SURF-SKI SAFETY: Remounting with Wrist Leash - Millers #69

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Please note that the sequence of my footage has been modified in order to better illustrate my premise that, for wrist paddle leash users, it is better to always re-orientate the ski to one's favoured direction before re-mounting.

The interesting thing is that my two swims occurred in the reverse order to that which is depicted in the video. So, I did the "CORRECT" remount orientation first and then the "WRONG" one second (the reverse order to that depicted in the video). How bizarre ! My body clearly knew what to do long before my brain had any clue about what was going on. I had never previously consciously decided to correct the orientation of my ski (as my default) as the conventional wisdom is that you need to be able to re-mount with your ski pointing in both directions.

This concept of “body knowledge” is familiar to the profession of life and managerial coaching. A coach will often lead a client into re-embodying (somatic immersion) a particular experience with a view to first seeking to notice any messages from the body when reflecting on a particular experience. David Kolb, author of the Experiential Learning Model is the father of the science of adult learning.

My contention is that for most of us, there is always going to be a significant difference in one’s balance, co-ordination, and timing between one’s favoured and less favoured remount orientations. The wilder the conditions, the more vulnerable you are going to be in your least favoured orientation, particularly if you use a wrist paddle leash that restricts your hand placement.

Ski Stability: My evolving experience on this topic is that there are three modes of stability being, (i) primary: ski at rest, (ii) secondary: ski under your power either in flat or in rough conditions and lastly, (iii) tertiary: ski at speed on a run. I have recently “re-upgraded” to the Fenn Swordfish (SF) after having spent nearly 8 months in the Fenn XTS. I have noticed a significant improvement in my overall stability in the SF, in particular, in my “secondary’ stability. I attribute this improvement to the fact that the XTS has poor “secondary” stability because the seat height is 2cm above that of the SF. So, while it is 3cm wider than the SF it still rocks from side to side due to the higher seat. My theory is, that it is this “8 months of rocking” that has improved my overall stability in the SF.