News and Formula Windsurf Stuff for Sale

I'm in a rush to prepare for a science-related trip to Boston (leaving tomorrow) so I'm going to see how efficient and terse I can be in composing this watersports-related blog entry. I'm giving myself 20 minutes. Ok:

News item #1- I got a new toy from Maui Malones. It's an Exocet Warp Slalom 71, an all-black, carbon fiber, slalom windsurfing board. (For going fast and racing.) Sunday afternoon I rode it with a 6.8 sail in 10-13 knots. In that wind strength I had to pump the sail and fish for gusts to get planing, but once planing, wow! It was like the board had afterburners and could go upwind and plane through lulls like magic. I'm sniffing around for a nice 7.5 - 8.5 sail to complement it better.

News item #2- To avoid toy and time overload, I'm selling my formula windsurfing stuff. Here's the info on it if anyone is interested

2004 Exocet Turbo Formula II. Well used but no leaks or major repairs, 5 straps- $200
Select DC 70 cm fin with screws and washers- $50
520 cm NP 100% Carbon Mast- $100
9.8 Aerotech VMG 2005, fuschia and yellow, durable grid construction, rigs fine on the mast.- $150

There's videos of the gear in action here and here.

$460 for everything if you pick it up in Fort Pierce.

News Item #3- Since the wind was from the Northeast last weekend the Fort Pierce crew launched their kites and windsurfers in the lee of the South Jetty. Here are my most poignant jetty weekend memories:

*The illusion of flying over the underwater terrain because the water was so clear.
*Steering around sea turtles.
*Steering around schools of jacks.
*Steering around bold yellow clumps of Sargassum seaweed.
*Steering around a manatee orgy.
*Chasing a flying fish on a way-out-there windsurfing run.
*Three rednecks wading through the swimming area with full spearfishing gear.
*One redneck returning early and vomiting copiously into the sand. He buried it.
*My roommate Antonio and buddy Marc advancing their respective levels of kiteboarding.
*A fat guy with tattoos and a ponytail hitting on Antonio's Brazilian intern.
*A very stoned teenager stumbling around trying to bum a ride to Port Saint Lucie.

Another thing wasn't so much a memory as a set of observations confirming my theories about what it takes to kiteboard in light winds. It takes a big board, a big bow kite, gentle kite trim, and only moderate edging with the board. Some good kiters had big enough kites but tiny boards that wouldn't allow them to stay upwind. In windsurfing it's obvious that you need a big board to use a big sail. A similar principle seems to apply in kiting, but a lot of kiters just don't seem to get it. They lose in the light wind stuff because they never go bigger than their narrow little 125 - 150 cm boards. Some other kiters were sheeting and sine-ing their kites too aggresively, generating power but getting dragged downwind or stalling their kites on the upstroke. In light winds I think it's better to ease out on the sheeting and let the kite "suck" you upwind, which of course is easier to do if you have a bigger board with more glide and float. The sheeting out a bit to go upwind technique works best when you keep your board speed up and the kite flying efficiently by not edging harder than necessary to maintain line tension. Finally, I noted that big "C" shaped kites are lousy, since they have more drag and less power for their weight and they require more wind to do everything.

Ok, that was more like an hour. I'll see if I can be "terser" in my composition next time. Back to work...