The new Windsurfer LT Reviewed in detail

The reason windsurfing is not popular in the olympics is because it's a minority sport . Pure and simple . If kiting on foils got a look in , it would be the same thing.
You just like to razz more than most . Ever cocidered a girlfriend? . Option two , I'm sure there are specific quality hand creams available .

This is the forum that keeps on giving
ps: what's with those new fan dangled MV sails ?
.......... I know , off to bed fat cat

Sailquik makes some great points. Going Olympic could be terrible for the LT and for windsurfing. It would cut off the LT's chance to grow the grass roots because the emphasis would be on full-time Olympians.

SQ is also right - no one can really sail an LT in 30 knots of true, steady wind. Most people exaggerate windspeed since not many people have a good objective measurement for it, like a yacht anerometer.

Well, it all depends on your measurement, and to be honest I've given up really trusting windspeed measurements much. A true 30 knot wind is gusting about 42 knots, and measuring the true wind is very hard and causes lots of exaggeration. Once you correct for the fact that force increases by the square, the height of the Bureau measuring devices and gust strength it becomes apparent that a wind that the Bureau says is gusting to 30 may put only ONE EIGHTH as much power in a rig as a true 30 knot wind measured at rig height. Add your usual hype and the fact that most people have never used a wind speed meter and we see a huge amount of exaggeration going on - we can do an entire Sydney-Hobart without finding a sustained 30 knots, but to listen to some people they see it in Sydney every few sails!

In a real 30 knot wind it will be gusting to 40+, and I don't think any LT sailors will be doing anything that apart from perhaps trying to find the lulls so they can get the sail up and get closer to home. If it's gusting 30, a few people (Stu G, Dennis, etc) could survive and have fun. If it drops to 28 knot gusts (where the wind force is half of a true 30 knotter gusting to 43) then it's a ball of fun for 5-10% of the fleet, a very challenging race for maybe 25% of sailors, and a blowout for the rest. After all, many sailing classes up to 30ft Etchells have a policy where racing is canned in a 22-25 knot wind, and a 30 knotter has about half as much force again as a 24 knot breeze.

That doesn't meant that I think the 5.7 is a bad sail in really big winds - in fact I quite like it because it's so light and because you can ease the boom angle out and sail with the front of the sail luffing. Because it doesn't have full battens you can sail it with only the back end driving and the rest backwinding, as in a Laser or something in similar winds. And because we only have one sail, we won't have been caught out with a 7, 9.5 or 11.5m sail. It's very personal but I reckon a Wally can handle more wind than a Raceboard with a 7.5. for example.

Surfboard wax

It's a perfectly fair question. In a breeze the board is railing and your feet are on the rail; that is, the side of the board. That puts you above most of the chop. The front foot goes along the rail, toes forward, with your back foot touching your heel when you're in the groove in moderate winds. The toes of your front feet give you fore-and-aft balance.

That feeling of driving a Raceboard along in the groove, locked into the straps and with a cambered sail locked in, is fantastic. The feeling of a Windsurfer is also fantastic, but it's more of a delicate art of balance with the feet, coupled with a sail that gives you a lot of feel and sometimes needs a fair bit of wrestling. It's very rare to get wiped off the rail and making sure it doesn't happen is part of the challenge.

Some sailors do wax up the rails, reef booties help.

Hey guys,
as the creator of this post I'd just like to add to the conversation.

As a super heavyweight at around 110kg, I still have fun on the Windsurfer LT.

I've raced all season against some very talented sailors and the majority much lighter than I, and generally I'm at the back of the pack for several reasons. It's no secret weight is a factor on any board and the LT is no magic bullet. however, I still enjoy it. Why? You ask?

It is because I know regardless of the conditions, I now I can go out and have a go with the one board and the one rig that is simple to rig quickly. I roll my sail round the mast like we all did in the good old days, it saves me a few minutes and that is good for me. No hassles feeding the mast through cams the right way tensioning then detensioning outhaul etc to clip in the cams etc.

I don't have to bring 3 sails (just in case the wind drops or picks up) just play with downhaul anouthaul. Don't need a winch on the downhaul to set the sail, you can tension the downhaul with two fingers and one hand tied behind your back.

Sometimes simplicity is what we want and the LT has that in spades.

Sometimes you just want to hang out with a few mates and have a sail and a beer afterwards. There are always plenty of windsurfer sailors ready to race and have a little fun.

Sometimes I'm happy just to cruise around and do a little exploring and checking out a bay I haven't sailed to before, you don't do that on slalom.

sometimes I like to goof around and practice my freestyle when the wind isn't strong enough for an adrenaline rush, the LT gives me that opportunity.

Sometimes I try to encourage a friend to try windsurfing, I can do that with an LT.

I MAY HAVE SAID THE BOARD IS OK IN 0-30knots early in the piece and it is not a huge exaggeration. I have a pretty good idea of wind strength and to be honest, as I get older, I rarely get out in the big winds like I used to.

back in the day, tried sailing an original windsurfr in 30+++ knots regularly with a storm sail and storm (or no Centreboard) because that was all we had, and we managed to have a ball!

at 110kg, I prefer 15-20 knots but am happy to race in 10 knots and have entered a marathon in less than 2-5 knots ( it later dropped to 0-2 knots and I caught a ride back in rescue IRB CAUSE IT WOULD HAVE TAKEN HOURS TO GET BACK.

IVE BEEN CAUGHT in 25-40 knots and yee haaaard loudly as I enjoyed the acceleration and thrill of speed till I fell off a few times. With no foot straps, and the sail set a little loose for lighter winds, I was not prepared for this southerly buster. The Windsurfer in these conditions is harder to ride than say a slalom board where you can lock in and hang on. It is a dance of balance, foot strpeering and rig wrestling in these conditions which is both fun and challenging!

As commented previously by Chris, only a small percentage can handle that stuff and sadly, as I get older, my fitness hampers me, I didn't want to give up but was hassled by the rescue boat who was also rescuing raceboarders and other Wally sailors. A few very good sailors including some on old one designs sailed home triumphantly and conquered these winds after the race was cancelled due to general carnage.

WE HAVE HAD A GREAT SUMMER OF WINDSURFING and so please to see so many women and kids getting into the sport and seeing so many who have bought the LT and are simply stoked at the new found freedom and ease of sailing afforded by the Windsurfer. It is not an arms race, it will never be the best at every or maybe any discipline but for me, it is the best allround versatile best value and is fun to ride.

Ahhhh windsurfing is fun. Sail whatever u like, own as many boards and rigs as you like. I still have numerous boards but somehow, at the moment, I'm content to take my Wally LT, GO RACING with a few friends (107 at the recent Nationals) and enjoy the sun, saltwater and simplicity of windsurfing old school.

the choice is personal. Don't attack people's choice, just be happy with whatever you choose to do.

Cheers, Al
PS
not a Windsurfer fan boy
i own two mistrals, an F2, a starboard and two windsurfers at the moment ( an LT and an Original - haven't owned or raced a one design for 30 years till I got the LT).
i am a fan of the Windsurfer LT though, FROM the brand that started it all and has given me many fond memories since 1979. WINDSURFER! The real Windsurfer for REAL Windsurfers!

I'm not as good as Chris, that man wouldn't know how to fall off, he must have gecko feet, so yes I have had my foot knocked off the rail by chop. However, wearing boots and the tremendous non slip deck help.
i haven't applied wax or non slip along the rails but I know plenty have with success.