HOW TO CARRY WINDSURFING KIT
How-to guide
Have you ever found yourself on a spot where you need to carry your gear for a bit before you are where you want to launch from? Here is an easy way to pack & how to carry windsurfing kit to that remote piece of sailing paradise.
When exploring new places and adventuring off the beaten track, you might find yourself from time to time standing at this amazing spot, without having any road access. With the access track being too rough to drive or even to wheel a trolley in, the only way of getting your gear in there is to carry it. If that sounds daunting to you, we can help you. In this guide we have 5 simple steps on how to carry your windsurf kit all packed up nice and tight, and you will be surprised how easy it is to carry!
Step 1: Lay everything out
Make sure you are thinking of all the bits and pieces you’ll need before you are heading off – you don’t want to do the slog back, just because you forgot your harness!
The easiest way to achieve this is by laying everything out before you start packing. You hopefully figured already what size sail you need, although you can take 2 sails if you need to.
Windsurf board, mast base, mast extension, mast, boom, sail(s) and of course harness, wetsuit etc…
Step 2: Insert the mast
Insert your mast through the harness lines and outhaul rope. It should stick out of the boom at the front and backend.
- Ensure the clew outhaul rope is in a loose loop that can be pulled firm into the cleat.
- Hold the boom near the harness lines.
- Feed both mast halves through the harness lines from the boom clamp to the clew end of the boom.
- Have the mast pass through the clew outhaul loop of rope (do not pull tight yet).
Step 3: Pack your sail
Now insert your sail as well through harness lines and your outhaul rope. If you want to take 2 sails to the beach, it can get a bit tight to get both sails through harness lines and outhaul. It helps to roll them together as one roll.
- Hold the boom near the harness lines.
- Feed your sail(s) through the harness lines following the mast from the boom clamp to the clew end of the boom.
- Have the sail(s) pass through the loose outhaul rope loop with the mast, this can be a fiddle if your outhaul is short, you just need to have a couple sail battens through.
Step 4: Secure your load
To secure everything, tighten the outhaul rope. Then take your uphaul – if you have one – and wrap it around sail, mast and boom. You can also wrap your harness around the whole lot to secure it more, or you just wear it. Depending in which direction your harness hook points after you secured it wround your bundle, it’s sometimes a bit annoying when carrying….
- Pull your outhaul rope to secure your sail and mast at the clew of the boom, note: this does not need to be tight, just enough to stop everything slipping apart.
- The uphaul rope (if you use one) can be either tucked out of the way, or wrapped around and used as added security to the sail/mast load.
- You can also wrap your harness around the sail/mast/boom combo, however this does add to your carry weight, I much prefer to just wear it around my waist.
Step 5: Get your board ready
Now all that’s left is to get your board ready to carry easily. Insert the mast base, then attach the extension to it. You might want to feed the extension through a footstrap before you attach it to the base to create a long handle. Or just have it sticking out – it’s still a good spot to hold your board and carry it.
- Secure your mast base to the mast track as normal.
- Feed the mast extension top through a footstrap (ensure the pull down cord is tidy, you will not want to trip over it!).
- Bending the mast base tendon to insert the attachment point into the mast extension. I prefer to use the extension as a handle as you can balance the board much better than carrying at the footstrap.
- You will not need to engage the base pin fully into the extension, about 3/4 is enough.
Ready To Go!
Your board and rig package are nicely balanced now and are easy to carry. You will be pleasantly surprised how far you can now carry everything you need to the spot you want to sail!
This works especially well for wave, freewave and freeride boards and sails. For someone small like me, I can easily carry boards up to 100ltrs, for bigger (taller) people even slalom boards and rigs are still ok to carry this way.
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