Recreational light-wind board for ocean wind swells – Formula or longboard?

I'm an experienced 75 kg sailor looking to optimize my light-wind TOW. Current light-wind boards are an old Starboard Formula 186 and a Mistral One Design Raceboard.

My local beach offers ocean wind swells but no ground-swell or waves; wind range is 5 to 15 but I need to get back if the wind picks up to 20 knots. Most fun is by shooting upwind then broad reaching downwind riding the swells.

My formula is a 2002, sail is 2004 Sailworks NX 10.5, Curtis 56 and 70 fins. Love the powered-up feeling and standing out on the rail but wonder whether I am finding it harder work than it needs to be, due to the vintage of the equipment?

How can Formula be optimized for recreational sailing – is there a particular board, sail or fin that is easier to control?

Sailing the longboard in the same conditions though completely different, is equally enjoyable, so I'm open to other longboards that would be perhaps more fun; maybe Windsurfer OD, Kona One or even something hi-tech like the Exocet D2?

Interested to hear from anyone sailing similar boards in similar conditions; don't care if you're biased to Formula or longboard. I'll probably end up buying a new board, not sure yet which way I'll go.

I race both formula and raceboard, and as you have said they are quite a different experience, but both are great fun. In my opinion you have to more "committed" to get the best out of the formula kit -obviously these boards are designed to go upwind and downwind with large sails/large fins and this is where they perform the best and feel the best. Although you can sail them across the wind there are better boards that are more fun for this.

The raceboard is mostly slower than the formula board but has the ability to "slice" upwind on the rail - a great experience quite different than upwind on the formula board. It's hard to describe, but certainly a "softer" ride than the formula which can be quite "jarring" in choppy water. The raceboard is easier to "recreational sail" than the formula board - great to go exploring along the coast or around the lake and of course can still make ground if the wind drops off.

To get the best out of the raceboard, specific "raceboard sails" are the go,(they have a tighter leech than formula/freeride sails), however the raceboard is less sensitive to sail design (and size) compared to the formula board. A formula sail on a raceboard can work well but a raceboard sail on a formula board doesn't work very well. Basically any sail will work OK on a raceboard.

The MOD raceboard that you have is still a very good board, particularly when the wind is up. Modern raceboards tend to have a bit more volume, particularly in the back of the board - an advantage for racing in lighter winds and for heavier sailors.

I reckon formula board design has improved a lot more than raceboard design in the last 10 years - if you compare the latest formula boards to your SB 186 it is a bit like chalk and cheese (the latest ones are faster, feel better on the water, point higher etc) , however the latest raceboards (eg SB 377) compared your MOD is not such a large difference.

Although I haven't sailed the Exocet D2 I have seen it raced and I reckon it demands a high skill level in choppy water or ocean swell. Probably the same comment for the wally. I'm not sure about the Kona One.

I think there is a discussion about "recreational formula" setup somewhere else on this forum.

Have fun

john ingebritsen had a video on a SUP where he is "riding the swell"
unfortunately i cannot find it - am sure there are others
he is a fellow who likes to ride fast, but also appreciates TOW/time on water
simple fun on the water can be had easily
even my old BIC Dufour Wing DIV2 is great fun :-)

similar thread here and worth a look:

www.seabreeze.com.au/forums/Windsurfing/Review/Formula-vs-Super-Light-Wind-Board/

As an observer (correct me if i got it wrong), maybe the secret of the ballet light wind Wally is in the sail, where the centre of pressure can be deliberately relocated, (eg tacks are two steps back, 3 steps forward ). A full bottle cammed and battenned sail makes this impossible..

Regarding the JP Lightwind, I asked a champion formula sailor about it and the reply was "I like to go fast!"
However, in hindsight, it might have been the right board to attempt a Tasman crossing on...