A special board = AHD Tactik

Since I have been reviewing longboards and hybrids for potential Fanatic Ultra CAT replacements, I also came across the AHD Tactik.

I wrote to AHD asking them about the cost - the board is about $2000 and more than a 2012 StarBoard Phantom 320. J.P. Riou was kind enough to respond and made this comment:

I also want to stress that if the Phantom 320 is directly inspired by RaceBoard type boards (wide planing boards), the Tactik is an hybrid board with a Division II type forward section and a planing hull aft.

Upwind in 10knots winds the Tactik goes closer to the wind and faster than anything else than old Div II or M1 boards.

No trimming upwind here : :-)

He was also kind enough to include a paper :
https://skydrive.live.com/?cid=c6db8ade6b0c768c#!/view.aspx?cid=C6DB8ADE6B0C768C&resid=C6DB8ADE6B0C768C%21459&app=WordPdf

So, why my interest? If you read any of the enclosed document, it is fairly clear... This board is flat in the back for planing and shaped in the front to cut water like a boat or DIV II windsurf board. It is a simple board in terms of setup and sailing. It is good for light winds under 15 knots - where most people live.

It has NO straps, NO mast track adjustment on the fly and may unfortunately have a US fin box. My CAT has a US fin box and i am loath to go over 30 cm for fin length ...

Here is the only video i could find:



The specifications of the board are:
from http://www.ahd-boards.com/models/tactik-sailboard/en


Volume             250 l
Length              320.00 cm / 10' 5 ''
Width               76.00 cm  /29 1/4''
Width ofo         59.00 cm / 23 1/2''
Weight (+/- 6%)13.00 kg
Fin box             US Box
Fin size              Deep Tuttle
Sail size             5,0 - 8.0

JP Riou tells me the centreboard is carbon, butt i have NO idea of its dimensions. Is the fin box US or Tuttle? and how good is the supplied fin ?? A board like this should be able to handle bigger fins and sails. I would anticipate using the Severne 9.5 raceboard sail with an appropriate fin on this board !!!

This picture shows a Tuttle or Deep Tuttle connection from the top:

What i am looking for and hoping for is - an affordable board like this that will bring the families back into windsurfing. I missed the 80's phenomena by a hair. So far this year by May 2013 I have mostly used my Fanatic Ultra CAT and MauiSails TR-6 8.4 sail. I know i could use this combo out in even bigger winds and it will plane - or at least feel like planing :-) As i do NOT make track adjustments while sailing nor do i race, such a board as the Tactik would fulfill all my longboard requirements and as suggested - maybe even more !!


Tactik Run from Sylvain HERNIGOU on Vimeo.

SAD news at local parc OKA

On Saturday the 11th of May I was at the main beach of OKA- La Crête was still closed due to high water levels. For the WSW winds that would have been better. I had to end my session becuz the winds picked up and were very gusty. I watched a kiter try to go out, butt he gave up. And a windsurfer came further down the beach exclaiming he arrived too late and did NOT even get out - he also was with a MauiSails 8.x ie over. The conditions made me nervous and two(2) other wind enthusiasts who arrived appeared VERY cautious...

All day Sunday I kept exclaiming how strong the winds were and how dangerous. I had an unexplainable urge to go to OKA. Kept checking forums and the such to see how the day went. At the end of the day i got the bad news!! A kite surfer died at the main beach of OKA Park on this day, Sunday May 12th, 2013 :-(

http://www.kiteforum.ca/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=7491
It seems the kite went into multiple loops - they are saying this means you need to release the kite and in the worst case, cut the cords. With the cold temps and strong winds - this may not have been possible. Also, this beach is NOT ideal for W-SW winds. The other beach , La Crête, is ideal for those winds and one can run parallel to the beach in shallow waters ... The winds, the temperature, skills, etc ALL come into play... Self-rescue on my windsurfer makes me nervous and i can only imagine how it must be with a kite !!! Many people gave condolences and some gave advise - not really time for that - except to say PLEASE BE CAREFUL, STAY IN YOUR SKILL LEVEL and STAY IN VIEW {if u r alone}.
English forum: http://www.kiteforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=2380364&sid=acd1395ac16d84ad3afff4a4fec2f59f

I found it hard to believe and did some quick searches. You know we have reached sad times when not only is the incident confirmed, but we also have LIVE footage of the revival attempt :-(

{took it off here - for respect to the family}

Another SAD DAY for OKA , wind enthusiasts , a local family and ....

My thoughts go out to all those who were and are touched directly by such a loss - that NEVER should have happened ...

Last year two(2) people drowned at the parc as well :-(
I am sure measures or restrictions will be put in place sooon ...

His name was Julien Blanchard with 32 years of age.
http://www.journaldemontreal.com/2013/05/13/manoeuvre-fatale
When rescuers arrived the body was submerged and they had to drag it out of the water with the cords.
This is the first death of a kitesurfer in the province of Quebec, Canada.

--------------------------
Some articles in the papers are calling this a "death loop". I had NO idea what this all meant - luckily NEVER having seen this. I found a video and it does look "awkward", but i would NOT have known it was EXTREMELY dangerous !!!

Repairing my Fin

This was a repair I had NOT anticipated - end of 2012 season ...

I am getting more and more upset with this supposed high grade race fin from Select. First it was more money than I had hoped to pay AND it fit poorly into the Trimm box of my BIC Techno Formula. I used the fin a few times and was satisfied with the performance - once I had adjusted it's fit into the box $%^&*( I took it out in the cold one day {-1 Celsius} and water levels were slightly different. It sounded like the fin grazed over some rocks and was actually a bit loose when I got off.

When I checked the fin, there was more damage than I anticipated and I did NOT dare go out with this fin until repaired ...

As you can see here, the leading edge was slightly scraped, butt the bottom got chewed out.

So, I got out the MarineTex and splashed some on ...

 

Once sanded it was NOT looking so bad :-)

Sometimes I put on black Sharpie ink in order to make it look half decent.  

 

This repair did NOT take long and the fin is almost as good as new. I did NOT do as good a job as I usually do since I anticipated going out ONE MORE TIME this season. The hope was for today, butt temps are up and winds are not :-(

Guess it is time to start the jogging and prepare for the ice board sailing season, which is just around the corner ...

Okay, once it WAS time to ensure it was a good job .... beginning of 2013 season ...

I asked some fin suppliers and windsurf retailers about final finishing. All said NON to waxing and polishing. All said YES to wet-sanding. Most said that a grade 400 was more than enough and some suggested going as high as 600. I purchased 180 and 400 grit paper and re-sanded the same area without adding any more epoxy. It looked and felt really good. Here is a shot:

Preparing for Spring 2013 and the new season

Yes, in preparation for spring, I do go over my equipment as i did in a previous post AND I review my technique or lack thereof. Every spring what i have also been doing is losing weight. People have MANY different methodologies for this. For me, it works best if it is simple and repetitive. A long time ago i discovered that sauerkraut has very few calories and i can eat it from the bottle. That became my snack a long time ago. It is not for the weak of belly, as fermented cabbage can have deadly side effects !!

The rest of the regime is quite simple:

1) reduce fat - NO french fries, bacon, mayonnaise, cheese, etc
2) reduce sugar - NO chocolates, ice cream, candy, etc
3) increase water intake - about 4 to 5 glasses per day
4) increase exercise - jogging and weight training for me {and  i HATE jogging }
5) keep a record of food, exercise and weight by day, meal, etc

{i do NOT drink alcohol and those empty calories never were an issue for me}

One meal i discovered that is nutritious, not expensive and not too many calories is Vietnamese Pho soup. I found a new restaurant within walking distance that has rare beef Pho soup for $10 with taxes and tip included !!! I have been having that about 2 to 3 times a week for lunch !!

http://newfinmysoup.blogspot.ca/2009/10/daring-cooks-october-challenge.html

At work they started the "Biggest Loser" idea where we are in "teams" of four(4). My group was the heaviest at over 700 pounds to start. One fellow eats nothing , but raw salad and has lost about forty (40) pounds. This is extreme and perhaps even dangerous. I was surprised at my weight loss over the last two(2) months and since the 40 pound "loser" lost 20 even before the contest , people are thinking I am going to "win". This is irrelevant to me since my true objective is to plane earlier with less windsurf equipment :-)

At work they talk about counting calories, wearing digital devices that count calorie loss, etc , etc. That's too complicated for me and sounds like work !! My methodology works for me and is simple !!!

Here is a graph of my progress over the last two(2) months:

The good news is the objective of 215 pounds has been passed. The bad news is, a weekend like Easter can skew things quite a bit !! Once i passed my objective i stopped jogging since it is the least favourite of my sport activities. I will do ANYTHING to replace that as an activity #$%^&*(

The windsurf season is around the corner now and i would already have been on the water if not for my cold and crappy weather. However, i can taste it and can barely wait any longer. The local maniacs have been out on Lake Champlain for a couple of weeks now !!!! Just sent in my Canadian passport renewal so that i can go check that place out !!! It is highly recommended with spots for people with all skills - since i am still an intermediate struggling with water starts and foot straps... There , we touched the technique part too :-)