Side of thighs numb after week-long regatta of gut hiking?

[Lex Teredo]

Alternate Thread Title: The weekend I decided to quit being a freeloader, buy a boat and run my own race program, after I limped off the dock.

 

[Gouvernail]

sailing and BDSM are entirely different pastimes.

Years and years and years ago I ran cross country and the two mile. I never won anything big but I did represent my school well enough to get the letters and letter jacket.

Our coach taught us to do as well as we could but to make certain we practiced and competed in a manner such that we would be eager to do it again.

You guys are going to have to practice a lot so make certain today's practice does nothing to discourage you from practicing again tomorrow.

Generally it is those who practice the most who win

 

[oeb201]

Op here - thank you all for the feedback, definitely useful to confirm this is normal (albeit once again, definitely not desireable).

The comments in this thread have helped me narrow down my search and this document in particular seems to cover it quite plainly: http://orcv.org.au/index.php/club/admin-editing/upload-document/news/safety-news/2248-2010-health-hiking-verdon/file

Bottom line - don't hike like an idiot (unless you really really want to win - at the cost of nerve damage).

For what it's worth, it appears to be caused primarily by pressure on the FRONT of you pelvic bone (rather than the back of the thighs on the edge of the hull - which I also suspected).

I'm going to assume not putting all my weight on the lifeline will probably go a long way to avoiding this in the future...

 

[A3A]

Risk permanent damage just to gain a small advantage. Ranks right up there with taking steroids to pedal faster / hit farther, returning to play with damaged joints or a concussion and dozens of other bent rules in the name of playing the game harder.

Why hasn't this practice been legislated out of PHRF racing? It does absolutely nothing to encourage more participants and has certainly driven many away.

"No part of the body above the knee shall be below the sheerline, except temporarily while performing normal functions such as clearing weed or retrieving gear or sails."

 

[CrushDigital]

Yepp. Had it happen the last few regattas including the current one. It takes a while to go away whilst you contemplate the relative utility of causing yourself nerve damage vs the potential tiny fraction of flatness you may possibly but not probably have added to the boat. We are a bunch of goddamn idiots when you think about it.

What's stupid is there are simple ways to deal with this. Change the rule to be like the C&C 30 class rule - torso must be vertical.

Besides, the C&C 30 class needs you in it, on a pink boat. With sparkles.

Yeah because that rule has been strictly enforced.

 

[MoeAlfa]

This is due to compression of the lateral femoral cutaneous nerve in the groin (not spine, pelvis, sciatic nerve) and the syndrome of numbness and tingling on the side of the thigh even has a Latin name, "meralgia paresthetica." It almost always gets better if the cause is removed, although it can take a very long time if the damage is severe enough that the nerve has to die back and regrow. I've had it and it got better over a month or two.

 

[PeterHuston]

Yepp. Had it happen the last few regattas including the current one. It takes a while to go away whilst you contemplate the relative utility of causing yourself nerve damage vs the potential tiny fraction of flatness you may possibly but not probably have added to the boat. We are a bunch of goddamn idiots when you think about it.

What's stupid is there are simple ways to deal with this. Change the rule to be like the C&C 30 class rule - torso must be vertical.

Besides, the C&C 30 class needs you in it, on a pink boat. With sparkles.

Yeah because that rule has been strictly enforced.

The rule is, at least in my view, a good idea. Depends though on what someone sees as the goal, or goals here.

If all that one cares about is a macho dick swinging contest of who will sacrifice their body, perhaps permanently, for the sake of what, someone else to get a moment of glory in a tiny niche of the world that most of the rest of that niche don't care about?

If the goal is to get more people sailing more often, particularly those with the attributes of Blonde, meaning bringing back a lapsed sailor who upon getting their career going gets back into the sport who happens to be accomplished in other areas of life, who is athletic, articulate and fun, beyond those few with an addicted passion for the game, if potential long term injury and always just a plain painful and boring sailing experience is the requirement, who on earth would be attracted for a very long time to that activity? Seems the numbers speak for themselves.

Sure, the CC 30 rule may not be enforced often enough. That rule is what makes me consider that boat more than others of its type right now. But if the rule isn't enforced and that class becomes just another sport boat that requires body deformation to be successful, I won't bother and the class won't last very long. Their hiking rule is a key point of differentiation for them.

Human wire taco hiking is the wet sweat shirts of this era. Go ask almost any Finn or Laser sailor from the 70's and 80's if they are glad they wore 50+ pounds of wet sweat shirts while hiking?

 

[bodega87]

I think this is a case where the doctor would prescribe of a heavy dose of htfu.

 

[MoeAlfa]

I think this is a case where the doctor would prescribe of a heavy dose of htfu.

Unless the tingling starts to interfere significantly with sleep, which is no kind of joke. But to quote an old professor of mine, "If your ass hurts, stop sitting on thumbtacks."

 

[CrushDigital]

Is hiking like that for extended periods of time the most fun thing to do, no, but there are ways, between the pads on the life lines and what you wear to make it more comfortable if need be.

As for the C&C, it's not that the rule isn't enforced enough, it's that I'm not certain anyone knows and / or gives a shit about it. I've got the latest article of Sailing World sitting in front of me and their lead article certainly gives that impression, as do the regattas I've sailed in.

It's a stripped out racing boat, and is incredibly reactive to active hiking. As a crew your level of effort whilst hiking is actively and readily rewarded. I for one find that really gratifying. The rule is unpolished, unenforceable, and subject to abuse; it's a dumb rule.

 

[knuckles]

Stop sailing on boats and with people that require you to hike like a rag doll. It's not worth it.

 

[CrushDigital]

Stop telling others what kind of boats they should sail.

 

[bodega87]

Stop: It's hammer time?

 

[BlondeWithFreeBoat]

Is hiking like that for extended periods of time the most fun thing to do, no, but there are ways, between the pads on the life lines and what you wear to make it more comfortable if need be.

As for the C&C, it's not that the rule isn't enforced enough, it's that I'm not certain anyone knows and / or gives a shit about it. I've got the latest article of Sailing World sitting in front of me and their lead article certainly gives that impression, as do the regattas I've sailed in.

It's a stripped out racing boat, and is incredibly reactive to active hiking. As a crew your level of effort whilst hiking is actively and readily rewarded. I for one find that really gratifying. The rule is unpolished, unenforceable, and subject to abuse; it's a dumb rule.

You find hiking gratifying? I think it has to be the least gratifying activity on the boat. There are about a hundred other things one can do on the boat that will also provide immediate and much more perciptible returns in boat performance, but they require a skill. Hiking doesn't, which is why the idea of being nothing but rail meat is sort of a joke/thing to snicker at to those who race. Not really gratifying if you ask me!

 

[CrushDigital]

Is hiking like that for extended periods of time the most fun thing to do, no, but there are ways, between the pads on the life lines and what you wear to make it more comfortable if need be.

As for the C&C, it's not that the rule isn't enforced enough, it's that I'm not certain anyone knows and / or gives a shit about it. I've got the latest article of Sailing World sitting in front of me and their lead article certainly gives that impression, as do the regattas I've sailed in.

It's a stripped out racing boat, and is incredibly reactive to active hiking. As a crew your level of effort whilst hiking is actively and readily rewarded. I for one find that really gratifying. The rule is unpolished, unenforceable, and subject to abuse; it's a dumb rule.

You find hiking gratifying? I think it has to be the least gratifying activity on the boat. There are about a hundred other things one can do on the boat that will also provide immediate and much more perciptible returns in boat performance, but they require a skill. Hiking doesn't, which is why the idea of being nothing but rail meat is sort of a joke/thing to snicker at to those who race. Not really gratifying if you ask me!

On a boat like the C&C sure. It's a small boat, there's no rail meat, hiking is just one of your jobs; it's not a J/44 with leeward runner trimmers and backup snackticians. Like any job on a boat if you do it better than the other boats you'll have a chance to win. Does it require the specific knowledge and skill that fine tuning trim on the main does, no, but the boat where the folks on the rail are actively paying attention to what the boat's doing and responding to that are generally going to find themselves a little higher up the page on Yachtscoring.

Responding to the boats and hiking appropriately, you can easily see the difference in the speed and knowing what you're doing is helping you go faster. Sure it'd be fun if I was constantly pulling on strings or futzing about on the bow, but a lot of the time that's not terribly fast. To me, going faster is always gratifying.

 

[couchsurfer]

On a boat like the C&C sure. It's a small boat, there's no rail meat, hiking is just one of your jobs; it's not a J/44 with leeward runner trimmers and backup snackticians. Like any job on a boat if you do it better than the other boats you'll have a chance to win. Does it require the specific knowledge and skill that fine tuning trim on the main does, no, but the boat where the folks on the rail are actively paying attention to what the boat's doing and responding to that are generally going to find themselves a little higher up the page on Yachtscoring.

Responding to the boats and hiking appropriately, you can easily see the difference in the speed and knowing what you're doing is helping you go faster. Sure it'd be fun if I was constantly pulling on strings or futzing about on the bow, but a lot of the time that's not terribly fast. To me, going faster is always gratifying.

.

...you have an OD fleet of C+C30's??...or you take handicap racing -that- seriously? nttawwt

It makes me wonder what pain people are willing to endure to get.....

........ 'a little higher up the page on Yachtscoring' :mellow:

. HTFU indeed :lol:

 

[jesposito]

Is hiking like that for extended periods of time the most fun thing to do, no, but there are ways, between the pads on the life lines and what you wear to make it more comfortable if need be.

As for the C&C, it's not that the rule isn't enforced enough, it's that I'm not certain anyone knows and / or gives a shit about it. I've got the latest article of Sailing World sitting in front of me and their lead article certainly gives that impression, as do the regattas I've sailed in.

It's a stripped out racing boat, and is incredibly reactive to active hiking. As a crew your level of effort whilst hiking is actively and readily rewarded. I for one find that really gratifying. The rule is unpolished, unenforceable, and subject to abuse; it's a dumb rule.

You find hiking gratifying? I think it has to be the least gratifying activity on the boat. There are about a hundred other things one can do on the boat that will also provide immediate and much more perciptible returns in boat performance, but they require a skill. Hiking doesn't, which is why the idea of being nothing but rail meat is sort of a joke/thing to snicker at to those who race. Not really gratifying if you ask me!

On a boat like the C&C sure. It's a small boat, there's no rail meat, hiking is just one of your jobs; it's not a J/44 with leeward runner trimmers and backup snackticians. Like any job on a boat if you do it better than the other boats you'll have a chance to win. Does it require the specific knowledge and skill that fine tuning trim on the main does, no, but the boat where the folks on the rail are actively paying attention to what the boat's doing and responding to that are generally going to find themselves a little higher up the page on Yachtscoring.

Responding to the boats and hiking appropriately, you can easily see the difference in the speed and knowing what you're doing is helping you go faster. Sure it'd be fun if I was constantly pulling on strings or futzing about on the bow, but a lot of the time that's not terribly fast. To me, going faster is always gratifying.

The C&C 30 here we are talking about is sitting on the hard for sale, after some stellar performance's.

Not sure there was much droop hiking going on.

 

[CrushDigital]

Real life issues got in the way. Massively fun for what little sailing I got to do on it. Doesn't change anything I said.

Being on the hard in WLIS, it's keeping some pretty good company though.

 

[oeb201]

At the end of the day - it makes a difference - but it is worth it?

If it makes a difference, unless it's not allowed, people are gonna do it.

John Loe wrote a piece on sailing world where they tested the amount of torque across 3 hiking positions (relaxed, normal, maximum) and extreme hiking was ~10-15% more effective.

http://www.sailingworld.com/how-to/harder-hiking-better-results

Then where do you draw the line?

It's pretty easy to spot that this first example is undesirable:

But then this looks ok

(images from a blog post on the same topic: http://rrsstudy.blogspot.hk/2011/11/hiking-and-rule-492.html)

 

[couchsurfer]

.

. easy peasy....just outlaw chest and lifeline padding