That's true. And there is another extreme version - very tall skinny person. For me (2m 80 kg) it took about 10 hours before first successful sailing. High center of mass makes balancing and moving on the board very tricky
I'm a windsurfer sailor and an expert sailor. In my opinion you're right, but the boat should have changed his direction anyway to avoid her. In the sea such rules and laws are important, but changing direction even if you're big just to avoid someone that is in a difficult situation is crucial. In those situations only fools follows perfectly those rules, even if they're going to crash for them. And I know that you think that ;)
This is for all the comments about the girl being missed by the larger powered vessel. It's a spectacular lack of knowledge of the IRPCS (International Rules for Preventing Collisions at Sea) by both the commenters and the sailors in the clips, that's windsurfers, kite surfers and the power vessel skippers. Rule 12: Sail meets Sail. For sailing vessels approaching other sailing vessels: "the vessel which has the wind on the port side shall keep out of the way of the other". Invariably interpreted as "starboard tack has right of way". Yes that means you too mr kite surfer.... Rule 18: Responsibilities between Vessels (a) A power driven vessel underway shall keep out of the way of: (iv) a sailing vessel. The female windsurfer approaching the larger power vessel from the left would have been seen by the power skipper for some time. They (it could be either sex...) should have realised a "risk of collision exists". And acted accordingly. Yes it's hard works taking a powered vessel through a sailing fleet but it is eminently possible with forethought and a good eye for both sports. Five blast on the powered vessels horn usually gets the attention of the windsurfer - although not strictly the correct action the sound indication "I am unclear of your intentions" tends to work well for IOW Ferries in the Solent. Lastly I felt I should add the rule about narrow channels, just before a reader says "but the bigger ship can't get out of the way?" Rule 9: Narrow channels: (b) A vessel of less than 20m in length or a sailing vessel shall not impede the passage of a vessel which can safely only navigate within a narrow channel or fairway" So question: why on earth am I typing this at 06:37 on a Saturday morning (damn you RU-vid). I guess it's the armchair sailors, of which we all become one when we stand on the slipway for dinghy landings, or stand on the dockside for the bigger vessel appraches, who need some gentle education in the way of the water. And amusingly it keeps me in a job in the watersports world.... Regardless of my attention to the rules if I had a GoPro in 1980 when I started windsurfing I could have made a fortune on here.....
Awesome footage. Someone should've filmed me when I though it was plenty distance left to the beachline but it wasn't and the fin hit the bottom and I flew forwards and penetrated my sail with my harness hook...
How fast do you think a vessel of that size can turn or stop at that distance? RIght of way rules does say powered craft have to give right of way to sailing craft, but that doesn't mean sailing craft can just go straight in the path of a large powered vessel and expect them just to stop on a dime or carve either which way of them instantly. Common sense is required by both captains.
omg stresses me out how reckless people are with these, those sails/rigs are expensive! i just bought my first one i can't imagine smashing it around like that HAHA
Avoid the the things that we can avoid -- such as not going too close to the kitesurfers/boats, make sure its not hard to get out of footstraps/to unhook, etc.
and if she had closed the sail a bit more and pumped a few she could've easily get away from the boat IMAO :) anyways thank God she did'n get hurt and that's what matters.
