Highlight package from day 1 of the Down Under Pro Formula Oceanic and Australian Championships can be seen here:http://www.fw-australia.com/media-gallery/video/
Have you thought about working a news outlet? I hear C7 is looking for people in their news department. ;-)
nice pro event if that was my local the only people in the water would be 2- 8 year old kids out in kayaks and inflatable pump up dingies and car inatubes from toy world
move to w.a fellas. ![]()
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hmmm ..you tube , ledge to lancelin and you may see some real windsurfing racing..
Sorry Guys $10k set ups 10m sails, and boards as wide as a tinny, fins that could drive a 12 meter race yacht ( do they have a built in depth sounder?) ![]()
...this isn't windsurfing..... that was a tennis/golf/swim/surf/fish/paddle weather type of day,
lets get back to promoting WINDsurfing...not masive expensive gear in bugger all wind...this is what killed/killing the sport, its not realworld nor is it user friendly for everyone.
actually I think the massive crowds and huge amount of particpants in the video tell the story better than me... its a clasic though good use of a spare door and a spare spinaker.
Windsurfing gear is so good these days, 1 Board 2 sails 1 rig, will cover 90% of average sailors fun, keep it simple and we will get more people back in the sport.
We should ban oversized rubbish, its bad for the sport.![]()
Great location and video though.![]()
Spose those boards would be handy to sail my crab pots out, with a couple of kids on board...and the dog...a picnic...some camp gear, water, tv crew..tools, kitchen sink...... do you get a tug boat to bring you back to port?![]()
A great video and excellent promotion of the sport.
To all the knockers of formula gear ( I dont sail formula)...this is a pro event and they use gear that is fit for the purpose, I can't see how this is bad for the sport.
I like to watch motor sport but I don't buy a $500k race car, however I do enjoy a weekend drive in a high performance sports car which has probably benefited from the R&D investment in racing.
Sure are a few knockers.....
Did someone slam a door in your face when you were a kid?
Anyway I don't understand how formula is equated to windsurfing dying. If anything formula is great for windsurfing as the ideas thought of and developed in formula filter down to more normal gear. Personally I'd rather be out there blasting in 10 knots of wind rather than sitting on the beach waiting for the wind to fill in when it probably won't.
Nice vid. Looks sooooo good. Wish I was there. Good luck all Aussies and in particular, all the Cockroaches competing.
And my two cents on Formula - in NSW I use my Formula gear about twice as much as my slalom because that's what the conditions allow. Without formula, I'd sail less than half as much and be tempted to go out in more marginal conditions for slalom and end up slogging around for an hour. Can't see how that's a bad thing...
Formula ain't my thing either but then again I haven't really invested any meaningful time on one of those boards to really make a judgement.
I did try a stumpy slalom board with monster sail on a recent trip to WA and I can see the attraction. I certainly wouldn't say it's bad for the sport.
BTW, just showing people in 10 meter waves or doing super tweaked freestyle only makes the sport seem out of reach. One of the big reasons why windsurfing died from it's peak in the 80s was the move to shorter and shorter boards. While it meant the sport became more exciting it also inevitably meant that you needed better and better conditions. The result was people tired of sitting around on the beach. A lot left the sport for other activities - mostly MTB and later kiteboarding it seems - some picked up Formular sailing.
Yep, the natural progression to the surf is what killed it for me in the early '90's
Now with formula gear, I can get out in 4.7m to 11m winds - never been happier.
You don't HAVE to race with formula gear, I've only done one race weekend. I just love blasting all over the bay, going places my freeride won't get me. I LOVE the feeling of planing flat out powered up in 10 knots with NO chop. Awesome feeling.
You can smoke the wacky tobacki through a bong, as joint, with a pipe. It does not matter, you still get your hit.
Whether you get planing in 10 knots on a Formula board, 17 knots on a Freeride board or 30 knots on a Wave board, it does not matter, you still get your hit.
Whatever floats your boat.
Peace and Amen.
felt for the poor bugger that just missed the upwind mark at 3 mins - had to tack and got swamped by the fleet - from hero to zero in 10 seconds.
unlike the olympics i dont think you watched or heard about the last olympics ? i think the concept of one design confuses you
We've got a Formula event this weekend in TAS and it's always a great weekend. Really surprised to hear such negative comments from some within this forum.