JP Super Light Wind

I took a bit of a gamble this year when choosing my light wind board and went for the new concept from JP which is the love child of a formula and large slalom board.  I have used 80cm+ slalom boards for light winds in the past and found that even at 130+ litres they sat a little low in the water for my weight at sub-planing speeds.  In 7-12 knots I use a 9.5m sail, combine this with 110kg body weight, harness, wetsuit etc and the surplus volume you thought you had soon gets taken up.  There were also a few occasions that I thought there was enough pull in the sail put I just couldn't unstick the board and plane.  The JP Super Light Wind (SLW) on paper corrects some of those shortcomings of a big slalom board for a heavyweight sailor, but would the board perform as intended?

Design

The width of the SLW is smack bang in the middle of a Formula(100cm) and XL Slalom Board(~80cm).  The deck has the now standard(on jp performance flatwater boards) Race Deck but the pads are thicker in the heel area(white pad) than the slalom boards.  This providing a little more softness in chop and also tones down the effect of the race deck.  The tail planing width is 700mm providing ample leverage over fins into the low 60cm range. There is no tail rocker, a rocker flat of 700mm and a nose lift of 206mm.  The rail shape and tuck is very similar to my Slalom VI 68.

Sailing

Getting into the straps isn't too hard once planing but may still take some getting used to if you are normally sailing smaller less racy boards.  Once up and planing the ride is VERY stable. To some it may not be engaging enough but it really does allow you to just relax and enjoy the sensation of effortless planing.  I tested the board with the Select S10 57(as recommended by Rik!) and this may have something to do with the boards excellent behaviour.  I think the standard Slalom III 56 would work well for lighter sailors or bigger sailors fully powered on a 7.5m sail but I have not yet had the conditions to try it out.  Gybing is easy but the fact that you are often sailing so fast compared to wind strength often means that you either get backwinded or have no drive after the rig flip.  I am sure there are better approaches and timings that would set you up for a planing exit but this would take a little time to get dialled

Construction

The JP website states that the Pro Edition is constructed from Biax Carbon.  This is NOT the case.  The deck and hull are timber veneer and there may be carbon reinforement.  This is the same construction that is used on the hi wind slalom models, not the light wind ones.  The board feels solid and this may indeed increase durability for the target market of light wind performance freeride however, it does make the board feel less responsive and a little heavy.  One thing is for sure, the website should be updated to reflect the true construction used.  The construction feels very comfortable over chop but is a little slower as a result of it sticking a little in the troughs.

Overall

I think that the JP SLW delivers on its statement that "...this board simply widens the wind range where it is possible to get planing and have heaps of fun. It plans as early as Formula boards (which have been purely developed for racing and to go straight up and downwind) but it is a lot more fun."

If you are focused on SPEED in light winds then an XL slalom board is probably the go.  You may not be planing as much as the SLW in "real world" light wind that can have big holes as compared to a race where it will be scratched if lulls are less than the minimum wind speed.

Video

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New Toy - Fanatic Freewave 115

I have just received my new B & J board, the 115 Freewave.  The build quality is out of this world and as a result I will be a little cautious whe trying new moves.  As well as the standard 29cm G10 fin I have purchased a Select 33 B & J for use with the bigger sail and for more POP! I will start with the straps outboard until I am able to do more aerial tricks, then move em in for more control.

Tail Cam Test Run

At the Onboard Beachport weekend I finally had the chance to get some footage from a the ‘Tail Cam’ I have been working on. I first made the mount in January and tried it out on my mountain bike.  I have since made improvements to its stability and safety but there is still a long way to go until I am 100% happy.  Here is a short edit of some of the footage from the Sunday( 10-18 knot day) at Lake George. Unfortunately the lens slowly fogged up so the results should be better in summer.

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.

Board Quiver 2011

For 2011 I am trying to cover as many conditions and types of sailing as I can with 4 or 5 boards.

I hope to use these 4 boards with the following sails:
JP Super Lightwind - RSS MkIII 9.5 & RSR EvoIII 7.8
JP Slalom VI 68 - RSR EvoIII 7.8 & RSR EvoII 7.0
JP Speed 49 - RSR EvoII 7.0, RSR5.8 & RSR 5.0
Fanatic Freewave 115 - NP Excess 6.4 & 5.4

There are a few gaps there such as a 90L slalom but without our faster/flatter spots of the past I hope to spend a heap of time on the 68/7.8 combo again. I'm not sure how well the SLW will work with 7.8 but hopefuly it is as good as on the Slalom IV84 when it is gusty.  I am keeping the 49 for the occasional trip to Sandy and some possible new SA speed locations I want to try out.  I have always had a soft spot for the Fanatic freewave and decided to get on this year.  I made the mistake of thinking I had to get a board smaller than my slalom so that I didn't "double-up".  The JP 102 FSW didn't plane as early as I had liked for my weight and I had read in forum posts that the 112 actually felt a lot smaller than the quoted volume so the FW115 was the one to go for.  I also like the graphics a lot more!

The Onboard Beachport X-perience

The Onboard Beachport X-perience is on this October Long Weekend with something for everyone! There will be Wavesailing & SUP Expression Sessions in the surf and Speed & Racing on Lake George. The event is Sponsored by Onboard and will be run on the 2nd, 3rd & 4th of October 2010 with the 3rd day Freesailing/Paddling.


The format is simple:
Wavesailing expression Saturday and Sunday when and where the conditions suit at Beachport (Possibly Robe) with a riders vote determining the event winners!

SUP Freesurf when the conditions best suit with an expression session to select the top 4 surfers to battle it out in a final. Race on Sunday.

Speed Sailing (and Racing depending on conditions) on Lake George Saturday and Sunday with GPS results determining the speed winner!

Event Schedule: Wave & SUP @ Surf Beach
SATURDAY:
11:00am Conditions brief, Wavesail & SUP,
1:00pm BBQ Lunch and Drinks thanks to Onboard.
5:00pm Close of day. Dinner at the Beachport Hotel.
SUNDAY:
9:30am Conditions Brief, Wavesail & SUP.
12:30pm BBQ Lunch and Drinks thanks to Onboard.
5:00pm Close of Competition.
7:00pm Presentation at the Beachport Hotel and Dinner.
MONDAY:
Free Sailing / SUP day, More Coopers etc....

Event Schedule: Speed & Racing @ The Lake George Spit
SATURDAY:
11:00am Conditions brief, Speed & Racing .
1:00pm BBQ Lunch and Drinks thanks to Onboard
5:00pm Close of day. Dinner at the Beachport Hotel.
SUNDAY:
9:30am Conditions Brief, Speed & Racing
12:30pm BBQ Lunch and Drinks thanks to Onboard.
5:00pm Close of Competition,
7:00pm Presentation at the Spit or Beachport Hotel and Dinner.
MONDAY:
Free Sailing

The Onboard Beachport X-perience is free however we encourage sailors to sign up as members of Windurfing SA (or Victoria).

Come down and have an awesome weekend!

For Details on the Wave & SUP contact Pete at Onboard (08) 82943866
For Details on the Speed & Racing contact Tim on 0400 887 054

Last Session @ the Clayton Channel

I edited this clip about a year ago but didn't get around to posting it.  The wind was light and gusty from the north, great for long reaches but you had to gybe before the big lulls.  The water was nice and flat and will be greatly missed by the local speedsailors.