Michigan Windsurfing

Windsurfing & Stand-Up Paddleboarding in Michigan

I've got a quick question for the windsurfing techies out there!

Dave Young was over a few weeks back looking to buy a used windsurfing board. I have in my possession several 120litre ish boards, Astro Rock, Mistral Explosion, from friends trying to sell them and my Bic Blast, as well as a large custom made gorge board. We noticed interestingly enough the mast track positions appear much further forward on the older boards than on the newer designs.  This brings me to my question, I can understand how the mast track being further back would enhance maneuverability and turnieness ( I know that's not a word).but on the other hand it would seem to make jibing much harder as the further forward the mast and mast track is the easier it would be to keep downward pressure on the board! Not to mention you would be standing further forward also keeping the boards nose down. Watching some of the older Gorge videos on those fiberglass boards I am amazed at the fact sometimes when they do make a carving jibe successfully! As they enter the jibe with the sail in front of them I think to myself "your never going to make it", and yet,,!  As I sit and watch the video the carving technique seems  all wrong the sail is too far in front of the rider somehow. To carve a proper jibe on a modern board the sail must come way back where the foot of the sail is touching my ankle, my front arm is straight but most of the sail is beside me forcing me to lean forward and into the turn and not in front of me as in some of the jibes in the videos.

On my more modern boards if I don't lean forward and put down pressure on the boom to the foot of the sail the board will begin to bounce out! I didn't seem to see this happen too much in those old videos. Any thoughts!

Again I learned to carve a jibe on a Techno 283 but the best, most comfortable, and easiest jibes I ever did were on my old Bic Veloce 178 101 litres with a 6.0. With a mast track way further forward than on any of our newer boards.

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Very cool Don!

If you haven't yet...get a hold of a copy of Children of the Wind - the story of the Bonaire kids - and watch it...it is quite inspirational. 

 

Locally, do what you can to provide kids with quality instruction, quality KIDS gear and let them have fun in a (kids) group atmosphere!  They will be hooked...especially the girls!  This works...at least it did for us at Rondeau.

I  think we definitely need more exposure. Not the kind the newspaper media gives us standing on a board and shlogging along sub planning!

Very interesting video on board shape & design,

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HFszZ7LuyyU

Thanks for the video, Brian is interesting, will watch entirely later on.

an update on the project board I posted, I have moved the mast track forward about 1 length, I was concerned that  I needed more forward adjustment.

I've watched this video three times in the last two days. I find " the Ferris wheel of design"  comments particularly of interest!!

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