average joe windsurf blog

Windski versus Kitewing !

2012-03-03T01:53:00.025-05:00

Guy Trudeau is well known in Montreal for his free-style and his life dedication to windsurfing. He has designed a decent windskate for land windsurfing and also a windski for the winter. He runs a website called windskate.ca.

Clique to Enlarge

Ironically there also seems to be a more commercial site called windskate.com.
Which came first ? The chicken or the egg ?? { the rooster }

In any case, the reason for this post is, recently Guy posted regarding an outing with himself on his infamous windskate and a friend with a kitewing on a snowboard. This was on Guy's blog linked from his website. It is in French and can be found here: Windski versus kitewing!

Because I have always been intrigued by both the windski and the kitewing, I found the article very interesting. I hope Guy does not mind that I translate it here - and i do give him FULL credit :-)

------------------- Here it is in Hinglish :-) ------------------------------

Recently, I went out on my windski with Greg on his kitewing! I had already tried the kitewing with a skateboard but I had not seen what the kitewing looked like out on the snow!

On the last Sunday of February, we had excellent conditions for sailing on snow-ice. There was ice and hard snow. In some places, there was a base of packed snow + or - 10 cm. They were the perfect conditions to test and compare my windski design with the kitewing!

On the one hand, I had my windski with all the experience I have riding this thing and the other side, there was Greg with all the experience he may have with a few hours of snowboarding and practice with the kitewing.

Although the two concepts perform differently in different conditions, the conditions were such that it worked very well for Greg and I. The La Prairie Basin was ice further out to sea and snowiest near the highway. I rode closer to the water further out and Greg stayed closer to the highway, but we randomly crossed the center of the basin, often at full speed! Anyhow - we had lots of fun!

It would have been very pleasant to film everything to give a good idea of what we could do with 15-20 knots. I had a camera with me but the battery charge dropped, probably due to the cold! By heating the batteries, we were able to take some pictures but only poorly on this beautiful day!

Basically, here are the differences noticed:

Rigging: the windski is simpler and faster to rig than the kitewing
Planing: windski is the faster takeoff /décolage than the kitewing (at least on the surface we had)
Making by: essentially the same for the two concepts {not sure what was meant by this - translated from faire du près - which would be more like sailing close to the wind or UPWIND capabilities}
Pure Speed both machines could achieve about the same speed.
Jump: kitewing can do jumps (up to 5 'and on that day a distance of up to 20'-25' long), the windski very little!
Flexibility: although the kitewing can jump, you can do more things with windski.
Harness: The kitewing is more appropriate for the harness. It is not impossible to navigate with a harness windski but this was more reckless.
BodyStress/WorkOut: the windski seems more difficult for the arms and kitewing harder on the thighs.

In conclusion, we can say that these are two different concepts with which one can have great fun under such ideal conditions!

Unless it is impossible, go play outside in the winter as so often stated by the government of the 80s!

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Hope you enjoyed Guy's article as much as I did !!!
What surprised me was the idea that the kitewing with snowboard was about the same speed as the windski. I am curious if the kitewing with skis is faster ? On ice with skates I am sure it is almost unbeatable and should be able to attain speeds like the quicker ice sailboard models !!!!

2012-02-13T18:59:00.001-05:00

INDEX

Journal Entries: were below this index - now indexed - posts are below

BIC Fufour Wing & Starting Windsurfing: my-bic-dufour-wing-and-how-i-started.html
History of Windsurfing: history-of-windsurfing.html
Tabou Rocket 125: tabou-rocket.html

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the above POSTS are the TOP THREE(3) in order of HITS - 03MAR2012
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Heavyweights: heavyweights-and-windsurfing.html
Physics of Windsurfing: jim-drakes-windsurf-physics.html

How I started Winter Sailboarding: how-i-started-winter-windsurfing.html
How I Started Shortboarding: how-i-started-shortboarding.html
How YOU can start windsurfing: how-you-can-start-windsurfing.html

Sailboards : sailboards.htm
Fins: fins.html

Sails: sails.html Sail Materials: sail-materials.html
Masts: masts.html

BOOM: boom.html
Accessories: accessories.html

Windsurfing in Montreal: windsurfing-in-montreal.html

Original Journal Entries: original-journal-entries.html
New journal entries: new-journal-entries.html
Fanatic Ultra CAT: fanatic-ultra-cat.html

Blogging: blogging.html

Back on Ice n Snow 2012 :-)

2012-02-05T20:17:00.045-05:00

Have to bring this post back to the fore-front. This is where my head, body and spirit are right now :-) Latest entry is 12FEB12 at the bottom of this post.
----------------------
In December I brought the mast bases up to the "country", which is the term we use for the chalet up north. Obviously also brought the masts, boom and sails. Typically use 6-oh and 8-oh and bring the 7-oh just in case. The boards are there from the last winter windsurf season.

Temps were a bit high (just below freezing) and there was about 2 to 3 inches of snow on the frozen lake. We were worried that there would be NO snow for Xmas and no ice on the lake. We lucked out on both counts. Because there was snow and it was sticky due to the temperature, neither board seemed to do well. And on top of it all, there seemed to be NO wind :-(

After I finished putting the mastbases on the two(2) winter windsurf "sleds", I went and checked out the wind again. It was supposed to be 15 kph and reach 25 later. Well, it felt like it was closer to 10 kph from the west. Oh well, let's rig the MS-2 8-oh which is a powerful sail and has 2 cams to hold shape. Tried the snow sled on the snow and went no-where - due to sticky snow and lack of wind. Tried it on the track of ice someone cleared and it went. Not too fast, but much better than the snow...

Okay then , let's try the ice sled - what, with an 8-oh cambered sail ??
If the ice was colder, less snow on the lake and the wind stronger, there is NO way I would put the 8-oh on the ice sled. In this case it went and was speedy a couple of times.

The whole affair was just enough to tease me - and perhaps make me the laughing stock of the lake. Oh yeah, i already am that - so, who cares? :-)

In other words good start to the season !!!
Now, let's hope for some better winds and cooler temperatures...
In the forecast -- winds are up when temps are still close to freezing and colder when there are no winds ...

Here are some pics from earlier posts - forgot to take pics on this first outing ...

Tried again on Wednesday the 28th on the lake - cooler temps, a bit more wind - not steady , butt lots more snow $%^&*( Excellent work-out, but not too much success. Does NOT mean it is time to give up - just wait for better conditions OR make my own track on the lake :-)

Again on Monday 2nd of January. Put the Gaastra 7-oh. Winds were a little better, but not steady enough. Once again temps were too close to freezing. Was absolutely sweating. In deep snow at these temperatures, snow gathers at the front of the snow sled. Perhaps that is why Louis Caron's sled is made of slats !! In other words the ice sled did not work on the ice and the snow sled went, butt not good enough on either $%^&*() Let's hope temps are better back home and ice forms on the rivers.

In the comments "Peconic Puffin" suggests some action photos and/or videos of the ice sled. Will see what i can do :-)

People take ice windsurfing really seriously - especially in Europe - check these kits in the making !!

I will write more on the subject when I have a few good runs under my belt from the 2012 season ...

Early January brought my "stuff" down from the chalets. As usual forgot something - my boom was under the bed - am not about to use my carbon boom on the ice %^&*( Since people are on the ice and kiting near West Island, i went and got the boom and some other stuff on the 24th - yesterday. Tonight I went to the local river to see what all that rain and freezing had done. There was water around the bridge, butt the sides were solid. Took the ice sled and used it like a skateboard :-) Near the middle of the river, my boots went through the snow into about 3 inches of water. There are usually layers of ice and water on rivers and lakes - so, no worries !!! There was still a smile on my face and it would have been bright enough for a good sail !!!

FINALLY - today on the 29th of January I took a run on the local river. Tested the ice in the morning and it was "acceptable" - did not go in the water nor break top ice. Winds were around 20 to 40 kph from the SW. I had difficulty setting up the Simmer 3 camber 6-oh sail since it has been so long since i have. The helmet and goggles are a blessing. Should have brought the harness. It has been too long and as such my forearms got tired. Went for about an hour and ran into a watery section. Okay, enough for one day then ... All in all it was a very good session - even if short - gave it an 8 out of 10. Need someone to take pics now. Would also love to do this WITH the kiters at AAO / Vaudreuils/ Hudson on Lac de deux Montagnes ...

05FEB2012 - Originally planned to go on Saturday. Ironically ALL the family plans from Saturday went to Sunday. Winds were to be 40 - 60 kph from WSW late in the afternoon !! Brought the 6-oh, 7-oh AND the 8-oh just in case ... Test on the river in the morning showed there was snow with a crust of ice and the snow sled would be the best option. Winds were light when I arrived and actually stayed light and i was glad i brought and rigged the 8-oh free-race MS-2 sail. There was a winter carnival at Ste-Rose on the other side of the river and bridge . so, there were plenty of observers :-) Since winds stayed light and was on the snow, i decided to try the harness .. I had to leave the coat open - need a waist harness that fits over the coat ! I fell once while hooked in - that would NOT be pleasant on ice ... It felt MUCH better when hooked in , butt had to move the lines back more than 10 cm. Managed to do a straight down-winder by accident, so, maybe jibing is not such an impossibility after all. Gave the session a resounding 9 out of 10 - lost points cuz winds got lighter and dropped - rest was the best ... {Still trying to get someone to come and take action shots and/or video ^&*(). Can't get my movie maker son to do it.. Teenage boys are sooo lazy :-) }

The next day I looked at purchasing a used $50 large/L Dakine waist harness, butt it did NOT fit. Managed to make the seat harness fit over the thin coat after some wrangling :-) Will try this next time !!

11FEB2012 - another 9 outta 10 session on the local river ! Winds were light - around 10 knots from the NE {checked the weather maps - was actually more like 8 knots !!}. It was difficult to find a place. The Rosemere side had wind blocked by the island and bridge, the Ste-Rose site had all kinds of stuff about due to the winter carnival AND there seemed to be wind blockage as well... Was about to give up when I remembered Parc Charbaneau. NOT a good place for summer windsurfing due to the yucky waters, butt in winter I should be able to rig right beside the water. Was about to go when a fellow came and asked about the sled - home made patent ? :-) Discovered that areas with altering materials and really big ice bumps were not so easy and did fall once when going from an icy section to a snowy section. Went for about an hour and was off the ice before 9h00. Was cold today and winds were already dropping. Forgot to put two(2) pairs of socks and my right hand was a little cold as well. Did not use the harness since i was not planning to go for long AND not sure of the surface. Still managed a 9 outta 10 !!
Oh yeah - was obviously on the snow sled with my freerace sail, the MS-2 8-oh ..
After some deliberation, I decided to move the harness lines back to 65 cm for the 8-oh and i moved the mast base up about 5 cm , which ironically seems to coincide with the ice board mast base positioning...

12FEB2012 - tried to go out SUN afternoon, butt was not nearly as good a session $%^&* Went to the river on the Rosemere side and rigged the 8-oh since winds were up n down. The sail was the right choice, butt the adjustment of the mast foot was NOT a good one AND the seat harness would not go over my coat $%^&* With the mast foot where it was, I had to use sail steering in order for the tail not to swing around. Will definitely move the mast foot back up - perhaps i should keep the wrench in the tool bag ?? Have some pliers for emergencies, but no wrenches. Gave this session a mere 6 outta 10 %T^U*IOP In desperation I tried the ice sled on the crusty snow, but it just does not go - and for the record, I had moved the foot UP and now I moved it BACK... Am now actually considering adding fins to the skis on my snow version. Perhaps I will be able to remove the centre ski and save some weight...

Found a really interesting business article on "The Case of Winter Windsurfing"
http://pure.au.dk/portal-asb-student/files/39891933/master_thesis_Elina_Cate.pdf
There is mention of Freeskates, Hiberna boards, Velliluge and Snowfers. Some obvious names are Jeff Brown of the USofA (maine or Vermont I believe) , Marcel Bradette of Quebec City, Quebec, Canada and Charles Chepregi of Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

"Experts say that winter windsurfers innovate mainly to fulfill their own and their
fellow sportsmen needs. Most of them are enthusiasts of the sport and as there is not
much of commercial product manufactured currently and also in the past, they take on
the innovation process and try to solve problems associated with the equipment and
make improvements themselves. The needs mainly concern reaching higher speeds and
the control and manoeuvring of the board. They also do it for fun cause they enjoy the
process. Also gaining reputation is important for those that take part in competitions and
try to reach new speed records. "

These are the fins I made with what was laying about - if the next snow session doesn't work, the board is going flat with these babies at the back :-)

This is a video of a sled with skis, but with a "cooler" platform. Same principles...

This one just sold on e-bay for about $230 - "old" Freeskate. I have only used the ice version of my two(2) boards once or twice. Thus this board would need to be a little LE$$ money. However, if there is a market for this, perhaps i should start converting skateboards and selling them on e-bay ?? Obviously I am NOT as equipped as the fellow from the Netherlands in the video further up in this post !!!

SAT 18FEB2012 - It has been fairly warm lately - like as high as 5 degrees Celsius !! When I went to load the van, I found the plastic cap that goes into the top of the ferrule in the snow behind the van - what luck . I've been wanting to get a waist harness and auventfou had an epic XL used for $25. Went to see it, butt there was NO way it was going to fit. Tried a newer one, butt it was almost $200 !!! Was about to forget about it, but mentioned the Dakine seat that is almost a waist harness - the XT. Yes, René had one used in the back - tried it and bought it for $40 WITH the bar !!! New ones are about $140 with the bar !!! (Saw the horrible remains of a car accident that me realize how important it is to appreciate, life, wife, family, health et al.) When I got to the local river, there was some water on the ice at the side, butt in general pretty icy with some rough snow patches and lite winds about 10 mph out of the WSW. This meant time for the ice board and no more than the 7-oh. Gave the session a 9.5 outta 10 !! What was missing in order for it have been perfect ? There was some rough crisp patches from snow mobiles and i kept going all the way into the wind shadows. With this harness, it is also time to shorten the lines. Believe this is the harness that Helmut purchased last summer !!! The wife says this board needs to be patented. Domenic always says the same thing !! The ice version could sell in parts of the States and the snow version further north. There still needs to be a version that works in deep snow. Was supposed to call my son to come n take pics, butt he went to bed so late :-( that i decided to forget about it for this time - would LOVE to get someone with a digital movie camera and youtube it. Also, still cannot wait to go to the kiting area :-) During this session I discovered why Marcel has a metal grill near the back of the board. The anti-skid tape is fine to start. When there is water or warmth, ice begins to build up and eventually it is just a sheet of ice near the back of the board - this needs to be re-enforced with steel grill or ???

SUN 19FEB2012 - lighter winds today and sunny. Do I dare ? YES, i did - ran the ice board with the free-race MS-2 8-oh sail in 8 to 10 mph winds !! Again a 9.5 outta 10 - again due to rough ice in the centre and this time fore-arm fatigue. I need to start doing weight exercises on the forearms. It was funtastic - once again Jerry the teenager is too tired !!! Will hafta find someone else to take the photos. Mr. Ed from work did not take the bait when i asked him :-(

People have considered me crazy for some of the things I do and the risks I take. I have met "YVENTE" and he is insane. He informed me that he sails Lake Champlain all year round. Here is an example of his "insanity".
Does his board say GOYA or 666 :-)

Here is another one where Yvan takes a break on a floating block of ice !!

He also does windski on a sled similiar to mine, but as a MUCH better windsurfer, he is able to tack and jibe on ice !!!

SUN 26FEB2012 - weather was warm all week , water spots in the river and wife's birthday. Check ice in the morning and okay with about 4 inches snow on crust. GOOD to GO with the snow version. Man was I bummed in the first 10 minutes. Kept going upwind. OK, time to play. Was able to get the MS-2 8-oh and snow virgin going with either leaning the sail forward {like turning} OR putting back foot on the mast foot and front foot out front. Both were kinda uncomfortable, butt both pointed out that the mast foot needed to be moved forward. Gave it a 7 outta 10 - only cuz i still managed to have fun. Good thing Dom could not come to film or take pictures. Ironically I had been measuring the windsurf boards and discovered the balance point was back of the mast track by about 6 inches. Well, the mast foot on the snow virgin is about 6 inches up from the balance point. Thus moved the mast foot up about 12 cm before I start trying to put fins on. The board needs to feel balanced first. The current placement is close to where the mast foot originally was !!!
Actually just double checked - the original placement was 10 cm back from where i just moved it from. Therefore, if this does not work, next one is 22 cm back !!!

THURS 01MAR0212 - snow storm and about 5 to 10 cm fresh powder. Left work early to miss some traffic. Winds were more than usual and brought the 7-oh and 8-oh, butt ended up rigging the 7-oh. Started out great and went back to get the harness I forgot. Fell when i hit a snow bank and wind was cut once in a while. Still an 8 outta 10. Steering was a little better, but makes me wonder why i changed the original design - will need to go over my notes. In any case, I am ready to try it on bigger "waters" now ie bare it to the public. It will only get better now :-) May remove the centre ski to make it lighter and quicker - as i said, it is going to approach the original design !!!
I also see why Marcel of Quebec split his board up -- had some snow pile up on the board today...

SUN 04MAR2012 - is the season drawing to an end ?? The road signs warn the trucks that the defrost season starts tomorrow on the 5th of March !! Yesterday was crazy weather with winds hitting over 80 kph gusts. It was warm, melting and later snow squalls. Today it was cooler -5 Celsius and less wind {under 20 kph from WNW } Went to Vaudreuils because I wanted to see what it was all about. There were two(2) kite schools and I was lucky to get a parking spot. Chatted with a fellow who was a windsurfer and he informed me winds were better further out. Rigged the MS-2 8-oh and tried the snow sled. I am NOT used to going for such long runs. Did a sudden spinout and fell banging my head - good thing for the helmet. The snow sled is okay, butt not perfect yet... Since it was crusty, tried the ice sled, This was MUCH better. Gave the session a resounding 9 outta 10 just cuz the weather was so great and it was fun chatting !! When I got back, i checked the mast base on the snow version and it was loose. Removed the ski and fixed the mast base to the board. Good thing I had to do that cuz the mast base itself needed tightening. OK, all set for next session ?? Non, i am going to put the fins in the back to stop the spin outs ... Took some pictures of the scene and did not realize until afterwards that the camera was set to B&W/black n white :-) kinda looks spaceage - on the moon. the 2nd one was aito-adjusted using photoshop - something i rarely do !!

BIG names in the windsurf world

2012-01-19T18:45:00.015-05:00

It would be silly to have such a discussion on windsurfing without putting a post about some of the BIG names in the sport. The thing to remember is there are many types of windsurfing and many facets as well. For example: there are innovators in board design, sail making, fins, booms, you name it.

My discussion here is going to start with the BIG names in the sport itself. This will be the first post on the subject and i will continue this idea of thinking with future posts - since i find it interesting...

Today i wish to start with the icon Robbie Naish. This name is known throughout the windsurf world and there are now Naish boards and sails. This fellow is such an athlete, that when you see him kiting ,SUPing or even snowboarding, he just blows you away. The Auzie forum posted this clip that says a lot about this smiley ripper from Hawaii. Some more history and discussion after...

Based on the information in the "History of Windsurfing" on this blog, in 1976 this fellow became the World Champion at the young age of 13 on an Original Windsurfer. When you think about this, it is QUITE a feat !! Apparently the windsurfers , who were also surfers, of the day, took Robbie under their wing and uphauled the sail when he could not... He wore harnesses so high that they looked like chest hooks and not around the waist. This requires patience, determination and natural skills and ability. By 1979, Robbie Naish had been World Champion four(4) times in a row running !!!

In the 80's Robbie wins the PWA titles over and over - like five(5) times in a row... It was NOT until 1988 when Bjorn Dunkerbeck dethrones Robbie. (Will cover Dunkie more in a later post :-) No matter, Robbie apparently won kite slalom world title in 1998. So, this dude can rock !!

Even his father, Rick Naish, is known as a board shaper and surfer. Must be in the genes :-) They moved to Hawaii from California when Robbie was quite young .... Both seemed to be working for Mistral at the same time. It seems Robbie stayed with Mistral and Gaastra for quite some time. He started with his own sail company and eventually moved on to boards as well - Naish now sell kites, SUPs, etc ...

Okay besides being a world competitor with something like 24 titles, what else is he known for? He is known for his pink sail with the US1111. He is known for riding giant boards in crazy waves, jumping them AND doing loops!!! Some of that is in the above video... Also believe he was one of the first crazies to attack JAWS - the giant waves !!!! Some say he was known for innovations in footstraps, window in the sail, harness, etc ... also "table top push loop"

He is often called a "living legend". Does all this get to his head, apparently NOT. He is described as a quiet small man, who is very modest and down-to-earth. Always a ready smile and glint in the eye = ALOHA.

Besides Hawaii , it seems Sylt became a favourite and he visited so often that he became fluent in German. Is that how he got hooked up with Porsche ?? :-)

Here is a "newer" video:

Episode Eighteen : Meet The Boss from naishkiteboarding on Vimeo.

Windsurfing on Land ??

2011-12-18T16:09:00.018-05:00

It seems water windsurfing hit mainstream in California and then in the seventies it boomed in Germany. Not really sure where it is MOST popular now, although I have seen some clips with lots of activity in Japan. Also just read that windsurfing is still more popular in France and Germany than in the U.S. of A. In case you have NOT heard - Windsurfing Magazine is NOT publishing in 2012 !!!!

Ice windsurfing has some popularity in NE United States, but seems to be even bigger in the Scandinavian countries. There also does seem to be some snow windsurf activity, but not too much. Snow seems to be more kite and ski oriented - here in Montreal in any case...

What about windsurfing on land ?? Since the season between water and winter windsurfing seems longer than usual this year, I thought I would investigate ... In Holland and the UK the "whike" seems to have caught on {i am NOT sure how they pronounce it !!} The whike is like a specialized tricycle with a specialized sail {not a windsurf sail}. In the UK they seem to be allowed on bike paths AND roads !! Think they cost something like 3500 Euros in Holland $%^&*()

Also from the UK comes the turfdog, which simply looks like an altered "mountain skateboard". I tried to order one on-line just to check the price and it was around $700 !!

Locally Guy Trudeau Jr. shows you how to make a windskate using a skateboard. He uses one to practice his freestyling {not that this fellow needs any practice !!}.

You can check Guy out at www.windskate.ca and here is a clip of his tricks on land:

Since I am NOT a free-styler, I am guessing I would be better off with a "mountain skateboard" like a "turfdog". As I am always on a budget, it will be something I make from leftovers :-)

As long as I do NOT look like these clowns :-)

Unca Freddy just informed me that the lake is frozen up north with a fine crust of snow on top and snowmobiles have passed by...

Forget the land thing - i'm goin' up north and ice windsurfing !!!

Update - was at 30noeuds today and they sell "land surfers" between $283 and $600 where the deluxe model actually has a brake. Employee/owner told me he has been selling many to dog owners !! They use them to "train" the dogs ie the dog pulls them !!

Why not go all out like this ??

and then there are always more - these are from the Auzzie w/s forum

The Longboard Revival

2011-12-14T21:06:00.032-05:00

I have written about my "new" 1990 Fanatic Ultra CAT longboard in another post. I have always been a longboarder and only recently a shortboarder - last four(4) years.

In case you have not noticed SUPs are gaining popularity. Some of them accommodate windsurf sails.

The KONAs are gaining popularity too and seem to be going towards a one-board race class/division.

However, longboards are also coming back in the limelight. Even if it is getting difficult to purchase a brand new one. For me it was not just an availability issue, but also a cash issue. The CAT is a classique and i love it already.

No discussion on this subject would be complete without a mention of the infamous LBWS site and forum. They seemed to be out of commission for a bit , butt are now back in full force !! Check them out at : http://www.lbwindsurfing.com

The LBWS site discusses some of the latest boards which donut even seem to be available yet:

Exocet RS D2 - where D2 seems to mean the DIV II nose
Starboard Phantom 377 with batwings
AHD Tactik supposed to be "good in 0 to 15 knots" and supposed to plane in 10 knots

An interesting thing about the Exocet is that Richard Reatti aka "yagon" of LBWS had sent plans to Exocet that never materialized and yet the RS D2 looks JUST like the plans !!! You can read all about this on the LBWS website.

Interesting board just the same !!

EXOCET RS D2 2012 from eric bellande on Vimeo.

Fanatic was supposed to come out with a newer version of the CAT in 2006, butt that never happened. On the Fanatic forum and the LBWS forum members are screaming for this board !!! Here's an article about the board that never was : http://www.boardseekermag.com/equipment_reviews/equipment/fanatic_megacat_2006.htm

So, why the renewed interest in the more traditional longboards ? A longer board glides better. Most of the new modern boards do NOT schlog well. In light winds a racboard can plane up early and can be used in winds up to about 25 knots. Talk about your one board solution !! {I still have three boards just the same :-) }

People are saying these boards are more difficult to learn on. I still use an 80's BIC Dufour Wing to teach people who have never been on a board. First they play on a Mistral Windglider to get a feel for the wind and sail and then i pop the same sail on the BIC. AND OFF THEY GO !!!

One thing I always loved about the longboards was the cruising about on a beautiful sunny day. NOT something one does on a formula board or shortboard - not even a 160 liter !!

So, check out the LBWS link further up in this post - they do have some videos too. ENJOY :-)

When one speaks of RACE longboards - and even longboards, the question often comes up as to which sail(s) to use !! So far I have successfully used older sails that still rig on epoxy masts and also my more modern Maui Sails. There were a Pursuit , MS-2 and a TR-4. Usually i rig them with the leech tighter than usual. This seems to be ideal for this type of board. In Toronto it seems they are amour-ed with the Severne Racesails - 9.5. They do not seem to have them here in Montreal. On the StarBoard forum Remi mentions the use of the Severne Overdrive 8.5 - and they have a StarBoard Race sail too. I have asked on the Maui Sails forum if they were considering making specialized sails for winter windsurfing and longboards. Does NOT look like that is going to happen soon ... Cambered sails are nice because they retain their shape through lulls and help the board glide on through ... Just saw that Severne longboard sails are called "Dagger" now...

James Douglass "stole" my idea and wrote his own post/article on the subject called new-and-weird-gear-that-i-want-to-try {Great minds think alike, fools seldom differ ...} James took it a little further and included some of the boards for the up n coming lighter folks AND some interesting boards like SUPs that may go well with windsurfing AND the new trend in formula, where the board is a giant rectangle ie almost one meter all the way along.
We won't discuss the fact that the post contains a new idea in kites :-)

Summary of 2011 for Average Joe Windsurfer

2011-11-20T19:15:00.008-05:00

I originally wrote this post around November 11th, 2011, which also happens to be the last time i was out on the water. What is unusual about this year is also the warmth. It is now December 5th and I have tried to go out nearly every weekend in the last month. Yesterday I actually rigged up the TR-4 10-oh and the AHD with a 53 cm fin, butt the winds died... I am kicking myself cuz i coulda gone out with my CAT longboard. It is already up north stored away until next spring. Next year the CAT stays here until it's time to get the winter boards !!!!

Now back to the original post :

I am almost sure the year is over – had flurries already and snow announced this week....
My longboards have been brought to storage since about three(3) weeks now ...

So, Let’s have a look at the good, the bad and the ugly…

It cannot have been all that bad cuz I did have over 60 outings !!! Over 53 % of those were with a longboard. Started with the BIC Dufour Wing and ended with the Fanatic Ultra CAT. Yup, I purchased a beat up old CAT that will be my most used board next year !!! Over 85% of those 60 outings were with the MauiSails Pursuit 8.5 or the MS-2 8-oh. Yes, I also purchased a proto-type MS-2 8-oh sail which has 2 cams and works well with the CAT …

This obviously indicates that the winds were lite this year !!! Only about 15 “good” outings with the shortboards and only went out about 3 times with the Fanatic BEE LTD 124. The longboards allowed for more outings and the CAT planes earlier than anything I have ever tried !!

The light winds made learning more advanced skills somewhat of a “forget about it” {to be said with a Long Island accent } . Beach starts were definitely improved. Water starts were barely practiced and the foot strap phobia was not even touched !!!

Discovered that the TR-4 10-oh also goes well with the CAT. At one point was considering selling the TR-4 and the 520 mast.

Did not break much stuff this year, butt I did lose a $200 weed fin in the local river $%^&*( At that moment I also put a nice rip in the palm of my right hand. Bee propolis seemed to cure it quickly and nicely.

Having difficulties selling anything. Have the F2 Comet 330 board , MS Pursuit 8.5 sail and Autima 490/90% mast for sale on various websites. Had some nibbles, but the people seemed far away and not willing to meet half way. I usually am willing to meet, as a seller and as a buyer !!! In the end managed to sell the sail and mast on the 28th of December = yeah !!!

Helped one fellow at work purchase an 80’s kit with sail et al for $50 to play with at his cottage. He says his kid is loving it.

Purchased an inflatable Mistral WindGlider with a 3.5 meter sail. My 12 year old nephew used it successfully and was going about the lake within 1 hour !!! Took a collegue , Dolores, out on the water with the WindGlider and within one hour she was on the BIC Dufour with the 3.5 sail. Someone from the lake called my wife at home, who stayed back since she was not feeling well, to inform her I was on the water with a strange woman:-)

All in all sounds like it was a GOOD YEAR = lotsa TOW/ time on water !!!
{ light winds or naught !! }

Now I just need to put my stuff away and prepare for the next season

ice and snow windsurfing 8=)

Windsurf Logos

2011-11-05T08:28:00.014-04:00

Some people like logos so much and are so dedicated to the product that they have windsurf logos tattooed on themselves !!!

If I was to get a windsurf tattoo, i would like to go with something more along these lines:

It is called "Mutate Now" from Artur Szpunar - of Maui Sails..

Windsurf Board Logos

An anonymous tipster informed me/us:
"The Windsurfer logo is generic and not particular to the Rocket. Actually the Rocket was rather a particular board, not representative of the whole line. Same logo though, including the 2011 Windsurfer (made home in Australia, imported US)."

----------Windsurf Sail Logos ----------

Another anonymous tipster pointed out that Raceboard Sails include Aerolite, Demon and XO. These are specialized sails that one does not see often nor hear about - unless that is the type of windsurfing you are doing. There is a discussion right now on the LBWS forum regarding the Demon Sails. Apparently they are NOT cheap in $$$ nor quality. Made in the US of A and hand made !!! NICE !! Or is it UK ?? Still NICE !!!

It seems in Toronto the Raceboarders are using Severne Raceboard sails. Ironically I cannot seem to find em in Montreal. For now I am okay with my Ultra CAT , MS-2 8-oh and TR-4 10-oh :-)

Will look for those logos NOW !!

I also omitted Point-7 - those "black sails".

And WHY do i like logos?
I like to know what the locals are sailing. Pros can sail anything, but local talent is NOT all semi-pro. There definitely are some that are expert, but most seem to be average joes.

AND it shows me what is available in the area. We have three(3) local shops and i know what they carry. So, if i see anything out of the ordinary i ask about it. Even JP users are asked if it is worth the price. JP's seem a bit $$$. Once someone finds a product they like, they seem to stick with it. This especially makes sense in the sails.

What about logos for the accessories ?? Those products are less visible which means you can see them up close anyway.The fin which is the least visible piece is still the engine under the water !!! The boom is visible, but so thin, it is difficult to put a visible logo on it.

Nose Protector ??

2011-10-15T15:51:00.017-04:00

Lately on the forums {iwindsurf, SB and the auzzie one} there have been discussions about "nose protectors". They started to make me wonder whether they actually did anything to save one from a "nose job".

This is obviously what we are trying to avoid !! {foto from the board lady}

So, I wrote to a local rep, Bruno of 2-rad. He makes me smile because he is so matter of fact. He says if you take 170 liter board out in over 25 knots of wind and do a few catapaults, you are bound to bust a nose. Either yours or the boards. He says the protector will protect the rider, butt not the board. He used the analogy of protective bags in the car. In an accident all the cushions will protect the people, but not the vehicle.

Have seen other people and discussions about boom sleeves/bras, mast base pads and the such...There are those strange animals called deviators, but they just make me nervous. How much stress can a mast track endure ?

Somehow I get the feeling these issues are just a fact of life. You ride dangerously and risks or personal and equipment injury goes up.

One can start with the boards covered in foam like the AHD ZEN and i have seen polyethylene boards like the BIC Techno that seem to survive almost all minor incidents and still look almost new. Everyone seems to consider these boards "okay", but lacking in performance.

I have learned to live with chips in my fins and repair them during "downtime". My AHD FF 160 is very "sensitive" and looks beat up. It still rides really well and planes up quickly.

So, as i said earlier, i just learn to live with it and take the risks.

However, the "board lady" says to avoid the rigid nose -pads, but YES do get the padding and here is an example:

In the comments the Canadian guy, back from Provenance, swears by deviators and pads.
Bruno says the deviators pull on mast track and cause delamination.
Yvan of AuVentFou says deviators are "passés".

Transporting boards on roof

2011-10-08T04:31:00.005-04:00

Always thought there was an obvious way to put the board on the roof rack.

Since the bottom is flat , the top rounded and sensitive, I always put the bottom down on the rack.

Once that is decided, I think it is logical to put the board facing the back in terms of aerodynamics. If it was facing front, there would be wind resistance and loss of fuel efficiency.

Then there is talk on the SB forum about leaving the fin on or taking it off. My fins cost me over $150 each. They will stay IN the van and in their protective sleeve !!

I also donut like to pile boards on top of each other since this stresses the footstraps - unless i put some tennis balls in the straps and keep board bags on.

The craziest thing i have found is this image. In other words - donut overload #$%^&* [:)]

It looks like they either set this up just for the picture or had an accident where the door was blown off and thus crinkled the roof. ODD ...

Too bad there NEVER is any wind in Montréal :-)

2011-10-03T19:39:00.005-04:00

Yesterday, Sunday the 2nd of October 2011 was a cold FALL day with winds out of the NE. There were stories of super waves and super jumps at Quebec City. Locally there were guys out on their 4.x sails and 90 liter boards. They were all VERY excited - and i did NOT get to go out at all : ( Would have liked to go to Vaudreuils or at least do one hour on the local river - even WITH the rock danger !!!

Check out these pics !!!!!

https://skydrive.live.com/?cid=A63846FAED2A8C07&id=A63846FAED2A8C07!5569#cid=A63846FAED2A8C07&id=A63846FAED2A8C07!5641

and here is an excerpt

COBRA factory in Thailand

2011-10-01T12:55:00.003-04:00

There seems to be an interest lately in the COBRA plant and also a renewed interest in custom boards. I am guessing part of this is due to the information available now AND an interest in boards like the Phantom longboards which are more difficult to mass produce well. Here is a clip with pics and some pics ...

Fanatic Ultra Cat

2011-09-24T17:16:00.058-04:00

Je vais essayer de faire cette entrée en francais pour mes amis de La Plaine/St-Lin :)

This post will be attempted in French for my new friends - try the Google translate - put in French and then English :)
When it goes OFF the main page i will put an English version too ...started - interspersed with French BELOW

Merci beaucoup pour avoir me donner la chance d'essayer la fameuse planche Fanatic Ultra Cat !!! La planche n'est pas juste connu pour les vents legères MAIS aussi pour sa vitesse !!! Ca date des années début 1990 et il y a du monde qui l'utilise encore !! C'est environ la même longeur que mon BIC Dufour MAIS beaucoup moins lourde, plus épais et moins large en arrière. C'est connu d'être capable de "planer" et roule casement avec les mêmes vitesses que les "shortboards".

Je l'ai nettoyé et ca fait une belle planche n'est-ce pas !!

Thank you SO much to my new friends for having given me the chance to test the infamous board Fanatic Ultra Cat!!! This board is NOT just known for light winds BUTT also for its speed!!! It dates back to the earlys 90's and there are still plenty of people who use such a board !!The board is approximately the same length as my BIC Dufour BUT is much lighter , less thick and less wide at the back. It is known to be capable of planing and going with same speeds as shortboards.

I cleaned it and it is a beautiful board, is it not ??

Qu'est-ce que ca prendre pour être une "longboard" du type course ? Comme déjà discuté, il faut que la planche "plane" rapidment ie ne prend pas trop de temps, evidement la planche est legère, le "mast track" peuvent être ajouster pendant le "voyage", le derive est fait en carbone, l'aileron est fait en carbone et c'est assez controllable evec vitesse et quand on change direction. Aussi le dérive peut être enlever de l'eau completement. Cela n'est pas possible avec le BIC Dufour. J'ai pensé que ca prendrait une aileron plus large par exemple ...

What does it take to be a " longboard" of type race ? As already discussed, it is necessary that the board plane up early, obviously the board must be light, the mast track can be adjusted while planing , the "keel" or centreboard is made out of carbon, the fin is made out of carbon and the board is rather controllable when direction is changed or under speed. One needs to be able to remove the "keel" from the water completely. That was not possible with the BIC Dufour. I would have thought this would have required a larger fin - to run with no centreboard.

Some say this board can be gybed like a shortboard !!

Pour sortir de l'eau completement, le dérive depasse la planche en haut. Il y a une couverte qui protège les pieds et donne la possibilité de facilement re-descendre le dérive.

For the centreboard to be taken out of the water completely , the keel sticks out of the board on top. There is a cover which protects the feet and allows one to push the keel/centreboard back down - with one's feet.

Le pied de mât est different et le "socket" aussi.

et l'autre coté plus haut ??

Il y a une genre de "pedale" pour être capable de changer la position du mât pendant qu'on "roule". MAIS c'est quoi la cord en dessus - qu'est-ce que ca fait dans la vie ?? Ca l'aire que c'est une genre de cord de sécurité.

There is some kind of pedal to allow one to change the position of the mast while moving, planing hopefully. BUTT what purpose does that cord serve ?? Apparently it is a safety cord that is NOT really required on this version of the CAT.

Le lendmain je suis allé sur l'eau avec ma voile MS-2 8.0 dans les vents très legères à Baie d'Urfé. La planche flotte mieux que mon BIC mais je trouve qu'elle flotte casement trop. Elle me fait penser à des BICs que j'ai essayé. Les nouveaux BICs flotte comme une bobin de pêche. C'est dur avec les vagues de face et de coté $%^& J'ai mis l'aileron dans le milieu et le "mast track" en arrière. Mais j'ai oublié de barré le mast track $%^&*($%^&*( Casement aller dans l'eau %^&*( Pas utilsé l'harnais aves ces vents faibles. Mais eu du fun pareil.

The next day I was on the water doing a test run using my MS-2 8.0 cambered sail in the very light winds at Baie d' Urfé. The board floats better than my BIC but I find it almost floats too much i.e. too floaty. It makes me think of other BICs that I have tested/tried. The new BICs float like a fishing bobber. It was difficult with small waves straight on and from the side $%^& I had put the fin in the midlle and the " mast track" at the back. But I forgot to lock the mast track $%^& * ($%^& * ( Almost flew into the water %^& * ( Did not use the harness in these weak winds.               However, definitely had fun.

La prochaine fois ca va être avec des vents plus forts !!!
Next time I will go in "bigger" winds !!!

Les caractéristiques du planche ??

Longeur : 380 cm
Largeur:     67 cm
Volume:   250 litres
Poids:     13.5 kilos
Dérive:      70 cm

actuellement j'ai découvert que les mesures sont moins que indiqué ici. J'ai un chat/"cat" qui est plus avant le "mega cat" avec "juste" 210 litres and largeur de 66 cm. Le longeur est 374 cm et le derive est mesuré à 63 cm. Je ne suis pas sure du poid !!

Board characteristics??
Length: 374 cm
Width:     66 cm
Volume: 210 litres
Weight: between 13.2 and 16.6 kilos
"Keel":     63 cm measured
Fin:          12 inches/ 30 cm
Box:         A-box

The board goes VERY well upwind (like most longboards) and planes in lighter winds than I thought.

La planche va bien "upwind" et va "planer" dans les vents plus legères que j'ai pensé !!!

Voilà qu'est-e que j'ai écrit dans ma journal...hier le 30 septembre 2011

By the time I got back and was ready to go , the wind had dropped and everyone was getting off the water. Including the kite surfers. So, I went out on the water ALONE and PLANED with my MS-2 8-oh !!! Some people commented on the Fanatic Ultra before i started:) They said they just donut make them like that any more. Even Helmut is talking about getting a longboard now !!

The above in italics is from my journal entry of 30SEPT2011. The only issues I have now with the board now are - need to change footstraps and the deck is slippery - needs reDek !!!

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
http://windsurfraceboard.blogspot.com/2011/09/raceboard-would-championship-2011.html

RACEBOARD WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP 2011

The youth fleet´s top 3 board and sail setup was,

# 1 ESP 1, Fanatic Mega Cat, Neil Pryde RS:X 8.5 m2 and Loft sails 8.5

# 2 FIN 5, SB Phantom Race 380, Neil Pryde RS:X 8.5 and Severne Raceboard 8.5

# 3 FRA 259, Fanatic Mega Cat, Neil Pryde RS:X 8.5 and Bic OD 8.5

The ultimate raceboards were and are now all 380s like the Mega CAT, Phantom, Exocet, F2 Race
NEXT STEP - gotta get me ona those 380's !!!

During my first experiences with the Ultra-CAT, which i will call U-CAT from now on, i felt that the board did not turn as tight as i would have liked. This was with tacks since gybes/jibes were NOT attempted. At first I thought a longer or bigger fin might help. However, some readings showed that fin placement played an important role in this... The further up the fin, the more "turny" it would become and "less control". The further back and it is to be somewhat more traction and perhaps even faster, butt less "turny". I had put the fin in the middle. Before I purchase a new fin that will cost as much as the board, i will do some experiments with moving the fin forward some ...
One place that does carry US box fins up to 40 + cm is gsport. Have written them to see availability and shipping !!

On the longboard forum they are calling the Mega Cat fins trim box - thought the Ultra Cat was US box !!
Some US box seem to have an additional "fin" at the bottom/top. What's that all about ?? Will have to check the fin box on the U-CAT now $%^&*(
Here's that Mega Cat fin discussion -

http://www.lbwindsurfing.com/board/rigging-fine-tuning/lightwind-fin-for-a-mega-cat-1191

FFF vs BFF and "is windsurfing losing popularity"

2011-09-22T20:58:00.008-04:00

Recently on iwindsurf i posted the question whether it was okay to ride with just the front foot in the straps. I have a phobia of getting stuck in the straps. The answer was clear - DONUT do this %^&*( However, this generated a HUGE discussion {AGAIN} on front foot first/ FFF versus back foot first BFF.

For me it was clear quickly that the ideal STARTING point was -- get up to speed {not too much}, get in front strap, hook in and then get in back strap. Today they are up to page 9 - read for yourselves: http://www.iwindsurf.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=23207&sid=8eb3c79ba7986bd4927f01cfcac18c5c

Just when i thought windsurfers were arguing only on this point just for arguments sake, i discovered another long winded discussion on the auzzie forum about whether windsurf popularity was declining.Well, they are up to page 16 %^&*(

It feels like kitesurfers log here just to give it to the windsurfers ...
http://www.seabreeze.com.au/forums/Windsurfing/General/Is-windsurfing-popularity-still-declining

Some photos posted in the discussion are as follows:

obviously making fun of the polka dots and the "bra"
and this one ??

Dani posted some comments and my intention is NOT to re-hash the lengthy "discussion" from down under. What is sad is: equipment is definitely going up in $$$ now. Air Canada was threatening to no longer allow windsurf equipment for travellers - what, not heavy enuff 4 the size ? And the usual issues of storage, transport to the beach, expensive repairs, etc.

What i try to advocate locally is: perhaps it is time to go back to the longboards ? I hear KONAs are the rage in the US of A and i am SURE it is just a matter of time that we see them everywhere here. I brought my BIC Dufour down from the in-law's chalet and i use it more than 50 % of my outings. No longboard and i would be down to less than twenty (20) outings per summer season - just like all my local windsurf buddies %^&*(

In other words, lack of steady , "good" winds means NOT many outings. It is VERY difficult to be a weekend windsurf warrior locally %^&*()

Lost my weed fin #$%^&*()

2011-09-20T19:10:00.003-04:00

Was perhaps too anxious to go out on the water %^&* Definitely remember hand tightening the powerboxed weed fin. Definitely remember tightening the vent plug and THINK i tightened the fin with the screw driver. I often have premonitions and somehow was feeling attached to the fin that day - like it was an old friend AND had thoughts of checking the fin each time i grazed a rock %^&*( Did i listen to my inklings - obviously NOT. When i hit a rock more solidly, i tried to go and learned what spin out is - the board just went sideways. Have i lost my fin ? YUP %^&*()

Thought perhaps it floated away and looked downstream - nothing. Swam in to shore and checked with another fin - yup, they sink %^&*() Tried to go back and find it - yeah right ... This is in the mucky local river where i swore i would NEVER go with my shortboard again. Again, yeah right %^&*()

Checked the web and people say things like - i have sailed 25 years and never lost a powerbox fin. Just want those people to know that that makes me feel a whole lot better and i hope you manage to lose a fin in your next session ... just kidding :)

I thought i had the pattern down and screwed up again %^&*() I have to learn to slow down and double check stuff. Especially vent plug and fin.

New rule - NO hand tightening the fin from now on %^&*()

just hope this has NEVER happened to you either and may it NEVER happen to you ...

the good news - i will purchase a Makani weed fin that covers 7.0 to 8.0 :)

thanx for the comments Dani - will hafta check you guys out in Cape Cod !!! :)
added the blog to my faves liste :)
AND NO more hand tightening does NOT imply power tools :)
ok ok - nor glue either - man oh man, one has to be careful what one "says" here :)
on one forum i wrote that i fell after hitting some rocks, butt was okay
someone responded - glad to know your butt was ok :)

BEES bzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz bzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

2011-09-09T19:32:00.021-04:00

Last weekend in late summer 2011 we went to the apiary/bee place called Intermiel in Mirabel: http://www.intermiel.com/index_an.shtml. The "animateur" , as he is called in French, is an entomologist and was VERY enthusiastic about the subject(s). He took us around the plant - starting with a small DVD on the history of the place, discussed some bee products, let himself get stung, showed some hives and then ended it with some lovely samples of hydromel, which is water with fermented honey - up to 14 % alcohol. Unfortunately I do not drink and could only smell the wonderful samples. They also now have apple cider and some ice wine.

For me the most interesting part was the bee by-products:

1) bee pollen: this is taken from the bees as they enter the hive. Obviously not all since the hive needs it as food. The collected pollen is cleaned and kept dry. It contains all the nutrients and minerals for bees AND humans. I purchased a small container and take about one teaspoon per day. It has helped my thinking, digestion and energy levels. Some people have side affects and I have had some muscle cramps. Apparently this has been around for centuries - is it a well kept secret ?

2) propolis: is a substance bees use to keep intruders out of the hive and when they do intrude, they kill them and cover them in this substance. Apparently it acts as a disinfectant and mummifying agent. When I cut myself windsurfing , the only treatments i used were water from the dirty river and some propolis ointment. I can tell you it did feel like it healed quickly with NO pain or infection. The cut was through the skin and healed to the point of being back on the water and windsurfing in less than one week. My wife purchased some propolis from Walmart, which comes from France and is taken internally.

Have also purchased propolis ointment now. This was what i tried when i cut my hand windsurfing. I felt it helped my hand cure quickly with NO infection. The cut went to the meat. Here is a pic of the ointment - my hand injury is posted in the new journal entry section :-) hand injury foto

3) royal jelly: is secreted from the glands of young bees for a certain amount of time ONLY and fed to the "babies"/pupa. This allows them to increase in growth exponentially. If more than usual is given, the individual bee becomes a queen !!! In other words, it is some kind of super booster. People take it for clarity of thinking and energy boosting as well. I have NOT tried this YET. {will post better pic when i get some :) } So, here is a pic that I took -- instructions say one to three teaspoons per day - check the size of the "tea spoon" :-)

The reason I write about these things here is: these are natural products that can be used by windsurfers - or anyone for that matter for the purposes described above.

Note: all these products do seem expensive !!
btw the chocolate and honey mixes are delicious AND sinful !!

I do NOT drink any alcohol of any kind. However, i do find it extremely interesting that mead is made from bee by-products - as is hdro-mel. These honey wines have 10 to 15 % alcohol and are very aromatic. The two(2) pictured here have won awards !! As a non-drinker and parent, i do not advocate use of wine. However, i do know many people are wine lovers and fanatics. I merely wish to suggest to those of you who do enjoy a glass of wine to try these... So far, I have heard nothing but good things about them ...And i do enjoy their bouquet :-)

Patrick Bergeron is coming to Montreal

2011-09-06T21:52:00.002-04:00

The local windsurf club in Montreal is called APVM - l'Association de Planche à Voile à Montréal = The Windsurf Association of Montreal and have a website http://www.apvm.ca/evenement8.htm.

http://www.apvm.ca/evenement8.htm

The reason I give an extended url is the reason for this post. There is an event called Advanced Clinique. This is to be given by the infamous Patrick Bergeron for a limited number of people. Some training indoors and some on the water = weather permitting.

I have never personally met Pat, but we have chatted via e-mail and a buddy of mine was lucky enuff to get a good deal on one of his SW Retro sails - still in the bag !! ie NOT used.

So, if you are interested you better RUSH off and sign up !!! http://www.apvm.ca/inscription_avance.htm
http://www.apvm.ca/inscription_avance.htm

Hurricane Irene

2011-08-31T20:06:00.011-04:00

http://windandbigwaves.com/2011/08/29/hurricane-irene/

The storm came through NE USA and Eastern Canada on Sunday the 28th of August. In the morning I actually considered going to Vaudreuils since the wind was from the NE. However, the wind was picking up quickly and people on the quebecwind local website were already chatting about sails in the 4.x range and really small boards. OKAY, i am out of this picture !!!

On Monday, which happened to be a really beautiful sunny day with lite winds, I met a fellow who had gone to St-Zotique on Sunday in the post tropical storm from 8h00 until 12h00. He stopped cuz there was too much rain $%^& He DID admit that he was often "over" with his 3.x sail, there were dangerous moments AND he felt like he did NOT have fun !!! Yeah mann, it is HARD work !!!!

Winds apparently gusted as high as 40 mph where he was and 50 mph at Veaudreuils !!! Here is a histogram of the winds at Dorval areoport that day ...

Clique to enlarge

Then today, I happen upon some posts where a fellow windsurfer DIED on Long Island, NY, USA during the storm - DAMN $%^&*()

You can read about it here: http://www.peconicpuffin.com

Unfortunately that is now the 2nd windsurfer to die within a driving radius in the last 2 months :(
Those are NOT good odds.
Please be careful my windsurf friends - it is unsure whether Joe was wearing a helmet or not and he was out in winds up to 50 mph !!!

Another REALLY sad day and soon there will be rules and police chasing windsurfers OFF the water :(

My condolences to the family and all who knew him personally !!!

Update: The service has passed => http://www.peconicpuffin.com

Looks like Hatteras has been battered as well - they cancelled the Wave Jam

Tabou Rocket

2011-08-27T06:26:00.033-04:00

Note: This post seems to be very popular. As such, i have added videos from youtube and vimeo at the end of it :) ENJOY

Since I have an evaluation of the Rocket compared to the Fanatic Ray and Hawk, I have moved this post back to the top of this blog/website ...see the followup section further down if you have already seen the "intro".
btw i am surprised how many people were interested by this post as it was !!

Well, I wrote to the infamous Matt Pritchard and yes, he would be able to supply a Rocket 125 directly to Canada. This is just amazing in terms of accessibility from an average joe windsurfer. If you are interested in purchasing a Rocket and live in North America , I suggest you contact Matt at this e-mail: matt@pritchardwindsurfing.com

Model	Volume	Length	Width	Weight	Box	Fin	Sails Size

Rocket 125

125

250

7.8

Power Box

FR 44

5.5 - 8.5

Why do I consider Tabou Rocket? Check out the mpora review: http://boards.mpora.com/boards/freeride-boards-kit/tabou-rocket-125-gt-2008.html

and boardtests: http://boardtests.com/2011/03/tabou-rocket-125-ltd-preview-2011/

Here is the "teaser video" from Tabou in 2010. The 2011 version seems very muffled !!

Tabou Rocket 2010 from Tabou Boards on Vimeo.

In the 2011 WindsurfMag board tests one reviewer is quoted as saying of the Rocket 125: Sweet and very balanced performer! Great combination of comfort, speed, control, and ease of use. Felt very natural immediately with no need to "figure it out". Definitely a test favorite of mine in this size range. And James Douglass says: the Tabou Rockets 105, 125, and 145 get nearly unanimous praise.

For those of you , who have not heard, Kevin Pritchard gave the kiters a piece of their own medicine when he sped past them recently in a race where they offered to separate kiters n windsurfers and kiters said NON. Check his blog on my blog list at the right ...

Follow-up: One of the avid windsurfers with whom I "chat" quite a bit via e-mail was a big fan of Fanatic and Maui Sails. I purchased my TR-4 10-oh from him. He still is a big fan of Maui Sails. What was interesting was his evaluation of the Tabou Rocket 125 compared to some of his best Fanatic boards.

This is just one man's opinion, but it does make for interesting reading !!

There are always unwritten reasons for peoples opinions on boards and sails. I have come to the opinion that a board/sail/fin/conditions/sailor weight/sailor skill/rigging setup/strap positions all have to be balanced to make a setup work for you. no one can recommend sails and boards without knowing a lot of info about the sailor and conditions it will be used in. I was finding that I was always using the ray 140 and the hawk 123 with my 7.5 switch in my given conditions. I concluded that I needed the best 7.5 board I could find to fit my conditions and skills. The ray was awesome but the sweet spot was an 8.5. with the tr 8.4 and ray I was in love. With the 7.5, I preferred to be on my hawk 123 (sweet spot is 7.0). The hawk with the 7.5 was still a great board. The hawk with a 6.4 was a great board as well. however, when I got 6.4 conditions, I wanted to be on a smaller board like my freewave. There was to much overlap with the hawk and freewave. The tabou kind of just fits my needs perfectly. All boards have a sweet spot. For the rocket 125 a 7.5 is the sweet spot. My conditions here really are 7.5 (considered good wind for me) and 9.5 on the light winds days. The drop from 9.5 to 7.5 is pretty easy. I can plane the rocket/7.5 in 13 comfortably. I can hold the 9.5 with gusts to 20 (averaging 15 or so). This quiver just works.

That being said, the rocket is less lively than the hawk as the wind picks up. The rocket is a lot more alive than the ray 140. The rocket is so smooth that I get really comfortable and just have fun. The hawk had a tendency to get a little scary (for me and my skills) when the wind really got honking. Some better riders may prefer the ride of the hawk. I think the rocket 125 s the perfect blend of performance and easy sailing. Not boring at all. just easy to blast, easy to gybe. The rocket is also super stable when not planing. Probably closer to the stability of the ray then the hawk. With the 7.5, the rocket planes almost as early as the ray with the 7.5. it planes noticeably sooner than the hawk/7.5 combo. The tabou is easier to pump onto plane. It seems to glide better than the other two boards here. The board is just perfect for me (and my skills, conditions, etc……………………..)

I was out last night on the rocket/switch 7.5 combo. Winds were averaging 15/16 gust into the low/mid 20’s. I could have easily planed up with a 6.4. I never once considered coming in rig down. The switch sails for me seem to have no upper limit. They are steady as a rock and the center of effort never moves in the gusts at all. I look forward to the gusts to just rip the board forward. The rocket was just flying across the water with just the fin and a small piece of the tail in the water. However, I was in total control. The sail was stable. The board was stable. Everything just works with this setup. The hawk would have been good as well. just that the hawk would be more “alive” in these conditions. I prefer the fun tabou to the more active hawk in these conditions.

You read and read and read about opinions and conditions and size and weight, etc………………….
there is no perfect answer. It has to fit the sailor.
However, if you can get a ride on a new rocket, take it. I really like it so far.

One other thing I forgot to mention about the boards. Get the stiffest, lightest construction you can. This has a lot of effect how a board feels. The stiffer and lighter boards are easier to plane and ride than the heavier and slower reacting boards with the same shape.

Cheers

Paul

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

in other words, get the LTD version of the board, IF you can AND IF you have the skills !!!

these versions are more $$$ and more sensitive ie may need a nose job sooner than you think if you are still catapaulting all over the place ...

After REDSURBUS' comment, we communicated via e-mail and:

The only reason I posted that was because I bought a mistral SL 95 RD, which is full carbon and light as a feather (no joke.....I worry about it getting blown away even in a f4) but took me a lot of sessions to get used to. You feel every bit of chop, especially in the muscles on the front of your legs near the bottom (the ones engaged when lifting your toes). In big swell its not a problem as the water is generally smoother, but in offshore wind about 100m out where it goes boxy it is hard work at first until you learn how to drive the board rather than being a passenger.

To get comfy on a board you just need a week of sessions on it, without a break! Then you will start to really know the board and what is easy, what needs more 'finesse'. For example my kode is a very easy going board in wood/carbon, It is very light all the same but I can sail for hours on it without a break now. The mistral took me a good few months of sessions through the winter (gaps too big between each session), as soon as the air warmed up and I got out on it regularly I became comfy on it......and then moved down to a tabou 74l......which is 20l less than my weight so a big jump but an easy one after the mistral.

I am by no means an experienced or good windsurfer, I have just been out a lot in the past 2-3 years so have learnt quite a lot. Portland Harbour is windy quite often, really safe as well so I can take more risks in terms of learning.

Take Care
Redsurfbus
http://www.redsurfbus.com/

Before I forget ... end of August 2011 I spoke with a fellow who surfs California and Montreal. He had some experience with JP, Fanatic Hawks and AHD Rebound. He said .. the JPs were NOT worth the extra money, Hawks could jibe on a dime and the AHD ate chop. He did not have any experience with the Tabou unfortunately.

Here is a youtube of a fellow test driving his Tabou Rocket 135 !!

Tabou Rocket 105 & 125 from youtube

Tabou Rocket 125 with Ezzy 6.5

Windsurf 19 Jan 09 from rotorhead guy on Vimeo.

boardtests.com on 2011 Rocket 125 w/ Tushingham 6-oh

Dani Sfeir seems to be a speed "freak" who likes GPS and freerace equipment. He gave the Rocket 115 a 7/10 and the Ray 115 a 9/10 in the comments section. He gave a video link that shows the TR7 8.4 and Ray more than the Rocket 145. I have added the video here cuz I am also a Maui Sails fan :) The TR-7 is the first year Barry Spanier and company are using the clew cutout and the 8.4 also only requires a 460 mast now. This should make for a really light feeling and FAST 8.4. On the MS forum people seem to be raving about it. For others it means purchasing a 460 - for people like me :( I would like to try a RAY, but the issue for purchasing one is my fins are all powerfins and NOT tuttle :( For me the battle is Hawk vs Rocket. One friend has a Hawk 135 and another the Rocket 125. Only time will tell. Have found a local Tabou rider who sells the Rocket 125 at a very decent price - not the GT version... In any case... here is Dani's vid:

MauiSail TR7 XT 8.4, Fanatic Ray 115 LTD. from Dani S. on Vimeo.

The riggeek also seems to love his Tabou Rocket 140 as seen here:

http://www.riggeek.com/gear-head/2011-04-19-1

Apparently windsurfing magazine screwed up in their recent evaluation of the Rocket 145 {amongst others !!}: http://boardsurfr.blogspot.com/2011/06/windsurfing-magazine-board-test.html

Maui Sails Pursuit vs MS-2

2011-08-11T21:01:00.031-04:00

At the end of 2008 I purchased a new 2006 Maui Sails Pursuit 8.5. As I could not afford an MS mast and did NOT realize at that time the importance of the exact / correct mast - especially with hard top/head Maui Sails, I purchased an Autima 490/90% mast with this kit.

Clique to enlarge

As I discovered the Autima mast may be a constant curve (rather than hard top), I tried to validate this with the company - to no avail. They did NOT answer e-mails NOR phone-calls. Other people have confirmed that this mast is CC or constant curve. Britt Viehman, an expert trainer and windsurfer, who also happens to use MauiSails, feels that the mast is less critical in the non-race MS sails - like the Pursuit ...

Prior to purchasing my TR-4 10-oh, I purchased an HPL boom, which i later discovered was a full carbon boom and with the carbon reinforcement at the head, as suggested by Bruce Peterson of SailWorks fame, is a solid and very stiff boom. This boom is now used for my sails larger than 7-oh.

In 2011, my Pursuit started to show signs of wear n tear. Asked in forums, including MS , what is the best approach. Some said ditch the sail, others said ride til it dies and some said fix as required. The main issue seemed to be that in general, monofilm will DIE after about 250 hours of UV exposure. I used this sail in 2010 about 20 times with the shortboard and probably as many times on the longboard. That winter I also started using it in 10 kph winds on my snow sailboard. If we say 50 times in one year and over one hour exposure each time, the sail will barely last three(3) years :-( AND guess what, that is where I am. Some have told me of their experiences downhauling and the monofilm just exploding in their faces %^&*() This sounds like an exaggeration to me and i am sure this sail will still last a number of years if used carefully.

So, I decided to wait - until i found an 2007 MS-2 8-oh with MS 490/75 % combo at a decent price. Here is photo of the kit WITH the HPL boom

Clique to enlarge

So now I had the mast that was to go with the Pursuit as well ....

Paul, who sold me the TR-4 10-oh is VERY interested in an analysis/comparison of these two(2) sails in terms of low end, high end, lightness in your hands, stability, etc.

The first thing I did was rig the Pursuit with the MS 490/75 to see how that compared to the Autima 490/90. This is from my journal notes :

Tried the MS 490/75 on the Pursuit 8.5. First rigged it as i would the Autima 490/90. It felt like it was not enough. Putting 2.5 less cm on the mast base (which i do ONLY with the longboard) - 22.5 rather than 25 did not seem to work - the battens were further on the mast than usual. Is it really an MS mast ? It rigged GREAT on the MS-2.
OK, let's experiment - put 25 cm on the mast base and more outhaul. Sail felt light n lively even on the BIC Dufour longboard ie even when hauled tight. Winds were from the S at about 10 knots and very pleasant...
Maybe i will use the Autima with the Pursuit when on the longboard ...
we will see....

I have rigged the MS-2 twice, both with the MS mast and love the pocket of power and the cam rotation. Cannot wait to try it on my AHD FF 160 in 20 to 40 kph winds. It should just RIP !!! and for me rip does NOT mean rest in peace/pieces :-)
I tend to rig the TR-4 and the MS-2 with a very deep draft or pocket - that is the way I like it !!!

When we compare the MS-2 8-oh and the Pursuit 8.5, they both rig in the 490/75 mast, which is a recommended mast for both. They are made around the same time frame and obviously by the same manufacturer. The MS-2 has seven(7) battens and two(2) cams, whereas the Pursuit has six(6) battens and NO cams. The MS-2 is about 20 cm shorter in luff, 5 cm thinner in the boom and one pound or half a kilo heavier. The MS-2 has a tack strap and the Pursuit does NOT. So, are we comparing apples and oranges here ? I would tend to say NOT. However, it does seem like they are different "breeds" of apples.

Also, will i be able to remain unbiased ?? The Pursuit after all is my favourite sail of my entire quiver !! This is partially due to my weight, which requires bigger sails AND winds tend to be light here in Montreal. There are spring and fall winds, butt i stay away from 25+ knot winds - for now ...

Have not been out on the shortboard since about JULY 23rd - that's about three (3) weeks. :-(

Well, I finally got to take out the MS-2 8-oh sail with the MS 490/75% mast. The Pursuit 8.5 weighs 4.8 kilos and the MS-2 8-oh weighs 5.45 kilos. So, why did the sail feel so light?? I rigged it with a little more outhaul than I prefer since winds were gutsy (my version of gusty) between 16 and 20 knots. Cams flipped like a charm and the sail performed well even when it was overpowered. It felt like there was no end - just keep pushing - or pulling actually. It did not feel like it had low end grunt - instead it just wanted to go. With a smaller board than the AHD 160 I am sure this sail would rip em all up!! The sail also beach started with no issues in terms of cams or luff sleeves. This version still rigs with the cams on. The new Titans now have the luff sleeve like the TR's. When the wind dropped, I released the outhaul and I was the only one going anywhere. Then again, some of the lightweights were rigging 5.x and on really small boards. Is it time for me to lose fifty (50) pounds / 20 kilos ?? In summary the sail was great and I was ashamed that I was falling in love with it. After all, I just celebrated my 25 year wedding anniversary :-)

Next time I am going to have to try both sails on the same day - hopefully with the same conditions. Both riggings will need to be similiar and I will use the same MS mast.
btw the mast stuck today #$%^& had to dry my hands and mast and give it a good twist #$%^&*()

MON 29AUG2011 - took the Pursuit 8.5 out in very lite winds - with the MS 490/75% mast. Paul was correct, the sail does better on the MS mast. For example: I always had problems with the bottom batten sticking. Today, even in lite winds, pulled sail into wind and ALL battens "popped" to the other side. Considering this is an 8.5, it is surprising how much i can throw that sail around. Perhaps not sell it and keep both ??

SAT 03SEPT2011 - went to test the MS-2 with the BIC Dufour on the local river Milles Isles. Winds were quite lite out of the west. I was nervous about rigging it with my retro mast base since the sail calls for 6 cm extension and the minimum i can give here is about 10 cm. Also was worried that the open leech would not work with the long board. I read in some forums including MauiSails that the MS-2 is actually good for longboards. OK, i rigged it with a tight leech and not much outhaul. This created a huge pocket at the mast and the sail pulled like a mother ie more grunt than when i rigged it for higher winds on the shortboard. It was a little difficult to pop the cams to the other side and the bottom batten did not always want to go ...I did try to tighten the outhaul, butt i think a little more downhaul was required too..

TUE 13SEPT2011 - had the MS-2 8-oh out on the AHD FF 160 in 15 to 20 + knots.Was disappointed that i was overwhelmed in gusts, butt investigation showed gusts as high as 30 knots !! The bigger issue was beach starting on this day. Had major difficulties and ended uphauling instead !!

Conclusions: The Pursuit 8.5 is easier to beach start than the MS-2 8-oh. This is a cam "issue". The Pursuit works very well with a constant curve mast and PERHAPS a little better with the hard top MS mast, I now use the MS-2 with the Fanatic Ultra Cat and that will be my favourite combo in light winds. I am still contemplating selling the TR-4 10-oh since the MS2 and CAT combination is SO good. I have NOT tried the Pursuit with the CAT. As i am a cam fan, this discussion may be a little biased. I prefer the MS-2 over the Pursuit in terms of retaining shape, grunt, actually feels lighter and am VERY comfortable with it. I WILL try the Pursuit with the CAT and put comments here. In terms of cost, I believe the Pursuit 8.5 is much less than the MS-2 8-oh.
Found a Titan GS at $730 and Pursuit 8.5 at $625 - both at WorldWinds. Thus the difference is less than I thought. Both rig on the same mast and boom. Note: May be difficult to find a mast base with only 6 cm for the MS-2 8-oh. That is only an issue if you like to rig the lines all the way down to the pulley...
Disclaimer: This analysis was done with and MS-2 and NOT a Titan GS. The ONLY reason i say this is: there are people out there that were big fans of the MS-2 and are NOT fans of the Titan GS. No explanations are given and are basing their opinions on feeling. In the sail world this means everything.
For 2012 MS is supposed to come out with a sail called Blaze that seems like the MS-2 and Titan were.

Windsurfer dies after Windsurf Session in Quebec

2011-08-07T06:04:00.008-04:00

Just a few days ago, in early August 2011, a well known windsurfer died after a windsurf session on the Island of St-Jean de l'isle d'Orléans - near Quebec City. Information was posted on a kiteboard/windsurf site in French: http://www.akvq.ca/profiles/blogs/triste-evenement-a-st-jean-auj.

Basically Marc Munro was coming off the water, had severe chest pains, and collapsed. Fellow windsurfers performed the appropriate first aid until the ambulance arrived, but all to no avail. His wife has expressed a hope that as many kite and windsurfers as possible show up at the ceremonies.

Obviously, the heart is considered the culprit. At work a "young" executive also just recently died from a heart attack while out jogging. And people are always quick to remind us of some infamous athlete, who died while performing their favourite sport.

What I do not understand is: how is it these people have no inkling or warning ? They just have massive attacks and die ? Perhaps there was a genetic predisposition ?

There is some interesting information here where they speak/write about sudden death and athletes ... http://www.hughston.com/hha/a_16_4_4.htm

"The most common causes of sudden death are congenital abnormalities of the heart and blood vessels, or those that are present at birth."

"The second most common cause of sudden death in athletes is abnormal coronary arteries (the blood vessels that supply oxygen to the heart muscle)."

"Another cause of sudden death among athletes is Marfan syndrome"

"Athletes who are older than 30 are at increased risk for heart attack if they smoke, have high blood pressure, diabetes, elevated abnormal lipids, or a strong family history of heart disease."

Obviously this does NOT mean we should stop the sports we are already doing, nor stop venturing into new sports. Over 30 (which i think is VERY young) is when one is to start carefully and discuss with doctor if there are medical issues like blood pressure, genetic predisposition to heart attacks, etc.

One colleague of mine summed it up: "The windsurfer died doing what he loves the most. I hope i go the same way!"

Buying a Windsurf Sail?

2011-08-02T19:34:00.009-04:00

This is a kind of continuation of my post called
“When is it time to change a windsurf sail ?”

If this is the first sail you have EVER purchased, you are in for a big task. I hope you at least have some experience windsurfing because if you do not, then the task becomes even more difficult !! Not to despair though.

There are many questions to be answered.
1) What size sail are you looking for?
2) Do you already possess a mast and/or boom?
3) Are cambers to be considered?
4) What type of sailing is the sail meant for?

The first question depends on your size, your board, your experience and what you want to do with the sail. In other words, the above questions are NOT mutually exclusive... James Douglass has a sail calculator spread sheet that can be used as a “rule”. The reason I call it a “rule” is I developed a strange quote one time that has some truth in it: “Rules are meant to be broken and guidelines are meant to be followed!” In other words, take these numbers with a grain of salt. They are merely a starting point. This “calculator” can be found at : http://www.vims.edu/general/sailpaddle/sailcalculator.xls If it is your first sail, you will need to downsize since you are NOT accustomed to the power of the appropriate sail for your weight in the related wind speed. Hopefully a local shop or on-line forum will be able to help you!

A couple more questions I neglected to list above which are equally important are:
1) Do you really need that sail? I have issues “stopping the shopping”
2) Are you inclined towards certain materials – example: monofilm okay or not?

Okay, back to the original discussion – sorry, I do get side tracked - even in my own mind ...
The mast and boom question ... The boom just needs to fit with the least extension if possible; and on larger sails, for racing and/or heavyweights some people consider carbon booms. With the word carbon in them, you got it, it gets expensive. There are booms approaching carbon stiffness for less money. Believe they are the “Aeron” booms with a special triangular shape on top making them stiffer.

Now masts on the other hand .. “buying a Mast is a joyless purchase, a boom or a sail is a great feeling” . People say one must or should buy the mast with the manufacturer’s brand stamp on it. This may be the “ideal”, but nowadays there are charts and measurements showing you which brands are in which category ie hard top (Maui Sails, Gaastra, Severne) , constant curve (majority of the sails/masts) or flex top (Neil Pryde, Tushingham). There is a company called UNIFIBER that makes masts in the various categories and has a grid of the various well-known sail producers and where they fall. Their grid can be found here: http://www.unifiber.net/2011/mast-selector So, if you already have a mast, then ideally you need to find the sail that works best with that mast. If you have the money and no mast on hand, purchase the mast with the manufacturer’s brand stamp. Of course carbon content becomes another item to consider. Unless you are made of dough, usually 55% and 75% is as far as you will need to go. Even the race sails like the MS TR-7 has been shown to work fine with the 75% carbon masts.

Not everyone likes cambers and they are NOT just for racing. They lock the sail shape better and thus help retain shape as one “glides” through wind lulls. They are typically found on larger sails ie larger than say 7.5 and on race/slalom sails. This is a personal choice. I like them and have them on my 6.0, 7.0 and 10.0. I do not have them on my 8.5, but am reconsidering at this time of sail re-evaluation. {Actually in 2011, I purchased a used MS-2 8-oh with matching 490/75% mast. This sail has two(2) cams and works well on my longboards too}

There are many styles of windsurfing such as formula, slalom/racing, freeride, wave, bump n jump and longboard. Each discipline requires a different type of sails and these often are in a size range as well.

Do you really need that sail? The reason I ask this is I analyzed the sails I used the most and discovered that I did NOT really need a 7.5 sail – for now. My most used sails are the MS Pursuit 8.5 and the MS TR-4 10.0. Sometimes I use the Gaastra Flow 3X 7.0. There does NOT seem to be any hole in my sail quiver.

The whole reason I started this discussion is more about monofilm versus X-ply. I have a 2006 MS Pursuit 8.5 that I purchased at the end of 2008 for a reasonable price – about $500 with taxes in. This sail has been used in the summer of 2009 and 2010. This is ONLY two (2) seasons. Before I purchased it, I asked many questions about monofilm because it has been quite some time that Ezzy Sails has bragged that their sails are NO longer containing ANY monofilm. Everyone seemed to console me that monofilm was okay and durable. The monofilm has gone milky, has some heavy creases and even the stitching around some battens – like #2 – does not look too good.

After sending the question out to several forums and receiving different answers like: use it until it breaks, trash it and repair it yourself; I decided to keep using it until it breaks.

Okay, I did use the sail in the winter as well, but even that was “okayed” by Barry Spanier of Maui Sails. So, when does it come time to replace the sail, what do I intend to do ??

Locally it feels like the sails are just way too expensive – from new to used. People do not seem to use 8.5 much here. As a heavyweight I love this sail in 10+ knot winds on the snow, 10 to 15 knot winds on the longboard and 15 to 20 knots on the AHD FF 160liter/79cm shortboard. If I do not buy locally, it seems the best option is internet in the USA where shipping within the 48 States in usually FREE.

What about monofilm? Do I buy a 2009 MS Pursuit 8.5 or go for something like a 2009 Severne Elelment 8.5 with 2 cams and apparently NO monofilm?

I found a used 2009 Severne Overdrive 8.0. What disappointed me was: the owner was three(3) hours away and did not know that Severne is hard top flex. He was using a NP mast which is flex top and was satisfied with the results. What does that do to a sail when rigged incorrectly on the wrong mast?

As I have already stated, I will continue to use the 2006 MS Pursuit 8.5 until it dies. At that time I will make a decision. If it is sooner than later, it is VERY likely that I will NOT replace it with the same sail and instead get the X-ply Severne.
If it does last another season or two(2) , the likelihood that it is replaced with the same sail goes up !!

Follow-up: Found a set that a fellow did NOT want to split - MS mast 490/75 + MS-2 8-oh prototype. The mast was like NEW and the sail slightly used. This way I can see if the Autima constant curve is really as good as the mast that was meant for the MS Pursuit... and i have a spare when the Pursuit dies. Not sure how the MS-2 will go with a longboard or in the snow - butt i will definitely have fun trying !!

Since it was a prototype sample, i asked about it on the MS forum:
http://www.mauisails.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=3342
what i do find interesting is:
the sail seems to be a PP sample / pre-production signed by Barry
the mast ? it is like a "no-name" from Phil ie NO MS markings and came in a NP bag with a 490 marking
bizarre
Barry replied:

not bizarre at all. we sell protos, photo shoot sails, team stuff, and sometimes pretty much anything that someone else (the odd mast in the odd bag) that anyone wants sold. the marked up sail is something we used and it may or may not be a final design, and the way it works is also possibly not production worthy, the chance that comes with buying the non production gear. most things are not far off, or they could even be 'the one', but definitely not the same as when you get the real thing from a dealer.
all that said it probably still works reasonably well.
aloha
barry

conclusion: for me $600 + for a new sail is out of my budget. Especially if a boom and/or mast are required. I will be only buying used or end of season specials from now on !! MauiSails often puts stuff on e-bay and i may try that next time i really need a sail. For now I am all set !!! For a new buyer - this is NOT easy. And I am having issues selling my Pursuit 8.5 and Autima 490. Both are good to go for a few seasons !!!

Longboard Races in Ottawa end of JULY 2011

2011-07-19T17:05:00.015-04:00

Dominique Vallée, Silent Sports, Andrée Gauthier, Suzanne Roberge and MANY others are organizing a longboard event in Ottawa for the 31JUL2011 weekend. Some details can be found here : http://windsurf.ca/ just need to clique EVENTS and then CMWA 2011 Notice of Race and a PDF will open. Suzanne has explained to me via e-mail that one does NOT need to be a member - just means NO official trophy. Camping is apparently free and they are hoping for a big turnout. As seen in the PDF, one needs to book in advance - food n all.

Kona Ones were purchased through Silent Sports of Toronto and the hope is to have a Kona ONE race. These boards are difficult to get here in Canada.

Here is a quote from one e-mail correspondence that i have had regarding the event:

"Bruce at Silent Sports is a dealer and Kona’s can be purchased through him in the future. The price is going up by a lot but he usually gives good deals.

By the way, Dominique is officially going to hold the Kona World’s in 2013 at Point du Lac. That may be the year for you to purchase the left over lease boards.

She is really planning a big event with long distance, shuttle bus to and from airport and day trip to Quebec city..
We would love to have 30 or so Canadians show up at this race."

As you can see here, one day I would like to try a Kona ONE and perhaps purchase one to replace and upgrade my current longboard - BIC Dufour Wing from about 1980 !!

Aber Wind Cup 2008 with Kona ONEs from opop on Vimeo.

I still prefer my longboard on the lake at the chalet due to wind shadows and gusts. It also allows me to windsurf on the local river after work quite regularily. One week I windsurfed six(6) times where only two(2) of those on the AHD FF 160. I keep wondering when will I actually use the Fanatic BEE LTD as it should be ??

So, if you are in the area - or are interested in supporting or watching Kona's and other longboards, CHECK IT OUT !!

If weather keeps up as it has so far - it should be great. Only today was the FIRST day i have not longboarded in about the last ten(10) days !!!

----------------------------------
FOLLOWUP :

BAD NEWS - I never made it :-( GOOD NEWS follows :-)

http://windsurf.ca/
Thirty windsurfers (17 open raceboards and 13 Konas!) converged to Ottawa for the annual CMWA championships. We had gorgeous weather all weekend accompanied by wind on Saturday and Monday. Open class did five races and Kona One Design managed to finish four races on Saturday. The wind arrived a bit late on Sunday so we just windsurf freely at the end of the day. Monday morning brought some wind so we held a long distance race, followed by lunch and awards and a safe return home for everyone. The results are posted here. We would like to thank everyone involved from the participants to the volunteers to the staff at the Britannia Yacht Club.

Andrée Gauthier is organizing a second Kona One Design group purchase. Find more information here.
The latest CMWA newsletter is now available online...here.

Addendum: Since July 2011 I have purchased a Fanatic Ultra CAT and met local "Sailboarder" who has a Kona and RIPs with his Ezzy 7.5 in 25 knot winds !!!

In Ottawa Citizen from the Event

lesson #1 - copy the material - stuff disappears from the bloody internet %^&*()_

When is it time to change/replace a windsurf sail ?

2011-07-15T22:44:00.013-04:00

As I am working with limited funds, most of my sails are purchased used or received free. The ONLY sail I have purchased NEW to date is the 2006 Maui Sails Pursuit 8.5 which I purchased in FALL 2007 for about $500 with taxes in. I still have the original BIC Dufour sail from 1981 that absolutely sucks, butt is retained JUST for historical value. That sail has NO full battens and obviously NO cambers. The reason it stinks is simply due to its swing weight. The boom length of this sail is phenomenal !!

I still have an NP 7-oh and a Simmer 6-oh from the 90's that are still just OKAY. Both have cambers and mostly suffer from things like broken zippers on cam pockets and batten tensioners that slip over time.

My 1998 Gaastra Flow 3x 7-oh is still going strong and rigs on my current 490 mast. This is a GREAT sail, but was pre-Barry Spanier era with Gaastra.

Also have a 2008 Maui Sails TR-4 10-oh that is also a GREAT sail IF one can handle such large sails. I purchased this sail for light winds and NOT to race. One year I used it almost 45 % of my outings in that summer season. It is too large to use for winter sessions, as these tend to be quite FAST!!

Now we get to the real reason for this post ... my MS Pursuit 8.5 ...

This is my MOST used sail and I use it on my BIC Dufour Wing 200 liter longboard, on my AHD 160 liter shortboard AND in the winter on my snow sled. Donut believe I have used it on the ice sled - again, would be too FAST. This sail has a GREAT deal of range and I rig it tight leech for snow and longboard. It can be downhauled wonderfully for the shortboard and rigged tight all over for some bigger winds around 20 knots and some really decent planing.

This sail is made with monofilm and i had some discussions on durability of the material when i first purchased it. I was re-assured and it seems true - it is slightly cloudy, the logos are peeling, butt the monofilm seems FINE. The stitching on the other hand seems to be wearing out at the batten pockets.

I posted some questions regarding this on the MS forum and the Auzzie forum. Barry has asked for some more info and I posted this photo:

On the Auzzie forum some folks said ride the sail until the end and even put mylar tape or duct tape until it dies. Others said chuck it and replace it and comedians that they think they are, posted the following pic of a sail they say they had to throw away !!

I have ridden some sails until the end and they looked NOTHING like the sail above :-)

The sails I consider my GOOD sails are ALL in GREAT shape and I hope to keep em as such. My question on the forums was to determine whether people replaced panels and/or stitching on their most-used sails. I did NOT get a clear definitive answer. One answer that did surprise me was: someone mentioned that North Sails had an excellent five(5) year warranty and they had used it successfully with some monofilm issue. In other words they said - the extra money for the North was well worth it. I donut know the warranty policy from MS and would be surprised if they paid for a stitching repair. Such things can be blamed on usage and/or poor rigging...

I did a calculation or estimate and came up with a figure of $5 per outing with the 8.5. This seems VERY acceptable !!

New sails in the 8.0 to 8.5 m² range all seem to be well over $600 now.
Found an almost new Maui Sails TR-6 8.4 for $800 asking. That seems expensive.
AuVentFou has a used MS Titan 8.0 for $650 - no negotiation for items on consignment.
Found a 2009 Severne Overdrive 8.0 asking $450, butt is about a 3 hour drive away.
Decisions, decisions ...

Followup: In the end, I decided to keep the sail and ride it until it dies.THEN I saw a used MS-2 8-oh with the MS 490/75% mast !!! Well, I purchased it. So now I am trying to sell the Pursuit 8.5 and the Autima 490 mast. So far only had a few nibbles. My w/s buddy suggests I sell them separately cuz the mast it still very good to go and the sail is B material - with lotsa life ...
See my post about MS-2 and Pursuit: maui-sails-pursuit-vs-ms-2.html

This discussion is about replacing sails and NOT changing sails.
For me - changing a sail means the sail is NOT performing as expected or one is using a sail in conditions it was not meant to be used. That is a different discussion entirely. When you are on the water - how to know it is time to change the sail ??

Formula Boards and Longboards

2011-07-07T01:46:00.026-04:00

Sometimes this discussion is called Formula vs. Longboards. I do not consider this a competition nor do I consider these board types to be mutually exclusive. It should be a symbiotic relationship in terms of helping windsurfing. Both are meant for the lighter to mid winds and start to be beyond their means when one speaks of 25 + knot winds.

Before I get too deep into discussion, perhaps I should briefly describe what these board types are, generally speaking. I will assume that the name Formula was derived from Formula car racing :-) These boards are typically low rider , wide boards – somewhat similar to the Formula I racing car. Nowadays Formula boards are typically one meter wide and shorter than they used to be and not nearly as long as a longboard. They usually have very long fins – around 70 cm and use very large sails – from 10-oh to 12-oh. The longboard, as the name implies, is a longer windsurf or sailboard – typically over 11 feet. Measures are relative and it is a simple measure to say that both Formula and Longboards will not fit into the average North American motor vehicle. The Formula boards are really wide and the Longboards really long. Longboards typically have what one calls dagger boards or centre boards. These act like a keel and help the board go upwind. Both boards work well with 8.5’s and I am unsure how large a sail a longboard can handle – probably depends on the board - in races it seems 9.5 is the max.

This discussion of "Formula Boards vs Longboards" is found in windsurf magazines, forums and at the local beach. Interestingly enough, locally there is more discussion and evidence of formula boards than longboards. Just as I met a fellow who wants to be considered an ambassador of SUP {stand up paddling} in the province of Québec, I wish to become an ambassador and advocate of longboarding in Montréal !!

I believe longboarding is less about racing than formula. Formula requires a certain amount of wind because it is very inefficient when there is almost no wind – like fewer than 10 knots (i say 10 knots cuz i am a heavyweight of close to 100 kilos). Longboards are fine in light to mid winds and the centre board helps when it comes to those lighter winds. People discuss what happens when longboards and formula boards race and it seems the results are extremely dependent on the course and the conditions. At a certain point, the formula board will just blow the doors off the longboard and other times the longboard will be the predominant winner. This is why I say they are NOT mutually exclusive AND as such I am surprised there are not more people or racers doing both. Perhaps it comes down to cost... Formula boards, sails and masts are extremely expensive. A race longboard is also extremely expensive. Interestingly enough, there are older race longboards that DO show up in the used market OCCASIONALLY.

A bit of history ... The earliest sailboards were longboards. They were long, heavy, had small fins, a centre board and no footstraps. Apparently the first world championships were in 1973. The International Mistral Class Organization/IMCO started in 1976. In 1984 windsurfing became part of the Olympics for men. Board choice has been an issue ever since and there was talk of removing the event from 2012 Olympics. Early longboards had boat like hulls, but flattened out quickly ... The most famous longboard of today has to be the Kona ONE and perhaps the Starboard Phantom. In the early race days, there were boards like the Mistral Equipe, Mistral Superlight, Fanatic Mega Cat, Tiga Race, the One Designs and F2 Lightning. Today’s longboards are still over 180 litres in volume and usually more than 11 feet.

Racing example:

The Starboard company was infamous (and still is) for coming out with new and innovative concepts when it comes to sailboards. They recovered the industry with the wide GO board and also started the Formula line in about 1999. In around 2002 the boards hit the one meter width and it has stayed there since. Other companies like AHD, BIC, Exocet, F2, Mistral and others have tried to keep with up with Starboard in the Formula arena, but have had difficulty.

Racing example:

In general people are saying that a Formula board will require about 2 knots less wind than a modern longboard in order to plane – when using the same sail for the same person. This is an interesting idea because typically people say one cannot use the same sail on these different boards since the formula prefers a sail with a loose leech and the longboard prefers a sail with a tighter leech.

So, the longboard can handle lighter winds more readily. The formula does not schlogg well. The formula board can be faster in planing. Both can go upwind quite well. Apparently it takes some getting used to when getting in the footstraps on the formula for the first time – due to board width. The formula has quite a long fin and as such has issues with shallow waters and rocks. They say formula boards are fragile. If you are not racing, one board and two(2) sails should be adequate in either of these disciplines. Both board types get you on the water earlier and both can handle quite decent winds – to about 25 knots.

So, it is just a matter of personal choice !! Since I like to go on the water and almost drift about and explore, I use an old longboard for now (BIC Dufour Wing) . I hope to try a Kona ONE end of July 2011 in Ottawa. These longboards are quite capable of planing and fast...Perhaps one day I will manage to purchase a used one...

For me it is all about TOW aka time on water. This week I sailed every day so far. My w/s buddy, who is selling his 160 and will have only a 130 liter board, would not even consider going out unless steady 16 knot winds. However, he too is considering the possibility of a Kona ONE. Some people "argue" that a large freeride board with larger sails is the "way to go" - rather than formula. I have a 160 liter/79 cm board that i use with an 8.5 and 10-oh. With my weight, the starting point is 12 knots. Under that, I go for the longboard. With a formula i might gain 2 knots ie be able to start planing at 10 knots. I have determined that i can do the same thing much more cheaply - just lose some more weight !! {Allison Shreeve of Australia says she can plane in 6 knots on a Formula board !!}

My motto: Get out there and ride. You're gonna like it :-)
Unfortunately, my skills stop me around the 25 knot mark - also when waves get over about one foot... {for now !!}

Follow-up: Re-discovered a piece on James Douglass' blog: http://jimbodouglass.blogspot.com/2009/09/wind-thresholds-and-kitestration.html In this post it discusses and shows on the graph that longboards can reach planing thresholds around 12 knots whereas Formula boards do this around 8 knots. However, it is NOT until 12 knots in the Formula arena when pumping is no longer required. Personally, I have never been a fan of pumping and use it sparingly. Have NO idea how the Olympic RSX folks do it cuz it is TIRING !!

For me the issues for Formula are cost and pumping. For the longboard the issue is availability !! Cannot easily find Phantoms or Kona ONEs !!! Will check out the Konas in Ottawa the weekend of 31JUL2011 and go from there - will probably stay with what i have since sails are starting to need replacement...

Update: Since the original post, I have purchased an MS-2 8-oh with matching 490/75 mast and a Fanatic Ultra CAT, a classique longboard. This CAT can plane when even the kiters got off the water at OKA Park and it can handle the 10-oh. The Formula solution for me was too $$$, too specialized, too long a fin and too sensitive. The longboard was inexpensive, can go in 7 knots, has a short 12 inch/30 cm fin and fully retractable centreboard and can handle any abuse. This was a NO brainer for me and it gets chuckles or comments wherever i go :-)

Me n my BEE

2011-06-28T19:29:00.027-04:00

28JUN2011 - off for the week - went to visit the outlaws at the chalet with the wife n the kid - on a Tuesday.

Brought the stuff to test the BEE.

Dutch fellow Robert on a BEE LTD 124 with an 8.1 ripping it up
from http://windsurfing.rdeleeuw.nl/spullen/

I must have hated the first test OR forgot to write about it in the journal !!! There was one day where i did the intro test on the 2001 Fanatic BEE LTD 124. When i have newbies learning how to w/s, i have them stand on the board to see how they balance the board and sometimes can spot balance issues. So, i took the BEE to AAO and put it in the water with NO sail and tried to stand on it. WELL, those smaller boards just do NOT balance the same. At one point i started to worry that i had made a mistake. Also, the anti-skid on the board was still rough enuff to rip the skin on my shins. I was NOT a happy camper that day. Although I did RIP on the 160 with the 8.5 after !!!

Add to that - my buddy now has a 2011 Fanatic Hawk 135 which he finds extremely difficult to up-haul on !!

In case you do not follow this blog or do not know me/us. My current weight is 97 kilos/ 215 pounds. Lost 35 pounds from 250 - just for windsurfing :-) {yes, i know - that was not a healthy weight}. So, these are our next boards down from our big lite wind floaters -- 160 liters AHD FF for me and BIC Techno II 160 for my 235 pound w/s buddy. {the BIC was sold and he is sticking with his Hawk 135}

This test at the chalet was with a wetsuit - no scuffing the shins and with a sail (old Gaastra Flow 3x 7.0) as a counterbalance. Winds were extremely light - the idea was to test the possibility of up-hauling.

The first thing i noticed, it was a cinch to carry the kit - board n sail - to the water as one unit. When i try this with my 160 liter board and 8.5 sail, it is a chore and NO easy task. NO wonder the others are marching to the wind with ease !!! Their kits are much lighter and easier to carry $%^&*()_

It was also a good thing that i did the previous post on up-hauling a smaller board. I did NOT straddle the mast, but instead had the front foot against the front of the mast base and used the back foot to balance how the front of the board was in relation to the top of the water.

It was not that difficult, butt i did NOT ever sink lower than 6 inches in the water. I was even able to schlogg and managed one or two(2) tacks. A light wind jibe/gybe actually went through as well.

When the wind gave a little kick, the front foot started to go back and the smile started to form on my face.

Yeah, now i almost cannot wait to give a real buzz on the water with my BEE !!!

just me n the BEE :-)

--------------

{found the entry of my first test on the BEE - it was in my original journal entries - just before or around the time they kept getting fuddled up - it was 03JUN2011 - beginning of the month on a Friday - it was the day some "lady" gave me shite for wearing a Marilyn Manson t-shirt :-) in her honour, i will wear it again next time i go out :-) }

for my records - the mast was at 140 cm from the tail - for balance

-------------------
SAT 02JUL2011 was on the lake with the BEE and the Gaastra 7-oh. In a bathing suit {yes - scuffed the shins :-(} and had better winds.

Was surprised that I could NOT get the board planing in those winds. The BIC Dufour felt smoother and faster than the BEE in the same winds with the same sail. Unfortunately I already pushed my back too much and was NOT ready to try the 8.5 on the BEE - although i really wanted too. I paid dearly just for not resting the back - on the drive home every bump hurt my back :-(

As the song says "NOTHING CAN STOP ME NOW - I JUST DON'T CARE ANYMORE..." NIN-piggy

Was actually able to do some tacks n gybes - not full speed though and NOT real gybes. At times the board goes down over one foot in the water ...
Waterstarts n footstraps - here i come !!

Uphauling a sail onto a "smaller" board

2011-06-21T19:54:00.013-04:00

The reason I put the title word smaller in quotes is : size is relative. My windsurf buddy weighs about 230 lbs (about 105 kilos) and is starting to use his new Fanatic Hawk 135. This board is weight in kilos plus 30. He has difficulty up-hauling and this is a new skill to be acquired. Tinho Dornellas of Calema Sports in Florida states that it is imperative to be able to up-haul onto your board cuz there are always times when the wind goes down or wind-shadows, etc.

Bruno of 2-rad says he can up-haul on his 90 liter board and he too is 200 lbs.

It basically takes some skill AND practice. Bruno has said he keeps the front foot in front of the mast and the back foot back ie NOT straddling the mast. The reason he does this is: he wishes to start with the sail azap. Nelson of 2-rad calls getting going after that an upside down triangle ...

Here is an article on the subject and i will "steal" some pieces of info and some photos: http://books.google.ca/books

clique images to enlarge !! and see more clearly

what, down-haul line slippage #$%^&*(

2011-06-13T20:24:00.034-04:00

This season i needed to replace some ropes/cords and decided to give the latest material dyneema a try. It's supposed to be indestructible.

Well, two(2) days ago , on Saturday - the 10th of June, i was rigging my Maui Sails TR-4 10-oh race sail on a 520 mast with a Chinook mast extension. I thought i had placed the cord into the cleat well and i saw it slip back %^&* Okay, let's try that again. This time i gave it more down-haul and clamped the line in the cleat. Darn it, i saw it move again %^&*()

Wrote about this on the StarBoard/SB and MauiSails/MS forums. Barry Spanier of MS replied saying clam cleats wear out !!! I had absolutely NO idea about this $%^&*() One fellow wrote that he had never had ANY issue with North clam cleats. Well, this is a direct competitor to Maui Sails :-)

I looked it up and the CL250 retails for about $16. Another search showed that windance had em, butt not much available in this area... For now I will try my spare mast extension which is an Xtreme Proline. Then see if i can get that part elsewhere or e-bay. {found one @ auventfou and reserved it !!}

On the SB forum a fellow commented that it is was the line {and here, redsurfbus did as well}... I have "older" nylon line and "spare" dyneema - i can do experiments with the 10-oh.

Man, even the little dependable things give out after time :-(

found an interesting post on iwindsurf ==> http://www.iwindsurf.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=22369

Update: Tried my "older" Xtreme Proline mast base (which also has a dyneema cord) with the Maui Sails TR-4 10-oh sail AND there was NO slippage. So, is it the cable wearing out or the CL250 clam cleat ??

Once again, time {and experiments} will tell $%^&U* and yes, i will continue this subject until satisfied !!

23JUN2011 picked up the CL250 clamcleat for $10 from auventfou - made in England. Does not look that different than the current one. Was a real PITA removing old one and putting "new" one. Winds 20 to 40 kph tomorrow - perhaps time to test it out in the rain ??

clique to enlarge

clique to see more clearly

24JUN2011 did manage to go out, butt winds and waves were overwhelming for my limited w/s experience. Was rigged with an 8.5 rather than the 10-oh - still over, butt in any case, the down-haul line did NOT slip. Still need to test the same line with the 10-oh. And to be sure - on more than one occasion. Could always try rigging it in the back yard ...

28JUN2011 - no slippage with the 7-oh.

29JUN2011 - no slippage with the 8.5 on rigging nor use and i was ripping.

btw i was surprised when i picked up the CL250, they were mounting an MS Pursuit on a Unifiber mast. Customer was returning a broken Unifiber mast - under warranty :-( The young girl who now works @ auventfou informed me that Unifiber makes all kinds of masts ie constant curve, flex top and hard top. So, that is why they have that interesting chart !!! They know whose business to steal !!

11JUL2011 - still NO slippage to date since changing the clip, butt i have NOT rigged the 10-oh yet. Have an issue with my back since i moved the neighbour's table :-( Perhaps will rig it in the back yard in order to complete this post.

25AUG2011 - again - still NO slippage and again have still NOT rigged that 10-oh. Again, will hafta do that in the backyard then %^&*(

02SEPT2011 - finally went out with the 10-oh. There was NO slippage and i did rig twice. Since it was NOT windy, i took the occasion to correctly rig the sail, apply Sailkote for cams, etc.

This DOES suggest that the CL250 clam-cleat for $10 solved the slippage issue.

Would changing the cord have done the same thing ??
That solution would also cost $1 per foot of dyneema and thus only slightly less expensive - both negligible costs !! I used to make my cords about 6 feet. Now I am considering 8 feet !!!

Getting Hooked

2011-06-12T07:32:00.005-04:00

During my last session, in my hurry, I forgot to tie the seat harness straps around my legs. This basically turned the seat harness into a waist harness. I sailed like this with a 10-oh race sail without even realizing it until i got off the water. In fact i was loving it !!!

What i did notice while on the water was the boom was higher than usual - when i use the harness i put it lower- and was actually where i like it when i am not in the harness - like on the long-board on a lite wind day. Even with 30 inch harness lines, i still lower the boom to facilitate easier hooking in and hanging down low.

This makes me wonder whether i would enjoy or like a waist harness more than my current old seat harness. What i am going to do as an experiment is put the leg straps/attachments looser in order to keep the hook about two to three inches higher...

That session i had also moved the harness lines back on the boom to where i had liked them last year. This seemed to help as well.

The bigger issue for me is still the foot-straps. I am frust-strapped !! I am trying to either get in the straps too early or too late %^&*( This year my intention is to get in the foot-straps and to nail those water-starts $%^&*() After that i can concentrate on maneuvering around the chop (too small to really be called waves).

Read an article that explained how easy it is to teach people all these facets IF you are in an area with steady constant winds, shallower water and not too much wave. That's not happening here :-) For me it just means it will take longer, butt i am enjoying myself each time i go out just the same. I can still blast, chop hop and bask in the sun on a lite wind day !!!

My motto: just get on the water - and LOVE it :-)

DEMO DAY 2011 in Montreal = Saturday 11 June @ l'Anse à l'Orme/AAO

2011-06-08T21:39:00.019-04:00

This was the message and invitation from the PREZ, Dave Cadoret - translated by me
once info is provided on the APVM site about the event , i will present it here or at least provide the link/url.

APVM = Association Planche à Voile Montréal = Montreal's Windsurf Association

so far weather predictions are NOT good - 20 kph wind from the SE - no good for AAO and strong for newbies + 5 to 10 mm rain = damn $%^&* - let's hope 4 change !!!
it did NOT rain until later AND winds were more than 20 kph from the SE/ESE in the pm.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
this message is a cordial invitation to the 20th anniversary of APVM's DEMO DAY
ce message est pour vous inviter cordialement à la journée démo du 20e anniversaire de l'APVM.

Où : Parc de l'Anse à l'Orme, Montréal
Quand : samedi le 11 juin de 10h à 17h

This year there was a concerted effort to ensure the day represents its name well. Boutiques and the following companies will be on-site to show you their products and let you try them...
Cette année, nous avons concentré notre énergie pour que la journée porte son nom. Les boutiques et compagnies suivantes seront sur place pour vous montrer leurs produits et vous les faire essayer :

Boutiques :

* 30 noeuds
* Wind Spirit
* 2 Rad

Compagnies :

* Boutique-Windsurf
* Voile libre
* Makani

Come and test various products - it is the time to do so !!! There is always the BBQ on site, initiation clinics with the url for the inscription below:
Vous voulez voir et tester différents produits... ça va être le temps ! Il y a toujours notre BBQ sur place, les cliniques d'initiation (invitez des gens à la clinique : http://www.apvm.ca/inscription_demoday.htm ).

Pour les cliniques présentes :

* Les voiles : Bruno de 2 Rad
* Les ailerons : Louis de Makani
* Cliniques d'initiation

And as always, the famous MEGA draw with all kinds of articles and gift certificates with a radical board: SB EVO 75.

Et bien entendu, notre fameux MÉGA tirage comprenant une panoplie d'articles et certificats cadeaux des boutiques et compagnies et d'une planche assez radicale cette année : Starboard Evo 75 litres.

Volunteers are needed / Bénévoles demandés :

As we do each year, we invite you and anyone who wishes to help - to help us make this a great day for all.
Comme à chaque année, nous vous invitons aussi pour les gens qui le désirent à venir nous aider pour le bon fonctionnement de la journée.

We always need people at the information table, BBQ, beginner clinics and to put the site together (8h30-9h00)- just write to dave.wave@sympatico.ca Nous avons toujours besoin de gens à la table d'accueil, au BBQ ainsi que pour les cliniques de débutants et pour monter le site (vers 8h30-9h le matin). (répondre à ce courriel pour me contacter et donner vos disponibilités).

It is also a great time for you and anyone who wishes to join or renew their APVM membership !!
C'est aussi le temps pour ceux qui le désirent de faire leur renouvellement de membre à l'APVM.

Looking forward to seeing you all !!!
Au plaisir de vous y voir !

Dave the Wave Cadoret

When is there enuff wind?

2011-06-06T20:29:00.016-04:00

In my last post I wrote about what is too much wind. Quite often the converse is an issue as well. When is there enuff wind ?

There have been plenty of times when i/we have gone windsurfing and sat on-shore waiting for the wind to pick up or in some instances to change direction. Often, when the direction was off slightly we would go off to another more promising site. Some people say - never leave wind for wind elsewhere...

My windsurf buddy, has purchased a Fanatic Hawk 135 and is now selling his BIC Techno 2 160 liter board. This means his wind expectations have increased.

I, on the other hand, have gone to the country and brought back my BIC Dufour Wing, which has about 220 liters of volume. This means my wind expectations have decreased. The proof is in the pudding. Why, just last month, May 2011, I have been out approximately ten (10) times. About eighty(80) percent of those outings have been in lighter winds - on the Dufour with a MS Pursuit 8.5. Just yesterday, Sunday the 5th of June, I was out on a beautiful sunny day on the local river in winds all under 10 mph. And yet, I had the time of my life and it made me feel like i actually lived out in the countryside and was taking a stroll on the water !!

There are things called pain thresholds. I suggest there are levels called pleasure or joy thresholds. How much wind does a windsurfer need to have a great time. I venture to say most of it is in the mind. If you think you're gonna have a good time - why usually you do !!!

Obviously if the wind is too low for the equipment you have on site, it is a different issue. And that is why I have added the monster board and whenever winds are announced as 20 to 40 kph, I will bring along the Dufour. This way i am sure, I will venture out on the water. Since i seem to know myself somewhat - as a water rat - any time on the water is a good time !!

My hope is that people lower their wind thresholds and grasp the joy of being on the water. Yes, going fast and trying new stuff has great pleasures as well. However, i donut want to be dependent on bigger winds for my fix. I am not ready to buy a SUP or other water gadget, butt have enough stuff to go on winds from 5 mph to about 30 mph. Under that forget it and over that, my skills just are not there. This addresses about 90 % of the winds we have and guarantees me at least one wind session per week :-)

Right now Wednesday is starting to be set as next "bigger" wind day. It is about 15 mph, which sounds like 20 to 40 kph to me. I prefer the sun, but am ready to go in the wet anyway. AND the days are getting longer. Can put in a full day's work, go out on the water and still get home in time to make supper.

How can anyone complain about that? Life as a waterman is GREAT :-)

Some people go the Formula route, butt that is not a road for everyone and expen$ive.

This lighter fellow reaches 18 knots GPS in just 10 to 13 knots with an 8.0 !!! Not bad !!!
As a heavyweight, I need to use a 10-oh on my 160 liter board in such winds to have similiar results.
And the moral of this story is - get on your board n ride :-)

Ironically I came across an article in an old Windsurf Mag from 2008 today on the train... It stated that you knew you were a longboarder if you preferred the tack over the jibe - guilty. Also said 7 mph winds are enuff to put a grin on your face - guilty. What i found really interesting was the stats - what is your biggest board?
The numbers were:
21.29 % Longboard
11.39 % Formula
44.06 % 101 to 150 liters
16.34 % 85 to 100 liters
6.93 % under 85 liters = WOW
This was apparently based on reader input and i am interested to know how well that represents the North American windsurf population. Nowadays SUP and KONA are becoming popular and may influence the big board numbers...

Followup: Bruno of 2-rad tells me he can plane with 200 lbs on a 90 liter board with a 6.2 sail in 14 knots of wind... Someone wrote something similar in a comment on another post - let me find it ... Anonymous had written in the next post about too much wind that "average joe windsurfers" use 4.2s in the Gorge and that everything is relative. Luckily, Einstein agrees :-)

How much wind is too much wind ??

2011-06-01T18:34:00.010-04:00

Today on the first of June 2011, my buddy wanted to go out and try his brand new Fanatic Hawk 135. I can understand why he is anxious to get out. I did NOT even bring my stuff nor my car to work and Helmut was surprised. I warned him that winds were going to be beyond me and my average joe skills. He always says i do crazy stuff , take crazy risks and put myself in crazy situations. And i DO !!

However, today was NOT a day for me to be on the water %^&*()_

The winds were gonna be crazy, they spoke about thunderstorms and someone even mentioned hail %^&*( The grass in front of the office was blowing like something you see in the movies.

I did a reading with my wind meter at home and only got a max of 24 kph. But that was with the houses blocking. In the IGA grocery parking lot I received a maximum reading of 32 kph. Went to the bridge over troubled water on the 117 and had steady winds at 20 kph with gusts to 30 kph. Just when I was thinking it was not so bad and perhaps sail-able for someone of my average joe skills, the wheel on the digital anemometer started singing and showed a max of 47 kph !!There were ONLY two(2) jet skis on the water - NO kayaks and NO canoes.

The Mirabel areoport showed 20 mph winds with over 30 mph gusts.

Yeah, butt look at Dorval readings !!! Almost 30 to 50 mph winds !!!

Here is a shot from Lac de deux Montagnes as well and that is from a protected camera where NW winds would show even stronger !!!

The local experts on quebecwind were talking about their 4.x sails and being over. Or standing on shore and drooling cuz they just did not have the equipment for the day. In my case, it is easy, I donut have the skills !!

Let's just say that day there was enough wind to knock out electricity for thousands of homes for over 18 hours. This is obviously nothing like a catastrophe - just "too much wind".

This is all fine n dandy, butt what do you do when you are in the middle of a race and the wind starts to kick axx?? Check this race where the guys are just flying and obviously way overpowered !! Sorry, no sound this time ...

And this is apparently what some of the experts say about sailing overpowered - quoted from the Auzzie forum:

Jimmy Diaz (Starboard / North)

"I don't want to share my secrets; I was out there on a 6.3, I made all the semi-finals and one final. There were guys falling down on their 5.7's, it's not because I was stronger, I did the maximum I could with my equipment, I tuned it to the best of my ability to keep it under control. I know there are guys that don't think about this, one day they will find out when I stop racing, maybe then I will share my secrets."

Cyril Moussilmani (Starboard / North)

"I just take a brand new sail put the mast in and I sail with it. My smallest sail is 5.7m North, I am part of the R+D teams for North and Starboard so I know the gear really well. I am used to sailing in high wind conditions so it is not a problem for me."

"There are two different styles, mine is to stand on the board very upright, and I open the leach to release the wind. Other people like to get down really low in the harness and use their weight. But I like to release the wind and get the flow going fast."

Julien Quentel (RRD / NeilPryde)

"My secret is my secret; I am from the Caribbean and that is the best secret. I was on my 5.5m in the strong winds, I like to have long harness lines and get my weight down really low to absorb all the power, and don't go full speed all the time so that you don't always crash.

Antoine Albeau (JP / NeilPryde)

"There is no secret; just tuning your equipment and being safe on the gear, make sure you are really comfortable. I put my harness lines in the correct location; I put my boom down a little so I can get my weight down really low. I make sure my board is always in the water and I and have maximum control."

can u say JUMP ??

2011-05-26T21:35:00.013-04:00

Don't forget to change it to 480p {at the very least} and to make it FULLSCREEN clique it to open in another TAB; change it to 480 or HD and then FULLSCREEN - ENJOY

Heavyweights and Windsurfing

2011-05-22T09:48:00.087-04:00

It seems anything over about 75 kilos (ONLY 165 lbs!!) is considered a heavyweight in the windsurfing world. One would think this would make it easier for women since they are typically under this weight, but not even that apparently !!
(Catapulting Aaron commented average American male windsurfer is more like 80 kilos or 176 pounds.)

At just under 100 kilos, what does that make me ?? The doctor says my weight is okay and i could stand to lose a few pounds, butt i am no longer in the so called obese category as per BMI. When i call myself "average joe windsurfer", it is in terms of skills and experience and NOT in terms of weight. Perhaps i should call myself average BIG joe windsurfer ?? :-) {why does this blog not post smiling faces ?? :-)}

I started this post due to a long time frustration and this entry on the MauiSails forum: http://www.mauisails.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=3213

This gentleman,Mike, windsurfed many years ago and wishes to get back into the sport on a lake environment. As a heavyweight it was recommended he purchase a Fanatic Viper 85 which is 220 liters and obviously 85 cm wide with a very small learner sail 6.0. Personally feel this is "putz about" equipment and the gentleman will outgrow it extremely quickly. Also, around 2006 Fanatic was suggesting more narrow boards - around 80 cm. I posted an entry on the Fanatic forum to see what they have to say about the width factor on the Viper ...
"back in about 2006 Fanatic seemed to be going away from very wide boards and staying under 80 cm. There is an 85 cm wide Viper available now. On the MauiSails forum a gentleman was asking about this board. He weighs about 250 lbs and wishes to sail on small to large lakes. My question is whether he would be better off with an 80 cm board which can glide through holes and plane up great in bigger winds. "
This was the answer from Fanatic forum:
"Hi Joe,

I guess that Viper 85 has been in the line since about 2006, actually mainly due to US market at first, although nowdays most of our schools share 80/85 sizes equally. For 250lbs, he might be better off on the 85, the extra width and volume does not hurt, especially for fresh water sailing. Depends a bit on the winds obviously, if it´s constantly windy, the 80 might work, but doubt it is on smaller lakes.

Good sailing,

Craig "
So, it depends on whether it will be more on the small lake or larger lake with bigger, steadier winds - and this makes good sense.

Here's the Fanatic sales pitch on youtube:

Mike has everything going against him - and that is regarding one of the greatest water sports around %^&* --- Not many longboards offered (or too technical and $$$), he is NOT an average weight person as per equipment setups and he is going on a lake.

Having windsurfed on a small lake of one mile length and less width for many years , a longboard is still the obvious choice. This issue today is - which one is the best for these lakes for not too much money ?? And once again - best for heavyweights of 100 + kilos... What was once a standard seems to be harder n harder to get. Then again, Starboard seems to be adding a centre-board to their larger GOs.

The other side of the coin is that the fastest windsurfers in the world are over 100 kilos and often tall as well. Antoine Albeau, Bjorn Dunkerbeck and Finian Maynard are some of the world's fastest and yet not small men. Dave White is a also a big man and known for incredible speeds and making it look effortless. Dave is a special windsurfer in that he does things with equipment that it was never intended to do - more on that later.

Antoine on a narrow speed needle

The sail seems to be a simpler "issue". I suggested a no-cam fully battened MS Pursuit 7.0 sail. This sail for a bigger fellow will get him started, not be too heavy and can be used in the future as a quite decent sail. Would have preferred an 8.5, but need to know skill potential first. More on that from Tinho later ...

If it was for a shortboard and a heavyweight returning back to windsurfing, I think the choice would be a little easier. A small reminder: I speak about flat water blasting with some chop. Those doing bump n jump and/or wave are on a different scale as far as I am concerned. So, a heavyweight over 100 kilos getting back into windsurfing on a shortboard... One could use a 135 liter board to be able to uphaul, especially a wide one, but that could be frustrating... Suggest a 160 liter shortboard with about 80 cm of width. Also, personally feel longer is better for coasting through lulls. AND would stick to the suggestion of a 7-oh sail to start. Later get that 8.5 and rip. My 230 lb buddy just purchased his second board - a Fanatic Hawk 135 - after his BIC Techno 2 160. Let's see how that goes - will he get rid of the 160 is the question !! He never went for the 10-oh - feeling it was just too big. He also wants to go to 8-oh when he replaces the 8.5. My 8.5 is practically my favourite setup for the BIC Dufour and the AHD FF !!
Follow-up: Now i am REALLY surprised. After just one trial run with the Fanatic Hawk 135 in overpowering conditions on a Retro 6-oh, Helmut has put his BIC Techno II 160 up for sale. This is against both my and Bruno of 2-rad's recommendation/suggestion. Not so sure the 135 will be a good schlogger. Once again, time will tell ...
Follow-up2: Attempts to run the 8.5 in 15 knot winds and wind shadows proved difficult. Almost impossible to uphaul. We'll see...
Follow-up3: Helmut beach started the Hawk 135 , planed, got in the foot-straps and hit his brand new Hawk with the mast :-(
Bruno of 2-rad ,who repaired the board for 20 bucks , says he can plane on his RRD 90 liter board using a 6.2 in 14 knots - and he is 200 lbs !!! For me that's my 160 liter board using my 10-oh !! And Helmut confirmed that 16 knots is perfect for the 8.5 So, how does Bruno do it ???
Followup4: Helmut sold his 2006 BIC Techno II 160 liter board with two(2) fins for $700. Now he is definitely limited to 16 + knot winds and must improve water starts, and jibes. Also feels like his board retained value more than my 2006 AHD FF 160. The AHD is more sensitive, more expensive and rated as a "better board". I probably will never sell it cuz it is my go-to board in 12 + knots !!!

Okay, so, which longboard should a heavyweight use on a lake? GO, Serenity, KONA, Viper, AHD ZEN or ??? Width was discussed with the fanatic forum question earlier in this post... Seems like 80 to 90 cm is a good width for starting back.

Here is a pic of the AHD ZEN: {hey - another pic that disappeared - need to copy them rather than link them ^&*( - will do so now !!!!}

When I purchased my 2006 AHD FastForward/FF 160 in 2007, the original intent was to upgrade the BIC Dufour Wing longboard. On the short list were the Fanatic Viper and the AHD ZEN since both would be supplied by local windsurf shops. I had narrowed it down to the ZEN 170 since i would also use it on the St-Lawrence with hopes of going in bigger winds. Thus, I was NOT going for the 200+ liter boards. I will post this question to both AHD and Tinho Dornellas of Calema Sports in Florida - since he was the designer of this board ... Bruno André replied and seemed to feel the 80 cm board would be fine - he did not comment on volume. Tinho replied saying he uses both the Viper 80 and 85 for teaching. He agrees with Craig of Fanatic in that an 80 cm Viper is good for a heavyweight with some skills. Tinho also pointed out the fin that comes with the board is NOT adequate. This is an often overlooked detail - i did it here %^&*( Tinho also went so far as to suggest a larger performance sail ie possibility of cambers... The most i suggested was an 8.5 and had not even considered cambers since Mike was getting back in the sport and some people do not like the extra "hassle" of cambers. If it is an issue, it is NOT in terms of rigging, nor de-rigging. The worst problem i have encountered is failure of cams to rotate in light winds or when the sail is new and not hauled enough.. Oh yeah, Tinho mentioned the option of a SUP that can handle a sail as well...

Many of the Starboard/SB boards that are for "beginners" are 85 cm wide, but are much less in volume - around 170 liters. Boards of this genre and longboards today all have fully retractable centreboards. With a little bigger back fin they can act like a shortboard !! Then there are the new concepts like the KONA where the surface area on the water changes as one speeds up !!! The Serenity is a special animal that is not for all and seems to require some windsurf skills already. It reminds me of the sculls, but with a sail. There is always the SUP option with a sail as well now.I will put a post on the SB forum to see what Roger Jackson says for Starboard longboards to start back with as a heavyweight.

Roger has responded and suggested the SB Phantom 320 as a first choice, the RIO L as second and he reluctantly suggested the GO windsurfer as third. The Phantom is more like the traditional longboard. My only question is: where does one get one in the NE USA and how much ?? Saw some decent videos on this board !!!

What about Exocet KONA ONE 220 and Tabou Windstyler 220?? The Kona Link is 220 liters, 80 cm wide and costs about $1200 at windspirit.com. The Tabou Windstyler is 220 liters also, but only 72 cm wide. This is okay for a longboard, but is a choice one has to make ...Windsurfing-direct.com does not seem to have em - they have the slightly smaller Rider. Let me write Matt Pritchard... Matt is already in contact with Mike = excellent !! Jerry of the Toronto Windsurf club strongly suggests the KONA as a "modern" longboard. It seems there are more options that I originally had thought !! This is good news...

Here is a video of Tinho Dornella's custom board Z2 - made for heavyweights. Tinho was also the designer of the infamous AHD ZEN - another great starter board...

I had promised more on Dave White aka Whitey. Here is an article about a big windsurfer, who apparently now spends more time doing photography !!
http://www.guycribb.com/userfiles/documents/HavingItLarge.pdf

This is much BETTER than American Idol - which board will win ?? Scotty won AI, butt which board will win this race ??

Mike had said he would let us know the outcome of his hunt for the return to windsurfing. Let us wish him lots of luck !! At last "discussion" he seemed to be tending towards the SB Phantom - since he will be on a small lake as well..
----------------------
210 pound/95 kilo fellow considering a BIC Techno II 160 liter board https://www.iwindsurf.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=17969&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=0

some more discussion on this heavyweight subject here as well: http://www.iwindsurf.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=22491

and again in SEPT 2011

http://www.iwindsurf.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=23272

Windsurfing and cramps

2011-05-18T19:35:00.016-04:00

TUE 17MAY 2011 - Never thought this would happen to me, nor that i would actually be writing about it. Some articles state it happens more with age - perhaps that is it :-(

Went on the local river in overpowered conditions with the old longboard and the 7-oh. Developed a cramp in the right thigh - on top. It hurt, but continued just the same. Managed to continue for about another twenty(20) minutes with occasional pain. It was pretty cold - had gloves and hood just around the neck, and i never do stretch warm-ups.

So, what else did the literature say? Dehydration when hot. That did not seem to be the case. Apparently 1/2 litre of water is recommended for every x pounds lost. Do i need to weigh myself or just drink water ?? :-) Carbohydrates? Had supper not half an hour before. Magnesium, sodium, calcium and/or potassium? What is this, high school chemistry ? It seems bananas, nuts and fruits are strongly suggested around high activity. Actually read an article where a banana was suggested for every two(2) hours of board sailing. What about lactic acid ? This one and unaccustomed heavy exercise seem to make the most sense to me. As an adolescent I always had calf cramps and i do have a lactose/ lactase issue. Need to investigate further what can help here.

And i say NO to drugs - no quinine (apparently in tonic water) or any other weird dopes against cramps. Advil is about as far as i will go.Vitamins B complex and E i would also tolerate as solutions...or preventative measures. Redsurfbus comments that one can get magnesium tablets at the "health food store".

Once one has the cramp, the consensus seems to be to stretch that poor muscle. The calf cramps used to subside with strong massages "away from the heart" - as someone suggested to me once.

For me it still feels like there is NO clear cut answer to this. Obviously once one cramps one needs to be careful. Bananas and salty peanuts with water before and during windsurfing just sounds like more fun to me. How can i convince my wife after that that i am truly exercising ? Going out for some peanuts, bananas, a little sailing and some of the boys may have a brew or two after. Exercise, yeah right!!!!

Personally this is only the second time this has happened to me in regards to windsurfing. Once while practicing water starts and this time.
In karate ripped the left thigh muscle many years ago, but this was the left one - so, not an old vunerability....

If windsurfing encourages me to lose weight, eat healthy, sleep better, get exercise and get fresh air - who can complain ??
Two cramps in over ten(10) years ain't that bad #$%^&*()_

Follow-up: have had some more cramps during water/beach starts. By co-incidence came across another windsurfer discussing this painful subject: http://boardtests.com/2011/07/6-tips-how-to-avoid-muscle-cramps-while-windsurfing/ and http://www.iwindsurf.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=23054

Could water be faster than ice ??

2011-05-10T19:38:00.012-04:00

TUE 10MAY2011 Finally had a good day on the water with the shortboard. Still waiting for the stainless steel 6 mm screws to attach the fin to my Fanatic BEE LTD 124. So, still only using the AHD FF 160. It looks worse for the wear, but still rips. Wind was ENE and not sure whether to go to Vaudreuils or the river Milles Isles near my house. Gas is still expensive AND it is still early in the season. This means near home will be fine. Winds checked from shore were at under 12 knots. Water looked stronger further out and saw whitecaps. That should have been a warning. Rigged the 8.5 fairly tightly and screamed across the water, butt felt over :-(

It's about 16h15 - go home or rig down ? Rig down :-) Put the cambered 7-oh with the 40 cm Select fin. Still screaming, but feeling much more in control. Many wind shadows, but fun was had just the same. Next time rig lower when white caps are visible.

Full day at work, over an hour of ripping on the local river and was home by 17h45.
Life is GOOD.
Give the session 8 out of 10 due to over-rigging in the beginning. Is it better to rig up or down ? I would guess up since it is less tiring :-)

It felt pretty darn fast and wonder how it compares to some of the ice runs this winter.
How quickly we forget. Some lucky fellows have GPS and thus have a much better idea...

Do not have a GPS, butt there is Google maps.. The white lines are an idea of my trajectory - hand drawn and there were more than three(3) :-) -- and the yellow line denotes the wind shadow. Was using it for tacks since it is the first good day this year for me ...

Based on the wind-chart - i was right to rig the 8.5 when i arrived AND correct in rigging down around 16h00!!

A fellow windsurf blogger whom i respect, feels that simple journal entries are somewhat trite. In one essence i can see his point - on the other hand i need to log what works for me - this helps with rigging later and what to watch for - last few sessions have taught me NOT to rig too big. After a season i know which sails were used the most and where to spend money after that. For now I know i am NOT ready for 6-oh and not ready for a 95 to 105 liter board. In order to keep it interesting, i will only discuss the "different" sessions and keep the "boring" ones in the "old journal section". Hope this helps to keep some people interested :-)

After all my errors in terms of equipment selection, i updated the safety post !!
safety-first.html
( I had also pinched my thumb under the boom while trying to adjust it on the water - to relieve pressure i punched a hole through the nail with a pin - did NOT look BAD axx enuff to post here :-) Ironically the newest WindSurf Mag also has an article on Tips for Sailing Safely. The number one tip is rig right !! AND they write about knowing your limits ...

Skunked - what, AGAIN ??

2011-05-07T14:25:00.005-04:00

FRI 06MAY2011 Tried to get out of the office by 14h30 - my week was done and nothing was waiting for me. As usual the Friday PM gang shows up - that's why i always try to get my week dunn AZAP on FRIDY. Did not get out of the office until 15h00...Winds were supposed to be good around this time and crazee later. Well, unfortantely only the 2nd part was correct $%^&* Git there and NO-ONE there nor on the water. My w/s buddy shows up and a van with dakine bags too. No-one is moving. Okay, winds at about 10 knots max, i'll rig as big as i brought - 8.5 no cam loose on the 160 light winder. Can you say schlogg ?? Go back in at the boat ramp at Pte-Claire. That shoulda bin my warning. Start at the high water on the beach and go downwind and waves to the ramp ie both wind and wave goin the same way.

Sit n chat with Helmut and then it starts pickin up - oooh maybe it will be okay now ? I make no adjustment and i already have issues just gettin off the beach area. I go and it takes off. Schloggin b4 - so now let's do some downwinders. oooooooooo i'm flying... starting to feel a little overwhelmed in that no adjustments and just keep getting faster n faster. Tack and back in upwind slightly. Next run out and WOWEE. Two(2) more runs and i am dunn, butt guess what - i am now out about 250 yards and really overpowered. Try to swim it in. Make it to the wave breakers at the harbour - no boats in water yet. Can`t do anything here %?&*()

Keep swimmin towards shore. When i am almost at shore a small motorboat passes and asks if i am okay. At that point i was tryin to use some sailpower to get to shore. yeah, i`m okay and did i know there was no coast guard on the water? yeah - i can imagine that - there does not seem to be coast guard available in the summer either ?&*(

Made to the park just down from the harbour. Seemed to have collected some spectators by this point :-) Went to get the van and there was someone waterstarting. Wind was down now and a fellow who was out last week in 6 foot waves did NOT go - he was waiting for the wind to pick up. He weighs 200 lbs , uses an 85 liter board and 5.x sails !!!

Did i have fun. oh yeah - nothin keeps me down - just another lesson and a warning. Perhaps i am not ready for Pte-Claire yet - i like Captain Morgan where i can hide in windshadow if needed ...The good news was no gloves and no hood ...

Hope your early sessions this year are better than this one - and donut let it get you down, Bruce :-)

I schlogged at first circle 12 mph or 10 knots and then flew overpowered at 2nd circle of 18 mph, but gusts up to 25 !!

Thanks Redsurfbus, butt i Redeemed myself the next day :-) Went out on the local river in 10 to 12 knot westerlies with the BIC Dufour longboard and the 8.5. Sun was shining and there were decent gusts. Took off the jacket of the farmer john, put on the harness and had a blast. Even the car honkers were on the bridge again. It seems to make people happy to see me windsurf on the river and an older fellow said as much. Well, it made me happy and hope i am in a better mood for mother's day now :-)
Happy mother's day to all !!!

I was a longboarder for over ten(10) years and wonder if i am going back ? I have been looking at boards like the Kona and even the Serenity. Light to mid winds can be a lot of fun and one does not need to wait for consistent "good" winds ...Newer longboards are flatter underneath and do plane as well. We had really big winds in the spring, but those winds were too strong for an average joe windsurfer like myself. One cannot even use one season to make the call - never the same year to year. The same applies here to other seasonal sports like X-country and alpine skiing... Local windsurfers are using the lighter winds to play on land with windskates. I am going towards the longboard...

Check what this fellow is saying about his trial on a KONA:
http://hsmslalomracer.blogspot.com/2011/04/kona-is-new-black-project-fins.html

Fine tuning in Spring

2011-05-03T21:48:00.034-04:00

The 2011 season is starting and thus I often go over the basics and what I want or need to improve ...

Lots of writing here about technical stuff like fins, boards, masts, sails, etc. Then it gets more personal. Like seat harness vs waist harness. How high does one put the boom? How far back do the harness lines go. Where does one place the footstraps? How tight or loose do the straps go ? Does one use an adjustable outhaul ? Cams up to what sailsize? Where does the mast base go on the mast track ??

Many of these things depend on what one wants to do ie they are task oriented. Often it is speed vs maneuverability.

Seat harness vs waist harness is probably the easiest one. Waist harnesses are suggested for people who have never used a harness. Seat harness is usually used by heavier sailors and speed sailors. Waist harnesses are used by wave sailors. These are obviously not rules. People use their personal preference. Try b4 u buy !! Stores have test setups. Use em !! I discuss this here cuz my seat harness is really old and out-dated. For me the question is: is it time to change or update my harness ??

How high does one put the boom? This seems to depend on wind strength, personal preference, harness line length and experience. It is suggested one put the boom between shoulder height and chin height. Then adjust harness line length accordingly. Also, it is suggested to put the boom lower in lighter winds and higher in stronger ones. Then again, personal preference and harness type comes into play. The waist harnesses seem to have their hooks placed just slightly higher.

How far back do harness lines go ? Guy Cribb has his one third of the boom length principle. Jem Hall speaks about 5 or 6 hands back from the mast. I believe it was Britt Viehmann who says find the balance point while on land. They all seem to agree that once a balance point is found, then move front line forward if pulling on front and back line back if pulling on back while sailing. Once again, personal preference, experience, etc all come into play. Everything I read told me to move my lines back, butt that happened all on its own over time. Went back as far as 20 cm on the 8.5 sail - boom of 234 cm. That's a move of almost 10 % of the boom length.

How long should the harness lines be? It is suggested they not be too long and I have seen some people have em mighty short!! Somewhere around elbow to palm of hand and then adjust. Have I said this is a personal choice yet ? And that experience makes a difference ?? :-)

How far apart should harness lines be ? Definitely NOT like in the 80's. They were really wide. It is written no more than one or two hands apart - many people have them almost touching. They sell lines which connect to boom at one point only. These are one length and easier to put and remove from boom. I like mine really close together , but have not yet determined my ideal length.

Where to put footstraps? And how loose or tight ? Some boards just have too many footstrap positions. I have seen them up close to the mast base. Not sure what all that is about. On a race longboard perhaps, but why on a learner shortboard ? It is said to start with front footstraps all the way up and the back one in the middle if the board allows for it. I am not so sure about the back one in the middle except for wave sailing and maneuvering moves. I feel it just makes for bad habits and one has to learn how to use the outer setting after. Suggest putting them at the front of the back as well. Then one adjusts over time. Some people with wide stances have them in different locations in terms of front vs back. Saw a video where they suggested to change the straps depending on what you are doing for the day. Locally I have NOT seen people do that. Looser footstraps seem to be more for wave and B&J while tighter is for regular sailing , BAFFing and racing. Apparently we should see the little toe at the very least and adjust for booties. UPDATE: Just read a blog where they speak about footstrap setting for freestyle and it is different to allow foot freedom. This seems to mean VERY high setting in the middle !!!

Does one use an adjustable outhaul? It seems to be highly recommended in the Formula type sailing and larger sails on flat water at high speeds. Locally I have NOT seen much use of this apparatus. Bruce Peterson swears by it and used to provide it with the SailWorks Retro sails.

Cambers in what sail sizes? Personally find sails under 7.0 do fine without cambers. I love cambers and have them on most of my sails. Lock in sail shape for lighter winds and control. People locally use less cambers than I do. No cam sails are easier to waterstart. I ask this question cuz i was looking at getting a 7.5 - hopefully to fit on my 490 mast. Is it time to update one's sail quiver or sails?

Where does the mast base go on the mast track? You can leave it at the 135 cm mark, which is usually on the half way mark of most sailboard tracks. Some very experienced windsurfers do just that. I tend to look at sail range for the board and put larger sails a bit forward and smaller back. Too bouncy, move it up. Missing a bit for planing, move it back a bit. Not sure, put it in the middle. Guy Cribb says lean the sail over the back of the board and have the boom a certain distance from the back of the board - 2 fingers to a fist. Thus mast track position and boom height are accounted for. Personal choice and experience once again !!

How much downhaul and outhaul? I usually choose a sail for the conditions and downhaul and outhaul inside those conditions. After a quick test out on the water, I go back in and adjust while standing in waist deep water. Harder to add downhaul here though. Some race sails ask for one downhaul setting and then adjust via outhaul. I like to adjust a little at a time and do not feel like adjusting too much. Seems okay and planing - let it rip. Overpowered, go in and downhaul if there is some left and more outhaul too. Underpowered, slack the outhaul first and downhaul later too - if the sail allows for it.

Followup: The next day after having pumped in these thoughts, I came across an article from Bruce Peterson of Sailworks in WindsurfingMag of May 2004 page 82 called Tuning Smart. The concepts presented are obviously still valid today...Bruce speaks of three(3) settings - underpowered, average power and overpowered. He seems to use what I call the one, two and three finger downhauls. Three being the loosest and for underpowered and one for overpowered conditions. He speaks of putting the mast base about the center mark depending on over, average or under. Middle for average, move it up for control and back for more planing power. Bruce also adds the dimension of fin. Standard fin for regular winds, smaller for bigger winds and bigger fins for more planing in light conditions. Bruce also moves the harness lines about. Back for overpowered and forward for underpowered. Wonder if one could just change the harness line length to get a similiar affect ?

Which board and sail combo to use? Use what you got and enjoy yourself. Butt always play it safe. We all have stories where we have been where we should not or when we panicked. Wrong setup and equipment issues and trouble comes quickly. Out in conditions beyond our experience, trouble comes quickly. That is why I call myself average joe windsurfer. I go when I can, but winds over 25 knots are intimidating and require experience and the right equipment !!! Never leave your board. It is a flotation device !!!

What do I need to practice and improve in 2011? Footstraps and waterstarts. Can do beachstarts and some waterstarts. Have a fear and loathing of footstraps. Feet are there, butt hesitate. This year - go for it. Will need these skills for my "new" Fanatice BEE LTD 124 and my 97 kilos :-) Imagine this is like when i began the harness - fear of ... The good thing with the harness was , it was easier to practice in light winds. My board does not allow me to footstrap in light winds - sinks in the back :-(

What's missing in my toolbag? sunscreen !! more MarineTex 4 repairs...

Check the "ropes" !!

How to have fun in less than 12 knots of wind :-)

2011-05-01T15:12:00.020-04:00

notice the old one piece epoxy mast in the back :-)

SUN 01MAY2011 - As I said, I brought the BIC Dufour Wing down from the chalet. For days just like today. Very busy family day, not too much wind, etc. Took the Dufour, the MS Pursuit 8.5 and rigged it loose for the Rivière Milles Isles. Wind was from the East at about 10 knots. Went behind the church of Ste-Rose once again. Today it was busy with walkers, bikers, kayakers, and just people everywhere. As usual, I am the only one windsurfing here :-) With the daggerboard down I was able to go much more upwind than with the AHD FF 160, 8.5 and Select 48 pointer fin. No gloves, no hood, no harness and was sweating. And was NOT even in the steamer - was in my 2 piece wetsuit - farmer john - luv it - zips in the front !! Next time put the harness, cuz there were times i couda used it. It was a beautiful day and i was not on long, butt it was just GREAT. I donut need to plane on the water to have fun. I was a lake longboarder for over ten(10) years. I can go fast on the Dufour as well :-) It`s just different. TOW is time on water. As long as there is sun, wind and TOW = FUN !!!! in summary WIND + SUN = FUN :-)

Others say they can plane in 12 knots with Formula boards and giant sails - like up to 12 meter sails. At just under 100 kilos, on my 160 liter shortboard, with a 10-oh race sail (4 cams) I still need about 12 to 13 knots steady to plane. When running around 10 to 12 knots, I am better off with the longboard. The 10-oh gets heavy with NO wind and hard to uphaul too...

Followup: Managed to "sneak" out on SAT 14MAY2011 also. Winds were 10 to 12 mph from the NE and actually picked up. Same setup as here, butt this time managed to fall in. It was raining and the kid was off to a music lesson with his mummy. The wife caught me sneakin back - does that mean i donut get ta go tomorrow ?? damn %^&*9

Update: This year (2011) I purchased a cambered MauiSails MS-2 8-oh and also a Fanatic Ultra Cat longboard of 210 litres. This combination planes up somewhere around 10 knots of wind and is a lot of fun. It has me considering selling the TR-4 10-oh race sail. Well, I have confirmed that NON, I am NOT selling the TR-4 10-oh - it works great with the CAT !!! Guess it is clear that I will NOT venture into the Formula arena. I am enjoying the renewed interest in longboards and the 380 cm length seems to be the magic number. Starboard is also making a Phantom 377 which is closer to the CAT length. They also seem to all be around the 66 cm width. Hope others learn that 15 knots is NOT a wind minimum.

Here is a Kona board which they are calling a longboard - even without the center board. John Ingebritsen is known as a speed enthusiast and yet here seems to be having a riot in light winds with some waves.

As I am NOT a freestyler, I cannot comment much on this, except to say that I have seen and read that lighter winds are good to practice freestyle moves - even on land with a modified skateboard. And all this in light winds with smaller lighter sails.

NO GO for the RETRO :-(

2011-04-30T20:36:00.020-04:00

SAT 30APR2011 - As you may have read, I was trying to purchase a SW Retro 7.5 to go on my Autima 490 90% mast. A local fellow was saying that was selling everything since he had hurt himself - "blessure oblige" - which means obliged to sell due to injury !! He had a "barely used" Retro 7.5. When I went to see him, there was no visible signs of injury or body part loss. The shoulder had been hurt a few years ago. Well buddy, I broke my shoulder two(2) years ago on the ice windsurfing on my homemade sled and I do more windsurfing now than ever !! Is he just milking the sympathy ticket ?

Okay, let's have a look at the sail. The sail did NOT seem to have an adjustable head strap. What year is this sail? Does not know... Supposed to be 490 max luff. Let's give it a try. He seemed to have difficulty aiding the mast into the head cap. And there was about 25 cm of downhaul before done. Checked the head and yes the cap was not into mast. Even with that 3 cm extra, we were still looking at too much downhaul AND i did not like how mast fit onto mast base with no sleeve/collar. (Just did a double check - the SW Retro 7.5 did NOT have an open head until 2008 - thus the sail was pre-2008)

Then it just got weird. When I pulled my mast out of the sail, there was a male head cap for a sail stuck in my mast cap !! I showed the fellow why the cap did not fit in. The sail still had a mast cap on the strap ... Asked him if it was his - he said NON. Okay, brought it home and checked the sail with a cap that i use with the 490 - nope, it's there. Oh well, i have a spare mast cap now.

If and when i get a SW Retro 7.5, it will be with open head and from 2-rad or Pat Bergeron $%^&*() - actually now know it just needs to be a SW Retro 7.5 after 2008. Did the measurements - my mast is 491 cm and the Chinook base allows one to move the adjustment piece (what is this called anyway?) down to the bottom - adds another 8 cm from the pulleys. This gives a total of 499 cm - absolutely require an open head on the Retro ie after 2008 !!

After checking the sail I went to the chalet and picked up mast for the North Zeta 3.7 for teaching, BIC Dufour Wing for teaching and light winds, mast base for the BIC Dufour (specialized bases in the day) and my "new" Fanatic BEE LTD 124 (not used by me yet). Next morning put my replacement footstrap on the BEE that I received from a local expert. Still need a fin screw for that one - ordered one on-line and now have some spares too. Almost all set with 3 boards and 4 sails :-) Some of it is old junk (more than 10 years old) , butt like everyone says - JUST GET ON THE WATER and SMILE :-)

WILD surfing video wins 100K

2011-04-29T20:23:00.002-04:00

Another day for the Local PROs

2011-04-28T18:22:00.006-04:00

THURS 28APR2011 - temps were up and SO were the winds !!! On the quebecwind forum they are talkin about 3.7 sails and 78 liter boards -- OKA ?? I am not equipped nor experienced for such music ...Day for the pros?

One : "retour de coteaux.....3.7 over total....liquid smoke....vent 1 radpat 0........"

Here's some photos: http://svezz.photostockplus.com/event_816959
This is data from Mirabel areoport which is close to my home...

First Time on Water in 2011 :-)

2011-04-26T19:57:00.015-04:00

TUE 26APR2011 -- Finally made it out onto the water - after work today. Did NOT get out in FEB like redsurfbus :-) Winds were still ENE and 12 knots with 16 knot gusts. Went to the Riviere Milles Isles which is five(5) minutes from my house. Since it was ENE, I went behind the church in Ste-Rose - shore facing North. The wind was light when checked from shore, but looked much better further out. Rigged the MS Pursuit 8.5 loose on the AHD FF 160 board with the mast base in the middle and the "new" used Select 48 XL fin. Air temp was about 55 Fahrenheit or about 15 degrees Celsius. Had the 5/3 BARE steamer, "new" used life jacket, boots, hood rolled down and thinner Chinook gloves. Winds were up and down with some wind shadow near shore. Managed to plane a few times and had a spectator sitting in a car watching me. NO-ONE goes windsurfing there other than me. Could have used my 10-oh, butt would rather be under than over on my first time out. So, was NOT perfect, but had a smile on my face when planing. Was on the water for about one(1) hour before started getting dark and slight drop in wind. Looking forward to the next session - no more steamer nor gloves hopefully. The jacket and fin were great. One was a trade and the other $20. My windsurf budget can handle that with NO issues. Still looking at 7.5 sails that will fit on 490. Will probably end up with a Sailworks Retro. Nothing wrong with that sail !! Asked on the Australian windsurf forum about suggestions with smaller sails on 490 mast and got NO response at all - surprising !! Yvente and Bruno Artis both tell me I should be happy about the Gaastra Flow 3X 7-oh and they are right - stop wishing for more and be satisfied with what i have $%^&*() and stop the shop %^&*() Get on the water like today and only change what needs to be changed %^&*()

Wanted to go Wednesday as well, butt my wife would not let me :-( Tomorrow / Thursday is BIG winds - do i bring my stuff n go directly after work ?

Teaching Newbies

2011-04-23T11:11:00.005-04:00

This summer, 2011, I promised to introduce this fun sport to at least two(2) newbies, Dolores and Steven. My "lessons" always start on land and I have always been somewhat curious about the land simulators. With such a "tool", newbies could try uphauling, leaning the sail fore and aft, hooking in, tacking, etc. This fellow shows how he built one from a piano moving dolly, some metal and a toilet flange :-)

Safety First

2011-04-20T23:11:00.011-04:00

My windsurf buddy, Helmut, always gives me heck for carelessness. So, when he complained about my lifejacket, I jumped at the opportunity of purchasing a used Prolimit Watersport XL windsurf jacket. Now I have one up on Helmut - he does not have a helmet yet.

Another trick someone mentioned is to wear brighter things or put bright stickers on the helmet. I check the "ropes" on the equipment and put a good length in my pocket - if i remember. i do still go out on my own :-( At this time of year - there are NO boats in the water either - so, you/i am out on my own !!!

When I am on-call I carry a cell phone in a water pak. Perhaps I should do that at all times ...

Other readings have suggested whistles...

The crazy dudes should even wear impact vests !!

This study shows and I quote: http://bjsm.bmj.com/content/40/4/346.abstract

Conclusion: The injury incidence was 1.5/person/year with a high incidence of new and recurrent muscular strain. Lower back muscular strain was prevalent, indicating the need for preventive measures. Wave/slalom was associated with more new and recurrent injuries and the need for head protection.

AND it does look like some people actually manage to crack open the helmet!!

Here's another study with some interesting numbers: http://www.mendeley.com/research/mechanisms-prevention-windsurfing-injuries/

Aim of this study was to analyse the mechanisms of windsurfing injuries. For this purpose we performed a internet based survey among 327 windsurfers in Germany. Overall 630 accidents have been registered among all 327 athletes during the 2000 season. The majority of injuries were classified as minor injury. The most common injury was the bruise. 70 participants reported fractures, 26 participants ruptured a ligament. 280 injuries required medical treatment; in 67 cases even surgical treatment was necessary. The majority of accidents happened at wind power of 5-6 Beaufort after 2 hour exercise. A technical mistake was the most frequent cause for the accident. The most dangerous manoeuvres were difficult jumps (e. g. front loop, backward loop, 70 injuries). In 46 cases the weather conditions were underestimated. Only 10 windsurfers reported about broken material as cause for the injury. One half of the injuries happened in wave conditions. The analysis of injury mechanisms allows conclusions regarding injury prevention. A longer break after 60 minutes windsurfing might help to prevent injuries due to poor physical fitness. After one hour windsurfing without a break training of difficult manoeuvres should not be performed. The use of a helmet might prevent head injuries during training of difficult jumps. "Overpower situations" should be prevented by choosing the right board and sail size.

One thing I always overlook is energy food. I have seen and heard that people eat bananas and yogurt. Other athletes I know stress water (one bottle per hour) regardless of sport - in order not to dehydrate, and they all recommend breaks - same as above, one per hour. I will say it again - I always forget sunscreen :-(

Trading Stuff

2011-04-19T20:14:00.017-04:00

TUE 19APR2011 Traded my MFC 42 fin for a Select Free Blade XL 48. Interestingly enough Max wanted the fin for his "new" Fanatic Hawk 123 to use with an 8.5 sail and I wanted the 48 to use with my 8.5 on my AHD 160 :-) Neither one of us had tried their respective fins yet. Max had had a similar MFC fin that was originally with his Fanatic Bee 144. Mine had come with my "new" Fanatic Bee 124 LTD. So, we each went merrily on our way - wishing we could windsurf tonight. Too bad we donut all swap stuff more often. Makes life easier... The BEE is 42 cm OFO and as such should not take a fin longer than that. I have my Select 40, but that is for 7.0. Will need a bigger fin for 8.5 on the Bee 124. Should I have kept that MFC 42 ? :-)

Follow-up: Both AHD and select-hydrofoils have confirmed that this fin, board and 8.5 sail will be an excellent combo. I cannot wait to try it out :-)

Followup #2: Went out in light winds in my first session of 2011 - 12 to 16 knots and the fin was fine. It planed and pointed very well. Just need to fix that little ding with Marine-Tex - will wait for warmer weather - needs heat to cure properly and more quickly.

Here is a pic of the MFC 42 which I repaired using Marine-Tex and a light covering with paint. Posted a pic of the Select XL to see the difference in profile. The Select is obviously longer, but the MFC is a wider profile at the top and middle. I believe it was also a thicker profile at the top. Select for planing and control and MFC for speed and maneuvering ??

Max told me about Lac Champlain and a place called Les Roches near Platzburg. Yes, roches means rocks and there are many hazards there - including poison ivy, no facilities and barely any parking. The things windsurfers go through just to have a little fun :-) And i was hoping to get to that Lake this summer. I have heard there are easier spots to get onto the lake on the east side.

Is Windsurfing as Good as Sex ?

2011-04-16T13:52:00.000-04:00

My new windsurf buddy at work , Ronnie, was talking about his current equipment. We talked our way back in personal windsurf history. At one point Ronnie started describing his first feeling of planing and which board he was on. He said it felt like he had had an orgasm :-) I replied that this meant windsurfing was as good as sex. And then I went on to tell Ronnie about my first time :-) planing, not sex :-)

And NO, it does not mean one has to be naked...

Chicken'd out on my first session :-(

2011-04-16T13:45:00.017-04:00

SAT 16APR2011 - Winds were out of the SE which is unusual for Montreal. Air temp was about 7 degrees Celsius. My first hint of trouble was when shopping, my wife exclaimed, the wind is cold, how are you gonna go windsurfing ? The second hint of trouble was when the rain that came down was more like ice pellets - on the way to Pte-Claire. The third sign of trouble was - no-one at site once there. The water was heaving, was high, waves about 1.5 feet and splashing hard against shore. The new gadget said winds were 10 to 14 knots. Water and wind signs said 7-oh even if the meter did not. Water would be cold and I would be in it. Oh well..NOT this time - felt too cold already...
Later : I knew it was gonna kick axx - just saw on forum some guys are at Cartier and rigging 4.5 on an 89 litre board !! I wouda bin ONLY in the water :-( Wind is 18 mph at the areoport.

Went back and checked Rivière Milles Isles. It is smaller and close to home. The water was also high, flatter and the bridge seemed to break the wind. There were big logs in the water, but seemed to be only at the sides. Meter said under 10 knots, but water looked like 8.5 weather. Again the rain pellets started. This would have been less in the water and perhaps some planing. Just did not feel like it any more. What has happened to me ? Last year in March, I would have gone anyway. Maybe once frozen, twice shy ? The worst part is that soon is Easter and usually too busy to go windsurfing :-(

Maybe tomorrow ? Supposed to be yuckier and bigger winds. Will probably chicken out again :-( and so i did. update Sunday -- Winds were around 25 to 30 knots and people were speaking of using 4.2 on 76 or 85 litre boards. WOW. Will stop by Pte-Claire on the way to Oma's and see if there are any pros out today. One fellow also remarked that the water is yucky. There was no-one at Cartier. One kiter sitting in his car with kite in a bundle on the ground. Forum showed some people went to OKA, but had issues getting to the Crête - snow on the road.

As my friend would say - what a "moumoune" i was to not go out :-)

Yeah , butt you gotta be good !!
Here's a photo from the 17th -- "superstar" in Dorval ??
who dinged his board in three(3) places and busted a sail in two(2) panels on this day !!!

http://www.photostockplus.com/home.php?tmpl=154&user_id=9&action=viewalbum&event=812855

BATTLE: WindSurfing Mag vs. Windsurfing-Direct

2011-04-12T16:27:00.013-04:00

Since I wrote a little bit about the article in the latest WindSurfing Mag regarding Windsurfing-Direct, I guess it is only fair to discuss the rebuttal. The owners of this web/call-in order company are quite upset and with reason. I actually wrote Matt Pritchard about Tabou in my concern. And yes, we can order from the Pritchards. Prices on the Tabou from Windsurfing-Direct are great already. Can get a Rocket 125 for about $1000. It is a VERY long rebuttal against a one-page article in the MAG. There is NO more forum on the website for the MAG - so, it might be interesting where the arena will be :-)
iwindsurf.com ??

Here WAS a link for the rebuttal in case u r interested:
http://www.windsurfing-direct.com/Articles.asp?ID=264

America is the land of lawyers and this smells of slander. If this does not have some kind of fall-out I will be very surprised. I predicted KP would leave Gaastra. Here I predict Josh will leave the MAG !!
obviously Josh NEVER left and everything just petered out - worse yet, read the update

update - this post was done in April 2011. today in December I just read that the MAGAZINE is NOT publishing any releases in 2012 !!! Did this battle have anything to do with this announcement ? I need to be more careful with my predictions !!

Just to be clear - I have NOTHING against Josh - on-line windsurf gear ? on the fence - i prefer to support local..and YES - even IF it costs more money !!!

AND - say what you will - bad publicity is still publicity - especially in this day n age. Just look at Charlie Sheen !! Even I go to windsurfing-direct more now than i did b4 !!

That's odd - the heated words are NO longer there on windsurfing-direct??
I wrote windsurfing-direct and they responded:

Hey Joe

Thanks for the note

Better to let sleeping dogs lay,, etc. etc

In hindsight, almost wish hadn’t dignified that article with a response.

We’re too busy looking ahead to look back, so we deleted the rebuttal.

We rather focus on positive efforts to deliver excellent value and service to our customers. And enjoy THE SPORT of windsurfing.

Best regards,

Mike

Windsurf Mag does 2011 board tests

2011-04-10T08:40:00.003-04:00

You may have read about it. Windsurf Mag did some 2011 board tests and they are posted on their website http://windsurfingmag.com/which links to the James Douglass blog: http://jimbodouglass.blogspot.com/2011/04/windsurfing-mag-board-test-wrap-up.htm Josh Angulo was present, butt did not sail. What was that ??

Wind Obsession

2011-04-06T19:41:00.007-04:00

In case you have never heard, Benoit Gauthier was known around Montreal for the Wind Obsession custom boards he made. Unfortunately this seems to be in the past tense. We, Helmut and I, met the other Benoit - do not remember his name and cannot find him on the web, in the repair shop. The other Benoit took us on a tour and explained that they have not made a board for about 3 years. That is, until just recently. They have many WO used boards for sale : http://www.windspirit-direct.com . Their shop is on the "South Shore" and you will miss it if you blink twice AND it is about 45 minutes from Montreal. The sign can be seen at the left of the picture and the shop is in the back. There are two(2) doors where the last one is to a kind of show room with lots of standard windsurf stuff, SUP paddles, and people busy. They work off the web and the season is around the corner, so ... The reason they do not make boards any more is: just cheaper to buy ready made and they are all good - they sell: JP, RRD, Starboard and Exocet. My big disappointment was : there were three(3) AHD boards in repair. One even was an AHD FF 130 where the area around the footstraps had gone soft. Benoit was going to cut it out and put epoxy re-enforced with carbon and/or kevlar and then paint it all white. The other AHD (model unknown since it was on it's back} had what Benwah called a styrofoam splitter. When one tapped on the bottom, one could hear there was a space between the bottom and the styrofoam. This to fix is apparently a $300 job. I am so flabbergasted that I do not remember what the third board problem was. Unfortunately this means I cannot buy another AHD - no matter how much I love mine. Tinho Dornellas of Florida and Bruno of 2-rad warned me of this. VERY SAD.

We had originally gone to pick up a brand new Sailworks Retro 6.0 from Patrick Bergeron of SW, who is still at Hawaii. Pat sells stuff as patsurf on a local website and is always worth checking ...My joy was going in the repair shop and i had to tear myself away. Felt like a kid in the candy store learning how they make the candy.

On the way back we stopped at 30noeuds, which is also on the South Shore of Montreal. This shop seems to have gone over to the kite side. I was looking at a used MS Pursuit 7.5 and no-one even asked if they could help me. The sail still has the 484 luff and should fit on my 490 even if Barry Spanier says NON. So, I am torn between MS and SW 7.5. I will wait it out and see if i really need the 7.5. May go with the SW because the smaller sails are all starting to go with RDM masts. Originally thought I could get a mast for MS 7.5 and 6.x. If the Switch 6.4 goes well on an RDM - then why bother getting a 460 MS mast ?? AND there is a company called SAILWORLD in the NE States that sells a sail called the Blast 7.5 for a very reasonable price. These sails are known to be good for heavyweights like myself. The luff is 487 cm - thus a 490 mast should work just fine ...

Repair attempt

2011-04-01T18:27:00.027-04:00

Okay, spring fever is starting to hit !!

Took the mast-base off the ice sailboard and discovered i am missing the plate that goes between the mastbase and the board. Windman on the SB forum says the plate is to ensure one doesn't scuff the board and NOT to use old CDs or DVDs as a replacement :-)

Took the windsurf board down from the wall and fixed one side with Marine-Tex. It looks a little better, butt I wish the board had been a little more sturdy. Got too good a board as my first shortboard I guess... The first pic is the side without repair - scuffed by mast extension due to crashes or drops. The second one is with the Marine-Tex - no sanding and still wet...You can clique on the pics to get a clearer idea. Hope other boards are doing better than this...

Once dry, I think I will just wet sand it lightly and then put some ReDek on it. This will stop exposure to UV and also give it some grip for the bear feet rides :-) Sorry, my feet are EE wide - so, they are NOT bare, they are bear feet :-) And then obviously do the other side having learned from mistakes on the first attempt :-)

Followup: Originally I had planned to do the Marine-Tek fix later when it was a little warmer since it suggests 72 degrees Fahrenheit to cure - that's about 24 degrees Celsius or quite warm. Now I put the board inside the house whenever I can, butt this is in the living room since I donut have a very large house. My house is also NOT at this temp. This means it is still sticky after one week. So, what i just did today was pop the basement windows and slide the board through the window. Then after putting the board on my 7 year old son's play table, cranked the temp up to 72 degrees :-) Also read that Marine-Tex is sensitive to UV. Perhaps I will get some marine paint before the ReDek. This is apparently quite expensive. Perhaps i will speak with my buddy Ed, who is now building a boat - his second one. The first was a canoe. Pretty cool actually !! Hey, i believe this is it !! YUP - Ed confirmed it ...

Just checked the Québecwind forum - people are still going paraskiing on ice {skis with kites} @ Vaudreuils, some are going windskating on the South Shore {skateboard with big rubber wheels and mast base} and some are talking about windsurfing. BEST of ALL worlds ??? Here is a pic taken by Natalie's Steven at Vaudreuils:

Back to the "lost scuff plate" that goes between the mast-base and the windsurf board. This was from my spare mast-base and it got "lost" playing with my winter sailboards. Got some suggestions on StarBoard and Australian w/s forums: cut from old car mats or plastic containers and i discovered the lid from a coffee can is exactly the same size. After going over all I had done with the winter sailboards I found the plate on a shelf in the garage - phew :-)

Here's a last look at my babies with their mast bases removed - before they get put away for the REAL windsurf season :-)

Trial Run on the Football Field - SUN 27MAR2011

2011-03-27T17:34:00.008-04:00

Drove the little one off to see a friend and the wife was going for a walk. Hey, it's a little cooler than yesterday and windier. Perhaps I can try the football field ? Winds hit 12 knots and more from the WNW. Put the 6-oh on the epoxy mast and used the pi winter sailboard # 3.14. Too many lulls in the wind and the angle was not good for the field. Still spring ski conditions. Tried board #2 which is now angled at 20 degrees. It felt like it could go, but it was too much work and looked like a train passed through in terms of tracks.

Put the Gaastra Flow 3X 7-oh on board pi and it went better.

Gave the session a 6 out of 10. OK. Was still out over one hour and tired after. Almost did a full tack.

Lesson: Need a better field than that. Next session - if it happens this winter - Near Mirabel !!!

Hey, my good friend Dolores went to Quebec City over the weekend and saw windsurfers doin' it on fields just near Québec !! COOL

Going round with pi/board #3.14 - SAT 26MAR2011

2011-03-26T15:36:00.012-04:00

Saturday, sunny and winds steady out of the west at 8 to 10 knots - gusts went over 20. Went to the sod farm near Terrebonne with the two(2) slight modifications on board #3.14 - written about in last post - mast-base back a bit and back of skis tilted in slightly. The snow was crusty with about two(2) inches of soft stuff on top - spring ski conditions. Rigged the Gaastra Flow 3X 7.0 on the 490 - on the other side of the fence this time. All in all, I had to give this session a nine out of ten. Was actually able to do three quarter 3/4 tacks. Forget the downwind gybes cuz I wouda run into the fence. I am not much of a gyber in any case. Only fell about four times and none serious. The angle in the back helped a lot and feels like the third ski kept things smooth up front. Need to do more tests in deeper snow. As I was right beside hi-way 25, people were constantly honkin' as they drove by - too cold to wave :-) Just as I was considering to end the two(2) hour session, a fellow yelled out. He seemed to be the proprietor and asked me NOT to ski on the grass of the sod farm. Stated that he had tried signs, butt people take em down and snowmobile on the sod anyways. "The sign said long haired freaky people need not apply..." Guess that was my last run there :-( He said it was okay to go on the other side of the highway. Will check out near Mirabel areoport instead - have heard the kiters go on the fields of snow there. That's about the same distance from my home.

Test Run of Board #3.14 - TUE 22MAR2011

2011-03-22T19:16:00.025-04:00

In case you forgot, I re-configured winter sailboard #1. It is the third/3rd configuration, but using board #1 and thus I call it board #3.14. May also have something to do with the fact that I like pie :-) Basically the skis are flat and a third ski was added in the middle as a stabilizer. (see photo on 12MAR2011 entry)

The weather is unpredictable and we had some nor-westerlies this afternoon. When I got home at around 17h00 they were still going strong and were predicted to go for another hour. Packed my stuff and went. The big question of course is where to go. The river and lakes are finished - half ice and half water - no good for summer OR winter windsurfing. Perhaps the golf course in Terrebonne - nope, too narrow. How about beside the propeller plane aeroport - nope, that will never fly - pardon the pun. Okay, back to the sod farm just off the 25 and north of Terrebonne. Winds were still steady and still under 10 knots. Rigged the MS Pursuit 8.5 and struggled to get it over the fence without punching a hole in it - next time rig it on the other side. Winds were good and the board showed potential. Every time I got going, the back slipped and the front pointed upwind - obviously stalling everything. Believe they call this "spin out" in windsurfing and is usually a factor of using too small a fin ...So, the centre ski is NOT acting as a stabilizer as hoped. After a half an hour of some decent exercise, unrigged on the other side of the fence and went home. Still home before 19h00 - LIFE IS GOOD.

So, what to do about the slippage ? At first I considered a fin and then I took some balance point measurements. Before I put anything INTO the snow, I will try some balancing acts. On a windsurfer one puts the mastbase somewhere around the 135 cm mark from the back. This usually closely coincides with the balance point. On board #3.14 it seems the balance point is about 6.5 inches back. That's about 16 cm and quite a chunk. Before doing the crazy snow-fin thing I will move the mast back about 3 inches. After that re-evaluate. Let us hope I get another try at it this winter !!

Now I feel like a dummy. Just found an article in Popular Mechanics from 1987 where they used 3 skis and the outside skis were angled in just as board #1 was originally !!! Also, the central ski is further back. Popular Mechanics article I will continue to do experiments before angling the outside skis. The ride before spin out was very good and showed potential...On snow I am NOT looking for the most efficient speed or maneuvering machine. That's for the ice - at least for speed. Just want to be able to go straight with the wind on the snow and as I said board # 3.14 showed potential... (Am now considering angling IN just the back connection to the skis !!)

Ten minutes of work and the two(2) modifications are done - ready for next test !! Moved mast-base back about 1.5 inches and back attachment is less than 10 degrees sloped in. And as always thinkin about the next mod - do I really need that third/3rd ski ?? Will test as is first !! Looks like Friday, Saturday AND Sunday look promising - too bad i'm getting my first haircut Friday - 8 months after I shaved my head and beard for cancer...

Sunday 20MAR2011

2011-03-20T16:36:00.006-04:00

I guess that's it for winter sailboarding. The ice on the local river is melting and so is the snow. Another 10 cm of snow are called for this week, butt winds seem to only be good during the snowstorm :-( Oh well, guess all I can look forward to is windsurf on water soon !! Jim Douglass is already out on the water in Massachusetts with NO gloves. See the connection to his blog on "my blog list".

The other good news is, flowers will be blooming soon. The Easter cacti have started already !!

Jimmy Drake

2011-03-16T19:19:00.006-04:00

As you may or may not know, Jim Drake has been around windsurfing a long time. There may be some issues with Jim, patent wars and who really invented windsurfing. In any case, I found some of his work on the physics of windsurfing. I am compiling it here: jim-drakes-windsurf-physics.html

2011-03-12T09:38:00.011-05:00

That's it. Starting converting board # 1 to be flat with a central ski as a stabilizer.

Couple of hours later and $3.40 in hardware and it is ready for testing !!! Am going to call it board # 3.14 since it is the third configuration and using using board #1. And I like pie :-)
Now all I need is some colder weather and some winds.
Did I just ask for some cold weather ?? :-) Yes, I must be going nuts :-)

This foto was taken at initial consideration:

Removed the bulky mast-base setup, moved the mast-base up about four(4) inches and put some more anti-skid tape. Here's a peek:

Habe gesehen, dass dann und wann Deutsche sich hier anmelden. Herzlichen Gruss aus Kanada :-)

Friday March 11, 2011

2011-03-12T06:12:00.011-05:00

Well, the gentlemen removing the fish-huts were right. The river is now a giant lake. My windsurf buddy said, "Only five(5) more weeks until we windsurf." And he won't go with gloves n hat. So, that probably means I will be on the water in about three(3) !! And one blog I follow => James Douglass under "My Blog List", he has already been out on the water, windsurfing in Massachusetts !!!

Then how come I cannot get the mystery of windsurfing on snow out of my head? After reviewing some more videos on the web, I have come to the conclusion that the next step for me is a three(3) legged sled. This means the two(2) skis on the outside stay flat and there is a third ski in the middle. I believe this acts as a rudder and keeps the board on track. I have already started drawing plans !!!

But just the same, I hope that lake on the river freezes for me because those would be IDEAL conditions for sled #2 with 20 degrees leaned out skis !!!

Wednesday, 9 March 2011

2011-03-09T18:01:00.008-05:00

Managed to get out of work early. Was actually accidental - forgot I had the van at work {sorry Pierre}. Made it home by 15h30 and on the ice by 16h00. They were taking the fish-huts off the ice and putting signs up - "Do not go on the ice". Asked the dudes if that was for today or the next couple of days where rain and higher temps were announced. It was for the next few days, but he suggested i stay in the paths/sentiers.

Winds were much lighter than earlier in the day and from ENE at about 8 knots max. Put the 8.5 and used board number 2 with 20 degrees angle out for a test. It was fine when running on the ice and not bad on the snow. When starting in snow with lighter winds it was another story...

It was real fun just trying to stay on the path.

I was at St-Rose where I had been last week, on the east side of the bridge, but this time there was no-one about gawking :-)

Winds died down a bit and I left. About a good half an hour to 45 minutes of good exercise outside and still home before six (6). Life is good.

Next coupla days are rain and up to 8 degrees Celsius.
Since I LOVE the ice runs, hope it all freezes up again after.

Oh yeah, the bloody ferrule cap of the mast came off again and was difficult to remove from the top portion of the mast $%^&* This time cleaned inside where the ferrule goes - some people call this the female portion. After that I sprayed marine lubricant SailKote inside the female portion and outside the male portion. Also read some people have used wax to seal ferrules. Was surprised I could not find more discussion on this PITA on the web. btw PITA = pain in the axx

Current dilemna - when to stop the shop

2011-03-09T06:25:00.003-05:00

In my possession I have four (4) boards, four (4) masts, six or seven (7) sails and about six (6) fins. In the summer I go on the water about forty (40) times per season. How can I be satisfied with my current stuff and just enjoy.

Before short-boarding this was never an issue.

Now I seem to be "shopping" and cruising the web looking for deals constantly.
Do I change my 8.5 for a cammed 8.5?
Do I get a Kona One?
Do I change my 15 year old harness? {Matt Pritchard says YES :-) }

Feel like I used to be a minimalist and just had what I needed to get on the water - my longboard and about three(3) sails. Now my longboard doesn't go fast enough and wish I had a race type longboard. My shortboard has too thick rails and yet planes really early.

Once I am on the water (or ice) these issues all disappear. I smile, I whoop and wave at fellow servers AND kiters. Share the paradise I call it.

Perhaps the solution is to move to a place right on the water and live the dream. Just go whenever it blows. This way equipment just falls by the wayside and the time on water becomes the fun, which is what it is all about anyway.

This is the first time in any aspect this has happened to me and I hope to overcome it !!

Maybe if I get that new harness, it will be enough ....:-)

Windsurfing with Snowboards

2011-03-05T08:13:00.002-05:00

It seems in Latvia they have licked the issue of windsurfing on snowboards. Found this on a great Australian windsurf forum ==> http://www.seabreeze.com.au/forums/Windsurfing.

http://vimeo.com/20479724 watch it FULL SCREEN - HD

Snowsurfing 2011. February from Māris Minkevics on Vimeo.

this is what I wrote on the Australian website regarding snowboards and windsurfing or boardsailing

"this is much more difficult than you realize

here in Canada it is winter now and I have built a snow sled using skis

experiments with snowboards showed that it required bigger winds AND if you stay in the boots , it will be very awkward on one leg of the run - also NOT so easy to control direction other than with the sail

this looks like it is from latvia where they have done much more winter windsurfing than here in Canada - here it is like I am the pioneer ...

will try to get a video on my blog"

FRI 04MAR2011

2011-03-04T18:29:00.002-05:00

Weather for the weekend is NOT sounding good. Today is Friday and there is a potential of winds from the SE which is VERY unusual. This means I would need to go to the spot I broke my shoulder in 2008. Anticipate a little snow (about 2 to 3 cm) on a good surface of ice. The wind stayed from the NE and was NOT too strong. This means it is NOT worth checking out Vaudreuils ...Temps were about minus 5 Celsius.

Went home early and straight to the River near my house, but this time on the other side of the bridge. I had forgotten that all the kids had their March break now. The parking lot behind the church in Ste-Rose was completely FULL and there were kids everywhere. Parents were there too. Many people took the week off to avoid babysitting costs and to spend some quality time with their kids = VERY NICE !!!

Was not able to park too close to the River, but there were good paths all the way there. Checked the wind with my meter and was not getting great readings. Winds were still out of the NE or SE and maxing out at about 8 knots. There was at least 3 cm of snow on the ice. This means it was big sail time and flatter board time.

Rigged the MS Pursuit 8.5 and used board #1 - the red one - with 10 degree angle outward. Walked the kit out to the "ice" and got the looks :-) There were people everywhere and they were ALL turning in their tracks and starring. Once I got out on top of the River, people were stopping, taking pictures and just generally starring. They stopped walking, X-country skiing, ice fishing, skating, etc :-)

The entertainment portion was the most fun of the day. As I said, the winds were NOT great, but fun just the same. It felt like a typical summer day where you say, "if only the winds were a little stronger." At times I have considered trying my TR race sail 10.0, but that seems a bit extreme :-)

With the lighter winds and the low angle on the skis, it was difficult to go back upwind. Tacks on ice and snow are starting to get there. Still have NOT attempted a jibe -- not on ice nor on snow.

Oh yeah, it was actually warm enough with the workout, that I took off my gloves and hood on occasion.

So, finished my week early, went winter sailboarding for over 45 minutes and was home before 17h00 :-) Life is good

WED 02MAR2011

2011-03-02T19:37:00.002-05:00

This morning at 5h30 the winds were excellent out of the W to go NW later and the temperatures were around minus 5 Celsius. There was some fresh snow on the river, but not too much to hamper my ice sailing. I stood outside and pondered. Do I go in to work a little late. If I take the van and go straight to work after, my wife may not even notice and people show up late at my work all the time. Problem was , it was still quite dark :-( Okay, what I'll do is, monitor sunrise for next morning sesh and leave work an hour early. The sun did not come up enough until about 6h15. This means I could have been off the ice and on my way to work by 7h30. Could make it there by 8h30, only about 1.5 hours later than my usual arrival.

Plan to leave work early. Yeah, right. Meeting set to go at 14h00 until 15h30. Leave at 15h15 to catch the train and there is someone wandering on the subway tracks = stalled ^&*() Luckily made the train, but fell asleep and missed my stop. Grap a different bus and make it home by 17h00. Feels late, but winds are still good out of the NW. Okay, let's monitor sundown too %^&*() Looks like 18h00 is the limit in order to be packed by 18h15. At least we now have 12 hours of daylight.

The sad part is, rain is starting to become a norm in the forecast. Perhaps I will be lucky and it will be cooler up north with a bit of wind this weekend. Will not be able to stay too late if it is Sunday. Have a ticket to see the 80's band OMD/Orchestral Maneuvers in the Dark :-)

26FEB2011 winter sailboarding

2011-02-26T15:58:00.000-05:00

Ok, the blog is starting to take shape and people around the world seem interested, butt no comments. That's okay cuz I'm doin this for myself .. "Journalize" here or in my WORD document ...

Today the sun was shining, there was about 1/2 inch or 1 cm of snow on the local river. Winds were light out of the west and were supposed to pick up. They never really did. Put the MS Pursuit 8.5 sail.

The skis did not seem to bite and made me wonder if 30 degrees would be better than the current 20 degree setup ?? When the wind picked up, this did not seem to be an issue.

These are my 30 degree braces/bridges with a metal reinforcement:

At one point I was able to blast downwind and I checked my speed compared to the cars on the bridge. They seemed to be going only slightly faster and they are at 60 or 70 kph. This suggests I was going approximately 50 kph or 30 mph. DECENT !! Time to get a GPS ?

The board seemed to pick up speed whenever on bare ice. Also what was fun, was pumping the sail to try and get more oomph :-)

One thing I felt that I missed today was the harness. I donut have footstraps and I have not been using a harness. I only go out about an hour or so anyway. When I want to push hard, I place my boots on the side of the skis and the snowboard. This allows full hanging down on the boom for decent speed and control :-)

The ferrule cap ALMOST came off once again %^&*() This time I put a little white glue ...

They are announcing big winds on Monday. Perhaps I'll get a chance to try n rip then.
Just double checked the weather - winds shifted and announcing freezing rain - perhaps I can go in the street then ? :-) Too bad, rain in the city and wet snow @ home and NO winds in the pm :-(

SUN 20FEB2011

2011-02-20T13:19:00.001-05:00

Today was a little colder than yesterday - like about minus 10 Celsius and slightly more wind - up to about 8 knots on the meter. NW and later SW.

Stuck to the Gaastra Flow 3x 7.0 sail with 490 mast though.

I had also moved the mast base back ANOTHER inch and a half.

All this is to help the turning of the board.
It is now actually only five (5) inches forward of the original board #1.

The session was EXCELLENT and ten (10) times better than yesterday !!

The only issue was the ice -> snowmobiles, wind and natural cracks all roughed up the surface.

Used my BIG winter boots which were actually GREAT and only my fingers were cold.
Somehow this seemed to disappear after blowing on them a few times...

I was still a little apprehensive and so , did NOT let it rip except on the snowier sections.

There I actually was going so fast I hopped over some chop :-)

Saw a kite surfer on the other side of the bridge - he let it rip a few times as well :-)

The ferrule top stuck again - perhaps the silicone was not dry yet ??

Anyhow, next week I am on-call, hopefully I will still be able to get out :-)

here are some shots of the River

SAT 19FEB2011

2011-02-19T15:27:00.008-05:00

First BLOG post :this section of my blog is devoted to my journal entries - that I used to do in a WORD journal. The idea came from my eighteen (18) year old son, who is more web savvy than I :-) so far I am enjoying posting and I hope others enjoy it as well ...

Yesterday the temps went way up around 10 degrees Celsius with rain i.e. lotsa water ...

Last night it got colder - froze - and there were BIG winds overnight and some left-overs in the morning. After dropping my daughter off @ work , I checked the ice and it seemed fine !!! Got my gear and put the helmet too. Winds were about 6 to 10 knots NW and temp was around –5. Things went well except when I went into the snow section I suddenly fell and I quickly found out why. There was still water under the snow. So, tried to stay away from the snow. Had about two (2) other falls and one pretty good one where I thought I hurt my knee. Butt in the end, all was well… The board kept turning upwind – tried raising the boom which helped a bit – need to move something like the mastfoot forward or back ??

Again the mast got stuck - used the car heater as usual, butt the ferrule top piece stayed in the top of the mast again $%^&*(.

Had to get it out with a LONG soup spoon and duct tape. After that added more plumber’s tape and put some silicone at the joint – to try n keep things together !! Originally considered going to the country because it would be a couple of degrees colder, butt once again, no-one wants to go !! Maybe tomorrow with the little one??

coupla extra points

1) was using the Gaastra Flow 3x 7-oh sail
2) did i mention my feet were soaked n frozen ??
3) also, i moved the mast foot back about 1.5 inches
the board is starting to resemble the original more n more
the only difference is the angle of the skis
oh yeah - the skis held the ice well - at 20 degrees
and they sink into snow - so flatter is better on snow - Guy Trudeau's design time ??
think Pierre told me he had some skis :-)

AND, which mast goes with the training sail, the North 3.7 ??? does NOT seem to be here

here's how much the mast foot went back ... in total

see How I started Winter Sailboarding for more information - just below ;-) {in older Post}

to continue with older journal entries go back to index and choose the original journal ...

How I started Winter Windsurfing

2010-03-27T13:19:00.037-04:00

The first attempt at windsurfing in the winter was with my F2 Comet 330 windsurf board on the snow up at the lake. It was a fun attempt, but went nowhere :-(

In 2008 I built my first winter sailboard.

I started with a snowboard that I had laying around. People in the area kite with skis or snowboards in the winter. (Actually saw one fellow with skates !!! ) However, I was not ready to go over to the dark side :-)

One thing I found of interest, butt too $$$ for me was the kitewing.

Can you say FLY ??

No dough to go on the snow ...

SO, I built up the mount point on the snowboard so that the mast base could be firmly attached and the wood could be attached to the board. Since nothing was to come apart as I was sailing, aluminum plates were used under bolt heads and nuts. Anti-skid tape was placed on the board for obvious reasons...At this point in the game I was NOT sure whether the board could hold the stress of the mast base without major re-enforcement. Now I know better - it can !!

As seen below, I did NOT want anything sticking in the snow and thus used what I call IKEA type nuts i.e. flat head with the hex tightening.

One evening I was testing the snowboard with the sail attached in the street. My daughter was coming home from a babysitting gig and the father was driving her home. He asked her," What is that nut doing in the street?" To which my daughter replied, "Oh, that's just my dad." :-)

Preliminary tests in the snow were NOT good :-(

Had a discussion with a mechanical engineer at work. He felt that the snowboard was generating too much resistance and works best under gravity or kite pull from above. He suggested I put skis underneath the board. Another colleague at work was kind enough to donate an old pair of skis - needed to be "old style" i.e. NOT parabolic. Since I did NOT want to punch holes in the snowboard (now i wonder why), I attached the skis to the snowboard using metal strips and small wood blocks. Once again I stuck to the hex IKEA type nuts. By chance the skis were angled out about 10 degrees. This was not intentional, but did help later on the ice.

This time the tests were MUCH better... I developed a bad habit whereby I would disembark when it came time to stop. This would prove to be my downfall (no pun intended).

Based on my notes, the sled cost me only about $40 since I had the board, skis and mast base already - or were given to me !!!!

I gave it the full test on Easter weekend. Winds were strong - around 20 mph or so. The lake (actually part of the St. Lawrence) was completely iced up , but a little rough. I only had my 3 cam older NP 7.0 powerful sail in town. It started off quite well and I was pleasantly surprised. As I got out of the bay, winds picked up and I started to pull the sail in for more speed. It handled it very well and I was starting to go pretty quick. I thought, okay, let's see what this baby can do... At one point I realized just how fast I was going and got a little nervous. The speed was due to the fact the skis were angled and I was sailing on the metal edges ONLY. I did what I had always done up until that day ...I threw the sail to the ice and watched as the masthead of the boom broke - it was after all an old one and I stepped off the board trying to run. It felt like I was Fred Flintstone i.e. my feet just could not keep up. Needless to say, I fell to the ice with the my arms outstretched. My chin hit my arm luckily, but I realized something was wrong. I got up leaving my left arm up in the air and dragged my stuff back to shore. This was about a mile out now %^&* People did not help me because they did not realize that I was in pain. One fellow asked me if my contraption worked. I told him, " It works so well , I think I broke my f'n shoulder." He either did not like my language or did not want to help because he disappeared quickly.. As I was trying to load my stuff into the van another gentleman was kind enough to offer assistance and actually drove me to the hospital with his wife following in their car. He had popped his shoulder in the past and told me it was not too bad to pop it back in.

While i was at the "reception desk" at the hospital I did not feel well. I thought I was going to pass out. The nurse told me to go straight through door number 1. A doctor took me right away, but was quite rude and told me to get my dirty gloves off his paperwork. He also kept asking me why I thought I was going to pass out. In my usual manner , I informed him that it was not I , who was the doctor :-) A friend of the family , who is an emergency room nurse, later informed me that pain is the culprit for making one feel that they are going to pass out ...Felt like I kept going room to room, nurse to nurse and doctor to doctor. Since I was able to move my arm - under duress - the doctor said it was impossible that the shoulder was dislocated. It was a break of some sort ...

I had let it rip so much that I actually broke my left shoulder :-(

On the x-ray I saw two(2) floater bone fragments and had to sleep sitting up for about six(6) weeks and was NOT allowed to drive ... Only missed about three (3) days work ...

Missed about three (3) windsurf sessions as well :-( + physio-therapy from March to October !!

The shoulder looked something like this ...

Skipped the winter of 2008 .. But by end of 2009, I was already looking about at other winter sailboarders. Feodor, who had just broken his collar bone, has adjustable hinges and uses a winter sled called a SAVO. It seems in Scandinavia it seems they have been doing similar activities since quite some time. One of them in the video is using a MauiSails Race Sail TR !!

Also discovered there is an organization called WISSA.org which is World Ice and Snow Sailing Association. They have even had Championships in Canada MANY times: 2004 Orillia, 2006 Trois-Rivières, 2008 Matapedia and 2010 La Baie. I actually wanted to meet my Finnish friend in La Baie this year, but I did not get out there :-(

My discussions encouraged me and I purchased a smaller older Simmer 6-oh. Here is a pic of what I now call board #1 - with the sail... So, lesson learned regarding using smaller sails in winter ...

That winter I sailed up at the lake and also on a sod farm field. Still feel that the board still works best on ice or crusty snow. May need to go towards a board like local freestyler Guy Trudeau...

So, this year 2010 I built board #2. Feodor had suggested 30 to 45 degree for ice and 15 to 30 degrees for snow. So, first I tried 30 degree angle on the skis as suggested by my Finnish maniac :-)

This 30 degrees bit too much, and so I made them 20 degrees.
Here's another pic and then I will start the journal entries :-)

This board is GREAT on ice, but still feel I have NOT got the best setup for snow. Once again, perhaps I need to go to Guy Trudeau's design - which can be found on YOUTUBE.

Just to make the discussion complete, there are "commercially" available winter sailboard toys. From Ontario there is the SNOWFER and from the NW States there is the WINDSKI. Once again I found these toys a bit expensive and the snowfer seems more inclined towards ice as well. I have seen the windski on the internet and on e-bay. The concept is an interesting one and I wonder if one could make something like a windsurfer, but for snow ??

Update: Elsewhere in the posts I tell about board # 3.14 which is version 3 re-using board #1. There is a third ski in the middle and the front of the skis are flat to the ground. The back of the two(2) skis that reach to the back are angled IN at about 10 degrees. Tests so far have shown this to be the best setup for up to 2 inches of snow. Board #2 with 20 degree angle cuts too much and too much drag in snow of 2 inches - even with crust underneath - butt is GREAT on ice !!!!
check my other discussions on the subject

http://joewindsurfer.blogspot.com/2011/03/test-run-of-board-314.html
http://joewindsurfer.blogspot.com/2011/03/thats-it.html

Board # 3.14 for the snow is on the left - back of skis angled in at 10 degrees and a centre ski in the front against spin out. Board #2 is on the right with skis angled out at 20 degrees.
This is a SPEED MACHINE.
{mast bases have been taken off for summer storage and i need em for my summer windsurfing :-) }

Clique to enlarge

November 2011 - on local e-bay called kijiji there is a fellow near Québec CIty selling a 1990's "Wind Zone" winter windsurf sled. Here is a copy of those photos. He is selling this for $100 - not bad if someone has all the rest of the windsurf stuff. If he or she lived closer, I would seriously consider and at the very least go see it and measure !!!

And another update !! It seems there is a fellow named Langis Caron who has built sleds like the following near Quebec City for the last 20 years !! NOT BAD !!

Turns out this Langis Caron was a race car driver in the 70's !! Apparently he has been working on winter sled models since the 80's - yes, last 20 years, as marked earlier. He was a racer and still is. He has won numerous places in the WISSA competitions and his wife races too. So, these sleds are worth analyzing !!!

AND some fellow is trying to sell this "Hiberna Iceboard" on e-bay for about $1800 !!

I have a feeling there may be a renewed interest in windsurfing on ice n snow. Now all we need is some snow !! Apparently the lake up north is frozen = cannot wait !!!

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

and THEN just when you think you've seen it all, you find this !!!

and a bit more of the same !!

As usual , there is ALWAYS another version of the homemade sled. Here it is:

It is a very simple design that hides the secret in this photo. There are fins at the back in order to cut into the snow and drive the "sled" forward.

With the open space between mast base and standing platform, one may be able to go in deep snow as well. Not sure about placement of mast base nor strength of that brace. However, they say it goes !! Jibing ?? no idea... pics from WSC

and there is also the windskier 380cs that does not look homemade and is made out of aluminimum
pic also from WSC - comes without skis from what i read and see no angle on the skis - requires the fins from what i see here...

Found a really interesting business article on "The Case of Winter Windsurfing"
http://pure.au.dk/portal-asb-student/files/39891933/master_thesis_Elina_Cate.pdf
There is mention of Freeskates, Hiberna boards, Velliluge and Snowfers. Some obvious names are Jeff Brown of the USofA (maine or Vermont I believe) , Marcel Bradette of Quebec City, Quebec, Canada and Charles Chepregi of Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

"Experts say that winter windsurfers innovate mainly to fulfill their own and their
fellow sportsmen needs. Most of them are enthusiasts of the sport and as there is not
much of commercial product manufactured currently and also in the past, they take on
the innovation process and try to solve problems associated with the equipment and
make improvements themselves. The needs mainly concern reaching higher speeds and
the control and manoeuvring of the board. They also do it for fun cause they enjoy the
process. Also gaining reputation is important for those that take part in competitions and
try to reach new speed records. "