The sail and mast are threaded through the trapeze rope as shown in the photo and tied tightly to the boom with the clew rope. Instead of tying a knot, simply thread the end through the cleat. Our caddy in the photo has tied the extension to the sail, but you can also put it in the mast or in a foot loop. The mast foot is mounted on the board. It is good if the centre of gravity of the bundle is just behind the trapeze ropes, because then you can hang the entire package casually over the edge, at least with hip harnesses, and only have to secure it with your hand so that it does not slide down sideways. The other hand remains free for the board.
Wearing tips - The wind works for you
Unbelievable - this guy has just ripped mast-high waves on the cape that were a joy to watch. And now he's doing his third 360 on the narrow path uphill to the car with his board under his arm like in a bad viewer's glee video series, struggling against a good seven gusts of wind. Bow first into the wind, he takes almost twice as long as necessary to make the journey.
But it's much easier and everyone should have learnt it in a surf course, at least for carrying a sail. All you have to do is always hold the board with the fin against the wind, regardless of whether you're carrying it on your head or under your arm. If it goes off course for a moment, the wind returns it to the centre line like the flag of an autopilot on a sailing boat - automatically and without fighting the wind, because you always lose. Depending on the wind direction, you sometimes carry the board with the stern, sometimes with the bow forwards.
The same applies to the sail: because you carry it at fork height, the wind always wants to turn it away from the wind with the top. Stubborn attempts to carry the sail with the top of the mast against the wind should therefore be covered by a good liability policy. It is really safe to carry it with the foot of the mast facing into the wind.
Photos: Stephan Gölnitz, Christian Kuhlmann
Click and go
If you don't want to bother with ropes and knots, you should take a look at the video on the Almen website. The guys build a functional carrying claw from conventional DIY store parts, into which the mast, boom and extension are simply clicked, and there are two long Velcro fasteners for the sail. A strap serves as a carrying handle, but you can also hang the package upside down over the harness. Info video under: youtube.com/watch?v=hqATHki9bSo Available from, among others www.windstaerke7.de
