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About Skate Sailing
from: Maxx Sports GuidesSkate Sailing can be described as an athlete who is wearing skates but is being propelled by the wind that catches in a sail held by the athlete. When played on ice, of course, ice skates are used, but roller skates are fine on other surfaces. Since there are lots of different types of skates available, you can participate in Skate Sailing pretty much anytime season of the year.
There really aren't any particular rules that need to be observed, and so these suggestions for avid skate sailors are just common sense:
The first thing you need to do is to learn stopping and making turns while holding your sail. While this is going to take some practise, you should be able to learn the proper maneuvers in a few hours.
During your practise sessions, you need figure out your tolerance for speed and when you should slow down.
You should invest in some safety gear such as durable pair of long pants, a helmet and safety goggles.
Of cours, you'll need to dress appropriately depending on the season. Skate sail during the winter will require warm clothing. Stay away from cotton since it will retain moisture and keep it close to your skin. Dress yourself in layers so it's easy to shed or add some to adjust for your comfort level and changes in the outdoor temperature.
Make sure you're aware of other people around you. Since your intent is to gain lots of speed, be very careful you don't run into obstacles or people.
Of course, these suggestions are just common sense, but you'll discover soon enought that skate sailing is a much easier said than done. The major difficulty for most beginners is figuring out how to handle the sail while at the same time maintaining balance on their skates.
Here are some tips to help navigate your sail without losing your grip, or worse, going in the direction of areas you don't want to go:
You can accomplish a stop by positioning your hands on the front edge of the sail and then maneuvering it above your head in a horizontal fashion. You can do this when you're pointing in the direction of the wind. With your sail is in this position, the wind won't add any speed to your movements which means you can stop your movements using a skating stop and slow motions.
You'll start to sail when you move your sail to your shoulder that's exposed wind's direction, since your actually putting the sail like a shield between the wind and you. As you turn into the direction you're planning on skating, you should lean against the sail and let the wind actually hold you up. When switching sides, make sure you bring the sail back to the stopping position which allows you to switch sides without suddently jerking around but while you're losing momentum. This makes your movements more fluid and thus much less stressful on your joints.
If you feel as if your losing control of your sail, or have actually lost control, just let it go. It makes little sense trying to hold on and either breaking the sail or getting yourself injured hurt because you were holding on for dear life. Rather, let it go, break your speed, and then you can retrieve your sail.
Watching a pro Skate Sailing makes it look almost effortless and elegant, so don't give up on this sport if your first few outings don't go smoothly as you expected. Rather, remember that even a professional who can now do it effortlessly had to get a few bruises when starting out, and probably had to let the sail go lots of times before getting it right.
So dust off those skates, get them properly sharpened, and go find yourself a sail. This sport is inexpensive but lots of fun and that you can do alone or in a group.
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