How do we get longboarding back ??

[Brian_S]

For just the fun factor, there's always the Original Windsurfer:
http://www.originalwindsurfer.com/site/index.html

Ted Schweitzer holds some fun regattas and I've heard that they are still a lot of fun.

[techno900]

coachg said:

[joethewindsufa]

what if you drive 3.5 hours and conditions change ??

isobars says don't wait for wind nor chase wind - move to where there is wind more often ...

drove 20 minutes with 20-40 kph winds predicted and schlogged about on JP SLW92 and TR-4 10-oh
Marc told me there were sections where people were planing, but i just never found them

told myself this would not happen again
next time 20-40 kph SW was predicted, I brought the Equipe and 8.x sails along in case
again , winds were less than 16 knots and had a blast on the Equipe
was out more than the kites

NOT saying smaller boards n sails, speed and planing are not fun
am bringing the Equipe along JUST IN CASE
can't go when the wind calls and so gotta go have TOW and FUN when we can

[gvogelsang]

If there was a perfect long board to increase one's windsurfing experience, everyone would agree, and most would have one. The original Windsurf was a fine board, given the times and the technology. The Mistral Superlight was even better in every way - upwind, downwind, planing.

It would seem that there is no such consensus anymore.

The Kona comes pretty darn close, it would seem, to an all-around great long board.

The Kona Carbone comes closer, as it is lighter and has a mast track, and better dagger board. But it is darn expensive.

I am saving up to buy a Carbone. I wish that it were less expensive, and more people could experience one. It would be fun to do some non-serious racing on Carbones where I sail, but most of my fellow sailors cannot afford one.

Should I buy a Kona when the Carbone is lighter, has a mast track, and might be more fun? That is a serious question, with all kinds of implications.

[acalhounguy]

Longboards are good for learning windsurfing and for racing and probably for riding surf (which I haven't had opportunities to do). The last time I tried to really go out in wind and waves at my local spot I caught the board on a wave and nearly broke my ankle. A smaller / lighter short board can be moved more quickly to react to changing water conditions / gusts etc.

I think the Kona One will survive. WindSups will survive because SUP is big. The inflatable windSup is the thing and is going to be the entry point for windsurfing going forward, i.e. people will want to buy a short board after planing on an inflatable windSup. Long-boarding as a destination has limited appeal, nothing wrong with that, but I don't think it will be big on its own again. I learned to windsurf on an old mistral longboard and boy am I glad I had it to learn on. I will never sail it again. My Exocet windSup might not get used this whole season unless I am teaching with it but it is a good board to leave in the garage for that purpose. As for me, if the wind is down I'll be reading a book or pulling my kids wakeboarding, if I can plane I'll be out there. If I lived on the coast I'd probably be out with the windSup a lot more in surf which sounds like a lot of fun.

[Awalkspoiled]

Cruising a longboard is a really different event than driving a slalom board to its limit or hammering a wave board around in the surf, but if I could only ever do one, it would be cruising, given a real cruising location. The most pleasurable times on the water for me have always been out on a big board in conditions where nothing else would have really worked - working upwind from Eastham to Duxbury and flying back down past whales and tuna and who knows what else, tooling around in Newport Harbor while the Aussies celebrated their first America’s Cup, coasting into New London from Block Island when a huge nuke surfaced 200 yards away, racing the ferry from Woods Hole to the Vineyard (OK, you could do that on a Formula board but could you slog back through those currents when the wind dropped?).

My iffy health won’t let me do those things solo anymore, but I really believe they will come back, and that there will be a reverse migration from kites and foils, to the point where crossings will be a group activity even more popular than racing or wearing out the zipperline across the wind.

[coachg]

[GURGLETROUSERS]

Spot on, awalkspoiled. You clearly see the point.

The sea, and location, is everything! Islands, tide races, swell, variable winds and mountain and cliff wind shadows, unsuspected reefs (sudden breaking swells) to skirt, abundant wildlife, thunderstorms (scary), and the ever present squawking gull colonies who resent your presence, and give us a headache.

In short, the sea is wonderful, and we who are able to tickle its surface on our go anywhere longboards ( when it's not too angry) are truly blessed. All it requires is a vision! And, of course, we are still able to enjoy the adrenalin fuelled wave board surfing when we feel like it. It doesn't HAVE to be either, or! (Which some seem to believe.)

[scottybda]

I still love my Equipe and IMCO boards. I haven't pulled out the Phantom 377 this year, but still had fun on the pink IMCO!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YEld5OY8uK4

[Brian.bigfella@gmail.com]

I've mostly decided to get a Kona Hula this year. Not a classic long board, but I think it will match really well with my 9.5 Lion. I'm going to have to retrain myself to use a centerboard.