Hey - any views around rider weight ignoring minor differences in the weight of boards and kit? The dude I sail with has almost exactly the same set up, right down to the same board. The biggest difference is that I'm 10kg to 15kg heavier which has a very large effect on the water. On the same size sail I get dusted on to the plane every time (obvious). However in light conditions I can spend the majority of the time slogging and he the majority of the time planing without too much skill difference (I'm probably not as good technically but doesn't explain massive difference). I reckon I'd need a sail 1.0m bigger to try and match up - I.e. his 7.5 would mean 8.5 for me to plane at the same time albeit I'd then be faster planing due to extra sail size and weight to apply as fin pressure. Can anyone else draw a comparison ???

"size matters"
simple example: look @ the KONA races
EVERYONE has the same board
sail size you are allowed to use depends on your weight
trying to make it an even playing field
analyse wind n water and choose YOUR sail size
(sometimes more kilos require more litres too)
in REALLY light wind there is often kite foiler with 20 meter kite and me on Mistral Equipe 2 XR carbon longboard with 8 or 10 meter sail - and NO ONE else
i am over 100 kilos

this one showing how weight affects sail size choice is from wikipedia:

boardsurfr said..
..... Our skills are very similar, and we sail together more than 100 days a year in all kinds of conditions.

Anyone NOT envious?

My friend Dave " frothie" Rogers is about 6ft 4....and about 150kg
He took up windsurfing about 3yrs ago.....
He is killing it.....treats a 10m sail like its a 7m and rides a massive 240l custom carbon art, it is fairly narrow at about 80cm....
His gone from beginner to immediate and is trimming well and drawing decent lines.....
He is flying......such mass needs to create massive lift....but then as he trims better with practice that massive force in lift he creates is great potential for speed
He is close to doing the same speeds as everyone else even though his on massive gear.....