i've already got a high wind board for 20+
most of sailing on the bay, with occasional ocean trips
looking for a new or 2nd allrounder to cover me for :
16 - 22knts
sail range 5.7 - 6.5
in the 105 - 115 range
good speed, but not a flat roker.
nice carving ability
HAS to be a good jumper
some wave ability,,so straps in both positions.
pref us fin box then power
a board that DOESNT go soft in the gybe spot at 13mths
any suggestions?
The "popular" models in Melbourne are the FreestyleWave's - bump and jump style.
I have JP's, but I really like the speed on the Starboard Kode - I tested the demo available at RPS - the Kode is faster, making for better jumps - it might still be available, just go into the store and ask.
The seabreezes usuall kick in around 4pm and run till around 6.30pm. You should keep an eye on the "watkins wind watch" website -> 20kn a Fawkner beacon is ususally about 15kn at St Kilda beach. The only other suggestion, the general rule is bodyweight + 20l... in the seabreezes, the wind might be 18-20kn around, then will quickly (over say 10-15min) shut down by about 5kn at the end of the day.
Agree with Hardie - Melbourne seabreeze's are usually 12-18 / 6-7m.
Relatedly, the Starboard Futuras and iSonics work *very* well for bay conditions up to about 20kn, but doesnt' quite meet your "wave ability" requirement.
I have a JP freestyle wave 102 ltr, its great for jumping and feels light underfoot and gybes good for a board with that much volume. I haven't tried the Kode so cannot compare. I would say I use the 102 about 3-4 times a week on average during the Vic season, for me (I weigh around 75kg's) its a perfect board for the bay in seabreezes. I can easily get planing in 15knots+ using my 5.0 wave sail, it accelerates smoothly. I've used it in the waves at Leo a few times as well and its still agile enough to do some bottom turns. I find that 102 litres is a good balance for what I want. I don't want anything bigger as I still want to be able to do jumps and tricks easily without it feeling like I am sailing a boat, at the same time, I want it to get me going in those lighter sea breezes and still have the manouverability that a much smaller board has. I've had it out in up to 25 knots and it still feels controllable, though when it gets up to that I use my smaller real world wave board.
JP Freestyle Wave!!! The PERFECT board for Victorian bay and small or onshore wave conditions.
I reckon Pete Ross's new OES XR115 looks just the ticket for 15-20 knot farting around on Port Phillip. There's a thread on it in the gear reveiw section.
After a good hot day I found the seabreezes quite strong. I get overpowered at about 22knots on my 8.5 and I noticed this happened a lot. Could be a bit stronger down south though, I'm unsure. Personally to me by 6pm after a good hot day, wind felt like 18-24 at Mornington. It is a southerly which is offshore at my beach resulting in glassy flat water.
JP FS/wave does seems to be the board of choice for our bay waters, never tried one though. I did buy my 103 JP freestyle second hand with some nasty softdeck issues. Ended up weighting 5kg more than it should with all the water it took on. Yuk!
Cheers for the review Windaddict as I went into SHQ on Saturday to try and find out just that............(I have 90l JP Freestyle; great board but just a little too restricted for summer sailing in marginal winds)............. It was good to hear that you are lighter than me and still find the 102l JP Freestyle-wave fun enough to throw around (is it the pro-edition you have?). So the question is this - given a choice now, would you have gone with the 92l or will you stick with the 102l?
On another note, does anyone have one for sale?
thanks for the replys
i've been given a green light from the boss...
at a touch over 90kgs...i think the jpfsw102 will be a tad small ....maybe the 107....
has jp resolved it's soft deck issues,,, i went through 3 in a very short space of time in 2003-2004 ???????? any 107's to demo???
anyone tried the big naish all terrain or fsw
hmmm like the KODES too,,, 102 or 112....112 seems very wide at 68,,,, anyone using this one
looks like i've got some research to do
Now what you doing coming over hear for Hardie? A bit of PIT action? Make sure you catch a few of us while you are here
