PWA News

Hi

Here is some news from the PWA guys. It is what I have picked up to date and I'm sure there will be other moves in due course.  Some of these moves came as a complete surprise to me but I suppose long term brand loyalty is not really part of our sport. 

• Micah Buzianis has left Pryde to go to Maui Sails.
• Cyril Moussilmani has left North Sails to join the Severne team.  Cyril and Bjorn are going to be quite a force on the new Reflex3 sails.
• Antoine Albeau has left JP Boards to join Finian on RRD.  Just watch the master on these boards!
• Peter Volwater has left Maui Sails and Finian has moved from Pryde both to join the new Avanti brand which I will discuss briefly.

The new Avanti brand is quite an exciting development.  The designer is Dan Kaseler and looking at what they have come up with one gets the impression that they have gone out of their way to create the best race sail available today.  The whole thing is made from Technora.  Most of the battens are carbon tubes.  The downhaul pulley is a special new lightweight/low friction unit created specially for the job.  They have developed a mast range for the sails using a new technology for enhanced performance and reduced weight.  The list of innovations goes on and I urge you to visit the Avanti site and do some browsing.  Very impressive.  

One needs to see the thing performing however and it is going to be really interesting to watch how Peter and Finian do on the course.

I like the emphasis on lightness (7.7m sail weighs just over 5kg - unheard of for a full race sail) and on the use of high tech scrims and carbon tubes.  I have come under some fire from manufacturers in the past when I suggested these things (they claim to have tried them and found no benefit) so lets see how they stack up now someone else has done it.  I have always believed that you can engineer the amount of stretch you need with these scrims by orientating the weave in each part of the sail and I bet Dan has been working with this approach on his ocean yacht sails and has incorporated the principles into this new line.

One thing I would hope for is that the Avanti team has given the area of sail rotation to someone other than Dan.  He is dynamite at building fast sails but not so good at making sails which actually rotate.  I remember the first Naish Stealth wide sleeve sails which were fast but simply refused to rotate.  You had to kick, head butt and punch after each gybe to get the thing to pop.  NOT GOOD.  Hopefully someone else has handled the rotation aspect (please !!).

Talk to you soon.  We have quite a few of the PWA big guys here for the weekend and I'll give some feedback on their equipment and how they performed against each other and against the local hot racers in the next post.  Click on the picture below to enlarge it and you'll notice that Finian's toes are almost as long as his fingers (probably his secret to going as fast as he does!).            

Fanatic Falcon 113

Hi

I was given a ride on the new Fanatic Falcon 113 today.  I rigged my 7.8 Ram early, screwed a 43cm Select S10 under the board and went out.  The light wind performance is good given that the board feels really small for its size.  It carries the 7.8m sail with the greatest of ease and feels really balanced with this sail and fin combo.  The light wind test was quite harsh since there were no white caps to be seen but the board coped well and popped onto the plane as easily as my old 104 (no mean feat).

The wind picked up and suddenly the conditions went to steepish chop/overpowering wind speed.  Nice!

The board keeps its composure no matter how hard you hit areas of chop and if it flies off the fin it self corrects immediately.  This all gives a feeling of immense security and comfort.  You can concentrate on maximizing speed  without having to fight your equipment.  Directional stability is phenomenal and minute changes in direction are achieved almost by thought.  This allows you to pick the fast route through the peaks and troughs with no effort at all.  Fantastic!  Gybes are effortless whether in flat water or through chop as long as you enter with speed and commit fully.  Don't hold back - the board is in its element when pushed and will reward your courage with the nicest carving gybes ever.  I found that pressure on both front and back feet is perfectly balanced whether pinching upwind or screaming downwind.  There is nothing more annoying than getting your new slalom board onto the water and finding that your front foot keeps dropping out of the strap.  Not a problem with the Falcon.   

I came in for a breather and had some good luck.  Joos, who I mentioned in a previous post has found his new light wind board.  He picked up a 2011 Tabou Manta 110l team edition for a good price and offered me a ride for a comparison with the Falcon.  My lucky day!  The Manta had a Vector Canefire 40cm under it so a nice comparison for the Select S10.  The Tabou feels really small once under way just like the Falcon and handles chop at speed like a freeride board.  It also carries the 7.8m sail beautifully.  It feels a lot looser than the Falcon and I was not able to make the minute directional changes afforded by the Falcon but this probably boils down to a different style and getting used to the board.  You may prefer this type of ride over the Falcon or vice versa.  I could live very happily with either of these two awesome machines.  Nice job Fanatic and nice job Tabou.

Riding these two boards brought home to me just how good the modern slalom board has become.  The performance of these two boards is almost unbelievable when I compare them to my old Falcon 104.  We need to give the PWA tour its due because the continuous quest for victory drives slalom board design higher and higher to the benefit of every performance orientated sailor.

Cheers

   

Light Windsurfing Equipment

Hi

I wanted to do a piece about the importance of weight as a factor in the performance of windsurfing equipment.   I have a fetish for light equipment so I know that I place way too much emphasis on lightness but weight really is important when optimising one’s enjoyment of the sport. 

Karel, a visiting sailor from up north tried to get his 2010 9.3m Vapor going the other day with poor results and asked me to have a go on it.  The sail is heavy but once powered up is really fast.  What made it almost impossible to manage through transitions was the fact that it was rigged on the heaviest boom I have ever seen.  This is a full carbon boom but is really heavy and the weight is badly distributed.  The back of the boom comprises a heavy nylon back end which develops huge momentum when you swing it around through the gybe and this seems to pull you off balance -   weird and extremely unpleasant.  Every boom should be designed to be as light as possible at the back to enhance the swing action.

Here are some weight guidelines which you could use as a yardstick:

Your 7.5m (ish) sail should not weigh more than 5kg

A board of 100l to 105l should not weigh much more than 6kg

An SDM 460 mast should not weigh much more than 1.6kg

An RDM 430 mast should not weigh much more than 1.6kg and an RDM 460 mast should be around 1.8kg. 

A boom of around 150 to 200 cm should not weigh much more than 2kg.  No boom should weigh more than 3kg.

Light booms on the market right now include those from Fiberspar, Chinook, Streamlined (Angulo) and the lightest – Powerex.  Unfortunately Powerex make only two sizes of boom but if they were available here I would not be buying anything else in the sizes offered.  Their 150 to 200 cm boom weighs 1.9kg – awesome!

If you have never considered weight as a factor in sailing I urge you to try the lightest stuff you can get your hands on for a test and feel the difference for yourself.  I bet you become a lightness convert.  As consumers I believe we should be pushing manufacturers to lighten their products.

Good winds     

   

Some Medium-to-Light Wind Board Options

Hi
Joos, our local doctor and avid windsurfer approached me for some options for medium to light wind sailing.  His current board for these conditions is a 115l Manta which he sails with a 7.8 Reflex 2. His problem is that the board (74cm wide) is uncomfortable over the chop.  What should be comfortable cruising turns out to be uncomfortable thrashing over bumpy water.

I use my old Falcon 104 in these conditions and have no problem with the chop as long as the speed is manageable.  The challenge then, is to find a modern equivalent for this old war horse - something which planes easily, accelerates effortlessly and which eats through the chop.  Ideally the board should not be wider than 70cm for those of us who weigh between 75 and 85kg.

Here is a workable short list:

Tabou Manta       110l/69  cm
Tabou Manta       113/71  cm
Fanatic Falcon     113/69  cm
Starboard Isonic  107/68.5cm
JP Slalom V111   118/68  cm
RRD X-Fire         114/70  cm

Each of these boards carries big sails easily, is light and is designed to handle choppy water.  Remember that the top racers use these boards in much stronger winds than we could manage so they are all designed to remain controllable over rough water.  With a Select S10 43cm fin, a good race (or camless) 7.5m ish sail you have a light wind combination which is going to kick ass in comfort.  

I have not seen one yet but I have a good feeling about the new Tabou Manta 71/113.  Their 110l board is an awesome performer but in my opinion not quite as easy to get planing as the others on the list.  I'm sure they have introduced this new model to give that early pop.

If my sail on the new Falcon 99l was anything to go by, the 113l model will be fantastic.

The JP has a nice amount of volume for the width.  I'm not sure what this extra volume does but I'm sure they have found an advantage (possibly to keep going through the gybes in light wind where static flotation becomes a factor ??)

The RRD is something I would really like to try.  Their new tail is reported to improve early planing AND enhance control.  Nice if true.

Before I sign off there is something else you can do to enhance comfort over chop and that is to learn to handle it.  You need to ensure that you are hanging off the boom and not standing with your weight full on the board.  Newton's laws are always with us!  Your legs need to actively bend and straighten as you traverse the bumps.  If you ride into chop passively with stiff straight legs you will get thrown about and you will lose control.

Talk to you soon

 

New Equipment

Hi

I have been injured and so have been watching the windsurfing action from the beach for the last few weeks.  Not good.  Alberto Menegatti joined some of the racing guys the other day on the long runs we do when the south-westerly blows (we sail all the way out to the submarine bouy (4kms there and back) and this allows the fast guys to open the gap with the others.  Very interesting.  The new Gaastra Vapors really perform and we are seeing more and more of them on the water.  Alberto certainly had his fully lit.  These sails must be some of the coolest things on the water right now.

The new Gaastra Savages have also arrived and Anthony and Karel, (a visiting sailor from up north) were smoking on them a few days ago.  They had the 6.6m Savages on Manta 110l boards.  Very, very fast and very impressive.

Anyway I got back on the water yesterday and was offered a ride on the new Falcon 99l by Johnny, a local who  does some testing for Fanatic.  He had a Deboichet SL4 34cm under it and I clipped my 6.6m Ka Koncept on top.  The 99l is one impressive machine.  It has a freeride type of comfort and eats through the chop but just keeps accelerating with no apparent upper limit.   You decide when you want to slow down.  Gybes are easy provided you enter at speed but this board is only about speed so leisurely sailors need not apply.  Despite this massive performance potential the board is really easy to sail.  The straps are easy to get into and out of and the low deck seems to steady everything over the bumps.  The deck profile gives good support and confidence when standing on the leeward rail in the gybe.  Some slalom boards give you the feeling that your foot could slip if you place it too close to the leeward edge but not this one.  All of these things give the impression that massive attention has been given to every aspect of the design.  Well done guys.  A classy piece of equipment.

I must give a mention to the Deboichet SL4 as well.  Under the 99l Falcon the fin is rock solid, fast and so good over the chop.  If you are in the market for a 62cm wide slalom board, you should have the Falcon on your short list and consider an SL4 if one is available.  A really good combination.

Speaking of fins, I noticed Craig from Fanatic using Sonntag fins.  I have been watching Sonntag for some time and based on the comments on the Internet and performance stats on the speed sites they have to be one of the best slalom fins available right now.  If you live in a country with a strong currency, have deepish pockets and are looking for a special fin you may want to give the new Ifju Reaction some consideration.  Peter Ifju is one of the great innovators in windsurfing and combines an awesome understanding of the physics involved with true passion for the sport.  Only good can come from this and his new fins are sure to be pure class. 

The wind looks set to blow again today so we are going to have to punish our bodies yet again.  Once more to the beach...

Talk to you soon                         

7.8m Slalom Sailing

Hi all
On Sunday we had great winds here and the water was reasonably flat.  I sailed my 7.8m Ram the whole afternoon but guys were on sails right down to 4.7m.  This session worked me hard and reminded me of a problem faced by many who buy and use pure slalom sails.  These high tech sails are the fastest things on the water for getting through a slalom race.  If you want to win at the highest levels you have to use them.  They are however, highly technical and are quite difficult to sail for most windsurfers.  You need the skill and strength to keep the board on the water at the high speeds the sails are designed for.  If you are not able to do this then a camless design is going to be so much better for you.  

The 7.5m to 7.8m slalom sail is a particularly problematic size for many windsurfers who perceive it as a light wind sail.  The problem is that this size is not a light wind sail at all and it only comes into its own when fully powered up.  Only when you are fully maxed out do all the engineering aspects of the sail come into play and enable you to access the performance the sail was designed for.  So often I see guys wobbling about in light winds on their 7.8m slalom sails getting worked over by the weight, the cams which do not always rotate and the sleeve which fills with 100l of water when they fall in and have to water start.  I rode Andre's 7.8m Reflex2 the other day in overpowered conditions and there too realized what a great design this sail is when fully lit. This high energy sailing really works you however and the pure fun factor is not really there.  Also, when the wind drops, all the weight and technology seem to punish you and sadly many windsurfers never get out of the punishment zone with these machines.  The message then is, if you can handle the power and want the ultimate then by all means buy a good slalom 7.8m sail, haul it down and sail it in strong winds.  If you are like most of us, buy a good camless design (NCX 7.5 or Savage 7.8) and go faster and easier than you would be able to manage on the slalom equivalent.  I'm firmly in the camless camp now and will not be replacing my Ram with another cammed sail.

On Sunday I noticed Andy smoking all comers on his 110l Manta with a 2 year old Vandal camless sail (6.5m).  The design of this sail is one which has always appealed to me.  It is simple (no cutouts, no big batten above the boom etc) and is light, easy to rig and easy to sail.  It is also blisteringly fast on a fast board with a proper fin.  An ideal setup for most of us who want to go fast and have fun.

Talk to you soon                      

Some Addenda to Previous Posts

Hi All
Anthony has suggested that I mention the make and model of formula board which Gareth and I used in the JP Super Light/Formula comparison mentioned in the post below.  I had planned to do this but at the time of writing could not remember the board's name so I omitted it.  Anyway Gareth's formula board is a Bic Techno Formula 170l.  His fin is a Select unit originally 70cm but cut down in length very slightly.  This is therefor not a first tier formula racer but is a solid all round performer and a worthy control against which to assess any board designed for light wind sailing.

Andy has responded to my comments about the 3S LTD.  He points out that he did not win any of the races.  My point is that he gave a good account of himself against some of the fastest guys on the water on a board that is designed for fun, comfort and versatility.  Unbelievable.  I am waiting to see how he performs when he has tuned the thing for speed!  He also mentions that he didn't plane out of every gybe.  Just getting round in those conditions requires something special and to plane out of some of them at speed is an achievement.  Once again major respect to Tabou for this awesome product.
Cheers