It's gonna be time to sail soon.........(now a "Fin" story)...

Stay connected in the wind. This forum is for anyone who rides the wind, winter or summer, on whatever board suits their fancy. Share the stoke, find out where people are going, ask any question, share your discoveries, and discuss any esoteric idea you may have related to the pursuit of wind. Please keep it positive.

Moderator: MK

Post Reply
Quetzalcoatl
Posts: 766
Joined: Tue Jun 16, 2015 10:26 am

It's gonna be time to sail soon.........(now a "Fin" story)...

Post by Quetzalcoatl »

Spring time is flatsum time in the River (sometimes on lakes too). On the Mississippi and St Croix rivers a ltt of Junk will be in the water.

So, screw on a "WEED" fin and have some fun! When I go windsurfing in the spring....I sometimes will hit a log,,and usually it's just an annoyance.

Like, "bump" that was annoying,,,and the board goes right over it. But using a regular straight fin or even a slightly swayed back fin will usually mean

a sudden "Dead stop!" And often damage to gear happens when you hit junk in the water when using a straight fin. Truth is,I did one time sail using

stock fin (50 cm.) on a big board (in the dark on New Years's eve.) on an unusually warm 44 degree New years eve (2006) just off Wacouta Beach and I hit a full sized trunk of a tree partially submerged. This caused an All stop and I flew off the board into the drink,,(Dry Suit kept me warm) and then I

Inspected board and fin for any damage,,,,happy to say.. none. The fin was in a Deep Tuttle fin box which uses two screws (this may have helped).

But since then,,,, I always use a weed fin if there are weeds or ice bergs or junk floating in the water and I NO longer windsurf at night.

Just a re-cap of another day of windsurfing in the spring on Lake Pepin, (At the Point) of Lake City, Mn..... Several sailors out one nice windy
spring afternoon,,,(in April or May), All sailors were using stock fins or almost straight fins. One sailor hit a log and then crashed and hurt his hip.
Another sailor hit a log and did a head first dive completely through his sail. One sailor didn't hit anything (I guess he was "concentrating").
I was on a weed fin and I hit several logs and just said,,,"Oh, that was an annoyance."

"Happiness is a weed fin and a "clip on" boom!" PS: remember those "tie-on" booms? Man, windsurfing gear has gotten so much better!

Windsurfing on the Rise, and forever getting better!
Quetzalcoatl out.
Post Reply