I’m sure I ‘m going against windsurfing’s Holy Scriptures, but please bear with me.

I have been windsurfing for many years, always trusting my arms when holding the boom. Never used a harness and I always uphaul. Kind of Flintstone , but I still enjoy windsurfing..

Lately, out of curiosity and just in case winds pick up beyond my bare arms capability, I finally decided to try a harness, a waist harness to be precise. It turned out to be such a pain ( not exactly in the neck, much below..) that I went back to shore and threw it back in the car, after which I had a perfect sailing day, with the usual winds I’m accustomed to ( 15-18 knts, perhaps more with gusts).

Leaving aside the first obvious reason, my inexperience with the harness, which catapulted me a few times, even though I read the instructions from a variety of web sites, I think the more serious problem is an anatomical one: I have some belly ( but then my size, 38, is a far cry from being overweight , let alone obese) and when I get back onto the board after falling and begin standing up from the crouched position in order to uphaul, the harness cuts badly into my abdomen, which is not only very uncomfortable, but also kind of painful.

Usually, without the harness, the transition from the crouched position to standing and uphauling is easy, fast and painless, as it should be, but with the harness I feel in a painful straight jacket.

The size of the harness is O.K. : it is more streamlined and less intrusive than others I have tried at the store and the salesman said it is O.K for my size. I think that a much narrower harness, like the waist belt some weight lifters wear, about 5 “ wide, would be better, but I don’t see any around. Sure there must be a reason, but I don’t see a way out, other than going on a diet or continuing without a harness.

I heard that in the past there were also chest harnesses available, which might have been better for me. Any comments or suggestions?

Thanks

Francone

Francone said..
I’m sure I ‘m going against windsurfing’s Holy Scriptures, but please bear with me.

The only "holy scriptures" here are kitesurfing related.