Kite racing

Few windsufers understand kite racing.  I raced power kites on kite buggies over twelve years back before kite-boarding was even heard of.   With a rig a 100 feet tall it’s a bit intimidating to get mixed up in a crowd but exciting.   Amazingly getting your lines tangled with another kite is rare.   When passing you shout  ”going over” or “going under” and the other pilot needs to keep his kite low or high.     Obviously one could block but that is seen as very unsportsmanlike and you could be protested against.      The big crowd pleas-er at kite buggy events is the freestyle competition with wheel rides, spins and jumps.   In that event there usually are several guys riding mountain boards.  

As someone who deals with new people entering kite-boarding I frequently hear the winning  plus attraction is the smallness of the gear.  For younger folks that often live in apartments and  drive smaller vehicles  transporting and storing windsurf gear is a  problem they don’t want to deal with.     So the big point of this blog posting is to say to the windsurfing gear making community.  ”Get off your butts”!       Start designing suitcase sized gear.  How about 4 piece rdm masts.   Sails that can fold in the middle length wise and then be rolled up.   A jigsaw board that splits into 6  pieces.  A boom that comes apart and has tubes that telescope down.     

Another advantage of my idea of suitcase  sized components is that they elminate oversized box shipping charges.       Today a large standard 7-9 foot boom runs $240 but costs $95 to ship ..  that just doesn’t make sense.   If it broke down into smaller parts it probably would cost less than $20 to ship.   I can envision a whole suitcase windsurfing kit being shipped in just a couple boxes via UPS for under a $100. :-)

Bike Me

Cycle Werks bike shop in Whitehouse is a few miles from me and I just knew if I stopped in .. I’d be riding something out of there.   This particular bike is kinda special .. an old man bike ..  with pedals a bit forward.   It is very very comfortable to ride.   I added fenders as I like to ride some paths that always seem to have puddles on them.  The tube under the crossbar is my airpump held on with some velcro straps. 

Right next to my house is the North Fork trail.  The North Fork of the Walbash paved trail is like 10 miles long and connects in with 5 mile of all purpose trail at Oak Openings.   The South Fork paved trail  is like 11 miles long and connects into the North Fork at Jerome road and runs way out past Whitehouse.      I can drive my bike over to Waterville and ride the Tow-Path trail along the river from Farnsworth park to Providence Park by Grand Rapids which is like a 10 mile ride.    So  I’ve plenty of nearby safe riding spots.   If you are looking for a place to ride, come on out,   you can park at Monclova School or go another mile west to Keener Road park.

Step one is to unroll a sail .. in this case my 7.5 Prodigy Comp.  Yes they made a 7.5 Comp .. for the women’s class.   My 8.5′s monofilm went brittle so I’m using this sail now for Prodigy one design racing.    Maybe if I keep it covered when not on the water it will last much longer.

Choose the sail size

 It takes about twenty minutes to sort through and find right sizes to build a flag quilt over the sail.

My flag quilt.

The sewing together step is a bit tedious and takes well over an hour.  I added up  about 40 foot of zigzag stitches.   I also added a few one inch wide webbing straps on the edges to fasten tie down ropes to. 

The sewing takes about two hours.

 The final cover looks good to me.  It also folds up to a small little bundle.  I have enough flags and banners to make three or four covers.   I figure the retail to buy several individual banners and flags would be like $300 making these the most expensive covers ever built.   

The end product in the sun.

 I most often SUP using the Prodigy windsurfing board when coaching new students.    If the student can’t get back upwind then they have to SUP back to shore while I sail back on the lesson board or I tow them back.     I start lessons out with ten minutes of SUP as that gets people balancing and their muscles warmed up.

To be legal you need to put the license number on the hull.  Of course it’s not practical to put 3 inch high decals on the hull as they surely will get rubbed off plus it’s just ugly!   If you have an EVA deck decals are not gona stick to it.   But no worry as  they offer and an alternative sticker.    

 This 3 x 6 stick could be mounted on some plastic with some plastic on top .. then screwed down to a spare foot strap insert hole.  I’ll add some pictures here showing the sticker holders I come up with.

I suspect in the far east they don’t know we in the USA use the term STD to generically describe sexually transmitted diseases.     But that’s the abbreviation  Exocet often uses for the it’s Link 80 Standard board.    There are several Link models here is a brochure Exo12-link-PDF with the specifications.

The Link 80 STD is an hybrid shaped board and I’ll be selling it next Spring.   At 220 liters it does  not have the volume of the 260 liter Prodigy.  However the Link 80 STD’s 300cm length is a tad bit more and the max width of 80 is only 7cm less than that of the Prodigy.    It also has a Powerbox fin box which I prefer for the user friendliness quality of having just one fin screw.  Maybe it’s just me but it seems I’m always struggling at the beach for ten minutes to get a tuttle box fin mounted.   To top it off the Link 80 STD  has a full EVA deck which is great for novice sailors and kind to  the pretty knees of female windsurfing students.    

The Link 80 STD doesn’t have an adjustable track and it is not a lightweight carbon beauty.     However it surely is a nice larger board suitable for fun recreational windsurfing and lessons.   It is built using ASA fiberglass construction so  it is not in that ultra plastic skin heavy weight class.   It also has multiple foot strap positions so it will accommodate different sizes and skill levels.   IMHO opinion it’s best quality is the hybrid shape which gives it great stability.    I still remember the agony I endured one summer some 25 years ago learning on a smallish skinny and very tipsy longboard.    If you run across a person looking to get into windsurfing recommend they get a STD.

I had a couple new Prodigy centerboards in stock but those carbon beauties list for over $200.    I was thrilled to be able to pick a new Prodigy centerboard up on EBAY from a dealer in Germany.   It took about four weeks to get here but I put my drill press to work soon after it arrived.     Yes I could have used one of the centerboards in the Amoka Loft but knowing I’m drilling holes into the the actual one I got for cheap was definitely less stressfull.  

It’s a bit hard to see but the Prodigy centerboard underneath in the picture  is about one inch longer and wider.     The upper part and foot is the same shape and size however the main pivot guide position does match up.    The Superlight II as does the Equipe II has a stopper guide located near the foot end of the centerboard.

So step one was I took the pivot guides out of the centerboards.  Step two I  sprayed paint through the holes to get a dot of where the pivot and stopper holes needs to be.   Step three was I drilled new holes for the pivot and stopper guides.

The end result is that the Prodigy centerboard fits in the Superlight II centeboard well ..   BUT .. when put all the way up it is a bit wide for the well and gets stuck hard enough I can not kick it down with my foot.             I’m going to  sand inside the well a bit .. maybe there are some high spots in it  ..   let you know how that works.      I can still use it as by leaving the current retaining strap on it won’t rotate all the way up and thus doesn’t get stuck then.   

Update: …    after trying it out I’m more than satisfied using in in an almost up position.   Having it a tad from almost up leaves about 2″ out at the end but it surely kicks down easier with much of the front edge  already started through the gasket.   Getting up on a plane seems to be just as easy .. though I did notice a bit of water shooting up through the well when at speed.    This Superlight II is the model that has a strange mast track which I don’t care for much.   I’ve heard the track was only used one year.    I’m trying to get it to work better, seems to not slide so good with the weight of the rig on it.

The Ohio Watercraft Agency laws got amended in 2011 and  SUP boards are now required to be registered and display a sticker and or numbers in Ohio.    I wonder about owners of the hundreds of SUPs sold over the previous several years that are not registered.   I bet they are not happy campers.    I guess I’ll need  to  stop using my SUP paddle on my windsurfer however windsurfers with a sail are still exempt from their nasty little fees and stickers.        I got to wonder why government agencies continue to kill the activities that makes them needed.   It is sorta like what USPS has done to itself by continually increasing postal rates.    Now no one is using them.     I do find it strange they don’t mention that kiteboards are not required to have a registration.  I do expect they will regulate the kiteboards ..  somehow .. some way .. after all we can’t have someone have fun without paying a government fee for it.    The registration fee for a sticker only is $25 for three years and that can be printed from an online pdf form and mailed in.      

The 2012 windsurfing gear catalogs are arriving.   I’ve already ordered some Dakine products which should be here soon.     The big Surf Expo show is in Orlando the 2nd week of September.   I’d go if the Toledo Airport had any flights available but they don’t.   To get a bit of an extra discount shops need to order windsurfing items at the pre-season show rate in Sept and October for deliverly in 2012.   

This 2011 season I sold the last five Mistral Prodigy boards I had in stock including the demo one I had been riding.   I kept one new Prodigy for myself which I christened on Sunday with Irene’s wind.       Some big news at Amoka is that I plan to get a several wide style entry level recreational boards in for 2012.       I plan to do some lessons again with a try and buy deal.

Beach Fun

This was the sixth year windsurfers had a start in the I-LYA Bayweek event.   However only 4 Toledo area windsurfers competed this year, the most we had was 11 in 2007.   I don’t know if I will do this event again but I surely would come out and just fun sail at MBI for a few days.    MBI State Campground right on the water with food, bar, ferry and a little general store close by.   

Racing Friday saw nice gentle 5 to 10 mph winds .. never enough to plane but enough to get around the course in the small chop.  I used my 9.5 Ezzy as my 8.5 Prodigy sail is now worn out and ready to scrap for parts.   Chris and Rod battle every race for 1st and 2nd  while myself and Gary Smith battled for 3rd and 4th spots.   We did 4 races which meant we ended up being on the water near four hours.   I  felt toasted when I got back to shore and was ready for a few beers.     

Saturday was a no wind day but  Sunday was a monster morning with 3 races around a triangle course with a last sausage leg again.   I thought they would set a slightly smaller course on Sunday but it was even larger than Fridays course.      With a first gun at 8:25 our start was number two at 8:35.   The winds were from the west 15 to 20 with waves in the 5 foot category.   I switched down to my 7.5 Ezzy while Chris and Rod stuck to their 8.5 Prodigy Comp one design sails.  The 4th guy Gary left shore with his 8.5 but couldn’t handle the waves and returned to break out his short board, a smaller sail and just fun sailed the rest of the morning.      I raced pretty comfortably the upwind legs on the 7.5 but lacked the power to keep up on the downwind legs.   It was good experience racing in such big swells.  My arms were still tired from Thursdays long session, I doubt I could have handled the 8.5.     I should have done nothing on the water Saturday and let the arms recuperate all they could that day.     Next race I’m hoping to do is the Fond Du Lac Fall Windpower event in late September.   I’ll be practicing on my Superlight II longboard the next few weeks.   Got a couple new fins to try!

New London Reservoir Camp ground

I raced the Superlight II using a 9.5 Ezzy Infinity and managed 6th overall and 2nd in RaceBoard Class.

Scott 2 - Brad 1st - Philip 3rd RaceBoard Awards

Several of the races were close with just a few feet separating three or four of us going into the final jibe mark.   Unfortunately I forgot my good longboard fin and had to use an oversized fin I use on the wide style Prodigy.   Also the   mast joint I was using broke during the first race but I still managed to finish decently.     The big fin was an issue and it pretty much stopped me from getting on a fast plane.    Anyway much of the racing was below planing speed and I did some good railing on that 1996 longboard. 

Ezzy 9.5 gets tacked

Above Gordon tries out the Ezzy on the Superlight II.    The course set up was much like last year but a little more refined with a finish gate.   The course was not little with   3/4 of a mile legs between left and right most marks.  A middle mark #5 set up a shorter course for the Sport fleet.   I call the course layout the New London Twisted Eights.   The final jibe mark #4 was about 50 yards from the finish gate position right infront of the beach area.      That was grand for spectators to cheer on people as racers jibed and headed for the finish line.     The start was also located right in front of the beach area.

Twisted Eights Course

They plan to hold this event again next year .. same time around mid-July.   It’s a fun camp out with lots of non-racers, great Saturday evening camp fire.   The campground also has 3 rental cabins.   See more details and complete results list on the Mowind.org post.

SGHR1 Side view

See SurfersGroup web site for more details and larger images.   This Hybrid made in Holland  looks really cool and a Youtube video of it shows it’s pretty darn fast also.   (search for Surfersgroup in Youtube).       Specs are 220 liters, 80 wide by 270 length.    In comparison the Prodigy is 255 liters, 87 wide by 298 long.   I wonder why hybrid boards get marketed as one design?   Probably a good plan but general recreational use is really where it’s at IMHO.    If the average guy or gal is happy sailing it for fun and it stands up to every day abuse then … it’s a real sailing machine.       The Surfersgroup web site also shows a school  model the SGH which looks like it has simpler fittings.     The nose looks short,  thin and light so probably no light air performance .. but I’d guess easy to pop up on a plane.

Top View SGHR1

On the rear  those holes are for rocket propelent for extra boost enabling you to get on a plane in the lightest of wind conditions.   Notice the one design fin is a powerbox type box and gee whiz I have a big collection of powerbox fins.

The bottom .. that tunnel hull is sweet looking.  It would be way cool if that bolted on fin box was changeable to different box types.   

Bottom Side

It was a good time to test the Superlight II out with my Ezzy 9.5 Infinity sail.     The combination took some getting use to.    I had not handled a big sail in years on a longboard and found it is definitely a work out.   It was a 99 degree humid day with good winds puffing into the high teens.  The heat got to me quickly and my arms didn’t seem to have much strength in them after about 45 minutes.  If  I sail longboard there again on that hot of a day I’ll stick to a 7.5 to avoid the exercise of handling a big sail in swirling river winds.       I found my longboard skills when using a big 9.5 sail really suck,   my tacking was extremely slow and ability to find an angle to sail in the lulls was missing.   I definitely need to get out and practice and hopefully find my mojo on that board.  

Amokaman's Secret Spot

 Being the Saturday of a the long July 4th weekend  there was extra  power boat traffic with tubers and wakeboarders.      I’d advise anyone going there to windsurf, kayak or SUP to stick to week days when possible.   If you go .. give me a shout .. maybe I’ll join you.   Click on picture below for larger view of the secret spot.

Looking West

The Superlight II came out in 1999 and has near the same volume as the Equipe II which came out in 1996.   The Superlight II has  simple fittings and weighs a a few pounds more than the Equipe.    Rated at 258 liters it is one of the larger volume longboards made and the thick flat sides make it very raceable.   If there is enough wind to rail it .. she really flys upwind.

 This particular version had foot straps inserts only for one single long beating strap on each side.   Some of them have inserts for two regular size straps in the forward positions.   I sewed together two inexpensive non-adjustable straps making my own long beating strap.    She ain’t pretty but I resisted adding the poundage of a new paint job.   Even then I’m afraid to weigh it,  it feels like 38 pounds.  Given the weight I kinda wonder if SuperLight was an appropriate name?  Maybe that name means sail it in super light winds.       I’ll be taking her to the New London regatta July 15-17 so we will see how she does there against those pesky Original Windsurfers.

Mistral Superlight II

I also love this sign by the kayak and windsurfing launch beach.

We did five long two lap races during what became a three hour morning marathon session.   That turned out to be a good thing as after lunch the R/C called the event do to light winds.   Because we are near the mouth of the Detroit river there is a slight current and in light winds that current can slow you down even more.

My bad at this event was that I decided to try my old Superlight against the newer longboards, Prodigy and Original Windsurfers  I knew would be there.   I used a good 2 cam  7.5 race sail.   The first two races were ran in 6 to 8 winds and I was sailing great finishing in the top 5 not far back from the leaders.   The old Superlight even surfed a bit on the downwind leg on small 10 inch waves and wakes.    However the next three races were a different story as the winds dropped down into the  4 to 5 range.   In that ultra light air I was just slow in all directions plus I caught a few weed strands on the fin.  A couple guys had weed fins on which I would have done so if I had my Prodigy there.   So thus I learned the Superlight is not competitive with my 190 lbs of weight on it in very light wind conditions.   If I weighed in at like 160 that probably would let me keep the Superlight in front .. but for now it is back to the Prodigy from here on out.

 People always want to know which board is faster around a race course.   In my opinion that depends on the skills of the rider.    These opinions come from my  experience on the race course.    In this comparison I am  ranking windsurfers from 1 to 5 with 1 being a novice and  5 being an  expert.   Also I am stipulating that we are racing several races with varying wind conditions.    The conclusion?      The 5 level longboard rider will win against a 5 level rider on the Prodigy 3 out of 4 times.          However I contend  a 3 level rider on a Prodigy would  evenly match a 3 level rider on an Equipe.       A level 1 rider,  he can’t get around the course without falling a few times on a longboard so it’s no contest.            

The side view shows that long flat rail of the racing longboard  and also note that thickness out front.   With feet in the front beating straps and centerboard down both boards can rail when going upwind however the longboard does it much better.

I’ve polished up my old 1995 Equipe and plan to take her out  fun sailing and even race her this season.    After 5 seasons of One Design Racing on the Prodigy I need a bit of change and also  I hope to find my sea legs on the skinny boards again.    My last outing on the longboard in waves and chop was not a fun one and I felt like a number 1 on it.

The picture was likely taken at the TABA regatta in1994.  I’m on the far right sail number US 2232, an orange trimmed Windwing 7.4 sail.    Next to me I believe is #4 Steve Bodner using an 7.4 IMCO sail and next to him  #XOX Barb Fisher on an IMCO also.    This shot surely has some nice color in it.   I don’t know how many more years it will keep appearing in the magazine but I do  know I look forward with anticipation every Spring to see if I’ll be in it again.

One of the  things I like about this kit is the  7.8  two cam sail rig.   Also the board has a power-box fin box and gee I happened to have lots of power-box fins in my fin quiver bag.   The adjustable track car connection might even work with my Mistral bases.   The board is also an approved RaceBoard Class board.   

 The real question is how does it ride?  I’m hopeful I’ll be able to answer that first hand before the end of the summer .. so stay tuned.

My new Ezzy Infinity 9.5 two cam sail performed well in ultra-light winds.   Unfortunately for me the long boards had a little more speed than I did on my Prodigy.   I wish I had taken my old Equipe XR along as then I would have gotten a really good comparison.     There was a another guy there on a Prodigy using the 8.5 Comp sail.  When drag racing before the races I found we were pretty even speed wise in the ultra light winds.

The Ezzy 9.5 lies at rest while I take some pictures.

The last race of the day saw the best wind of the day with a nice puff right at the start.   While everyone was on a port tack to the line I went starboard to cut them off .. even knowing I could not  make the pin.   That might have been a brilliant move except my bad was I had to  hurry a tack right at the pin and the best wind puff of the day caught me on my toes.   I did I think the best helicopter 9.5 sail trick I ever did but still managed to drop the sail in the water.   By the time I got it together I was 50 yards behind and that wind puff long gone.     Normally I would have seen the wind puff coming but my eyes were fixed on the pin and I was looking for a gap between the port tackers to make my tack at.    My bad was not taking a quick glance at the water up the course to check for any wind puffs.  

Next race is the Toledo Cattail regatta in two weeks on June 4th.  I hope to get out and do a bit of practice sailing on my Comp 8.5 One design sail before then.

Ezzy Infinity 7.5

The new 2011 Ezzy Infinity sails are looking good.  I went with the green color.   The recommended mast sizes are  430 for the 6.0 and 460 for the 7.5.   I found I like how the sail rigs using my 460 on the 6.0 and my 490 on the 7.5.   I’m using SDM (standard diameter) masts from a now defunct windsurfing company called Bump and Jump, they are 45% carbon.   Probably with higher end masts (more carbon content)  the recommended size would work as needed.     I didn’t like the look of the 6.0 sail on my 430 Fiberspar 3200 (32% carbon).   Anyway this works out better as  I can rig the 6.0 on my 460 and have the 430 available for a smaller sail.    All that said I do plan to convert over later this year to Ezzy masts which are all RDM (reduced diameter) masts.  

I’ve got the boom settings marked down and I’m using zero mast extension with the adjustable sail cap top move up about 3 inches on both the 6.0 and 7.5.    Recording those two items really speeds up your rigging time at the beach by like a factor of 10.     The cam adjustment pockets I switched out as needed to fit the mast diameter.   Adjusting the cams at first seemed complicated but once you do one from then on it’s easy and only takes a couple minutes.    I also put my sail number on each sail, a big giant “H” .       I haven’t rigged the 9.5 Ezzy yet but I plan to use my 520 cut down to a 510 Fiberspar 4800 mast on it.   That mast is my backup mast for my Prodigy 8.5 Comp one design sail.   

The built-in mast pad that folds over for bag storage,  the extra long tack strap that serves as a band to hold the sail roll together in the bag, the laminated rigging instructions, instructions for rigging your down-haul rope,  cams for skinny and standard masts, heavy duty sail bag,  etc..  etc.. etc..  are making me love these sails.  Popping the two cams on and off the mast is easy and straight forward also.   Down haul to just almost getting the wrinkles out near the sleeve then give it full outhaul.  Now with one hand, press on the batten about 18 inches so away from the mast and push underneath on the cam with the other hand to pop the cam on the mast.    When derigging use be sure to pop the cams off that mast before you remove the boom!

 Of course if there is not enough people wishing to enter the Raceboard start then  there is still the popular MOWIND Limited 8.5 class.     The only limit in the 8.5 Limited class is just an 8.5 max sail size limit.   So a guy could use an old 1983 Superlight if there are light winds in the morning and then for the afternoon switch to a new Formula board when the winds pick up.   Also they could rig three or four sails.   Personally I don’t think there is anything wrong with that .. if you got the gear use it.   However I do think the no limits style of racing has turned off  many windsurfers.     

As I mentioned earlier Raceboard class has a  one hull, two sail limit per event along with a 9.5 sail maximum.      That means some weather forecasting attention is needed especially if the event is two or more days in length.   With my quiver of 9.5, 7.5 or 6.0 sails  I could chose 9.5/7.5 or  9.5/6.0  or  7.5/6.0.      So a bit of luck and weather forecasting skills come into play in this class.      When sailing my Prodigy board in the Raceboard class I won’t use my stock 50cm  one design fin.   I have a True Ames Series 2000  54 cm I like with big sails and a smaller 48cm for 7.5 and 6.0 sails.     There is a two fin and two centerboard limit also in Raceboard class. 

Spring and warm weather is just around the corner.   I can’t wait to get back on the water again.

I found this Raceboard Class equipment list on the Web from a race held in Australia recently.   Just interesting to see what boards and sails they are using down under. 

RACEBOARD EQUIPMENT LIST

Rank SailNo Sailor Division Board Sail 1 Sail 2
1st AUS734 John Demol Mediumweight Mistral Equipe 1 Barracouta 9.5 Severne Code Red 9.0
2nd BS11 James Grunfelder Mediumweight Mistral Pan Am Barracouta 8.5 Arrows 8.6
3rd AUS88 Benjamin Morrell Mediumweight Mistral Equipe Loft Blade CR 9.5 BIC Speedster 7.8
4th AUS83 Glen Morrell Heavyweight Fanatic Mega Cat Tushingham XR 9.5 Gun Tempo 8.1
5th AUS909 Greg MacInnes Mediumweight Mistral Equipe Tushingham XR 9.5 NP 8.4
6th AUS452 Martin Thearle Lightweight Starboard Phantom Barracouta 8.5 NP V8 Helium 7.5
7th AUS456 Pat Coleman Heavyweight Starboard Phantom Severne Raceboard 9.5 Barracouta 7.5
8th CM Colin McCall Mediumweight Starboard Phantom Tushingham XR 9.5 NP V8 9.0
9th AUS153 Adam Hampton Mediumweight IMCO One Barracouta Race 8.5 Severne Race 7.5
10th AUS759 Peter Demol Mediumweight Mistral OD Tushingham Lightning 9.5 NP V8 8.0
11th 462 Tony Matta Lightweight Starboard Phantom 320 Starboard Race 9.5 Gaastra Vapor 8.4
12th AUS281 Neil McKinlay Mediumweight Starboard Phantom Starboard Race 9.5 NP H2 7.7
13th AUS743 Ken Innes Mediumweight Mistral IMCO Loft Blade CR 9.5 Maui MR 8.5
14th DSH David Shannon-Hooper Mediumweight Mistral OD Mistral Prodigy 8.5 Mistral OD 7.4
15th A Laurie Alderton Mediumweight Mistral Equipe Gaastra Swift 8.3 NP V6 6.5
16th BS1 Rachel Demol Lightweight Mistral Equipe Barracouta 6.5 KA Predator 5.8
17th AUS587 Rob Wilson Heavyweight Mistral Equipe Barracouta 9.5 NP RS Slalom 8.6