RS Racing Evo IV

RS Racing Evo IV and JP Slalom VIII

There are a few images floating around in cyberspace of the new RS Racing Evo IV.  The most obvious change is the break from the Iconic Burnt Orange.  The EvoIII started this move with a redder orange as well as blue and red printing on the body panels.  The new design is reverting back to a higher aspect ratio and looser mid and lower leech.  Smaller sizing is also changing and there is less choice in the way of dedicated speed sizes with 5.8 being the starting point.  Perhaps some limited edition speed specials will be produced.

RS Racing Evo IV vs Evo III

The advertising graphic only represents the colour, material and reinforcement changes and does not hint towards the amount the aspect ratio is changing as the outlines are identical.  There looks to be more reinforcing/opaque panels in the foot of the sail and less at the bottom of the leech above the clew.

RS Racing Evo IV Overlay

Will to Win - Neil Pryde 40th Anniversary Book

Neil Pryde have released a limited run of hardcover books celebrating the companys 40th anniversary.  The book covers the history, the people & the sports of this iconic windsurfing brand. Part business book, part corporate history, part celebration, part biography, part sports narrative it is sure to interest anyone who has followed the sport for many years as well as those newbies wanting to know how windsurfing has shaped up to what it is today.  I ordered my copy last night and look forward to seeing some of the old never before seen shots and stories.

RS:Racing Evo III

Robert Stroj Interview (NeilPryde Design) care of the NP Website.

RS:RACING EVOIII and the Integrated Compact Clew

Q. Some of the top NeilPryde Team Riders will be racing on the EVOIII this season. Why?

As with any very new development it’s always a challenge to get all the little details 100% right and it took a longer time to finalize the design than was originally planned. We wanted to make sure that there was plenty of testing before the sail gets introduced to the market.

For those reasons we decided to have only our international team register and use the new RS:RACING EVOIII sails during the 2010 racing season so that we can introduce fully tested sails to the market later this year.

Q. Will there be a difference in the EVOIII sails introduced to the market later in the year from the ones the Team Riders are using now?

The sails introduced to the market will be the same designs as used by the team during the season, but will be introduced in new colors and different graphics.

This is a very similar concept to the current EVOII Limited Edition sails which are exactly the same designs as the regular 2009 EVOII sails, just with new graphics and colors.

Q. What is new with this sail design?

With this sail we introduce the Integrated Compact Clew where, in comparison to the current Dynamic Compact Clew, we have eliminated the cutout at the clew and connected the foot area with the leech by closing the sail behind the boom end.

I have been thinking about this clew concept since my time at ART. After the introduction of the Compact Clew that came out on the RS5 at the end of 2004 I was hoping to be able to take this concept one step further and use all the advantages of the Compact Clew without having to compromise the outline of the sail.

Q. How does it work and what are the advantages?

The real advantage of this concept is that there is a tension connection between the foot edge and lower leech. This helps to keep the foot of the sail from blowing out in gusts and also makes the whole leech twist, harmonically, getting even more out of the advantages already associated with the regular Compact Clew.

In addition, there is the benefit of a cleaner sail outline, when compared to the Dynamic Compact Clew, and therefore better aerodynamics as it is not necessary to have a clew cutout.

In comparison to regular sails with a clew on the back edge of the profile the EVOIII has all the benefits common with the Dynamic Compact Clew: improved lower leech twist and much reduced draft movement due to the lower leech ability to create reflex behind the boom which releases excessive power and effectively locks the draft forward.

After long development (since May 2009) we ended up designing a very simple and precise sliding rail system for sail closure behind the boom. It works similar to a zip but is much stronger and incorporates a batten to support this area as well as evenly distributing the high load coming from the clew grommet.

With this system being very new we decided, like previously mentioned, to ensure it is fully tested prior to introducing new sails to the market.

New S Boom Profile

Neil Pryde have release a new range of booms for 2010 with many new features including an S profile in the arms.

"The clock has long been ticking for conventional boom design, and that’s because the performance has been held hostage by simple physics. It’s simpler eally; as wind pressure increases, a straight or convex boom effectively becomes shorter as it bends in response to increasing sail load, making the sail fuller, less efficient and harder to manage.(Ask your forearms, they’ve been putting up with it for years). Everybody make way for the new convention; the ‘S’ profile boom. The unique shape commands the sail to retain its shape and length whatever the breeze, providing a more stable andpredictable delivery, and more useable power. The ‘S’ profile is standard this season acrossthe entire NeilPryde range, so everyone can get their hands on it."

I am sure that this will help when loaded up on a slalom course with high apparent wind but I kinda like the boom arms giving way slightly and giving the sail more depth when going deep off the wind, a bit of natural nos. I am told it is only 10mm or so that the boom varies from a conventional profile and with the new race and slalom sails requiring more outhaul and clearance from the boom this should not compromise tuning. However the boom may touch more sail on older sails when bagged such as the RSR. I am looking forward to checking them out when they arrive in the shops.

The X9 feature new

box section tails that

increse in width in the

larger boom sizes.

Gear for Sale 09-07

I have more gear for sale:

JP Slalom IV 68 - $1390 - Excellent Condition

Carbon Art SP44 - $1290 - Good Condition

Neil Pryde RS Racing (2007) 7.8m - $690 - Excellent Condition

Neil Pryde RS Racing (2007) 6.7m - $590 - Good Condition

Neil Pryde RS Racing (2007) 5.0m - $690 - Excellent Condition

Ka Koncept 2006 9.0m - $300 - Good Condition

NP 520 Race Pro 100% Carbon mast to suit $200

Gear for Sale

I have the following gear for sale:

Select SL7 - 27cm - 2008 - $120

Neil Pryde X3 UXT 28 - $45 each

North Sails base (offset~15mm) - $50

Will allow longer range than mast track!

Gun Sails Downhaul Winch - $30

Garmin GPS 72 - $150

Includes Data/Power cable

JP/Pryde 1st & 2nd - 2009 PWA Ulsan World Cup

JP/Pryde riders Antoine Albeau & Micah Buzianis have finished First and Second in the Slalom at the world cup event in Ulsan Korea. Both are still not 100% physically, so this is a true reflection of their talent and confirmation that the JP Slalom Gen V boards and the Pryde Racing Evo II's are damn fast & easily controlled.



See the event writeup here:
http://www.pwaworldtour.com/index.php?id=35&tx_ttnews[tt_news]=1487&tx_ttnews[backPid]=29&cHash=9723b18c65

Micah Buzianis Interview

Hi Micah,
Thanks for taking time out to answer some questions.

What are your aspirations for 2009 (sailing & life)?
World title all the way, I was feeling very in tune and lined up for a good run this year but now with my broken foot I am not sure how soon I will be back. I was supposed to be in Austria right now for the first race of the season but I am not back on the water yet, hopefully this week and then I will be ready for Korea. In life I just want to be the best father and person I can be! I would of course love to win the lottery but since Hawaii doesn't have one I don't think that is going to be in the cards.

Do your family ever come with you on tour?
They have come with me a few times but now the kids are old enough to need their own airline tickets and with the price of flights now I can't really afford them to come all over with me. I really wish I could because it would be great to have them along, there seems to be a lot of down time on the road and it would be nice to spend it with them.

What is your most used gear combo(sail, board & fin) on maui?
I would say for racing my Neil Pryde 7.0 RSRacing EvoII, JP GenV 60 Slalom board and a 36cm JP production fin(yes production fin these fins rock and I do use them to race on!) For waves it is my JP Real World Wave 82, Neil Pryde Alpha 5.4 and a Maui Ultra Wave fin.

What is your most used gear combo on tour?
This is a hard one since we see so many different types of conditions, I get a lot of time on all my gear. I would say from 7.8 and up is the most used stuff.

What boards and sails will you be registering for the 2009 racing season?
Well since I am not going to Austria I have a little more time to keep this a secret.......Not really I have pretty much known for a while what I was going to register, JP GenV 60, 68 and 82, and Neil Pryde RSRacingEvoII 5.5, 6.2, 7.0, 7.8, 8.6, 9.5.

I know a large percentage of your time is spent on R & D, on what component would you spend the most time conducting on-the-water testing? It is pretty close to equal on all components, but since I live in Maui and Neil Pryde R & D is focused here I would say it is on the rig, sail and mast first then booms, battens, bases all that stuff. This is one thing I really like about Neil Pryde they spend a lot of time on R & D and not just the development of the sail designs but the progression of all the components as well as making sure the durability is there as well.

Are the JP slalom boards optimised for the RSR/RSS sails or are there some compromises made to make them work equally as well with other brands? Do you try to test other sails with the boards?
I haven't done any testing on the boards with different sails. I am focused on making the fastest and easiest to ride boards for all, I know there will be some differences when they are used with other boards but I think they are overall very easy to sail and get used to. They will first and foremost work best on the JP for sure but with small tweaks in fins and different mast and footstrap positions any one will be happy with them.

Some of the more common terms used to describe fin and board performance are slippery, directional, balanced etc., are there other terms you commonly use to describe performance when talking with Werner?
No regular ones that I can think of, slippery is for sure the most used as we are always looking for more speed.

How developed are your senses after having so much testing experience - can you tell when a board has 1mm more vee or a 5cm longer planing flat?
I think I have pretty good senses on how a board or sail should feel, whether or not I could tell this small of a difference I am not sure. If it were faster or slower I am sure I could tell this quite quickly but I am not sure I could always tell what the change was.

I always wonder how the way a board performs is communicated, do you use a benchmark, say last years board and say how the board you are testing differs in speed, acceleration & control or is it more of a case of you like the overall feel of a board better than another?
For racing it is always side by side testing, if we are trying to make a new generation of slalom boards then we will start testing against the current production boards or if there is another brand out there that is going really well we will get this board and do some testing against this as well. But we will always go against what we have and know currently.

Do you use GPS for testing, I remember the Slalom IV were quoted as being 2 knots faster overall than the Slalom III?
I do use a GPS while testing race gear. It is more for just a reference than to give any definitive answers.

Have you ever been interested in entering any speed comps or are you too busy with your current schedule of racing, R&D and family commitments?
I would like to do some speed but I am so focused on all of the above that I don't have the time or resources to do it properly, I would only do it to win and if I can't prepare properly then I would rather put that energy into my priorities.

Have you done any R&D on the JP speed boards that are in the pipeline or is that Antoine's department?
This is all AA's department, I got to see the boards at the photo shoot here on Maui last month but since I was on the couch the whole time I didn't get a chance to try them. They looked very good though, I am sure there are going to be some fast times on these, they are developed by the fastest windsurfer on the planet.

I noticed you do not have a fin manufacturer on your sponsor list, what are you using at the moment or is that top secret?
I am using whatever is going the fastest, I have some of everything right now.

Thanks again for your time Micah and best of luck with your recovery and the 09 season!

Cheers
Tim

Micah's Site: http://www.micahbuzianis.com/2009/index.php