I watched what i could with the live streams and it looked like a super fun race besides maybe the start with all the boat wash as that would have sucked if you were caught in that at the back.
32km average is crazy as well and it is unreal to see that foils are getting better and better but this does also bring up some red flags for me and maybe some controversial topics. When I saw Edo win I first thought how good is that he has won a major race like this on stock Fone gear and right now if I wanted to go racing that would have put Fone at the top of the list but then I read that it was a proto wing and might be available next year and then you look harder and maybe most of the top Ten were on proto wings which to me is just crazy and I really struggle to see how this is good for the sport in any way.
For me if I was into the racing side full on it would just kill it for me as it just has no real advantage besides for the one guy who gets the wings. As a brand it pretty much makes zero sense and if we use Fone as the example then why would you go and buy the current Fone DW wings when you know they are not good enough and to get a wing good enough you have to wait until next year. It feels like as brand it would have very little benefit compared to having your rider win on a current wing that you have in production!! now how good would that be and I bet if Edo had won on a current wing that wing would more than likely sell out for all those wanting to be like Edo. Now don't get me wrong just because you might fly the same foil does not make you as good and from what I saw and hear he would always be hard to beat anyway but it does always just make me question it when maybe the playing field is not that level.
I feel the success to really making the DW side grow is to make the average person feel like they might even have a chance and not be beaten before they even line up on the start line. I have been DW foiling for long enough to know the difference wings can make and when I see someone like James Casey get beaten by 12 mins (over 6km) then I question is it skill or just if you are one of the lucky few!!
Of course, no one has done anything wrong and all the brands are all playing well within the rules but maybe there is just a better fairer way that could help the sport of DW foiling grow faster and make everyone feel like they had a chance. In my eyes, all racers would have one simple rule and that is the wing you race on must be in production and available for the general public to buy and have been on the market for at least something like 2 months.
Proto wings are just that and if someone really wants to race on a test wing then they can do so but not in the main division. IMO this would make the racing way better and much tighter and would also make winning a race come right back to skill and talent and not just money and if you are sponsored of the right company at the right time.
I would love to know who was the first rider who was racing full production gear? maybe James?
On my side I am bowing out of making front wings and this race just confirmed things, the money a company has to spend to make a fast wing is crazy and the market is just crazy with wanting to change every 6 months so all I can see is business suicide. For me I am happy making specialized parts like the mast and parts like that that don't change every 2 minutes and I will just buy or ride what I feel is the fastest or best surfing front wings that are compatible with my mast. I do love the development side but I don't love the tipping money into the black hole part


Maybe Fone can send me one of those proto wings and I can review it and see if its that good or if Edo is

On the other positive side 32km average is so good, I would say some KM's he must have been doing 35k average and as fun as it looked it didn't look like conditions were all time epic so just image if the conditions were fully pumping!! very exciting to see!!
Foiling a 600cm wing as well is great to see done and I know any wings I have tried this small they really struggle to carry when the bumps get small like at the end of that race so unreal to see it pump right to the finish.
Great to see the race start in the wind and finish in the wind, that is how a foil race should be so stoked to see the course change and I bet it will be huge next year!!