Every one always asks, whats your best GPS time for when the wind is over 25 knots? But i was just wondering the other day, with the new sailboards now like the new freeride starboard funtura, jp excite and the i-sonics slalom ect... and say a 7.5 and upwards light wind sail. What type of GPS recordings has everyone been getting in light wind say under 15 knots? I dont have a GPS so I dont know my time and i need 15 knots to get planning with my 6m race sail. But I saw guys on formula gear and i-sonics the other week and the speeds they were doing was amazing in real light wind. Looked like it was 20 knots from the beach where I was standing. But it wasn't because no one with sails under 7.5 m could get going on a plane, we were all stuck on the beach. So I think it was about 10 knots. For the guys who have kept track over the years with there GPSs. Has your time in the last few years gotting faster with the newer technology?

UNDER 15 knots POST YOUR FASTEST GPS TIME

lalalamort said...

THis is pointless, yo ucannot tell waht the exact speed of the wind is, so no one will know

1. well if ya have been checking the trees like me for the last 10 years you will know when it is blowing under 15 knots

2. you could buy a wind anemometer and a GPS on ebay for about 100 bucks

3. when there is only guys with 7.5 m sails planing you know its under 15 knots

and the qustion was mainly for what speed can ya do in any light wind speed under 15 knots? does not have to be exact
cheers buddy

On a recent run I did 31 knots on a 7.8m sail and Isonic 111. While it was a light day I would say it was around 20 knots in the gust that I was riding. It was the end of the day and wind was dying so I had my sail bagged out, perfect set up for the downwind charge.

Light days can be good for the lucky speed run. Water is flatter, so a nice fat gust can give you a good speed.

Sydney can be pretty gusty so it's hard to say what the the breeze was at the time of a run. I check on Seabreeze when I get home but that's still a rough indicator. Typically on 7.8m days 12-18 knots my speeds are 26-29 knots.

I do have a wind guage but the breeze on the shore is quite different from the sailing zone. Even the wind guage at the airport tower we sail near will give a different reading because of the height it's at. Need to figure out how to have one attached to the GPS while sailing.

Hey windwarning, I though you don't sail unless it's mast hight and blowing dogs off chains.

22 kts on 144ltr with 8.5 mtr sail in 12 - 15kts at Inverloch

On January 4, 2009, Westernport Bay, with the weather station off Somers and Balnarring that transmits to yacht clubs around the bay was reading 8 knots S average. My highest 10 second average speed was 19.90 knots on a Formula 159 with a 11m Severne SSR. Max speed displayed for the session was 20.72 knots.
A great afternoon of cruising on the Formula gear fully powered up. See my post in Windsurfing Victoria for my GPS track.

Bondalucci said...

knot board said...

Hey windwarning, I though you don't sail unless it's mast hight and blowing dogs off chains.

Hey Knotty,
Lay off Wind Warning this thread.
He's showing us that he's capable of good grammar when he wants to be, and his question is a good, interesting one and deserves responses.
If nothing else, he's showing us that he's been pulling everyones chain up till now.

242 troll posts and 1 interesting one, suddenly he deserves a response?

He should cut his losses and start with a new username.

knot board said...

Hey windwarning, I though you don't sail unless it's mast hight and blowing dogs off chains.

nar dude, my dream has always been to sail in light wind, say, 10-15 knots as fast as what I can in 15-20 knots. Then we all wont need to take up kiting and they are starting to make boards and sails that can and are fun to use, wich is cool as. Then i can windsurf every day not just when its real windy.

Knot board said,


242 troll posts and 1 interesting one, suddenly he deserves a response?

He should cut his losses and start with a new username.

Never know Knotty,... Could be "Born Again!"
- Let he who be without sin or vice cast the first stone.
( OK, here's a bag of rocks to get you underway}

Gotta admit he's using a lot more prepositions in his posts than we've been treated to in the past. (and he's talking sense)

I just realised - WindWarning and I have the same initials! Duh! Took a while!

I always knew the guy was all right.

I bought a I-sonic 122 2008 model, end of last year. I bought a GT31 at X-mass.
I have only recorded my last 11 sailing session so far. In winds form 6 to 18 knot gust I have recorded just over 26 knots Max Speeds plus Max 10s Avs just over 25 knots. Using a 7.5 VGM & Arrows TForce 6.8 using a Select Weed Eliminator Fin.
Because there is not much and the water stays flat and when the gust hits you of around 15 to 18 Knots you get a good speed run.
In winds of about 15 Knots Max I'm doing around 22Knots with my 7.5 VGM.
When I get a bigger sail for the board I will be able to do over 20 knots in winds around 12 knots may-be.

Sea Breeze should have a section where you can register your GPS speeds for all makes of Boards!!

windwarning said...

we need to move away from the high wind speed topics. thats what killed windsurfing and alot of my mates gave it away when i was younger in me 20s searching for the 20+ knots all the time.

I'm sure that's not one and only reason for the decline... I am pretty sure that GPS's got many people back into the sport.

Yeh I agree with you Bonominator, this topic is slightly subjective. It's like walking as an olympic sport or equivalent to a competion for who can whisper the loudest

I agree to the slight absurdity of this thread, as specific wind speed can't accurately be measured from the perspective of the board.

But I wholeheartedly endorse this thread because going as fast as possible in the lightest of winds has been what has gotten me back in to windsurfing. I love light wind sailing, it's fun, the wind is predictable, and the water is nice and flat. I just love going blasting in 10 knot winds on my formula with an 11M sail. Even if it is a bitch to uphaul.

I've clocked 24 knots with my 11M sail and a 160L formula in around 15 knot winds, I thought it was pretty impressive at the time.