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Watersports
prerequisites and equipment
Out
of Town Action Sports can supply all the equipment needed to start
watersports, making it very easy to get into. All equipment, except
shoes, is available for hire and then if you choose to purchase
your own equipment we can help with advice and the wide selection
offered in our shop.
Fitness
Prerequisites
Watersports
are excellent forms of exercise and how far you push the fitness
component is up to you. Windsurfing and kayaking certainly do
not require substantial levels of strength at the basic level.
You
will need to be able to swim at least 20 metres and be of reasonable
fitness (brisk walk).
In
terms of progression in both windsurfing and kayaking, it is possible
to do RYA/BCU Level 1 standard in both which will allow you to
control a craft in calm conditions on the lake, hiring equipment
as suits. If you want to challenge yourself then you have the
opportunity to progress through level 2 & 3 and then perhaps
beyond. Fitness is not a barrier to starting either of these exciting
watersports but if you pursue them to the higher levels you can
certainly develop fitness doing them!
Basic
equipment
Wetsuit
In
the UK, a wetsuit is recommended for year round use. There are
the odd very hot days when you don't need one but overall we recommend
that you wear one to counteract factors such as wind chill. With
a wetsuit then you will be surprisingly toasty.
Wetsuits
are made from neoprene of varying thickness according to the amount
of insulation required. Modern wetsuit technology uses components
such as titanium thread linings to increase warmth and also make
them less exhausting to get into and out of.
Wetsuits
choice comprises basically of three options, according to thickness
of neoprene and body coverage:
3mm
three season wetsuit with/without removable arms
5mm
winter wetsuit ('steamer')
2/3mm
short sleeves/arms summer wetsuit ('shorty').
Shoes
You
need to wear suitable footwear to ensure you are comfortable walking
on gravel etc to the lake and then also to prevent you stubbing
toes on the equipment!
An
old pair of trainers that you don't mind getting wet is fine,
but you may want to acquire a pair of neoprene wet shoes/boots
which offer a bit more warmth and control of whichever craft you
choose.
Bouyancy
aid
For
your safety, It is our policy that everyone on the lake wears
a bouyancy aid, or a harness if they are an intermediate/advanced
windsurfer.
Windsurfing
Windsurfing
board
Boards
are classified by length, width and volume. As a beginner you
will be using one of the new generation of 'widestyle' boards
which are about 3 metres long, 70-100cm wide and of about 200
litres volume. As you progress you will move to shorter, smaller
boards which enable you to plane faster.
Sail
Sails
come in various sizes, classified by area according to how much
prevailing wind there is, controllability, and how fast you want
to go. Beginners start with a 4.5 metre sail which is easy to
control in all conditions. After the Level 1 course you may like
to try bigger high tech sails which range from 5 metre all the
way up to a monster 11 metre.
Boom
Horizontal
aluminium tube attached as a horizontal support and tensioner
to the sail. The windsurfer holds the boom to control the sail.
Up-haul
The
piece of rope connected to the boom that allows you to pull the
sail up when it is lying in the water.
Harness
For
the intermediate/advanced windsurfer we can supply a range of
harnesses. The harness allows the full body weight to counter
the pull of the sail thereby achieving greater speeds whilst also
saving your arms from exhaustion.
Further
equipment
Some
people really enjoy the 'toys' aspect of a sport and if this appeals
to you then you will be in heaven with windsurfing! For these
people, here is a description of the other parts of windsurfing
equipment.
Mast
The
main vertical support for the sail, manufactured from plastic
or carbon fibre. Modern masts are extremely high tech as they
need to have a certain amount of give under high winds / extreme
conditions to improve controllability.
Mast
foot / mast foot extension
The
connection between mast and the sail pulley system for tensioning
the sail. A mast foot extension has a certain range of adjustability,
say 10cm-70cm, with the aim of matching up the mast length to
the length of the particular sail in use. The sail vertical pulley
system (downhaul) plugs into the bottom of the mast foot extension
and connects to the sail. The windsurfer pulls the rope threaded
through pulley system to control the amount of downhaul on the
sail. Basically, higher wind conditions require more downhaul
(to allow excess power to 'exhaust' out the top of the sail) whereas
light wind requires less downhaul so that the sail takes more
of a 'scoop' shape to maximise the prevalent wind.
Universal
Joint (UJ)
The
connection between mast foot and windsurfing board. The UJ allows
you to move the sail in every direction (except up/down!)
Foot
straps
At
RYA level 2 and above footstraps become important in high wind
conditions. Winds stronger than force 4 enable the board to approach
speeds whereby the front of the board releases from the surface
of the water and starts to plane. From this point the board dynamics
change such that steering is effected by foot pressure and to
prevent feet slipping off the deck, footstraps become essential
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