So I turned up at Narrabeen Lakes in early Jan 2022 after a 30(?) year absence and was pleasantly surprised by how busy it was. I think I got amazingly fortunate to jag a car park as someone was leaving as I drove in
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Sailing a new board for the first time gave me an appreciation of those that have a few boards that they change in an out regularly. My old Omega AHD circa (1990?) was left behind for the newer board (circa 2013). Besides moving from a 59cm older style board to a fatter board with a MUCH bigger fin, what I found kinda hilarious was going back to those times where I felt like I was a beginner trying to find the bloody footstraps.
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A good breeze comes through, the board pops onto the plane, you're in the hook and then you go to slip your feet into the straps where they have been for 30 years and all of a sudden they are just not there!!! Panic sets in ... you're planing "nude" with no connection to the board, looking down to where they are and then realising, "****.... they're a loooong way out on the edge .... how do I get waaaaay out there without sinking the rail?".
I assume ( and eventually found out )there is so much lift from the bigger fins that I neeeed to be out there to keep the rail down but it's going to take some trust and relearning where my feet are in relation to the straps. But once in there ... gee there's some improvement that's happened in 30 years
So is this a thing for most people when they have several boards to choose from that you need to spend some time to re-find the straps on each board you sail? I had never considered this before as I've always been a one board only guy.
Cheers,
p
