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Prodigy 2001-2009
By Scott | November 2, 2009
Being a Prodigy rider and promoter I was very saddened on hearing about the abrupt end of this great product. For almost a decade now the Prodigy has lived up to it’s reputation of being a board that does it all. I surely will keep racing and riding my Prodigy and Amoka Wind Sports still has a couple new ones in stock. Given the prices I’ve seen on 2010 boards across all brands you would be wise to purchase a new second edition Prodigy now before they are gone!
So what happenned at Mistral? If you haven’t heard the skinny is that Mistral’s windsurfing business has been licensed to Anders Bringdal. As far as I’ve been able to deduce all the old shapes and product names are gone as they were owned by the former licensee Boards and More.
What will the Mistral 2010 Hybrid Look Like?
What will a Mistral 2010 Hybrid look like? Well that is the $2010 dollar question and I can only speculate for now. Recently I emailed Anders Bringdal and heard back from him the next day. My question to Anders of course was about the future of the Prodigy. His reply in short was that the Prodigy was shaped by the now former Mistral shaper Mark Nelson. Replicating that shape exactly is out and Anders will be starting from scratch to create his own and improved replacement. Anders hopes by summer of 2010 to have three long boards available. He mentioned he does plan to have one board that is simular to the 2001-2009 Mistral Prodigy but with improved light wind performance. If you want to put in your suggestions (please no complaints) about a new hybrid board you can find Anders’s email address on the contact page of the Mistral web site. The more Prodigy owner’s that relay their experiences and desire to keep the Prodigy Hybrid board alive the better the chances are that we will see an equilvalent Mistral product in 2010!
My own thoughts on a new Mistral Hybrid is that it needs to be very like the current Prodigy. My reasoning is why mess with perfection? My main concerns are on the marketing side. A few good pages on the Mistral web site that really cover the board in detail, it’s one design competition rig, along with one design racing in general would help greatly to spread the word about Hybrid racing.
Topics: Hybrid Racing | 3 Comments »
November 3rd, 2009 at 3:54 PM
Scott,
Great picture – I had to laugh but only for a moment, because I know how important the prodigy and its fleet have been to sailing in Taba and other areas.
I DO worry about someone who has a casket so readily available….
As for Mistral – or who ever they are now – I hope they act sensibly.
Historically, when one fleet dies, another replaces it, but never at the original strength. Each time we seem to loose some traction.
I guess the changes are a sign of the times and perhaps a delayed reaction to the economy.
Ride on- Philip US 287
November 25th, 2009 at 4:46 AM
Its a shame that this board production is abandoned.
All the best,
Julian
December 6th, 2009 at 1:16 PM
Let’s be optimistic…perhaps Anders’ board that replaces the Prodigy will be better!