The idea was inspired by Dana Miller’s wind chimes created from broken masts. I’d seen some he’d made at Barton Decker’s shop in Hatteras, and he also wrote a piece about recycling masts as art in New England Windsurfing Journal. I made this a few years ago when I snapped an old boom windsurfing on the Little Peconic. The challenging part was figuring out how to cut up the tailpiece to get the nice descending lengths of tube.
I like being able to see and touch windsurfing gear from my past. I’ve sailed miles from shore in stormy seas with these bits of carbon tube, had adventures and a lot of fun. Vibrations from those times are now here in our home.
(note one: back then I’d never broken a mast. I often felt unmanly about this missing experience in my windsurfing resume. Then finally last year I broke one in the ocean, and so felt much better about myself. It was an expensive bit of self-confirmation. But now I’ve got mast stock as well as another boom tailpiece to work with. I await inspiration.)
(note two: you know what to do if you break your boom on the water, don’t you? If not, here are your options: If the arm that broke is not on the side you need to sail back to shore, then carefully waterstart or uphaul…you don’t want to slice yourself open on any exposed sharp bits of aluminum or carbon…and sail back while babying the rig. Planing is possible, but don’t go full speed. If the broken boom arm is on the side you need, the conventional wisdom is to unthread the outhaul, then removed the boom from the mast (you may also need to detach the mast for a second to clear the uphaul) and re-attach it upside down. Twist the harness lines so that you can hook in if you need to, and sail back to shore. Or do what the pros do…waterstart clew first with the good arm and sail back in. If you can’t manage any of this, flag down another windsurfer and see if they can’t ferry out another boom.)
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