Starboard SUPer 12'6

Hi Guys.

I had a chance to sail the new Starboard SUPer 12'6 on sunday.
As all the perth people know it was 38 degrees on sunday and about 10 knots max and no surf.
Being hot as and a really nice day, i wanted some time on the water so I went down to Pelican Point and Borrowed the SUPer 12'6 and the new Severne Synergy 6.0 Rig From JJ at the windsurf school.

I have been Keen to try this board ever since it was released about a month ago and on sunday it was there just waiting for me.

First impressions.. Well i had paddled and windsurfed the original 12'6 SUP from Starboard and had a hell of a lot of fun catching waves (with and without a sail) and paddling around so i had high expectations of the new shape and features of the SUPer 12'6.

The New 12'6 runs a Clipperbox Daggerboard so at first glance looks like a modern version of the windsurfer one design, with it classic long board outline, uncluttered deck and very easy to use centre board system.
BUT what modern design and technology have brought to the board are fully EVA deck, Tuffskin construction, Realiable Centre Board System and a US finbox so fin Choice is massive and of coarse cool graphics not to mention a lot lighter stiffer board.

The Eva deck is awesome to sail on, you always have a nice paddled deck to stand on with plenty of grip for Tacks, Gybes and old school freestyle tricks.

On The Water.. Straight off the beach i was confortable the board glides Very well, tracks upwind nice and very easy to sail.

My First tack was way to easy with the extra nose length that im not used to and the board need minium speed or wind to get it to pull back round onto the new tack, so my next one was something a bit more fun like a Helli Tack which was way to easy.

The next thing i just had to do was some sort of old school Gybe, so needing a bit more speed, just gave the Synergy a few pumps and was very impressed how much speed i could build with the small amount of wind and plenty enough speed to step back to the tail and throw a LollyPop Gybe, pretty much on the spot, and very well balanced.

General sailing around the board was a breeze to sail, nice upwind and down, stable, very easy to get going.

I had a great time on this board getting back to the basics, doing some fun old school moves, just the gliding feeling i miss on shortboards. And these boards are so simple and easy to use not to mention it is still a Stand Up PaddleBoard, so there is still the option of going for a paddle on the river or in the surf when the wind is not around for a sail.

All in all Starboard have done a Great Job with this board and i think it is something windsurfing has been missing for a long time, if you get the chance to try one out don't pass it up, i cant wait to have another sail.