Central Command

Ok, after thinking about the previous post, I thought to myself... do you all really want to read about rigging?? Probably not, you are more interested in what's going on here on the OBX.

Well let me tell you. Its pretty windy! IWS is already reporting SW in the mid 20s in Waves...! Perhaps a later session at S-turns is on tap. Lets just hope there is some surf out there...?!

The reason I titled this post "Central Command" is that during days when the wind is up, I usually receive calls from the crew inquiring about wind speed and location around the island. Often, winds can vary significantly from one location to the next. IWindsurf is a great online reference for real-time wind speed data across the OBX.

OBX island radar, satellite, and wind field overview courtesy of IWS. Excellent data for choosing where to sail.

Rig Up!

There is a certain process to setting up a windsurfer, and the second step involves "rigging up." The first step is unloading the gear, but I will save that for a future post. The act of rigging up involves a number of process actions to ensure that a sail rig is precisely tuned and ready for the water. There are four primary components to the windsurfing rig which include the mast, booms, sail, and base/extension.

Bill setting the outhaul on the booms

There is an order to putting all these pieces together, which most experienced windsurfers can do with their eyes closed. However, for the newcomers here is a brief summary:
1) slide mast into sail mast sleeve;
2) slide base/extension into mast foot;
3) tighten sail to base/extension (downhaul sail);
4) attach booms to mast by way of clamp on boom head;
5) tighten boom end to sail clew (back of sail) (outhaul sail);

This is a summary of rigging, and the process usually takes about 5 minutes to complete. Though, I have seen it take as long as 30 min, and as short as 3 min...depending upon the anticipated sailing conditions, and whether rig is new or not.

Emo rigged and ready to rock!

Final step is attaching rig to the board, grabbing your harness, and hitting the water!