see that black thing he's got wrapped around his waist?
I used to think that the harness is just a diaper-looking like contraption that only really good windsurfers use. It actually works like a trapeze, and it's supposed to take some weight of the sail off the arms so that you can actually last longer while you're out surfing the waves.
When I 'took over' the shortboard and hardsail some few weeks back, I was pleasantly surprised to find out that it a harness was included. I didn't spend a lot of time with it on though, I was trying to get my balance on the board instead. So after the few bonding sessions with the new board, I guess I have more or less found my balance (in light wind conditions, that is). My master shifu decided that it was time for me to learn to use the harness so that it'll be less tiring and more enjoyable when I head out on my board.
He came up with the really ingenious idea of communicating with me via a walkie talkie while I was out there, moving about on the water and he was dry on the shore. So I had a walkie strapped to my left upper arm, and heard the occasional buzzing of it while surfing. It went from something like "Okay Aijia, now I need you to go upwind a bit more. Ahh okay good, you're in a good upwind position now" to something like "uhh I think you're going into the no-go zone... bare away, bare away" to something like "Now tack, and head for the bay where Chubby is, and then try to hook on", to which I responded with a lot of "Huh?!!!!" and "Orh okay!", "What? I cannot hear you!" and "Ahhhhhh!!!!" before I fell into the waters. Now that I think about it, it was pretty hilarious. I laughed out loud to myself when all I heard was muffled blurb blurbs after I capsized and the walkie was submerged in the water. Haha. I think I'm really lucky to have such wonderful windsurfing mentors, hundred and one marks for all the effort and passion they have for passing on the love for windsurfing.
Right, so let's get back to the topic. Guess the first thing you'll need to do is to learn how to put on the harness. There's a few clips to clip on, and you'll find a hook in place of a buckle somewhere around your waist. The next thing you'll probably need to do is to adjust the harness lines so that you can hook/unhook easily; for beginners like me, you might want to have it a little longer. It's definitely easier to hook on, but I can't say the same for unhooking (I jumped to try unhooking myself in a fumble quite a number of times).
Getting the right balance is definitely important before you decide to hook on. I realized on Saturday that people can be more stable on different sides of the board while windsurfing; and I guess I'm stronger on the starboard tack. Once you're hooked onto the boom, the next thing to do will be to lean back. I thought we were supposed to get into a sitting position, but apparently you're not supposed to sit too much on your harness. Once again, I guess it's about finding that balance. If you've successfully made use of your harness, you'd feel a load off your arms. Hands are still on the boom, but you're not exerting any effort on them. I didn't manage to shift the weight from my arms to my bum successfully so I now have some near-blisters on my palms.
And falling while you're hooked on, that was one scary thought for me. Okay, make that a few scary thoughts. What if I don't manage to unhook before I fall into the water? What if I drown as a result? Can I unhook underwater? Will my sail break? The answer to all that questions, is not to panic when that happens. In order to NOT tear/break your sail, you're supposed to fall in a push-up position. So, both hands on the boom, legs straightened out... and fall. I don't know how that is supposed to work, but it's working so far... so until I find out someday, I don't really care. There were a couple of times where I took a longer time than usual to surface from under my sail, and it got a little scary when I felt myself getting out of breath. Golden rule, is still to maintain calm when such things happen. Unhook the harness from the harness line underwater as quickly as you can, surface. Something that an ex-boyfriend said (and I think makes a hell lot of sense): When you're in deep shit, struggling will only make you go deeper. So, there you have it, be calm!
I do realize it's been an entry full of windsurfing jargon. If you've come so far with me, you must either be 1) another windsurfer, 2) I can't think of anybody else hehe. It was really sunny yesterday; I didn't apply enough sunblock and just got myself a shade darker. Again.
chocolate.
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