Hi
The first block of this year’s PWA slalom racing is over and
results have been interesting. I will
say something about the racing but first I want to mention an interesting
development within our sport.
Most board and sail
companies attract top sailors to their stables.
These athletes showcase the equipment in competition and also play an
important role in the development of high end products.
This approach has resulted in a steady
improvement in board/sail design and construction (to the benefit of everyone).
JP’s boards have improved significantly
due to the work of guys like Nicolas Prien and Seb Kornum. Watch them improve even more now that Antoine
has joined the team.
Recently a new phenomenon is taking hold. Single
athletes are breaking away to launch their own board brands. I wrote some time ago about Dany Bruch’s new
board brand (Diamond Boards – now re-named Bruch Boards).
In the race arena, we
have Arnon Dagan’s Future Fly boards and Finian Maynard’s FMX range. I wish both of these guys every success but I
am uncertain about whether their business model is going to succeed.
These endeavours are
one man affairs so budgets for team riders, travel, product development etc
will be really thin. You need to sell a
large number of boards to keep afloat and my concern is that it will prove difficult to attract buyers when established companies have such good products now.
Anyway here is some commentary on the two new brands:
Arnon’s slalom range is the Dark Horse and Finian’s is called
Invictus - the names reflect the personalities of the respective founders I
suppose.
Arnon – a bit playful, a bit disruptive, a bit subversive
Finian – No nonsense, totally mission-focussed
Arnon’s team
comprises Arnon and Taty Frans.
Finians
team is Finian and Maciek Rutkowski (four awesome sailors for sure).
Arnon’s shaper is Aurelio Verdi, Finian’s shaper is er
..Finian.
On seeing this, my thoughts
were that Arnon’s boards would probably be superior (I am a huge Aurelio Verdi
fan).
I awaited the first slalom event
with interest.
Anyway, here are the boards:
Arnon offers his boards with the option to include a Z fin
(the actual model and size used in the board’s development). Nice touch.
Finian’s boards have 2 footstrap plug rows and removable
cut-out blades. Nice!
Each brand professes to offer superior construction (compared
to established brands) and each claims faster bottom shapes. I have to say, both boards look sensational
but performance is what matters of course.
So-how have the boards been doing?
The first round of racing was in Marignane.
Arnon and Taty dropped out in their first
heats with Maciek going shortly after.
Who did we see in the winners final? -
Finian! His boards work!
The second event was windless but the third slalom event in
Ulsan had wind and produced the following placings:
1.
Mateo Iachino
2.
Jordy Vonk
3.
Tristan Algret
4.
Antoin Albeau
Arnon, Finian, Maciek and Taty were placed between 17th
and 29th.
The Defi Wind has been held and Arnon came 6th in
the first race and won the second race.
He was disqualified in the second race for not signing some piece of
paper but as far as you and I are concerned, he piloted his board to first
place in that race.
Defi is far closer
to the type of sailing that most of us do and a Dark Horse ran away from
everyone on that field.
What the above facts tell us is that the two new board lines
work. Depending on your style and
specific requirements you could get exactly what you are looking for from one
or other of the two lines.
My impression is that Finian’s boards will be
more race-focussed and Arnon’s, slightly easier to sail for the average
sailor. I think that his straps are slightly more inboard (?).
Would I buy one of them? Absolutely. I
would buy a Dark Horse 117 if pushed, but would ideally need to test it against
a few alternatives before signing actual money away.
I said that I was going to discuss the racing but I have
been waffling on a bit so I will end now.
I will talk racing and some product news in the next post.
Good winds
Phil
I was a kind of surprised by Antoine Albeau's transfer to JP, until I did some digging in regards to the Pryde Group (on a completely different matter - though windsurf related) to find out that RRD is owned by the Pryde Group, just as JP and NP is. So Albeau's transfer would appear to be 'in house' much like what I have been used to observing in the world of investment banking (my playground for the last 20 years), where you would have the CEO of one company within a large conglomerate being shifted over to another entity.
ReplyDeleteSo JP have a new quarter back as they say in American Football. What does this mean for RRD?
Speaking of another transfer, I wonder what prompted Frans signing on with Future Fly (as well as Point 7). My observations until now, is that he is a very likable character, just the sort one would need for product endorsement
Note: I'll admit that my purchase of a Phantom 295 about 2 years ago was motivated by a genuine need for a flexible low / mid wind platform and in part by a product video starring no other than Frans himself, blasting on the board and even landing a forward loop. Brand me as sweet 16 all you want, but pulling that one off on a 200 liter, 300 cm board is a feat that few can pull off).
I am wondering therefore, if Frans fell prey to Starboard and Gaastra's independent endeavour review of their roster - especially after he succumbed to major injury two years ago and subsequent drop in ranking the year after. My gutt tells me that this is also what motivated him to open shop in Bonaire alongside his brother.
As an extension of this could the end be nigh for another Starboard team rider who recently came down with major injury and so far has been seeing a rather modest season in the PWA?
On the matter of new brands/names popping up: I agree that their survival will hinge upon the viability of the business model which they have set out to construct and hope they succeed, for the more, the merrier. I came to this conclusion after recently testing the Severne Fox (Severne being a new comer still to board shaping). Verdict: Contrary to its power box set up (which may be seen to its detriment) this board is a genuine gem, extremely fast and much more stable than many performance free-ride boards I have ridden to date. In fact I think the Fox is superior to...say, the Futura, which in my humble opinion has become...too military grade...too isonic like to be classified (EVEN) as a performance free-ride board. The Futura just gives you too much drama for results that you could arguably attain on the Fox.
Good to read a new entry after such a long time. Hope there is more to come.
Kind regards, Mert
Hi Mert
DeleteThanks for sharing these thoughts and impressions. You taught me something about RRD. I had no idea that they are part of the Pryde Group.
Shows the importance of doing a bit of digging and looking behind the curtain.
I agree that many of the moves we see in the PWA are sponsor related. If you are not winning for a brand you are going to lose your sponsorship. When this happens you can make a new home for yourself (Arnon and Finian) or join one of these new homes as a team rider (Taty and Maciek)
Anyway, I wish all of these guys every success.
You are absolutely right about the Severne Fox - it is one of the best boards for speed/control/fun on the market right now.
My concern with the power box is not that it doesn't work but that the box excludes you from using your hot slalom fins on it. The board is definitely worthy of the very best slalom fins on the market.
I will try to do more posts on a regular basis over the coming weeks
All the best
Phil
Arnon's shaper for Future Fly Aurelio Verdi also has a new line of boards under his brand AV Boards. I highly recommend people check out what he is working on as well at www.avboards.com. I found some great info on his designs by watching Ben Proffitt's conversation with him at this year's Defi on windsurfing.tv. Thanks for all your hard work on the blog Phil! Really enjoy your updates and insights.
ReplyDelete-Aaron
Thanks for this Aaron
DeleteLike you, I keep and eye on Aurelio's pages. His business should be of interest to any windsurfer interested in high performance sailing.
He is one of the design stars in our sport and deserving of our dollars.
Good winds
Phil