Yesterday was very nice and didn't feel that cold (except for my fingers).
It was 12-18 around mid-day building in spots to 18-30 (more on that in a minute).
1) A lot of times at Van Pugh, you'll look upwind on a W across the channel (those 3 islands called the 3 Sisters) and it looks windier up there. It is windier up there. T.C. and I were running around on our potato chips, he on a Nova, I on a Start - both using Formula-ish fins around 65 cm and 6.5 sails. I had started the day on a 9.5 but a couple of prolonged 20+ mph gusts sent me back wide-eyed and getting the smaller sail. I was going to grab a smaller board but Tim was still out on his Nova, so I went out on the Start again instead of something smaller. We sailed way upwind and nosed beyond the point towards Lake Lanier Islands.
As the breeze filled in steadier, we were getting pounded by some stiff gusts and decent knee-thigh high swell. This answered that nagging question on recent days when the wind would be 12ish but the swell suggested more wind somewhere. We found out where. It really was blowing harder up there. We could have easily been on a low 5. In the answer to the perennial question of whether a wide board can be carve jibed: Yes, if you are going crazy fast, they will carve a (wide) jibe.
2) Then it was time for the sleigh ride home. Except as I mentioned, we had quite of bit of wind. I can't tell you how many times I recommend a board like this and someone says "I want something faster". Well, strap on a 6.5 to one in a 30 mph gust, point it off the wind and then we can discuss this further. Will they go fast? I don't know but they will go fast enough for me. (We both thought we approached 30 on these runs.) And for the extra weight? That didn't matter, and in fact, probably kept the board on the water a few times. Do the boards bounce in that much chop and wind? Actually, they are very smooth and controllable.
3) To go downwind overpowered, you have to run almost straight downwind to kill the power. Yeah, we've all read that but putting it into practice is another matter because, first, you must go on a broad reach, the scariest part. We'd head up in the worst gusts and when we had a chance in a lull, we'd go off as far as we could (and our legs could stand)
4) Formula racing will not be everyone's cup of tea. Formula racing unlike light air longboard racing involves strapping as much horsepower to the board as you can stand and surviving it. In those conditions, Formula racers would have been using 8-9.5s (or even bigger). I simply don't have the legs or intestinal fortitude to hang on to that much sail. I don't know that most people ever will. Maybe I'll get used to it one day but only after I install an air bag on the board.
5) Back to the "blowing harder up there" issue. It was definitely a relief to come further down the lake because it definitely lightened up at least 5 and even 10 mph from that gap near the 3 Sisters. If it had been blowing that hard all the way down, I'd be writing this from somewhere up in Gainesville instead of home.
My thanks to Tim for being along on the adventure. I think his eyes were as wide as mine when we got back.
A few points about your comments:
1. I agreee regarding the extra weight on boards like the Start. It was at least 10 lb more than my Techno Formula, but it did seem easier to sail in higher winds and more chop. It probably slows one down a little compared to a lighter board, and makes them harder to carry, but doesn't seem that big an impediment to performance overall, particularly as the wind picks up.
2. As for speed, I think that has to do with the sailor more than the board. Really fast guys are fast because they can use big sails amd know all the other speed tricks. Most people would say that a 115 liter slalom board is faster than a Start/Nova/etc. And in the same conditions with the same sails its probably true, once you are well into planing condiions for both. However, a guy using a 9.0 on a Start would probably beat a guy on a 6.0 in a slalom board. (In these same conditions I would probably be on a 5.2 on my wide board.)
3. An interesting thing about the wide boards is that they do tend to need (or at least can get by with) less sail as wind picks up than other boards. However, if your good, brave, or really strong you (notice I said "you", not "I") can also use more sail. So it makes them overall easier to sail.
4. You didn't mention it, but the fin used is VERY important on a wide board. I suspect both you and Tim were using 65 cm fins or bigger. It is the key to really maxing out a big board.
Randy
What happens in a black hole stays in a black hole.
Randy,
I agree. I just hear a lot of folks dissing these kind of boards because they are perceived as "slow". Are they slower than a Formula or good slalom board? yes.
BUT, they will go faster than you want to go. To put your point in a slightly different way-you just gotta put up the right kind of horsepower in the appropriate wind. I don't think in the conditions we were in that either Tim or I wanted to be on anything any faster.
Hey Gene,
Will you be looking for a Start or Nova now, rather than the F2 Max2Air 264 or JP 105 you've been talking about?
Bill
Bill Herderich