myiW Current Conditions and Forecasts Community Forums Buy and Sell Services
 
Hi guest · myAccount · Log in
 SearchSearch   ProfileProfile   Log in to check your private messagesLog in to check your private messages   RegisterRegister 
Formula fun factor
Goto page Previous  1, 2, 3 ... 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11  Next
 
Post new topic   Reply to topic    iWindsurf Community Forum Index -> Windsurfing Discussion
View previous topic :: View next topic  
Author Message
LeeD



Joined: 12 Jun 2008
Posts: 1175

PostPosted: Sun Oct 14, 2012 4:20 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

As usual, another nitpicker who dots the i's and crosses the t's.
My old Kinetic 95 was as wide as I don't need to windsurf.
The current L-8 is wider. That is wide enough.
Why windsurf? Why not go FlyingDutchman, or Aussie18?
I rode that olld Kinetic for maybe 30 days. Have logged the current borrowed L-8 two days. It's still wide.
I also raced motocross on 2 wheeled bikes, not quads or tris.
And I don't surf on longboards.
But I do use hiking sticks on walks in the wilds.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
DelmarEdward



Joined: 05 Aug 2012
Posts: 72

PostPosted: Sun Oct 14, 2012 4:37 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

not nitpicking, only pointing out an obvious over-statement. I came to windsurfing from small boat sailing, using sunfish, lasers and several such small boats. To me, a windsurfing rig is nothing more than a very small boat that i can fit in my car ( or on top).

if i lived right on the water i'd have stayed with a sunfish.

not everyone shares your view that something 39 inches wide is HUGE and while i'm sire i'm in the minority, i don't care to sail in high winds.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
dllee



Joined: 03 Jul 2009
Posts: 5328
Location: East Bay

PostPosted: Sun Oct 14, 2012 5:08 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Point of view.
I come from a surfing background, where a 6' long, 18" wide, 2.45" thick is considered NORMAL. A small board would be 5'4" long, 19" wide, and the same thickness.
When I rode my very first ever windsurfing board, a Rocket99, I thought it was TOO BIG. It was, in retrospect, too small.
4 days after my initial beginner lesson after that first day, I was riding my bud's 9' long, 23" wide surfboard after I glassed in a track and footstrap inserts, woodied the finbox, and added 5 layers of heel patching.
ONE day later, ordered my 9' x 21.5" RandyFrench slalom. Got it in 3 days, and never looked back.
I live where the winds blow over 18mph averages at least 200 days a year. I have 300 days a year to windsurf.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
bil7y



Joined: 17 Dec 2002
Posts: 349

PostPosted: Sun Oct 14, 2012 6:46 pm    Post subject: Fun Reply with quote

Tons of fun on Formula. Nearly Skunk Proof too. Here is some Freestyle windsurfing on a ML Formula Board and 10 meter sail.

Some of the WIND SUP's are great too.

http://vimeo.com/14275783
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
LeeD



Joined: 12 Jun 2008
Posts: 1175

PostPosted: Sun Oct 14, 2012 7:02 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Dave has since opened up his own shop in SanRafael, 101 Sports.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
GURGLETROUSERS



Joined: 30 Dec 2009
Posts: 2643

PostPosted: Mon Oct 15, 2012 3:12 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

If formula is the answer why is it not the best selling and most common windsurfing activity? (And please, the notion that you can't understand something without first trying it isn't relevant. I've never stuck a red hot poker up my ass, but I'm quite sure I'd dislike it.)

Formula and giant rigs seem best suited to specific conditions and locations if used just for pleasure. (Racing aside.) Those conditions rarely apply to most places where we windsurf. A couple of locals tried it when it was at its height a few years back, but they soon found that, on balance, the cons outweighed the pros. Yes, at times they were the fastest things on the water, but at a cost. As one feelingly put it, 'It's a bloody fight to the death and that's not what I came into windsurfing for!'

As all sports get more and more specialized and equipment orientated there seems to be a growing desire for simplicity. Why else would S.U.P. (inferior windsurfing) have taken such a hold?
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
wynsurfer



Joined: 24 Aug 2007
Posts: 940

PostPosted: Mon Oct 15, 2012 6:56 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

That video was great! Very graceful and free flowing, he makes it look easy, though I am sure it is not. I have watched a number of videos now , and I notice all the good sailors look smooth and graceful. To get proficient at this will require lots of time on the water, and if you make it a " fight to the death" you will surely not succede. Never go against the grain, If you are fighting it change something. I sold all my lightwind gear 23 years ago. Last year a friend gave me the Bic Techno 283, and I bought a 7.5 sailworks retro for it. Prior to this my big board was 107 litres, and my big sail is a 5.8. First time out on the bic I hated it! I could not make a single turn, nor could I tack it as easily as a long board. However I decided to persist, and now I am having some fun with it. Also I met a local friend who owns a formula board, which I'll be able to try out. Handling large sails takes some getting used to. Gurgletrousers, why do you say stand up paddle is inferior to windsurfing? have you tried it? Im giving serious thought to getting one, since what we have here more often than not is no wind, or 5-10 mph. wind. For the short term I'll stick with what I have, maybe look for a 9.0. I have a 50cm. curtis race fin for the techno. Getting proficient with the equipment I have now will likely make the transition to formula less difficult I should think. Thanks for all the differing points of view.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
speedysailor



Joined: 11 Sep 2007
Posts: 841

PostPosted: Mon Oct 15, 2012 7:39 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

isobars wrote:

But it makes perfect sense to me that shoreline terrain -- be it cliffs, mountains, high-rises, or forests -- will pinch sideshore wind to various degrees. And we laugh, but the wind at Jones Beach/Nuclear Alley, on the Columbia 30 miles from the ocean, surely seems to correlate with the tide.
Sure, but the sailing/kiting areas of Waquoit Bay lies in a large marshland which is flat as a pancake. The seaside trees don't grow very high either due to the wind exposure. Actually, Dan W. should be right, but I am skeptical about these kinds of claims. If the guy with the good windmeter told me I was sailing in 28 m.p.h. winds with my 8.4, I have to believe him. However, I would never have rigged the sail if I thought I was going to be sailing in such strong gusts. Usually, I limit myself to a rare gust to 25 and nothing steady over 22 with the 8.4. In addition, I'm not using my Formula but the 82 cm wide Naish Icon. The Formula was fun with an 8.0, but I would only use it with sails that small if I had no other board.
GURGLETROUSERS wrote:
If formula is the answer why is it not the best selling and most common windsurfing activity?
IMHO the sport had lost it's popularity by the time Formula rigs came on the scene. The expense of the equipment and the fact that the only shops left did not carry it made it a rather esoteric aspect of windsurfing. Kiting in addition was taken up by the new generation who had parents that windsurfed and were seeking their own sport. However, it did gain a strong following in South America. I think that was due to their sense of national identity in the face of European dominance in windsurfing professionalism.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
GURGLETROUSERS



Joined: 30 Dec 2009
Posts: 2643

PostPosted: Mon Oct 15, 2012 9:23 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Slinky - I didn't mean that S.U.P. as an activity was inferior to windsurfing, but that S.U.P. boards being a compromise design don't SAIL as well as dedicated windsurfing boards. My point is that S.U.P. is popular precisely because of its lack of specialization, and consequent all rounder appeal.

The couple of friends who switched to formula were able to master it after practice, but in our often chaotic wind and sea conditions they found it was too much effort for too little obvious reward. They switched back to 'normal' gear.

I agree with Speedy that a large 160 litre freeride with an 8.0 metre sail in that 13+knot wind range (I sometimes use a Bic Techno 160 and 8.0 sail for blasting in sea breezes) can rival formula for fun, yet still remain relatively throwabout. Pump onto the plane and keep going with the assistance of the apparent wind, and all with cheap and simple.

It's all fun isn't it!
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
speedysailor



Joined: 11 Sep 2007
Posts: 841

PostPosted: Tue Oct 16, 2012 1:01 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

GURGLETROUSERS wrote:

I agree with Speedy that a large 160 litre freeride with an 8.0 metre sail in that 13+knot wind range (I sometimes use a Bic Techno 160 and 8.0 sail for blasting in sea breezes) can rival formula for fun, yet still remain relatively throwabout. Pump onto the plane and keep going with the assistance of the apparent wind, and all with cheap and simple.

It's all fun isn't it!
No, it isn't all fun. It can be rather difficult and lacking in fun. Having the right equipment can make or break your day. I don't want to quibble, but in winds less than 17, I will be using an 11 meter sail and the Formula board. If I decide to do something different, I will rig a small sail, the 5.9 Duke here on the Cape and do some non-planing windsurfing.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Display posts from previous:   
Post new topic   Reply to topic    iWindsurf Community Forum Index -> Windsurfing Discussion All times are GMT - 5 Hours
Goto page Previous  1, 2, 3 ... 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11  Next
Page 7 of 11

 
Jump to:  
You cannot post new topics in this forum
You cannot reply to topics in this forum
You cannot edit your posts in this forum
You cannot delete your posts in this forum
You cannot vote in polls in this forum
You can attach files in this forum
You can download files in this forum

myiW | Weather | Community | Membership | Support | Log in
like us on facebook
© Copyright 1999-2007 WeatherFlow, Inc Contact Us Ad Marketplace

Powered by phpBB © 2001, 2005 phpBB Group