Packing for a Cape Town trip! - Ben Proffitt  

So just for the record.. I'm taking 2 bags to Cape Town. 78, 85 litre boards (flywave) 3.7, 4.0, 4.2, 4.5, 4.7, 5.0 ...Cape Town is tricky as it really can be everything. On a good year my most used sails are probably 4.2, 4.5 and bad year 4.5, 4.7.. if I had to take one sail it would be a 4.5.. :)

I packed my gear exactly like Ben did and forgot my fins.

Great video. I like the idea you use a cheap but oversize 240cms daybag which you can then strap together as a narrower package, to get better puckered-bag protection at the rails. As another way of looking at this, I go for a better padded bag - which is heavier to start with, at about 5kgs, but which then gives good protection to the contents, and your sails don't get squashed flat. Don't get one with wheels as they only waste your precious luggage allowance. My current favourite travel bag is an 'Ocean and Earth' 7foot 6inch quadruple surfboard bag, which is actually 223cms long, and coffin-shaped with a ten inch depth. Arriving at check in, that snug/compact bag then looks less intimidating for the aircrew staff for when they get stroppy about that amount of kit you are carrying. To keep the bag weight down to 32kgs, I then strip out all the stuff I don't need or which can go in my suitcase. So I don't take sail bags or mast bags - and my harness, mast extension, and fins go in my suitcase. I put polystyrene nose and tail cones on my board, to back up the stiff bag ends. When the weight limit is tight, then even your boom tail end, footstraps, and harness lines can go in your suitcase if need be. If your chosen airline has a 23kgs bag limit then you'll need two bags. But always check the airline sporting equipment charges and size and weight rules before you book the ticket. Some airlines carry 'golf bags' for free, and they can work as wave sail quiver bags, in a stealth way, although you'll need one that is 170cms long My top tip for Cape Town, if you can only take one board, is to take a floaty one for your weight, because the wind is often gusty. To have plus 5 litres of float over your weight in kilos is a good idea, if you want to maximise your time on the water - so I'd say the typical 80kgs sailor wants an 85 litre waveboard. For sure, a smaller second board, at 80litres of less, would come into its own for the late afternoon windy session. For Cape Town, I take a 5.0, 4.7, 4.4, 4.0 and a 3.6m as wave sailing sizes. But the number of sails you can pack also depends on their weight and on the masts needed. In my list, the 4.4 is the most-used size, and the 4.7 could be left out for those confident of not breaking their sails. The 5.0m size gets you out on the water before the crowds - when others are waiting for the wind to fill in - or on float and ride days. A 5.0 or a 5.2 can also work well for the morning sessions.

Assuming we know which sail to take, we must be close to being able to go windsurfing on the bus! My (65kg) anywhere, any-wind kit would be 86L FSW + 5.0, 4.2, 3.7, maybe swap the FSW for 81L wave board if nice waves are expected. Thinking about being 'airplane ready', so thanks for the vid.

Great video Ben 😃 Personally I (Dejan) add a bath towel on top of the board... without forgetting the fins, helmet and sun cream for the nose, my nose which is as fragile as the nose of the board 😄😎 Have a good trip to Cape Town and be careful anyway 😉🤙🏼

Correct! Beeeeen .......... miss the fin ! 🙃

i put the board the other way around so the top of the board (footstraps) are facing the sails, so the curve of the board fits better with the bag. boom goes between sails and board.

mmmm rails and nose of the board are ready to be broken....

What a cute bag 😍🤣 We should make a video containing all the tips & tricks on checking in the bags as cheap as possible!!

4.7 for ligt winds. What do you Consider Light? I'm 95kg and sail 4,7 from 24 knots on

Hi Ben, can you make a video of how to wrap the windsurf material so that you can walk to the spot with it? I have seen that often in Pozo, people coming from all corners with the windsurf material wrapped together and easy to carry, and then they rigg everything in front of pozo spot.

@Ben-proffitt What is your wind range for that Kit ??

Thanks for sharing Ben. Can you also show transportation on the airport and how you do the logistics on arrival Have fun, Gert-Jan

Ben!! You forgot your fins!! 😮😮

If I ditch the sail and mast bags and remove footstraps, I can squeeze 23kg with three S1 Pros (4.0. 4.4 and 4.8) and 1 mast

C u 😊

why you keep the sailbag? what about without ...?

Princess baby stole the show for me :D

Do you remove the vent from the board? Very efficient packing :) I use to wrap my boards in bubblewrap heavier but usually travel with 2 bags

My bag for Cape Town: I weigh 70kg and take a Goya Quad 79, 3 sails, 3.7, 4.0, 4.5, 370 mast, boom, wetsuite. That was it. If it's not enough, then there's no wind and I go hiking on Table Mountain or to the wine region.

Where in capetown can a newbie go windsurfing... please advise. Enjoy!

@ben-proffitt great video! Also going to cape town in about a month, do you still have some sort of promo with Kennings going on?

Take the tail piece off your boom & remove the harness lines. Slide a couple of pool noodles over the boom & reinstall the tail piece. That will add board protection at virtually no weight gain. As for weighing your kit, try a travel digital scale.

Very interesting video! I've flown with whitewater kayaks and that was stressful enough. And luckily they are almost unbreakable. Let's see what Team Angola does to your kit!!! Positive vibes

Gush I wish this video would have been last year. I packed my gear to chile in the samekind of freeride bag and they smashed the back end of the board which as really really a pain out there. I see you take the sail bags, do you know why none of the pro seem to use them? At least I’m the videos we see. Thanks Ben, that was awesome. I’ll do better for my next trip.

"Why is Dad talking to himself so much?"

Awesome vid. That’s brilliant- Jimmy one bag tutorial 👍

Wish I had a bag where I could budge the zips!!

Excellent tip Ben! This could also help people with limited storage space and as a ready to go pack for a quickie after work - throw it on the racks or in the car and off you go!

Amazing as always, but air lines should look after the kit

See you in Cape Town. Cool to see different concepts of traveling with all you need to go wave sailing in usual conditions.

Any chance the sails get crushed and/or creased?

I hope you remembered to loosen the ventilation screw before packing. 🤙

This is such a useful video cheers🤙🏻🤙🏻🤙🏻

Excellent! Thanks!

ben guru tips, appreciated

Not exactly the strategy for KLM, 23 max 😄

Good job.