http://www.windsurfingmag.com/article.jsp?ID=53348
The Lost Boys from Charleston picked it up at Shell Point and will bring it withem to Atlanta next month. A lot of people took rides on it down there. Very cool. Surprisingly maneuverable for its length. Foot steering is quick and very effective. In the long distance race, it beat a Kona by a lot, lost to Equipes by a lot (good sailors on all).
Come take a ride October 19-21.
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Good - now I will have someone to race against!
BTW - Chris what was the Serenity's weakness around the course - upwind, downwind, or turning? (Doesn't suprise me a lot, since I don't think they really tried to optimise the design for racing. It hard to beat those raceboard designs, for sure.)
What happens in a black hole stays in a black hole.
It seemed to hang right in there on the the first long reach. Then we went almost straight downwind but with the biggest swell coming from the side. That looked the toughest, (but that might not be so true with more experience). The guy sailing it was a good formula racer, but when he turned the corner I heard him say "This is gonna be tricky" then he fell and he said later he fell 3-4 times. Not sure but I think it doesn't point as well as traditional longboards. For me it was really comfortable going upwind... easy to get the fin to work. But I think the long, hard rails on Equipes, etc let them go higher. I guess you wouldn't try racing it in higher winds but I bet it would be a bear in chop.
Sounds like with more practice it would be more competitive. A straight upwind downwind course would probably be hardest for it. A triangle course would probably be a lot easier.
I've sailed mine in more wind than I expected to. Several times I've started out and the wind picked up to the point where I could get planning on a short board. I also sailed it in a lot of boat chop over the summer and if you have enough wind to sail pretty quick it can be a lot of fun. I'd say the most I'd want to race it in would be around 10-12kt, though I think I have sailed it in more wind than that.
What happens in a black hole stays in a black hole.