by DimitriMilovich » Thu Jun 08, 2006 2:28 pm
OK, Trip, I'll wade in with my too-wordy, entirely second-hand opinions on all this new stuff. I've been mulling over the same questions myself, ever since I got Formula-envy (or is that big fin envy?) watching Carl own the lake. As a starter, I have carefully calibrated that with my Roberts AVS, 70 x 279 w/54 cm fin and aged NP Z-1 8.7 race sail, I was able to plane in 9 kts of steady whitecap-less N breeze at Rush or UL some years ago, (without the added weight of a wetsuit) but that's working pretty hard.
Carl makes it look so easy because he's such an excellent sailor, but it is clear that bigger gear and boards really work well these days. The big question for you is: What's the turn-on, planing or jibing? No fair saying "both", because I don't think you get both. At some point I think you have to choose. Already, with my Roberts, the jibing became 2nd place to the planing, although newer boards of the same ilk now do jibe better (I hear).
If you want to be out there planing and owning the lake, exploring up and downwind and generally laughing at the rest of us w/o such gear, clearly Formula stuff is the way to go. And it's not just for the lightest of air. I saw a guy on Formula gear last summer at Rio Vista in 15-20 mph winds. It was absolutely jaw-dropping astonishing to me how he could go up and down wind. It's like a whole new type of sailcraft has been created, really quite a bit different from the BAFO sailing most of us do. I think the reward would be the intellectual grins as well the visceral giggles of sailing at double the windspeed in chopless water. Overall, just hugely satisfying like windsurfing alone of few other sports can be - if that's your cup of tea. Maybe something analogous to it would be mastering full-on GS racing skis - pure carving all the time, w/o letup, along with the attendant demands of having to have perfectly fitted boots, perfectly tuned skis, just the right wax, etc. to make it all happen. Not a perfect analogy, but like with all sailing gear, you'd want all your stuff to match and operate at the same level, i.e., you probably don't want to buy a Formula board and put a camless 10.5 on it.
I think those larger boards you are considering, which are a step below even the detuned Formula boards that several mfrs offer, are designed for people who don't want to think about their edges or their wax, or their adjustable outhauls, or camber inducers or fin nicks. And when you jibe them, they do feel somewhat like the jibe you get to do on your 6.5. But even at their best, you will be a small buoy in Carl's rear view mirror. Get the drift?
I just sailed almost the whole Carve line in Bonaire myself last month, but it wasn't very satisfying in the larger sizes, because when it's light, I want to go upwind NOW and explore, and they weren't set up for that, nor do I think they are the right board for that - I know even my old Roberts would leave them in the dust (dust?), but I digress.
So, planing or jibing? Choices, choices. I think you should take up some folks of offers to try gear. Hell, my Bob is for rent for a measly single beer per day, anytime you want to borrow it is fine for me (I'll be in Hawaii last two weeks in June if you wanna borrow it.) Although beware that it takes some time to get any new board figured out. I'm sure Carl, Jimbo and Sarah would have some other good opinions on this. They at least own some big gear...
For closers (whew!), look for Roger Jackson's comments on rec.windsurfing. I think he's a big proponent of large camless sails (Sailworks Retro) and high-end-not-qute-Formula boards, and he's got loads of experience. Let me know what you finally get so I can come borrow it, OK?
Last edited by
DimitriMilovich on Thu Jun 08, 2006 3:58 pm, edited 2 times in total.
Dimitri