2011 RACEBOARD WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP JUST AROUND THE CORNER

Short update - 55 entrys form 12 nations - NED, JPN, ESP, AUS, FRA, GBR, NOR, POL, POR, CZE, GER, SWE - have there eye on the upcoming world championship, and hopefully more are on the way. It seems that it will be an exciting battle, with several team riders from various brands. It will be interesting to see the latest sails and boards, line up on the start line.

Aerolite sails are on home ground, and hope that their RR 11 sail will show the way. DemonSails VG7 team sailor and English Champion 2011 Mark Kay will also be there. Team sailor Fabian Grundmann will for sure do what he can to make his 2011 Lefebvre RacePro sails shine. Black Project Fins new type RB fins will also be to find on team sailor JonWhite´s board. Remi form Starboard hope to come and show the new Phantom 295 and 377 boards.

Link to entry list HERE  Link to enter HERE  Link to event website HERE

STARBOARD PHANTOM 295 - A NEW HYRBRID BOARD

Starboard Phantom 295  - "The board before the RS:X, Raceboard, Slalom or Formula.  2 years development has gone in to make a very competitive and fun board for the 40 to 75 kg racers.

This totally new design with the bat wings who help to reduce the drags in lighter winds but also help to get planning very quickly.

Also the mast track higher for up wind to increase leverage to get on the rail quickly and lower like iSonic to increase the control, give this board hi-performances with a lot of fun.

The package is with a Phantom 7.5 rig who come from the Severne Turbo with Blue Line mast and Alu Race boom. Other size are available like 6.5 and 8.5."

The specifications on the board are length : 294 cm, width : 72.5 cm, tail : 52.5 cm, volume : 192 l., weight : 13.5 kg.

The board should be on the market depending the distributor at the end of September.

See the first video of the Starboard Phantom 295 HERE

More photos see HERE

EXOCETS NEW BOARD - THE RS D2 ELITE

Update - Exocet windsurfing is coming up with a new "Division 2" inspired board in september - The Exocet RS D2 Elite -. It seems that Exocet is following up on the trend of AHD's Sailboard "Tactic" with their latest bid for an all round board.

"The goal for the 380 cm long board is to have a fun and efficient board for light wind conditions but still able to get planing and perform well.

Upwind the board gets on its rail naturally in almost no wind (the main goal) without being as extreme as older D2 boards that were "barrel" like and quite narrow. A modern board that offers fun sensations being comfortable in all directions.

The rocker is typical, an inverted 'thruster' going round and finishing on a V at the back. A flatter middle section similar to a more 'conventional' planing board for planing ability.

Getting on the plane is real quick and it is easier to get in the straps than a typical raceboard as it is wider at the back and a more natural position off the wind. In decent wind, 25 knots should be accessible for most sailors...

Board is 380 long and is lot more stable than previous D2 boards, the interesting part is that it perform really well on th reach with astonishing performance.

We have finalize the design and we will releaze trailor of the board in september. This board will be registered in the raceboard class as well says Patrice from Exocet Windsurf boards."

UPGRADE YOUR BATTENS...

To upgrade your current equipment is one of the options you have if you are happy with the equipment you have now, but want to get a little more out of it.

There are different options for you when you think about optimizing your equipment. Let's say that you sail with a Neil Pryde RS: X 9.5 sail and want to get the overall weight down and want to get a little better light wind performance. Here you would be able to optimize the battens.

The swiss firm NB-Fins, has worked on adding custom made carbon battens i formula and slalom sails, and have for example for a 2008 Gaastra Vapor 8.2 m2 (8 battens and 4 cams, approx. 6.6 kg) saved 46% ( form approx. 6.6 to 3.6 kg) of the weight and 54% of the inertia on the batten kit.

THE OVERALL TOP 3´S GEAR AT THE 2011 EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIP

European Championship 2011 - With the Aerolite 9.5 being the top 2 choic for the light wind contions at the European Championship in Finland, it looks like the rest of the pack have there work cut out for the upcoming Woulds in August. 

The top 3´s gear was following, 

#1 Patrik Polack - F2 Ligthning 380, Aerolite 9.5 (ligth wind sail) and NP RS:X 9.5 (high wind sail)
#2  Sugiura Kazumasa - Fanatic Mega Cat - Aerolite 9.5 (ligth wind sail) and Severne 9.5 (high wind sail)
#3 Juha Blinnikka - Starboard Phantom 380 (2011), Severne RB 9.5 (ligth wind sail) and Starboard RB 9.5 (high wind sail)

On the board choice there is not one board that stands out in the top 3, and it looks to be the ability to get the most out of the board makes the difference at this moment.

There is no information on fins and masts, but for sure it looks like that all 3 have had got it working well.

Link to competitor entry list with equipment details - HERE

NEW RACEBOARD FIN FORM BLACK PROJECT FINS

BLACK PROJECT TYPE RB FIN -" We have been working closely with Jon White UK raceboard suprimo and rising German racing star OTS to develop a raceboard specific fin to give even more of an advantage to the team in preparation for the 2011 World Championship! Jon and OTS have been using the Type R 50 and 45cm on their Starboard raceboards so far this season and have provided Tom with vast quantites of GPS data from different locations and condition. Designing this fin was not easy;

“It is really hard to design the Type RB becuase the fin needs to do two completely different things during a race. I am looking at a bit lower aspect fin actually shorter than the Type R with a bit of a sweep in the tip. Will be almost parallel in the bottom 1/3. The foil is similar to Type S foil, the reasoning is that upwind the foil is out of the laminar flow drag bucket anyway, so going with something more slippery deep downwind with good handling and less heeling moment, from my analaysis of the GPS data this will be a winner.” Tom Hammerton

Tom tells me that he still has some work to do before he is happy that he has it just right, Jon and OTS will be getting their new fins soon and they should be available in their production versions later in the year but for those who want to gain an advantage in time for the worlds we’ll have some special custom versions available...

LINK TO BLACK PROJECT FINS HERE

THE LINEUP OF 2011 - RACEBOARDS AND SAILS

A lineup of the 2011 Raceboards, Hybridboards  and sails which will compete locally, nationally and internationally for honor and glory.

Here you will find a recap of most of the Raceboards, Hybridboards and Raceboard / Hybrid sails you can find on the market in 2011.

THE WEIGHT OF EQUIPMENT

After I've created this blog / website, I've had the opportunity to look at a lot of equipment. That made ​​me curious to know more about my own setup and where there would be something to improve in relation to performance.

There is no doubt that hours on the water is the best way for me to achieve better performance. Compared with weight then there is no doubt that if I throw 5 kg of my excess weight, it will be the good way to improve my performance.

I looked at the weight of the equipment which has won the World Championship the last few years. The estimated weight of it is around 30.5 kg. +/- 0.5 kg. This was done by collecting information from the Internet, combined with the weight of my own gear because it is very similar to that used by the top three at the World Championships in 2009.

Then I tried to see how low the total weight could come down if you took various part components. The figure I came up with was that you could probably get the equipment weight down to around 26 kg if you went the whole way. By this I mean custom made ​​centerboard and insets, etc. You can see the table below, however it is important to remember that there are approx. numbers and weight do not do it alone.

As I read the numbers it is the rig (sail, extension, mast and boom) I could pick the biggest weight savings. This little exercise has given me a list of things I should be aware of when equipment must be replaced.

LEFVEBRE SAILS- 2011 RACE PRO 9.5 NEW ON WATER VIDEO

Lefebvre team sailor Martin Mortis shows the 2011 Lefebvre Race Pro 9.5 on his Starboard Phantom Race 380 in this video. The mast used is a Neil Pryde RS:X 520/32, and the fin used is a Drake R19 NR 50 cm.

AEROLITE SAILS - RR 11 - 2011 RACEBOARD SAILS

"R-aceboard / R-evolution - The RR-11 is the 2011 raceboard sails from Aerolite sails.

Raceboard Sailors, like sails without complications, especially for this Class to achieve the best results with high performance. As designed by Kiko, World Champion sailor and international coach to Raceboard and Olympic Windsurfing Class, the RR-11 is manufactured in Spain, one by one with the best materials with utmost precision.

Not "MADE IN CHINA."

After winner 19 World Raceboard Championships in Aerolite Sails make the R-Evolution, and obtained one sail to get back above any other Raceboard Sail.

This is not sail for beginners or sport sailing, this is a real sail for competition. Seamless redundant, without screen printing with colorful, panel designs or absurd, is simply the best sail competition that you have to win.

Designed and built with ultra lightweight (RR-11 9.5 less than 4.5 kg. wet or dry) and durable materials, European origin, will make this the front Raceboard fleet.

More compact, center of gravity low, and light weight for transferring extra zero inertia. The most balanced in all directions, easy glide with light wind and very tolerant in the gusts, with a unique twist design of the leech.

ADJUSTABLE HARNESS LINES - YOUR OPTIONS

Adjustable Harness lines - Here is a brief overview of the different options you have if you need adjustable harness lines.

Chinhook, Dakine, Advance Technology, and Tunafish are some of the companies that make adjustable harness lines suitable for raceboard windsurfing.

ON THE ROAD TO PERFECTION - PATRIK POLLÁK WRITING

Patrik Pollák shares his knowledge in the first of several articles - Big Thanks.

"In the next few articles I would like to give some advice to all of you who want to improve your sailing on longboards. 

It’s all about balance; and I do not mean only your balance on the board.

1. TRIM - One of the things I like about sports in general is that people who know how to do it look unbelievable effortless doing things some other can only dream of.

Many years ago when I was maybe not a beginner anymore, but most definitely not an expert, I remember sitting on my raceboard (mistral OD at that time) in the sea in Sopot recovering from another crash. I just lost another episode in my „fight against nature“. I was trying to catch my breath to get the sail one more time out from water and sail back to the beach to finish the day as a loser. Just as my vision stopped to be blurry, there was a 50 kg, tiny blond Polish chick sailing around with big smile on her face. Like it was not blowing 7B and there were no waves. First I thought it was some kind of hallucination because it was not possible. But damn; it wasn’t. My physical exhaustion turned into general depression very fast. My first though was: Ok; it is time to start playing chess or do bowling. Then the second one: That is a stupid idea because I will probably suck in those sports as well.

MISTRAL - MISTRAL ONE DESIGN - RACEBOARD

"The Mistral One design has been one of the most successful one-design classes in recent history. Today the class remains strong and represents the best option for sailing in 0-30 knots with one board, one sail and one rig - Anders Bringdal.

For sailors in the 45-80kg range the Mistral One Design represents the best option for anybody that likes tight racing with an excellent performance in all type of conditions and remains pretty much the only one-design class that will perform in 0-30 knots of wind.

The board - The length of the board makes for an excellent platform in light wind and the same length means that the board in planing conditions is not going to bounce out of control making it possible to sail in the higher winds with the same sail and rig.

The board design by definition of its one-design status has not been changed. 3 concave in the nose running into a single V in the tail.

AEROTECH SAILS - DAGGER 9.5, 8.5 AND 7.5 - 2011 RACEBOARD SAILS

"Concept: Longboard racing  - The Dagger is Aerotech’s longboard racing sail. For 2011, this model has remained unchanged and is built of 100% grid construction.

With longboards making a huge comeback into the market, Aerotech has just the motor that these boards need.

This sail features afull powerful shape with firm leech tension. Moderate sleeve width and camber inducers give it maximum range and speed.

Construction: Other features include; roller bearing camber inducers, a thermo-formed base pad, a new raised stainless steel 6-1 pulley with oversized rollers, and an interactive rigging guide."

DEMON SAILS - VG7 9.5 - 2011 RACEBOARD SAIL

"VG7 -THE FUTURE - The VG7 is an all new Raceboard sail from the raceboard specialists at Demon Design. It was unveiled in the middle of 2010 and used in conjunction with a VG5 by Mark Kay to dominate the racing, winning both the 2010 UK CUP SERIES and the 2010 UK INLAND SERIES of events.

Mark is a very good sailor but in winning these series the performance of the VG7 shines through. Mark is a heavy weight and was regularly competing with and beating sailors 15kg lighter than himself. This should not be underestimated.

Interestingly, as well as its light wind performance, Mark reckoned it the best strong wind 9.5 he had ever used as well.. not bad for the prototype. Currently the design is being finalised in the 9.5 class size and it will then be followed by an 8.5 and 7.5 version.

Compared to the VG5 it is taller and the upper leach is designed to be held more closed and fuller by the distinctive aramid band emanating from the tack and progressing to the upper leach. In its current form it is about 400 gramms heavier than a standard VG5- expect this to come down in the near future. It is built in a mix of Aramid, Pentex and Polyester laminates from Bainbridge and Dimension Polyant."

Recomende mast for the 9.5 m2 is a Tushingham Ultimate Pro 550 cm. - bend curve number 17 (Flex top)
TO GO TO DEMON SAILS CLICK HERE