Waiting For Joel
July 16, 2008
Lessons from surfing.
It looks like we’ve made it. Rumours of the longboard windsurfer’s death were much exaggerated. We know the longboard works, and we’re out there making converts. Manufacturers like Kona are pushing the concept. The Kona One, they say, is the world’s top-selling board. We may not be the biggest part of the windsurfing scene yet, but we’re not going away.
In a sense, it’s déjà vu. About two decades ago, longboard surfing was in the same position. There was a low groundswell of support, and the old walruses
Ensuring supply of longboards
June 15, 2008
The past 24 months has seen a number of new longboard windsurfers arrive on the scene. While, there are clearly some design improvements when compared to the longboards of old, in reality it is a clear recognition from the industry that they should have never stopped making long boards in the first place. Included in the new crop of boards are varieties of raceboards, the Kona family of boards and a range of SUP’s to mention a few. One thing that all of these boards have in common is that they are all longer than your average slalom board and generally speaking all come out of the Cobra Factory in Thailand.
Light Wind Delight
February 5, 2008
One of the great things about longboard windsurfing that seems so bloody obvious but still often debated is the ability for it to produce great sailing in fresh breezes all the way through to light winds. I continually read and hear from some parts of the windsurfing community that there is no point even rigging up if the wind is light and you cannot get the board on the plane. In a recent forum post on this topic I recall reading “The bottom line is light wind windsurfing is incredibly boring”. While I am the first to admit that there is nothing quite like going quick on my raceboard I also like a bit of tactical light wind racing.
Crowded start
A growing sport, the longboard illusion?
January 4, 2008
Are wave oriented longboards the future of the sport of windsurfing? Or is the future something else? The windsurfing industry seems to be putting lots of weight behind wave-oriented longboards. Will it pay off?
If you open your atlas and check out where people live, where they have realistic opportunities to go for an “after the work sail”, then it becomes painfully obvious that places with a high people density typically have no waves. I have personally lived in Mariehamn (Maarianhamina, Finland), Espoo (Finland), Dallas (Texas) and the Bay Area (California). In none of these places there has been any opportunity for wave sailing nearby. The Bay Area does have waves reasonably close, but it is quite a drive (1 1/2 hour plus) for the majority of the inhabitants in the area.
'The Longrider' Photo courtesy - Robert Oricci Designs (RRD)
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