by Sarah Ranes » Sat Jun 10, 2006 9:05 am
Thought I would post some thoughts here too, since I made the choice for the full on formula board, and why. I had a really nice 68 cm board NSM board that carried a 9.0 pretty well, but I had a day that I was using that setup at DC. I was getting good rides adjusting to the big sail, but I had Carl C doing laps around me, and I thought that is really cool and looks fun to me. It's interesting that Carl seems to influence all of our wind surfing minds, I'm not sure I would have tried it with out him....Thanks Carl!
Any way I did a lot of research and talked to some racers, male and female and decided to give it a try. I have to say that I've had times that I've really enjoyed it, and had times that it's really challenging. If it is kind of smooth light wind, it's a blast to really go exploring, way up the lake and back down. I don't have the expertise of Carl, but feel that I have learned alot. To me the pay off of being able to go so deep upwind and down, far out weighs the jibing part of things. To me jibing a 80 cm board is not far from the 100 wide, it a very wide stance and things come around slow either way. You still have to work on your technique just as much to try and plane out of a jibe on the fat gear.
I tried John D. HS 105, which is the same as Carls and found it to feel alot like the formula, but does not plane nearly as early. All HS have the same bottom shape and size (about 75 cm wide), they just come in different thichnesses for the volume, so a 133 won't neccisarrily make you plane any earlier, but will help with schlogging. The formula is easiest of all to schlogg, but jumps up on a plane in just a puff of wind. If I was any good at pumping, it would do even better.
The challenging part of this in Utah is how up and down our wind is, and on formula gear you have to figure out how to use it. I've been out at UL and haveing a good time on the 9.0, heading upwind a mile or so, and had the wind kick up to 6.5 wind. You know you have to get back, and that's when it gets a bit scarry, heading deep down wind, over the back of the swell, with a lot of power in your sail. Talk about a work out, (glad to have a chicken strap now)....it's very memorable.
So that's the choices that I have made, where some will choose others. Each rig has it's specialty wind range and none is perfect. With my choice, I can go from the 9.0 and formula and plane in very light wind, to a 6.5 sail, and JP SX 106 ltr 63 cm wide. Even that has a bit of cross over. If I wan to BAF I use the 106, if I want to do the upwind - down wind I go Formula. I have to say, it's a bit lonely, sailing the formula gear cause most of your friends are BAFing. But I have to admit that, it is a really cool feeling too, to travel on ws gear all by your self (and a 100 boats) up and down the lakes.
Like most WS'rs I opt for smaller gear when I can, but the formula gear has certainly gotten me more time on the water, which always makes me smile. It's a really cool feeling to be planning along in the straps in very light wind, kind of like flying. For now I'm going to stick with this gear, It has taught me alot and has improved my sailing skills even on the small stuff. I did purchase a smaller 66 cm fin, for the formula, to make it a bit more controllable when the wind kicks up....we'll see.
GOOD LUCK IN CHOOSING YOUR RIDE......Triper!