Hey Everyone!
I'm Joe the Windsurfer from Houston.
Last October, 7 of our 23 Prodigy sailors made the trip from Houston to Ft. Walton Beach for the Hybrid Showdown/Prodigy Nationals. They had a longboard, formula, kona, and hybrid fleets. The hybrid fleet was the biggest, and they had CASH prizes.
We all had a great time, and all of us who went last year are planning on going back for the 3-day event on the last weekend of October. We have about 4 or 5 more sailors who are undecided about going. If they knew that there were going to be more hybrids this year, we could probably convince them to go.
Is anybody in this club planning on going? Big fleets are great. If you don't own a hybrid, maybe you can borrow one from a buddy!
The Prodigy racers have a brand new Yahoo group...USA_Prodigy. Check it out for updates.
I am very interested in going. I went last year and competed in sport fleet. I have a Serenity now, so I will have to see if I can compete in open fleet. It was a great event, with good winds, very good organization and a great venue. There were around 50 competitors in all fleets last year and that made it very exciting.
What happens in a black hole stays in a black hole.
I know it's mostly sailor skills but did any of the hybrids stand out performance wise?
Alan
Serenity now, Serenity now... You are so modest Radny. As I heard it you won Sport Fleet.
Remember to mark your calendar for the week before. The Atlanta Fall Classic is the longest running WSing regatta in the country. We strongly support one-design racing and it only takes 5 to form a separate trophy division, so bring your Pacer, Prodigy, Serenity, RSX, IMCO, Superlight, Superlight II, Division II, Windglider, Windsurfer, Techno, Techno II, Formula, Formula Sport buddies and let's have at it. (Longboards and a 7.5 or unltd are also welcome).The venue is a lot like the yacht club at Ft. Walton. There's free camping on site, excellent race management and great food. It would be a good tune-up for Bobby's race plus, the way I figure it, Atlanta is right on the way to Ft. Walton from Houston.;-)
Hey Randy!
Yes, Serenity will be open fleet. You may have to jump up from sport fleet, though. For one thing, you won last year. Traditionally, you should move up. Secondly, in light wind, racing around a course on a Serenity (or a DivII board) in sport fleet will be like shooting fish in a barrel. (As long as you can stay upright.)
Have you ever seen a DivII board? I've asked how they compare in speed, but don't have any replies. DivII boards, with retractable centerboards, are probably much more tunable on the fly, which is important during a race.
The race was supposed to be a 'hybrid showdown'. There were cash prizes for the 1st five hybrid finishers. We were expecting/hoping that manufacturers like Bic, Exocet, F2, and Star-Board would send their boards out there with team riders so they could win bragging rights. We were also hoping to see the RSX guys. What happened, though, was that the hybrids that showed up were all Prodigies. (RSX's had a schedule conflict.) Hopefully, there will be more variety this year.
The only things we know is that Prodigy is faster than RSX in light wind, and RSX is faster than Prodigy in high wind. One good thing about the Prodigy is that it has one of the very few sails that is designed to work in sub-planing conditions. Looks like most manufactures have started making sub-planing sails again this year.
Sport Fleet was originally formed for people who didn't want to sail the longer Open Fleet courses. The idea was you didn't have to move up. Over time it became as competitive or even more so than Open. Pat Nugent from Tampa, comes to mind... smart, strong, fast in light or heavy air, he has raced in Sport Fleet for a lot of years mostly to sail against his older peers. Last year in Atl where we threw everyboody in together, he gave the likes of Dave Stanger, Dan Burch, etc a run for their money.
The Lechner Div II board was the Olympic board in '88 & 92. Gebi got Bronze & Silver those years. They are beasts. Maybe 300 liters with a rounded bottom makes them REALLY tippy and requires a lot of technique to sail well. It's more like a small dinghy than a board. If you know how to manage one, it will rage in light wind.
Chris,
There is potential good news for the fall race. Roger Jackson says he's hoping to bring his Serenity down as well, so there will be 2 of us. The really great news is that Serenity is a wind magnet. With 2 running, were sure to have lots of wind!!
What happens in a black hole stays in a black hole.
Are the dates for your fall classic set in stone yet? Are races on back-to-back weekends going to keep some people from going to both? Are either of these the same weekend as Shell Point's big fall event?
Here are some pictures from 2006. The first day was windy, the second day was light. http://windsurfertx.smugmug.com/gallery/2074578
I'd still like someone to test Serenity vs. old Divll....
Yes. We are committed to October 20-21, the week before Liquid. I believe Shell Pt's Endless Simmer is Sept 22-23. I know of several DivIIs still around Atl.
I have not sailed the Serenity or even seen one yet, but I can say lots about the DivII as I competed on it for the 88 Olympic Trials. Very fast, stable in high winds, turns very fast with the centerboard down, jibes fast in high wind planning through the turns, impossible going downwind in chop! I never could figure out which way it was going to pitch...
So does that mean I can race a divII against the Serinity???
Will there be a sail size restriction for these???
maybe we can match race, hehehehehehe
Why not have Div 2 boards and Serenity run a separate fleet (Div II.5?) or just both run open. I could go with 7.5 and I'm pretty sure Roger Jackson sails 7.5 on Serenity assuming he can make it. From the point of view of the race organizer, it would probably be easiest if we just had an open fleet for Div 2, Serenity, etc.
What happens in a black hole stays in a black hole.
I'd like to put down $10 on notdeadyet on the DivII.
I haven't seen a Serenity yet, either. But I'm guessing that the longer waterline and increased efficiency of having no centerboard well would make it a beast upwind. I think it may get into big problems without having a retractable centerboard, though.
So, notdeadyet, are you able to locate a hybrid for the Ft. Walton race? It should be a fair-sized fleet.
Hey guys, I thought I would chime in. To answer the question about someone standing out at the Fall into liquid race last year. Several name stand out. Prodigy: Lee huels Open:Mark Boserman sport: Atl's own Randy. The Prodigy fleet was the largest fleet with a pretty large longboard fleet as well. The start lines were awsome. This race is also a Us Windsurfing event as well. So if your looking for ranking points (for bragging rights) it has that as well. I think the Atlanta Fall classic fits right in the mix for back to back weekends of racing. Hope to see you guys at Shell points Endless Summer Regatta at the end of September. Later, Colin.
The Endless Summer is September 21 thur the 23.
So is the date for the Ft Walton event Oct 27-28th?
I have a Mistral E. Motion 151, does that qualify for the Hybrid fleet?
I am interested in racing a DivII against the Serenity some time, Maybe we can try it before the race????
I think the biggest problem with Serenity for racing is the psychology issue. Last year, I raced a 20 year old Mistral Competition, a perfect choice for racing. Why? Simple, if you win with an old board, everyone thinks its the sailor not the board. If you lose, then you should have lost with an old board.
Now with Serenity, its 3 feet longer than anything else. If you win - its the board, if you lose, you really are a bad sailor!!
What happens in a black hole stays in a black hole.
Well, Randy, you discovered for yourself the one-design concept. But, those issues of the 'sailor or the gear' will always be there, even in one design. They are just minimized.
My advice to you would be to consider what your long-term goals are for racing. There's nothing wrong with wanting to be first to finish. But finishing first may stunt your development. If you find yourself finishing first all the time, even though you have crappy starts, fall, and have bad tactics, the gear will not get you past the local 'hot-shot' level.
Being first all of the time in your local races can be a curse! I used to win local IMCO races all the time. Turned out, it was only because I was the lightest guy. What a rude awakening when I'd meet up against folks like your Dave Stanger, and found out that I SUCKED! From then on, I was always really glad when Equipes with big sails would show up at local races.
BTW, a hybrid board must have a centerboard, and must be designated as a hybrid by the manufacturer...keep looking.
I'd love to have someone to sail with. I'm usually the lone longboarder. (In fact, with Serenity, almost always the lone windsurfer.) A practice race could be useful. We could just use an island or something for marks. My number is 770-379-0505 is you want to call and see about getting together for some practice.
What happens in a black hole stays in a black hole.
Randy, I will borrow the DivII and get it checked out the give you a call. Can you get up to the lake on weekday afternoons? I hate sailing up there on the weekends.....
Put me down for some of that. I'll bring an Equipe.
404-386-8505
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