Basher said..
Walk of shame? I'd say don't do one.

The way to avoid this is to learn how to sail your board upwind when slogging.
- Look where you want to go. Bury the windward rail for more sideways resistance. You don't need a big fin. Sail back to your launch spot, however slowly.

The way to minimise the distance actually sailed is also about knowing which way the local water currents are flowing. And you take a course where the current either helps you, or else where the adverse current is minimised.

When you end up downwind that should not be because the wind died - it only need happen if the current took you there, when the wind died. If you are blaming the wind, then you need to learn to sail upwind. Just saying.

Come back to me on this, if you disagree.

I'd love to see you slog home upwind on a sinker after the wind shuts off.

I have two good ones.
Firstly at Burrum Heads during Windfest, the wind died and the making tide swept me up the Burrum River. The 1km walk brought me directly past a rival teams accommodation.
Secondly at Honeybuns at Came One on Maui. Again the wind shut off while gybeing out the back of the reef. I swam my gear across the whole lagoon (about 1 km) and then walked 800m along the shore back to the house.

John340 said..

Basher said..
Walk of shame? I'd say don't do one.

The way to avoid this is to learn how to sail your board upwind when slogging.
- Look where you want to go. Bury the windward rail for more sideways resistance. You don't need a big fin. Sail back to your launch spot, however slowly.

The way to minimise the distance actually sailed is also about knowing which way the local water currents are flowing. And you take a course where the current either helps you, or else where the adverse current is minimised.

When you end up downwind that should not be because the wind died - it only need happen if the current took you there, when the wind died. If you are blaming the wind, then you need to learn to sail upwind. Just saying.

Come back to me on this, if you disagree.

I'd love to see you slog home upwind on a sinker after the wind shuts off.

I have two good ones.
Firstly at Burrum Heads during Windfest, the wind died and the making tide swept me up the Burrum River. The 1km walk brought me directly past a rival teams accommodation.
Secondly at Honeybuns at Came One on Maui. Again the wind shut off while gybeing out the back of the reef. I swam my gear across the whole lagoon (about 1 km) and then walked 800m along the shore back to the house.

I guess if the wind totally switches off then it's not a walk of 'shame'.
But the key is usually to see when the wind is switching off, either by knowing the forecast, the time of day, or by reading the skies.

If there's a current then it's not your fault either, although at my beach the tidal currents follow a pattern which is worth knowing.
And this was my point really. When is the walk 'shamefully' down to your mistakes and when was it simply out of your control?

My further thought here is that most of us don't sail 'sinker' boards any more. With the change to multi fin set ups most of us have been on bigger, floatier boards.

It ain't shameful to swim and walk home! Just means you weren't the wimp home got scared and went in early. I pretty much do it every sail.

Primbee has the perfect setup for achingly long "walks of shame". You can be up to 2.8km from the carpark in knee deep water with a 60lt speed board and the westerly drops from 30kts to 0kts without warning. You can either try and wait it out on the hope that it "may" come back in again, or just start walking. A walk of 200-500m is fairly common and lets you reflect on whether that last gust that sucked you in was really worth it!! A few have dumped gear in the bushes and walked down the road to get their car.

How many swim there gear in, just to find when you get ashore, the wind comes back up!

musorianin said..
And don't leave out the "tow-in of shame" when a fellow sailor helps you out after broken gear a long way out and you feel like a dick and an a-hole for ruining their sesh even if they're a great bloke and don't care, (as when this happened to me, being the tow-ee that is).

Yep! Broke a mast, and was towed in by a ski boat! Tow of shame!

If due to doofus rider. Any distance . 3 decades, 3 "walk of shame".

First season sailboarding. First board. Fanatic Viper. Inexperienced dolt. Wind shift and build from side to "overpowering" offshore. Launch beach was a short (~20meter) strip of sand. Sun was setting. Shot for the marina entry downwind. Hauled my gear up the pier. ~1km hike walk back to the launch to get the vehicle.

#2. Maui '00. The house we rented had a very tiny beach in a bit of a wind shadow with a tiny reef a few meters off shore. Rock to the west (downwind). Riding a 76L wave board. When the wind drops you need to come in with some momentum and veer downwind then upwind to get around the reef to get to the "beach" at lower tide. One wave too many that session. Ended up on the beach west of the rocks. 100 meter walk of shame.

#3. Couple seasons ago. Fatigued Chinook twin bolt base plate clip "spring tab" and lost the board. Swam the rig back to the beach. Board ended up on the rocks downwind. Two way "walk of shame" parallel to the highway.

#1. Should have come in while I had the chance. But was having too much fun. Dolt!
#2. Should have come in while I had the chance. But was having too much fun. Older Dolt!
#3. Knew the uni plate should probably be replaced. But too much of a cheapo?? Even Older Stupid Dolt!

MagicRide said..
I went to Maui and went out of kanaha beach park on a off shore wind. Pure stupidly on my end. Got pushed out more and more, lost orientation. Finally was able to cut it tight and arrived a mile away from my original launch destination. And yes, a mile walk of shame ahead if me.

I was at Kanaha beach park last November. Looked only at the wind forecast which was great. Didn't look at the wave forecast though.
A 15ft wave washed me, mast broke maybe half a mile from the beach. Had first a swim of shame, and the current pushed me more downwind, then a merciful Jetski guy brought me to the beach, where I had to walk all the way up again with the broken rigg, just then to admit my utter defeat at the local windsurf rental store :-). And of course, pay the damage.
The jetski guy was the hero of my day - swimming with a broken rigg in the winter shorebreak of Maui isn't that fun.

But the day before that was great!


Cheers,
mariachi76