Raceboard
Kona 380 Elite
November 15, 2009 · 8 Comments
This pure raceboard is an evolution of the Exocet Warp X380, a proven concept and top contender in the Raceboard class. The “blueprints” inherited from the prominent Warp X380 was key when developing this exiting concept. All the positive characteristics of the previous design have been preserved and the conclusion is outstanding. The Warp X380 was a board with astonishing speed and stability upwind, – yet we have succeeded in adding to the performance by moving all the appendices (fins and dagger ) further back. As a consequence... [Read more]
Raceboard Design
July 24, 2009 · 24 Comments
A recent thread in the forum prompted me to think about the future of raceboard design and articulate my emerging opinion on this topic. Raceboard Designs The IMCO was originally designed for a minimum wind strength of 15 knots (ie not really in displacement mode). It was the best course-racing, high-wind (planning) design at the time of its creation (pre the wide tail revolution). Even today in high winds (>20 knots), it is a very competitive design compared to the modern high volume raceboards. The IMCO “works” in light winds,... [Read more]
2009 Raceboard Worlds Wrap
July 20, 2009 · 11 Comments
Press Release The record entry of 114 surfers from 15 nations in the Raceboard World Championship 2009 sailed 12 races during the Championship. “This is the biggest fleet in a World Championship of the Raceboard Class, we have seen for more than 20 years”, Murat Tueten from the German Windsurfing Association, who organised the event, raved. It was a tight finish before the world title in the Raceboard class was decided on Saturday June 11, 2009. Maksimilian Wojcik could defeat the German challenger Moritz Martin in a tight finish. Martin... [Read more]
Minimum board weights – are they too low?
July 11, 2009 · 12 Comments
Those of you that have read my other Journal entries on LBWS know that I am an avid raceboard sailor. Over the years I have had many different boards some more successful than others. In recent times I have owned the last F2 lightning and Mistral Pan am that came out of the Cobra Factory in Thailand as well as the recent Starboard Phantom also from the Cobra factory. Generally speaking all of these boards have been great boards in their own right. They have pointed and railed well, been quick and a pleasure to sail. However, they also share... [Read more]
09 Phantoms hit Aussie shores
July 3, 2009 · 6 Comments
At last the 09 replacement Phantoms have arrived in Australia. In accordance with the warranty instructions my friend and I took our 08 model Phantoms to our local Starboard retailer to pick up our new boards. With much excitement we swapped over centreboards, foot straps and mast tracks from the old board to the new. Ok so I have not used the new board yet but it looks good. I really appreciated the new shape and lines that appear to be more subtle than the previous. In particular, I liked the ridges on the deck that travel for a good portion... [Read more]
UK Raceboard Class launched
January 30, 2009 · Leave a Comment
The successes of our Olympic sailors has inspired many new windsurfers to take up windsurf racing. ‘Raceboard’ is already an official class with very simple kit rules based on length, width and production registration. Quite simply the board is a performance longboard – a true racing class. One that is not inhibited by wind strength or location. It is also provides the fairest racing when considering a sailors size/weight or age. At National level the class has been a little dormant primarily due to board manufacturers being focused on... [Read more]
Australian Longboard Festival
January 13, 2009 · 4 Comments
The Australia Day Weekend, 23rd-26th January, will see the inaugural Longboard Windsurfing Festival happening on the East Coast of Australia. This event includes the Raceboard Oceanic Championships, which will be held at Illawarra Yacht club and the National Windsurfer One Design Championships which will be held at Port Stephens Sailing and Aquatic Club. On the East Coast of Australia seabreezes prevail from the North East consistently and a cool Southerly change usually once a week in the month of January. It’s a fairly safe bet that... [Read more]
Design and construction of a longboard windsurfer
November 26, 2008 · 3 Comments
Recently the LBWS team was alerted to an impressive project on building a raceboard. Malcolm works as a researcher in aerodynamics and has a background in mechanical engineering. As you could imagine he has an avid interest in the hydro and aerodynamics of windsurfers. Malcolm says, “theory can only get you so far in the end you have to do the experiments or proto-testing to improve designs”. Below is the outcome of Malcolm’s experiment into building a Raceboard, it’s an impressive read. Design and construction... [Read more]
Raceboard and Mistral OD World Championships 2009
November 10, 2008 · 14 Comments
2009 will see the Raceboard and Mistral One Design World championships held in Germany on the Baltic Sea at the seaside resort town of Warnemünde. The World Championships are scheduled to run from July 7 – 11 with the German Raceboard and RS:X Championships occurring just prior between the 4 and 6 July. Event organisers have informed LBWS that there will be the following divisions. • Raceboard 9.5 m2 • Raceboard 7.5 m2 • Mistral One Design • RSX • Woman • Youth • 35+ • 45+55+ • 65+ While this is a World championships,... [Read more]
Phantoms Recalled
October 14, 2008 · Leave a Comment
Starboard announced today that they are recalling all Phantoms with a serial number above 40. See the comments from there designer, Tiesda which appeared on the Starboard forum today. To owners of the Phantom Race 380 serial numbers #040 and above, Our manufacturer has advised us that a number of boards have been produced without the specified layer of PVC reinforcement around the critical area in the daggerboard box. This may result in cracks and water intake. We feel that it is the correct action for the World’s number one Windsurfing board... [Read more]
Phantom Review – Part 2
October 7, 2008 · Leave a Comment
This short “Part 2” article follows my previous review of the Starboard Phantom titled “Phantom Early Thoughts”. Since writing this article, I have had further opportunities to use the board in light, moderate and big breezes and have grown more comfortable with the board and its capabilities. I have also made some modifications to the gaskets to get them working. In my previous article my only concern was that the centreboard gaskets where too tight and required that I stop sailing to adjust the centreboard. In response to this I... [Read more]
Phantom – Early Thoughts
September 19, 2008 · Leave a Comment
Regular readers of LBWS would have seen that the first shipment of Starboard Exocet Phantom 380 to Australia in the middle of our winter. As a consequence there has only been limited sailing of these new boards in typical Sydney Winter conditions (read light winds). While the board generally performed well I have been reluctant to put pen to paper to write a review of the board given the limited sailing that I and the other new Phantom owners in Australia have had on this new Raceboard. Well time has moved on and the Australian season has just... [Read more]
Equipe III development
August 11, 2008 · 17 Comments
LBWS have just had word from Nik Baker, Mistral’s Product Manager, on the progress of the two new longboards set to feature in Mistral’s 2009 range. Nik took the helm of Mistral’s product direction in 2007 and has been working with shaper Mark Nelson to inject new energy into the board line up. Nik informs us that both the Ventura and the Equipe III have been high on Mistral’s priority list for some time. The Ventura testing phase is complete and is being built at the Cobra factory right now and the new Equipe III is still in its development... [Read more]
Mistral back in the longboard game
August 4, 2008 · 10 Comments
Mistral have finally joined the longboard revival by releasing 2 new longboards, the Ventura and the Equipe III, which will stand alongside the aging One Design (IMCO) in their quiver. The Ventura looks like an all round freeride longboard that could be an alternative to the Exocet Kona as a rec. board. The Mistral website suggests the Ventura to be good for cruising, beginners and even advanced sailors using large freeride sails. The board specs out with 255 litres volume, 343 cm in length and 72 cm wide. “Discover your lake or seaside... [Read more]
Phantom Hits Aussie Shores
July 9, 2008 · 4 Comments
While it is the middle of our winter, the first batch of the long awaited Starboard Phantom 380 raceboard has arrived in Australia. An eager bunch of Australian raceboarders joined the NSW distributor, Sam Parker from Wind Surf n Snow, for a small Phantom arrival celebration at his shop. The lucky three who had their name down for the first boards enjoyed a beer in the festive atmosphere as foot straps and centreboards were installed and the new board was inspected and discussed. It seems an eternity since Starboard announced these boards and... [Read more]
Raceboarding & light wind technique
May 10, 2008 · 3 Comments
While the Northern Hemisphere gears up for their racing season, winter is upon us down here in Australia. After a long season of racing, it’s a time to finally get those board and sail repairs done, and abit of fine tuning. The winter traditionally on the East Coast of Australia (NSW) is alot of the time blowing a 30 knot freezing southerly but mostly it puts on a sun filled, light 2-8 knots. So if you wish to brush up on your light wind technique & tactics it’s a good time. The photos of AUS 053, Russell Jones from Illawarra... [Read more]
European Youth and Masters Raceboard Championships
April 1, 2008 · Leave a Comment
Not that I was there but I thought that it was worth noting that the European Youth and Masters Raceboard Championships are over for another year. They were held between the 20th to 24th March in Civitavecchia, which is a busy commercial port near Rome. Thanks should go to the International Raceboard Class website for this report. This year’s championship fleet may have been small – but it was a very competitive fleet. Three of the top 4 finishers from the 2007 Worlds will be battling it out for the European Masters title including... [Read more]
F2 Race 380 Review
March 19, 2008 · 11 Comments
In the last few years the windsurfing industry seems to have come back to the joy of longboard windsurfing. There is a whole crop of new longboards including two new Raceboards. The Exocet Warp X and the soon to be available Starboard Phantom 380. The decision to design and market these boards seems to come from a clear recognition that while the experiment with hybrid boards was interesting, and perhaps essential for the industry, that they are not all that they were made out to be. F2 Race 380, Exocet Warp-X 380 behind The arrival of the Warp... [Read more]
Starboard Phantom 380 update
December 18, 2007 · 1 Comment
After all the initial excitement it has been a while since we heard anything from the Starboard crew about the proposed Phantom 380 Raceboard. With the prototype of the board having such a successfull outing at the Raceboard world championships earlier in 2007 everyone in Australia was hoping that the board would be ready for our season 07/08. Several people placed orders but were later told by the supplier that the board would be delayed a while as some design refinements were made. Starboard Phantom 380. Photo by Juha Blinnikka of Hyvinkään... [Read more]
Loft Sails ‘Blade CR 9.5′ Review
December 17, 2007 · 2 Comments
Most of us are interested in new gear that may be suitable for longboards, especially when this gear is hard to find. When I heard that Loft sails were producing a Raceboard sail in their 2008 line up I was keen to see what it was like. However, I need to go back a few months to when this story started… Blade CR 9.5 Midway through the southern hemisphere winter 07, I suggested via email, to Monty Spindler from Loft sails, that he should produce a raceboard sail in his line up of sails for 2008. I pointed out, that with the resurgence of racing... [Read more]
Australian Raceboard Championships
December 15, 2007 · Leave a Comment
The startline The recent Australian Raceboard National Championships 07/08, at Sanctuary Point NSW, delivered two spectacular days of sailing with a mix of light and high winds that tested the endurance and skill of the fleet. As event organiser it was pleasing to see a fleet of approximately 40 sailors battling it out. As a sailor in the fleet it was awesome fun to sail on this great patch of water amongst this skilled fleet. On Saturday morning the forecast for the day was not looking spectacular with light easterlies predicted. As event... [Read more]
The Word from the Worlds
November 3, 2007 · 1 Comment
Photo curtesy - www.mundial-potrerillos.com.arThe worlds showed a close contest between the Equipe, Starboard Phantom Race and Exocet Warp X 380. It’s a good situation for the class, because we now have new boards that are highly competitive but don’t outclass the old boards. Martin Berardo, ARG 5, missed out on second place because of a crash in Race 1, but still finished 5th overall. He was sailing an old Mistral Equipe, with a 48cm fin; he feels that if he could have found a 51cm fin it may have been even faster. After many days’ training... [Read more]
Railing a raceboard
October 10, 2007 · 2 Comments
I am a self confessed windsurfing tragic who has a passion for all areas of windsurfing particularly longboard . However, at the top of my list of preferred longboards are raceboards both old and new. While I appreciate the Windsurfer One Design for its robustness and simplicity and I love my Lechner. There is nothing like a – they have the best all round performance, love a breeze and will also shine in light winds. But for me, it’s nothing quite as practical as this. It is the sheer joy, verging on spirituality of sailing your raceboard... [Read more]
2007 Raceboard Worlds Commentary
October 9, 2007 · Leave a Comment
Photo from http://www.mundial-potrerillos.com.ar/ingles/Longboard Windsurfing (LBWS), has been following the just completed Raceboard Worlds which were held in Mendoza, Argentina. While not attending the event, we followed it on the event web site and thought we should make some comments here on LBWS. Congratulations to the winners, Mariano Reuteman and Patricia Castro, as well as to the event organisers who seemed to put on a great event. The venue appeared to be a fantastic place to sail with beautiful water and consistent moderate to fresh... [Read more]
The Olympic circus
September 21, 2007 · 4 Comments
The move to dump the Mistral One Design from the Olympic games can be seen as a straight hatchet job on longboards. Many of the sailors, coaches and countries in the sport were happy with the MOD. The push came from others within the industry and sport, and from ISAF head Paul Henderson. He hadn’t seen many MODs being sailed just for fun, and he had a major issue with pumping (and Mistral as a company, according to some). He demanded a new “state of the art” board that fulfilled criteria like representing “current windsurfing” and which... [Read more]