Hiking

So Grandad, can you explain something to me please.

Sure Emily ...

Well, I saw this picture of Anna Tunnicliffe sailing her Laser Radial on your blog. It looks like it might be a lot of fun.

It is and ...

Did you know that my height is at the 95th percentile for babies my age? So if I'm still at the 95th percentile when I'm twenty then according to this chart I'll be 5' 9". That's a good height for a Radial sailor, right?

Yes but Emily ...

But hiking like that looks like hard work. So I did some research and I saw that on the Rooster Sailing site, Steve Cockerill has a lot of advice about straight leg hiking.

I see ...

He says that research has shown that when the knee is fully straight the load placed on the patella is minimal. However if the knee is bent 30 degrees twice the body weight is exerted on the joint and at 60 degrees the load exceeds ten times the body weight.

That's quite ...

Steve says that if the leg is straight then there is no need to hold the toe up to grip the boat. In fact holding the foot up only makes the hamstrings work against the quadriceps, which are trying to keep the leg straight.

Yes and ...

I would imagine that you have to pretty fit to be able to hike like that. So I found a website that has some pictures of some things called hiking benches. If I had one I could practice. Maybe my Daddy could make me one.

I expect he could ...

Grandad you're not saying much. What are you thinking?

I'm thinking you should learn to swim before you learn to sail.

Good idea Grandad. Will you teach me?

Sure Emily. It will be a pleasure.