards at the same time) is the safest way to go. Still difficult, but slightly less risky than one man one board. It's tricky to carry your paddles as well though, which is why I have deck loops in my new custom so that I can put the paddle through them and then I don't have to carry it in my other hand. But you can usually bury paddles quite easily in the sand and get them later.

Thanks for another great vid that will no doubt provoke a lot of useful discussion.

How did this episode end?

[gone_foiling]

Wow. That was windy!

[Night Wing]

That was a pretty alarming ending to your video. Hope your brand new Glide didn't get any damage to the board. That wind was wicked.

As always, thanks for sharing your video.

[PonoBill]

Too bad about the direction, this summer has been good for consistent wind in Hood river, but we've only had one really windy day (over 40mph) which is really irritating. I love the big wind days.

It's pretty easy to get your board ripped out of your hands, and while doubling up at the beginning of a run is easy to do by taking one board off the car at a time, it's not so easy to arrange at the other end. Especially if there's nowhere to stash one board safely. I use paddle loops in big wind so I can two-hand the carry. If you're not experiencing high wind at the takeout on a regular basis you're unlikely to have a safer strategy than just grabbing the handle. One reason I like the SIC handle so much is that it gives excellent control in high wind, but my Bullet V1 17.4 doesn't have that handle. If the board tips up far enough with a standard handle you have only the friction of your fingertips resisting both the wind and gravity.

Viento runs are particularly fraught since there's always a crowd at the Event Site, especially on nice weekends. People will stand downwind with a pack of their kids, blinking at you while you wrestle a 17-foot board past them in high wind. Kiters will practically walk right into you as they make a beeline for the sandbar. If a board got away it would mow through thirty people, and they are too inexperienced with the potential for injury to move out of the way. Kind of amazing that we haven't had some accidents.

Hope your board survived. It looked like it was going to make it to the posts. Can't imagine that ending well.

[baddog]

Ha, ha, classic.  Luv the sprinting shadow man with the GoPro on...  Thanks for leaving that in.

[Eagle]

Unless one has had to deal with carrying a board in big wind it can be hard to imagine how really difficult that is.  The guy with the Bullet V2 fared better maybe because of the EZ Grab.  Personally think all boards should have that grip. Can also thread your paddle thru some add-on McGyver loops.

Crazy wind indeed.  Hopefully damage was just cosmetic.  Those posts looked very imposing.  But those sort of conditions are actually ideal for the lower rocker V2.  Skips like a flat rock from wave to wave without submarining.  We get low waves when the westerly bombs over Woodfibre.  Low fetch big wind but gotta work it fast hard left.  Big smiles.  Kinda scary.  Optimal.

But yeah another good DW tutorial.  Your shadow expressions said it all.   

[DavidJohn]

It's amazing how quick it can go from 'I know what I'm doing and have full control' to 'I have no control at all and I'm a bloody idiot'

I'm 6'4" and pretty strong with a stronger than most grip strength due to a lifetime of windsurfing and most of that in super strong winds but if you're carrying your board and letting it fly sideways angled into the wind while trying to stop nose and tail going up and down and hitting the ground the board is rocking in a twisting motion along the centerline of the board..

This twisting motion pushes the rail of the board against your forearm when the board is angled with most of the wind is hitting the bottom of the board and it's mostly controllable but if while the board is rocking the wind gets more onto the deck side of the board it's all over because all the grip strength in the world will not stop the board getting ripped out of your hand once the wind catches it.. It's a fine line in having control regardless of how good the handle is.. I think in such strong wind even a SIC handle or paddle through loops on the board would have pulled out of your hand once the wind hits the full deck twisting it flat straight against the wind.. Even a hand cuff to the board would probably pull you off your feet and drag you along the ground.. Also having my paddle between my hand and the board at the hand hole probably didn't help either.

I had considered top and tailing the boards together with Ross having the two noses under each arm and me with both tails under each arm but doing this while holding paddles is tricky and once the wind catches both boards it would most likely cause one of us to fall in an awkward way and then things could get worse.

I probably should have waited for Ross to take his board and known he would come back to help me but I just thought "I can do this" and took the risk.. After all if Ross can do his I should be able to do mine.. ha.. btw I'm not sure if it ended up in my vid but there was a red kayak tumbling down the beach in the background and we arrived and that was looking nasty.

I've had people suggest leaving my leash on while carrying my board and I had concidered that but there's also the added risk of tripping on it and I'm thinking a board flying away from you on land with a leash on would probably cause you to fall but at least the board might not hit someone or something.. It might be a good idea but I'm still not sure about that.. Maybe I could have put the leash on my arm?

I've always hated that muddy area on the beach at low tide but it really saved the day on this occasion because the soft surface prevented any board damage and cause the board to stick flat and I was lucky it stuck fin up giving me the seconds needed to get to it in time.. If it had lifted before me getting to it it would have been into the pier.. No wet mud and dry sand it would have just kept accelerating until it hit the pier.. I'd like to go on about Naish build strength but it was very, very lucky because cleaning down my board after it's 100% perfect with not a mark on it.

I am embarrassed about this.. It makes me look pretty reckless and stupid.. But I hope showing how easy it can happen might save someone else learning the hard way.. Bedides a tumbling 14' board hitting a person dowwing could be fatal.

[Eagle]

Yeah the big pos of the EZ Grab is you can wrap your thumb and get a full grip like a barbell.  With my M14 and SB Touring just have a weak 90 crap finger ledge.  So can hold the V2 arm straight out easy and not drop it.  So easy one arm for loading and impossible with a ledge.  But only use the loops to hold the paddle.  Instead use the grip when windy for control.  Good thing for soft sticky mud.  Haha!

[JEG]

Nice one dj.

[digger71]

I think in such strong wind even a SIC handle or paddle through loops on the board would have pulled out of your hand once the wind hits the full deck twisting it flat straight against the wind..

First time I ever used the paddle through loops was on my first Maliko with Headmount a few years ago.  Coming into Kanaha he showed me how to "fly" the board with a wide, two-handed grip that really prevents the wind from hitting the deck.  Controlling even a 14' board from a single point is much more difficult than that.

[nalu-sup]

Thanks for sharing this DJ; a good reminder of how quickly things can go really wrong.
From my limited experience, I think that paddle loops should be standard on any board over about 12 feet. At the end of my very first downwinder, I was carrying an M14 out of the water with the handle in about 25mph winds, and a 35 mph gust did the same thing as in this video. I thought that it was going to dislocate all my fingers when it flipped over and away. Luckily I was right up against a sand dune that stopped it right away. I have encountered that exact same wind situation carrying my F16 using the paddle loops, and it feels like I have complete control. The wide grip with two hands well spread out helps to control swinging, as well as nose and tail drops. The paddle shaft provides a perfect grip for both hands. My wife at 5'4" and 120 lbs can control her F16 very well in some decent winds. If it gets to the point where you need to use two people at the ends of two boards, at least the paddle loops give you some place to attach the paddles so that they do not become a problem. IMHO, paddle loops should be a standard feature on all downwind boards, at least as important as the carry handle.

[PonoBill]

I think in such strong wind even a SIC handle or paddle through loops on the board would have pulled out of your hand once the wind hits the full deck twisting it flat straight against the wind..

Not really. I exited the Vieto run today on a super crowded beach with winds gusting to 45. Prepped everything on the beach for a wicked carry. Paddle through the loops, leash tucked away so I wouldn't trip on it, path through the crowd visualized. I get the board on the downwind side, arms wide, and let that heavy 17' monster float on it. I just focus on controlling the nose and tail, working my way through a crowd of people who won't step away if they see the board flapping uncontrollably.

[DavidJohn]

I think in such strong wind even a SIC handle or paddle through loops on the board would have pulled out of your hand once the wind hits the full deck twisting it flat straight against the wind..

Not really. I exited the Vieto run today on a super crowded beach with winds gusting to 45. Prepped everything on the beach for a wicked carry. Paddle through the loops, leash tucked away so I wouldn't trip on it, path through the crowd visualized. I get the board on the downwind side, arms wide, and let that heavy 17' monster float on it. I just focus on controlling the nose and tail, working my way through a crowd of people who won't step away if they see the board flapping uncontrollably.

Ha.. I can just imagine.. 

[Dusk Patrol]

But I hope showing how easy it can happen might save someone else learning the hard way.

You took one for the team... We  probably will all be better for having seen this!