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Invisible board after a big wipe out, scared me badly

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Foil
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Invisible board after a big wipe out, scared me badly

Postby Foil » Fri Dec 21, 2018 7:53 pm

:o
Fantastic late session today on fuerteventura, well powered up with medium sized sea swell and wind chop, low sun,so dazzle off the water surface downwind,
Really going for it at maximum speed untill one large crest lifted me high giving me that arggh feeling which then resulted in the most spectacular high speed launch off the top of the next crest which resulted in me powering the kite up to fly through the air avoiding any chance of staying with the board, this also made me spin through the air which was ok as I landed hard on my back :lol:
First job was to recover my sunglasses which are attached to my wetsuit zip, but it amazed me to find that they had shot over the top of my bar and were dangling there waiting for me to put them back on :o
As it was a massive forward downwind superman crash I looked upwind for my board, yikes no sign of it, powering the kite up to lift me out of the water did not help, it was gone!
After a few moments I concluded it had gone down wind so used the kite to get me high for a good look around, then the panic set in, no board in sight, and way off shore with my kite in the air which means the rescue won't know there's a problem, I did not want to drop the kite on the water to raise the alarm as this would let my board get further away.
In desperation I looped the kite hard to get downwind fast, and after 3 long fast runs there she was, moving downwind with the waves pushing her fast.
It shocked me just how invisible my black board with black deck and black footstraps had been.
:remybussi: poor little board, nearly lost at sea.

BWD
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Re: Invisible board after a big wipe out, scared me badly

Postby BWD » Fri Dec 21, 2018 8:32 pm

I had my no volume board go under into an incoming river current once and it came up about 30 seconds later and probably 50 feet from where it went down! I added a float to it after that.
Even with the float, i lost it once falling going downwind in steep chop and could not find it, same river mouth. I was able to get ashore and launch a boat and find it after about 10 minutes of searching, pretty easy with your eyes 6’ above the water, and a good thing i knew the currents etc there...
Next board will be bright and float a little more!

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jumptheshark
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Re: Invisible board after a big wipe out, scared me badly

Postby jumptheshark » Fri Dec 21, 2018 9:34 pm

Have low volume foil board.

It’s neon green

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Peter_Frank
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Re: Invisible board after a big wipe out, scared me badly

Postby Peter_Frank » Fri Dec 21, 2018 9:57 pm

Yes, it can be really difficult to spot a foilboard.

I noticed it was close to dusk you wrote, so a big chance one can not find the board now...

I often ride after sunset, but only when wind is so onshore on a spot I know inside out, so I can drag myself to shore, or even drift/swim, and wait for the board to come in.

I always seek to ride so one CAN get ashore, no matter what happens - and remember the board is just a "thing", nothing but that :D

The reason why we all (most of us at leas) get more careless, myself included, is because it almost always goes without problems out there, so easy to forget the hazards IF shit hits the fan, in dark conditions or side/sideoff winds and so on :roll:

8) PF

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juandesooka
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Re: Invisible board after a big wipe out, scared me badly

Postby juandesooka » Sat Dec 22, 2018 4:43 pm

jumptheshark wrote:
Fri Dec 21, 2018 9:34 pm
Have low volume foil board.

It’s neon green
My wake skate nose just sticks out 6" maybe. ...rest is submerged. I spray painted the deck neon orange, which helped a lot.

I have thought about some kinda gopro like contraption that would stand up after a wipeout, for visibility and to blow board downwind. But no brain flashes yet on making it.

ps or installing one of those orange bicycle visibility flags :-)

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Re: Invisible board after a big wipe out, scared me badly

Postby matanshapira » Sat Dec 22, 2018 8:35 pm

some reflective stickers can do the trick
https://www.ebay.com/itm/1X-8-Reflectiv ... 2749.l2649

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Re: Invisible board after a big wipe out, scared me badly

Postby plummet » Sun Dec 23, 2018 1:16 am

My board and foil is black. But because the foil is carbon over wood and buoyant it floats sideways most the time, so easily visible.

But it has fucked off under the water for an amount of time and popped back up randomly not where you would expect it. In those instances its real hard to find.

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Re: Invisible board after a big wipe out, scared me badly

Postby OzBungy » Sun Dec 23, 2018 5:42 am

With my smaller foil the board floats foil down. It always drifts downwind back to me, like a naughty puppy.

My larger foil floats and the whole board sits up on its side. It can either stay still, or sail itself crosswind away from me. I usually have to drag a bit to get back to it. It is a nightmare in light winds if I end up downwind of the board.

My foil and mast are white, the board bright green and the straps and pads white. It is very visible. This doesn't help much when the sun is low behind the board. I can't see the colours at all. I can see the outline against the sun and the water.


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