Last weekend in Singapore we had 2 Big Sail Days in a row. The Formula smartypantses were hooning around happily, while all of us proper windsurfers were slogging up and down, "practicing".

I had up til now intended to stick to my 130litre, 65cm wide freeride board and 2 sails - a 6.5 and a new 8.5 Ezzy, which for a big guy like me are quite small sails for Singapore. I can maybe get one good planing day a month, or two if I'm lucky, and this means sailing all day every Sat and Sun just in case the wind picks up. I don't want to lose all my hard-earned balance and gybing ability by switching to a "Door Board", but sometimes the allure of planing effortlessly is too much to bear?

Should I bite the bullet and invest in an 11m sail and 100cm wide board? Or am I too cool for that now?

Advice, please!

If you have somewhere to store the board without wrecking it then get one. If formula sailing is popular there then you should be able to pick up some second hand gear for a reasonable cost.

I'd do the same as Sydney has bugger all wind usually (blowing strong now but at work). However I don't have anywhere to store a door board.

I'd reckon the skills you build up on formula gear would be transferrable to stronger wind sailing.

*sigh* I may have to do it...I actually sailed formula gear reasonable competently for a year or so before going to Oz in 2007, but when I changed to the smaller gear I couldn't even gybe for 6 months... however, I guess it's ok if you still keep in practice with the smaller kit, yeah?

It's often quite marginal for me here, so Gestalt is right in saying I could probably plane with my 8.5 and a Formula board, especially a low-end-grunt sail like the Ezzy Freeride. Hmmm... I think I thunk a good thought...

I'd say go ahead and do it. The more time you spend on the water, the better your sailing skills will get.

Getting the tuning right on large sails makes a huge difference, and once learned this will translate to your smaller sails, and improve your small board sailing.

Formula boards need to be gybed reasonably aggressively to keep them planing, so this too will improve your small board sailing.

Say g'day to the Singapore crew for me. I raced with them in Malaysia earlier this year. Just be careful of the "Burger man"

Gonewindsurfing247 said...

Buy a turf dog and practise your freestyle

I don't like falling on "turf". I've been doing a bit of lite wind stuff on the water though - like three quarters of a heli tack, followed by a swim...

Krusty said...


Try hanging onto an 11m sail and a 70cm fin in 20knots, this sorts the men from the boys.

20 knots? sure, give us 20 knots and we'll see! Bt it ain't happening here! 12 knots for an hour or so is considered a good day!!

i'm having a demo of a lorch formula board this weekend. should be fun.

> Or am I too cool for that now?

Well at least you're introspecting, that's good.

Here on the Great Lakes, plenty of guys "too cool" for the conditions. Plenty of gear on the trailers, seldom go out, talk about great achievements that may or may not have happened since they sail so little that the skills ain't quite there when they go.

That's not couth (??).

If you can afford the space in the basement, then do get that form gear indeed. Or get into lighter wind freestyle on a wrecker board.

Willy, I have been told by some that with the right slalom board and sail, you can plane almost as early as formulae kit. To me a slalom board would be more fun then a formulae board, have you considered this ? Micah Buzianis wrote an article in the 2007 May edition of Windsurf and said he could get planing in 7 knts of wind with a 9.8 metre RS6 and a 134 litre JP slalom board, he could get planing on his formulae kit in 6knts. Something to consider

Haggar said...

Willy, I have been told by some that with the right slalom board and sail, you can plane almost as early as formulae kit. To me a slalom board would be more fun then a formulae board, have you considered this ? Micah Buzianis wrote an article in the 2007 May edition of Windsurf and said he could get planing in 7 knts of wind with a 9.8 metre RS6 and a 134 litre JP slalom board, he could get planing on his formulae kit in 6knts. Something to consider

someones been talking to vando

i reckon it would take someone with micahs skill level to sail a 9.8 on a 130 lt slalom board. it's not as easy as it sounds.

the big difference though from my point of view is that the adrenaline level is way high when sailing a formula board in the lighter winds when compared to slalom.

plus the formula board can sail high into the wind, across the wind, and downwind at speed in very light winds. ain't no way a slalom board could match it on all of those points of sail until the wind starts to go beyond 12 knots and if any upwind work is required that figure would be more like 15 knots.

Hmm...I'm a heavyweight (80-90kgs depending on fitness level).

I've tried a 9.4 on my 130 litre freeride but it sucks. I sailed formula a lot in the past but I honestly don't think it helped my "normal" windsufing much, and in fact using such a wide board made my balance and reactions get worse.

I'm not proposing sitting on the beach waiting for good wind. I'll sail all day as long as there's 3 or 4 knots or so. My dilemma was just this:

-Whether to sail my freeride and too-small sails (6.5 & 8.5) all day long, practicing lite wind gybes, tacks and freestyle...hopefully becoming a much better sailor by next year, when I'll go off to Vietnam again.

-OR buy a Door Board and an 11 metre sail and get to plane heaps, possibly to the detriment of my shortboard skills...

"I sailed formula a lot in the past but I honestly don't think it helped my "normal" windsufing much" - Has shortboard sailing helped your Formula windsurfing any at all?

You need to redefine what is "normal". If you allow Formula to become your normal, then all is good and you will sleep at night again.

I have sailed Formula for a few years now, done a lot of events and am now the undisputed owner of the rear end of the fleet. But I love it, I love the competition, the buzz at the start, the struggle to get on the plane in dirty wind, the thrill I get out of getting the layline right, the heartbreak of undershooting the bottom mark, the pain of the major crash etc etc. I get off the water and know I am alive, albeit shattered.

This year I bought a smaller board and sails to do some "normal windsurfing", and to be honest I am now regretting it. I am certainly no better at "normal" then I am at Formula, and hope to pull off a gybe soon! But I look at the weather and pray (figuratively, not literally) for 10-15kts so I can use my Formula board.

So - what do you want to do? Plane lots and get TOW in lighter winds - then take a frank look at the windstrength and use the most appropriate gear. Dont let your definition of "Normal" prevent you from making the correct choice.

JB

Gestalt said...

tell me about it. switching from formula to small gear can be problematic.

i think it is all due to the back foot though.

What's the difference?

Which one is easier / more fun?

I don't seen to see many formula boards recreational sailing.

Not one kitesurfer yet.

Krusty said...

What would you prefer to do? That is your answer, now go and do it!

Krusty, you're my hero! I've been waiting for people to say "Don't go back to Formula, now is the time to work on your skills on the smaller board, even in light wind! You'll end up a better sailor by the time you go back to Vietnam!" - but nobody said it!

Bugger sailing the bloody front door! Small and slow it is!



I should have those heli-tacks wired by monday!!!!

Daneli said...

Gestalt said...

tell me about it. switching from formula to small gear can be problematic.

i think it is all due to the back foot though.

What's the difference?

*the main difference is that with formula i load up the fin and drive the board hanging as far out as possible and keep my back leg straight.

doing this on a slalom board leads to spinout, this is even worse on a wave board where a more upright stance and less back leg pressure is required.

Which one is easier / more fun?

*both have their quirks / depends on wind strength, for me formula is more fun between 8 and 18 knots, and in less than 8 i can cruise aroud in dredging mode. above 18 knots and small gear is more fun for me. so it is more about typical wind strength you sail in and getting gear to suit.

I don't seen to see many formula boards recreational sailing.

* for me that's cause it's been so windy up until recenty, there are definately a few formula sailors out there. i sail with a few of them when the conditions suit. cruising the ocean on formula is lots of fun, lake sailing is also great with formula. one place you won't see formula is the gold coast. if you do then it is me....