Industry News

Hi
Some industry news.  Peter Volwater has left Fanatic and joined Starboard.  He has also left Avanti Sails to join Ka. Peter is a fantastic competitor and journeyman windsurfer and this makes it really bad for any brand he leaves.  It is equally good for any brand he joins so bad luck Avanti and Fanatic - good luck Ka and Starboard!  I look forward with interest to this year's PWA slalom racing.  Ka produces magical sails so this marriage could be really interesting.

With Peter's leaving, Fanatic's slalom stable starts to look a bit bare.  I note that Pierre Mortefon is still there and Matteo Iachino has joined but those are the only two stars.  I guess that Matteo has a history with Daniel Aeberli from Dan's F2 days so that move makes sense to me.

They recently ran the Lancelin Ocean Classic in Australia.  I'm sure that most of you know about this race but for those of you who do not - it is a 25 km ocean race from Ledge Point to Lancelin, Western Oz.  An awesome event which attracts some big names.  Look at the results in the table below.  When Bjorn comes fifth you know that heavy hitters were on the water.
         

What is also evident from the results is the capability of Starboard Isonics.  Positions one through six - all Isonics!  Anyone with any doubts about how good these boards are - look at this result board.


2014 Lancelin Ocean Classic Marathon Results:

1. Steve Allen (iSonic 117)
2. Isaac Devries (iSonic 130)
3. Peter Volwater (iSonic 107)
4. Jesper Orth (iSonic 117)
5. Björn Dunkerbeck (iSonic 130)
6. Daniel Engdahl (iSonic 117)
7. Luke Matthews
8. Leo Sharpe (iSonic 117)
9. Jonah Desforges (iSonic 107)
10. Ben Proffitt
11. Steven Stratfold
12. Chris Lockwood
13. Shane O'Neill (iSonic 117)
14. Matt Holder (iSonic 107)
15. Chris Adamson
16. Scott McKercher (Futura 111)
17. Ash Nicol (iSonic 101)
18. Ben Newson
19. Philip Köster (iSonic 110)
20. Adam Passmore

Locally we have the downwind dash coming up soon.  It is always interesting to look at the fins of the internationals in this race so I shall be at the start having a look.  I don't think that I will participate but we'll see on the day.

Speaking of Fanatic - Dan and Craig have been on the water developing the 2015 Falcons.  I think that they have finished with the 2015 Hawks and most of the Falcon sizes.  The size that Dan is struggling with is the Falcon 140litre.  He is battling to improve on the 2014 shape and watching Dan and Craig over the weekend, I can understand why.  This 2014 140l Falcon is fantastic. It jumps onto the plane instantly and just flies over the chop.  Astonishing for a board of this size and a real problem for the designer looking for improvements.  This all means two things: If you have a 2014 Falcon 140 you have something special.  If you buy a 2015 Falcon 140 it will be really special.  (I think that the new volume will be 135 or 136 litres.)

Andy has commented on my previous post regarding my "Hardcore GPS" quiver.  He quite rightly points out that for true GPS sailing you need a speed board.  I acknowledge this but my intention was to provide real world, open water options.  If you are a flat water speed sailor you will have the necessary specialist gear.

That is all for now
Talk to you soon