Tuesday, 18 August 2009

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.

Saturday, 8 August 2009

Grundys 8 Aug 2009

Well I have finally had a decent session at Grundys(Goolwa - Clayton channel) and feel that I have a taste of what this strip has to offer. I rigged big with a NM PB the focus of the day. It is such an effort to get gear to the waters edge that I did not have the motivation to rig my 6.2 which may have helped the team with a better peak and 10s average. I already had 3 boards and 2 sails out there as the initial forecast was predicting 15-20. We ended up scoring 15-25 early with with winds increasing to 20-30 later with occasional 35 knot gusts.

I also improved my alpha 500 as it was perfect in the top corner with plenty of wind and flattish water. I have since checked the track and found a 26.56 at 51 metres, I might have to see if other software calculates the track within the 50m radius! Unfortunately I ran out of card space on my headcam and would have liked to have mixed a video of the alpha track and video footage, maybe next time.

I analysed my NM and have learnt a lot, I pulled up a little early and also hit a few lulls through the run which I cant do much about. I think if we get another day with a similar direction and more consistent wind 37+ will be easily achieved.

Today I spent 10 hours trying to find the best way to incorporate a speed readout from the gps data in a head cam video. I can get it to play as a subtitle but embedding the subtitle for further editing it the hard part. Most software keeps it as an option for DVD playback. I had a bit of fun putting the 2D projection down the side.

Monday, 3 August 2009

JP Speed Boards

The much anticipated JP Speed boards have finally been released to the public. I have had a 49 on order for a while and hope to receive the beast at the start of September. Apparently Antoine is going to use the range of speed boards in Karpathos, they include a 54(73L), 49(65L) & 45(53L) an come with a G10 fin(28, 26 & 24 cm). MVM has already been sailing them so there will be a number of JP/Pryde combos around. I hope to use it as a step down from the JP60 with predominantly 7 .0& 6.2. Watch this space for more info in the coming weeks...
See the range in more detail on the JP site:
http://www.jp-australia.com/2010/index.php?id=409
Here is an interview with Antoine as a flash file:

Wednesday, 29 July 2009

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

Saturday, 27 June 2009

6 months on...

It is six months since I had a stroke on Christmas day and although most of the feeling has returned to my right side I still have the occasional "bad day". Most bad days are compounded by having to work in man made environments in front of a pc. After six months of tests the probable cause appears to be a hole in my heart that showed up in an echo. This hole allows small clots to short cut a path to the brain rather than being filtered by the lungs. I will be on asprin daily for the rest of my life. The best therapy I find is time outside with my wife and 2 year old and of course windsurfing.

My hope for the next six months is for my health to keep on improving and my level of strength and fitness to increase. I am currently 110kg(which is great for speed sailing) and hope to get down to 105kg which will suit my new focus of slalom and marathon racing. There are 5 events in the pipeline for this summer and since we will be losing a lot of our speed locations in the lower lakes(flow restricters will be utilised to raise the lower lakes to pre-drought levels) I am really excited about the buzz of racing and the burn of marathons. It is less a case of the lucky gust and more a case of best man wins! I still love speed sailing but I dont want it to headline my sailing menu as much as it has in the past, I want to taste a few more dishes!

Wednesday, 10 June 2009

Light Wind Cruiser - JP Slalom IV 134

I had a light wind cruise on the JP Slalom IV 134 at Goolwa on Monday(8/6/09) in about 10-15 knots. Man I love this board, it is just so much fun in light breeze and is the only floater I have. The other great thing is that I could be out on the 7.8 with either the 92 or 104 with the wind dropping out - whack in this baby and you are going again in a few minutes, no 15+ minutes to rig another sail. Also gybes like a smaller board with relatively thin rails and stays or hovers above the water if it does pick up again.
I also tried the new Select Proslam 47 for the first time, and although I wasn't powered it showed nice speed off of the wind(~30) and still held a reasonable angle heading back upwind. I look forward to more time on this big gear with some slalom & marathon events that are in the pipeline.




I also caught a bit of footage tailing Carl & Joe. At least the water is flat when it is this light...
I looked at the camera after the run and noticed condensation inside the housing and thought the video would not turn out at all. In the end it is slightly blurred but still shows the action.

Saturday, 30 May 2009

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