Some Equipment news and Commentary

Hi

We have been blessed with fantastic winds over the last few days.  Each day the wind picks up slowly allowing one to rig perfectly for the next hour or so, sail, rest, re-rig and go out again in stronger conditions.  With winds like this, clear, clean water and old friends to share the conditions with, how could we ever complain?

 

The racing guys were here and quite a few internationals showed up for a week of racing.   The first race started on Saturday but only got underway when the conditions were completely ballistic.  It was interesting to watch how they managed.  Vincent Langer from the Fanatic team ruled the day.  When every other sailor changed down from their 6.2m sails to 5.4m, Vincent just stayed with his 7.2m sail (Point -7, AC-ONE).  The man is a force of nature and even seasoned racers could not work out how he held that size in those conditions.

Craig and Danny from Fanatic also did really well.  Craig, Danny and Vincent were all riding 2017 Falcon proto-types.  Watch out for the final versions when they come out – they are going to be serious machines!

Here is another gripe about windsurfing equipment.  Charl, a local hot sailor (and Joos’s son in law), showed me three harness lines, all marked as 26inch.  These lines were from Gaastra, Pro Limit and Chinook.  Not one of them was the same length as any of the others and the length differences were substantial.  

This is totally unacceptable.  You put your money down for an expensive set of lines and get them onto the water to discover that they are too short.  Come on manufacturers – this is not rocket science.  All we expect from you is the ability to measure a piece of rope!

    

Speaking of Joos and Charl, they have been experimenting with a 6.0m Gator and a 6.0m NCX, on a small slalom board and a Tabou 3S,96. Surprisingly they both report that the Gator seems to suit the slalom board better and the NCX seems better on the 3S - totally counter intuitive. 

 I took the 3S/NCX combo for a spin and found it fantastic. The sail is fast and stable on the little 3S. I did not get the chance to try the Gator with the 3S so I cannot say whether I agree with the findings of Joos and Charl. If I get a chance on this combo, I will give feedback. 

 The new Gator is fantastic. Charl joined the racing with it – the only non race sail in the fleet - and scared quite a few hot racers on their race equipment. 5 Battens, no cams – wtf?!

Good winds