A blast from the past!

http://www.mauisails.com/barry_corner.php?id=64

wow, just goes to show how much windsurfing has changed. ! look at that sail too !!!!!!

I recall sometime around then Pascal Maka was trying to break through the 30 kn barrier on a board he designed with one concave from nose to mid section. That was also at Woodies.

My own pic from the event

In 30 years time when people look back at the equipment we are using now are they going to think "how did they ever sail on that gear"
The sail looks like it was pinched from a yacht.

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choco said...

In 30 years time when people look back at the equipment we are using now are they going to think "how did they ever sail on that gear"
The sail looks like it was pinched from a yacht.

Yes it does and it's easy to see (with hindsight) how it could have been better.

It's interesting to look at a modern rig (like your avatar choco). Its small and simple and capable of a lot more speed and its all down to years of subtle refinement.

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choco said...

......The sail looks like it was pinched from a yacht.

Yeah, complete with wing mast!

Then again, it can't have been too bad. Fred did 27 Kts + on a sail about 3 sq. meters bigger than anyone I knew at the time could manage in anything more than about 8 - 9 knots of wind. Sails over 6.5sq.m in the early 80's had a total wind range of about 3 knots!! seriously!!

If you want a wing, I actually saw half a dozen or so of them a couple of weeks ago under a home, in a garage on Maui - amazing looking things, and all carbon! If I remember correctly, I think they are about 16 feet long...........a tad hard to get on a plane!!

I always wondered if a trapeze might work.

To wing it or not to wing it?

This is an interesting paradox.
In the early '80's, I am sure the carbon wing masts made quite a difference to the low drag and stability of the primitive sails they were using. But they have completely disappeared form the speed scene even as top speeds have almost doubled.
Are they a failed experiment? A dead end technology?
Has the use of cambered sails with tight, wide luff pockets made them redundant? Is it possible that those sails with the use of RDM masts have as good or lower drag penalty?
Is there any point in experimenting with wing masts again?

the future of speedsailing



that would be one hairy ride....at least it would be a group experience

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choco said...

the future of speedsailing



that would be one hairy ride....at least it would be a group experience

I think you are right that these sorts of things are the future of the outright world records (along with the kites) but I think the future of 'Speedsailing' as a sport will still very firmly be with the hundreds of ordinary windsurfers who get out there a push their personal limits every time there is a windy day, just as it is now. :-)

A slightly related topic, does anyone remember the guy who setup the timing gear at Woodmans point and charged $5 to be timed (for the day). You would run between two gates (star pickets) with some sort of sensors and he would put your time/speed up in an array of lights on top of his car so you could see it. I think it was the year after the world champs but might be wrong.

I dont think I have sailed there since then

I think his name was Lindsay Mannix - had an old hj panelvan or similar

Did my first timed run over 30 knots on his system back in '87/'88

I still remember the embarresment of me luffing my sail (like I was doing a bear away in a wave) as I went down the course for the first time.

I think I got 22 knots on my wave gear and 25 ona borrowed slalom board, and the feeling of being on a borrowed board going sideways at 25 knots towards a pair of star pickets was not good. I didnt hit them but went pretty close.

Funny how those speeds seem like crawling now.

hey Daffy, I was there too!! pretty sure I did 24's on a pryde warp speed 7.7m.....
I have the results upstairs I think
cheers (old) Tony