JP 2018:









Goya 2018:





NP 2018:












Severne 2018:







Starbooard 2018:

It looks like jaeger is checking his watch... as if to say how long have I been up here?

Thanks for post..
NP look quite hideous, Severne look great.

im guessing tthat green star in bouchmas sail is sticker relating to the Morrocan flag rather the. Being a design element?

NP sails looked great in 2013, 2014, 2015. This fluoro stuff is cack.

N.P has too much fluro
Still a nice set of sails.

Wish someone would make the race gear bright and colourful like this. *sigh*

To me NP always looks like they are playing catch up, followers, not leaders.
I think it's because they focus on their sails for sailboats (which are great) and not so much windsurfing.

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Mastbender said..
To me NP always looks like they are playing catch up, followers, not leaders.
I think it's because they focus on their sails for sailboats (which are great) and not so much windsurfing.

Well, I'm not a fan of NP in the past for other reason, but they are doing a LOT of R&D, we can't say they are followers I.M.O.

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Mastbender said..
To me NP always looks like they are playing catch up, followers, not leaders.
I think it's because they focus on their sails for sailboats (which are great) and not so much windsurfing.

I will make the assumption that you haven't sailed a 2017 Combat HD rigged on a TPX100. If this is what they can produce without focusing then the other manufacturers had better hope they don't start to focus any time soon. They are superb to look at and even better to sail.
I will agree though that if the photo's are the production colours for 2018 I will be keeping my 2017's a year longer.

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stehsegler said..
im guessing tthat green star in bouchmas sail is sticker relating to the Morrocan flag rather the. Being a design element?

Yes, and he's had that logo on his sails before.

Must be a girl thing as I like all of them but I would like to see the severne overdrives. Love the colours of the wavesails.

Many of the 2018 NP shots seemed to be sourced from Matt Holton's awesome YouTube channel ....

1981?

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evlPanda said..


1981?

Bjorn or Robbie

even Randy Naish

Bring back the 80's... just with modern gear..

The NP sails look way ugly. The horror.

The NP sail photos all seem to show them underpowered and chugging as opposed to the others smacking lips and busting aerials. Even that video showed the same.

It would be interesting to know if it's the sails, the sailors, the conditions, just unfortunate photos and video or just my personal interpretation of these images.

New Severne Blades:





New Severne FSW board Dyno:

Anyone know the state of the Starboard-Severne partnership? Does one own the other? Because otherwise it looks like Severne is encroaching on Starboard territory.

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MrCranky said..
Anyone know the state of the Starboard-Severne partnership? Does one own the other? Because otherwise it looks like Severne is encroaching on Starboard territory.

My guess would be Starboard own close to 100% of Severne

Yes it would appear, unless I am mistaken that Severne is owned 100% by Starboard but, unless I have missed it, there is no public disclosure about the ownership or board range strategy between the brands. If there is can someone please point to it. It is probably a bit like Goya and Quatro sister brands but it does not appear to be as close as that unless I am mistaken.

The "S & S" brands appear complementary nevertheless with some cross over but the emphasis is different. I think Severne has better graphics and better branding and more attractive to the eye. I also believe Severne boards are more wave oriented.. Perhaps Starboard make more money from SUPs than windsurfing and there is a change of emphasis going on as well.

I also believe Severne boards are made in China at IQC Composites whereas Starboard is made at the Cobra factory in Thailand. Having never owned either brand I query which is a better place to construct a board.Possibly IQC in China means more profit per board to the Severne organisation.

Well I would've thought that with the windsurfing market being as small as it is, Starboard is risking cannibalizing their own sales by having Severne market boards as well. I guess they know what they are doing (next up - Starboard sails... and a Severne slalom board).

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MrCranky said..
Well I would've thought that with the windsurfing market being as small as it is, Starboard is risking cannibalizing their own sales by having Severne market boards as well. I guess they know what they are doing (next up - Starboard sails... and a Severne slalom board).

If Starboard does own Severne 100% it wouldn't matter, all combined moneys would go into the same bank account ????

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Imax1 said..

MrCranky said..
Well I would've thought that with the windsurfing market being as small as it is, Starboard is risking cannibalizing their own sales by having Severne market boards as well. I guess they know what they are doing (next up - Starboard sails... and a Severne slalom board).

If Starboard does own Severne 100% it wouldn't matter, all combined moneys would go into the same bank account ????

In theory, they should generate even more sales. But there have been instances where this kind of brand engineering hurt both the parent and the subsidiary with their combined sales being lower. IMO only, it seems risky given the size of the market.

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Imax1 said..

MrCranky said..
Well I would've thought that with the windsurfing market being as small as it is, Starboard is risking cannibalizing their own sales by having Severne market boards as well. I guess they know what they are doing (next up - Starboard sails... and a Severne slalom board).

If Starboard does own Severne 100% it wouldn't matter, all combined moneys would go into the same bank account ????

You're assuming SB don't drop a proven favourite to cover it with a new and slightly different SV product that the market doesn't interpret as an acceptable equivalent replacement. Personally I love my Starboard boards but I have disliked the Severne sails that I have owned and hence off loaded, it would take a hell of a lot of convincing for me to buy a Severne board as a consequence of my experience with their sails. I guess its a psychological thing

You seem to have a lot of inside knowledge Orange Whip. Please tell us more? :)

Rumor has it Starboard boards work better on starboard tack (duh, it's in the name). Ben and the rest of the Severne crew mainly sail in WA which primarily has port tack conditions. Since they already make sails that work better in port tack they figured adding boards to the line up that suit was the next logical step.I have also heard they added wet suits to their range. Presumably those are specifically designed for port tack sailors.

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qldnacra said..

Mastbender said..
To me NP always looks like they are playing catch up, followers, not leaders.
I think it's because they focus on their sails for sailboats (which are great) and not so much windsurfing.

I will make the assumption that you haven't sailed a 2017 Combat HD rigged on a TPX100. If this is what they can produce without focusing then the other manufacturers had better hope they don't start to focus any time soon. They are superb to look at and even better to sail.
I will agree though that if the photo's are the production colours for 2018 I will be keeping my 2017's a year longer.

I wish the very best that they last another year

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qldnacra said..

Mastbender said..
To me NP always looks like they are playing catch up, followers, not leaders.
I think it's because they focus on their sails for sailboats (which are great) and not so much windsurfing.

I will make the assumption that you haven't sailed a 2017 Combat HD rigged on a TPX100. If this is what they can produce without focusing then the other manufacturers had better hope they don't start to focus any time soon. They are superb to look at and even better to sail.
I will agree though that if the photo's are the production colours for 2018 I will be keeping my 2017's a year longer.

I wish the very best that they last another year

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forceten said..

qldnacra said..

Mastbender said..
To me NP always looks like they are playing catch up, followers, not leaders.
I think it's because they focus on their sails for sailboats (which are great) and not so much windsurfing.

I will make the assumption that you haven't sailed a 2017 Combat HD rigged on a TPX100. If this is what they can produce without focusing then the other manufacturers had better hope they don't start to focus any time soon. They are superb to look at and even better to sail.
I will agree though that if the photo's are the production colours for 2018 I will be keeping my 2017's a year longer.

I wish the very best that they last another year

Durability is not an issue with combats... Weight is.