Looks like an interesting story about sailing from Morocco to Europe. Here's the trailer:

Is that 300 km's on one tack?

Select to expand quote

mathew said..
Is that 300 km's on one tack?

Don't know how far he sails as part of the story in the movie but in real life depending on where you sail from it can be as little as 40 km... eg between Tangier and Tarifa / Cadiz. The shorts straight line distance is about 10 odd kms.

The problem on the Tangier / Tarifa crossing is that the wind is significantly stronger closer to the Spanish side than the Moroccan side. Other dangers include strong currents, insanely choppy waters and heavy shipping traffic. The straight of Gibraltar is one of the busiest shipping lanes in the world.

RE the movie, as far as I know it's only been shown at various film festivals and only had a release in Morroco (late 2014) and the Netherlands (April 2015). Not sure if they have a distributor for it yet. My wild guess is they will probably take it to Cannes in May for a broader distribution.

No I haven't seen it

Select to expand quote

mathew said..
Is that 300 km's on one tack?

It says 300km in the trailer!

Select to expand quote

sailquik said...

mathew said..
Is that 300 km's on one tack?

It says 300km in the trailer!

I've travelled further with my trailer than 300km one way

Seriously though what's the distance of bass straight crossing - I recall Jessica crisp attempted it but had to retire due to a combo of factors. Has anyone else done it windsurfing

i haven't seen the movie but know Jan who produced it... met him in moulay in 2009 in the very early stages of this film. so awesome to see he finally did it. Fettah and boujmaa do all the sailing, actually fettah is the main character too. he wanted to capture the essence of moulay. it's such a weird place.. desolate in the winter but fills up with europeans in the summer so sends a mixed message to the locals about 'whats out there' ... i can't wait to see it in its entirety. the cool thing is Jan is just a layed back guy who likes windsurfing and makes movies... small budget, big dream.

Select to expand quote

sausage said..

sailquik said...

mathew said..
Is that 300 km's on one tack?

It says 300km in the trailer!

I've travelled further with my trailer than 300km one way

Seriously though what's the distance of bass straight crossing - I recall Jessica crisp attempted it but had to retire due to a combo of factors. Has anyone else done it windsurfing

Jessica Crisp has done just about everything on a windsurfer but it was Allison Shreeve who attempted the Bass Straight with an RSX. It has been done before but Allison was trying to better the time taken to make the crossing.She came very close ,perhaps with a different choice of equipment (not a 9.5m sail)she could of been successful.

Select to expand quote

KA360 said..

Jessica Crisp has done just about everything on a windsurfer but it was Allison Shreeve who attempted the Bass Straight with an RSX. It has been done before but Allison was trying to better the time taken to make the crossing.She came very close ,perhaps with a different choice of equipment (not a 9.5m sail)she could of been successful.

Argh apologies, yes Allison Shreeve.

I'd suggest the board was as much of an issue as the sail size. That's a Starboard formula board Allison is on, not an RSX. Those things have only two settings - 100%, or stopped - and the 100% setting is bloody draining, which is why the average formula race lasts only 15-20 minutes. They're also very much affected by sea state (as in, they want to launch off everything), and if you try to throttle back or downsize the sail, that just gets worse. So IMHO a formula board is just about the worst choice for an endurance run.

I'd guess the plan was to treat the crossing as a sprint, but the moment it turns into endurance the sheer energy output required to keep a formula board going means it's all over. It was an unbelievable achievement to get as far as she did.

Anyway, back on topic, the Moroccan guy's choice of kit means he is going to be able to stay much more relaxed, and use less energy getting going again after a break.

Allison's board would want to throw her off with every wave it hit, especially the monster swells in the vid.

I'd go with a freeride board, fast enough but real forgiving. Made for big ocean blasting.

Also uphauling a big sail takes a lot out of you especially when you're already tired. Any reason why she just didnt water start? Cold water?

Select to expand quote

Gfly said..
Allison's board would want to throw her off with every wave it hit, especially the monster swells in the vid.

I'd go with a freeride board, fast enough but real forgiving. Made for big ocean blasting.

Also uphauling a big sail takes a lot out of you especially when you're already tired. Any reason why she just didnt water start? Cold water?

I am guessing it is because its just about impossible to waterstart a cammed sail in big swell once it gets under the water.