Okay, if you wonder if I've been living in a bubble, I have. I used to live in WA, and windsurf all the time, but work took me to far-off places and I put my gear into storage. I currently live in Toronto, Canada, and while there's windsurfing here on Lake Ontario, there's no hiring places, and I'm not keen to recapitalise or even relocate my gear. I'll be back in the world of warm-and-salty windsurfing soon enough...
Anyhow, I just looked at some of the offerings from the front-line board manufacturers and I can't help but feel it's 1988 again. The wide point has gone forward, the nose is fat again.... what on earth happened to the infamous needle-nose / no-nose? My number 1 board is an F2 Sputnik 265 Jump&Jibe, and I love it. My first ride on it was like a learner driver in an F1 racecar, as it went blisteringly fast but I had no idea how to control it. Thankfully I never damaged it as I climbed the learning curve, and I soon learned to sail it fast, while reading the warning signs when trouble was coming. No-nose boards were all the rage when I got it, and none could touch them for speed. All the fastest sailors had one. Where did these sexy boards go!?!?!?
They were too good at putting holes in sails.
Then again, now we have wide boards the mast is good at snapping board noses off.... hmmmm
Now boards are faster, trust me.
You did well not to sail over there in Toronto. Was there a few times on business.
Cold as hell, even middle of summer. Wind flaky and always offshore.
If you were staying a few more months around there (and I hope not for you), then go to Kingston to sail, 3 hours' drive from there. Much better winds, much better waters.
Happy return though, hope I beat you to it.
yeh straight up - its true modern boards are faster and definitly easier
I love my '95 Extreme 270 - a b&*ch in chop, fin sensitive, and when (really) overpowered does the most exciting tailwalking - all the things that the modern wide boards wont - but its not that far behind on a good run
I didnt sail for 10 years and couldnt believe where board design had gone, which was to abondon the no nose trend
and then i saw a formula board
