the voodoo chop test

Yesterdays session was one of those rare winter delights where wind, water, sun and moon all combined for a long overdue mid winter session. As I rigged my 10.0 and ML10, I saw the wind was already up to the upper teens and building + the flood was coming in strong.

Anybody who's ever sailed in the San Francisco Bay knows about the converging currents. Sometimes the transition from the incoming ebb and outgoing flood is subtle. Other times, its a washing machine of furious boiling water- otherwise known as voodoo chop.

This session would be all about how the new board handled in big voodoo chop.
I had a few worries as the board is much bigger this year compared to any earlier ML formula board. The ML10 measures 85 cm wide 1' foot off the tail.
I lined up to go through the incoming flood tide- a vicious wall of water with square chop 2-3' high. Both upwind and downwind, the ML10 performed really well- spinning out just once.
The chicken and double strap are lifesavers for taking the pressure off the fin while still driving the board deep downwind.
Upwind, if you can keep everything locked down and the board driving and just flies right over the chop.
I never felt too overpowered with the 67 kashy fin and base set at 45" with the gust @22-25k
I did move the booms down later in the session for a bit more control- which helped in the bigger stuff.
Overall- very comfortable ride- even in the roughest of conditions the SF Bay had to offer.


Meanwhile up at Fort Point, at the mouth of the Bay, the sets were firing with the big swell that's been rolling in all winter.
Thanks to the horse's mouth for the surfing photo of the day

2010 equipment review...first glance

Hard to read much from this regatta given the circumstances but...
The JP/ML10 looks to need a bit of fine tuning to get up to speed. I was on the L8 for the race and seemed to have a slight edge on Ron on his new JP. Off the wind he was deeper. Micah had an (obvious) edge on both of us and at most times was pushing BRA999 and BRA3333 in front.
Fernando was on the on the north proto on day 3 going much faster than the 09 norths.
Both he and BRA3333 made the PD board look easy in the light stuff.
Paulo's 2010 north warps looked very powerful and lighter with one less batten in the formula sails this year and finally a roller cam for the bottom batten!
Micah's NP proto was a cross between the evo2 & gaastra instant clew- very clean trailing edge!
I sailed the NP 10.7 evo 2 on Day 1 when the breeze was up to the low-mid 20's with great results. Lots of range, easy to handle, great acceleration and speed. As the wind died in race 2 to under 12k, the 10.7 lacked the power of the 12.3 which I used for the remaining races- all under 14k
Most of the fleet are still using kashy and ifju fins with the wider cut down fins (75cm+) working best in the light breeze.
The new NP boom looks well refined with a full carbon head and wide tail.
2 guys on the *BD HWR stating much improvements from prev. editions and looked faster in the light breeze.

Update: Here's a video of the JP Formula Board in action:

JP Formula 100 Pro from Sebastian Kornum on Vimeo.

The ML10 has the same recessed deck at the mast foot and looks to be 1-1/2 kg lighter despite Mike Z using more glass in is boards vs the full carbon construction of the JP board.
The recessed deck looks to be great for pulling the board around with your front foot at a tack- as shown in the video above.
The double chicken strap should make going downwind in any breeze relatively easy to unload the fin.
I think the biggest variable will be with finding the right mast tract position in relation to your sail and fin size.

Jesper Vesterstrøm (DEN-111) has also put up a review of new starboard boards at carbonsugar.com
Keep an eye on the upcoming Oceanics and Midwinters for more info how the 2010 boards perform.

Caviliga Regatta Day 3

Things didn't look too promising on day 3 with the forecast for getting another race in and drop for the series but somehow a few sailors managed to make it around the course with out an abandonment flag by the RC.
Conditions were sketch at best with an offshore shifty and variable breeze. Just like Saturday we were overlapped with several other fleets running a course in the same waters on the Biscayne Bay. With the windward mark set close to shore, it was anybody's guess on how to best get there. The top boards planned off the line leaving the rest of the fleet parked.
Both left and right corners failed miserably and patience was the name of the game to get upwind with such wide upwind reaching angles. BRA3333 set the pace on his custom north 12.0 and new PD formula board with some blazing speed and angle keeping a commanding lead the entire race with local Fernando Martinez on north and PD board keeping pace just behind.
By the time I rounded the top mark I was deep and took off in the opposite corner as the fleet ahead and by the bottom mark was rounding comfortably in 3rd as the right side sat parked.
The lesson is never give up.
Soon enough on the 2nd upwind Micah was back and tacked in front of me at what was the port layline.
As another puff approached we split tacks and I headed even deep to the left corner, overstanding the top mark by miles and coming back to round planing as the USA34, BRA999 and K all sat parked on the right side.
I held on to 3rd but with Fernando finishing in 2nd he got the last laugh to get me by 1 point in the overall. Schurman and Micah both got their drops with the fifth and final race and closed out the top 3.Best performance goes toBRA3333 Paulo Des Reis with 3 bullets never out of the top 2.
Impressive. The new Norths looks like they've got lots of power again.
Also it was great to see a Micah back in the fleet with the new JP board and some innovative sail changes from NP.

As always, a huge thanks to the Shake A Leg Sailing Center in Miami and the Alex Caviliga Blue Water Foundation for a great regatta. It was great to see the other classes actively represented as well with a strong junior 293 , kona and rsx fleets.
Results can be found here

Caviliga regatta day 2

With a fast approaching storm this morning, the 3 fleets rushed to get
a race underway but unfortunatlly the squall caused some huge chaos
and the fleets were sent back to shore. Once everything passed, race 3
got underway with the rsx and kona/techno 293 fleets starting and
finally another race for the formula fleet. I had the chance to port
tack the fleet but didn't quite pull the trigger in time and ducked
the first 3 guys at the pin. Off to the right side I banged the corner
and was looking good until I sat parked in a lull as the left side
crossed ahead. From there it was catch up trying to gain as much
tactical advantage over the next 3 legs picking off 1 board at a time
to finish a strong 3 just catching Fernando at the last gybe in front
of the finish. Schurman was OCS with Micah and Paulao taking a
commanding lead.
.

Thanks to MiamiWindsurfing for the photos
By the time race 4 started the breeze was down to 10-12k and I was
looking for all the power my 12.3 had and 72xxs kashy would give me.
Booms high, outhaul bagged and harness lines long. I even tried my
mast track back to 42" from the front fin screw.
Again a port start with the whole fleet charging the line except for
Micah coming down fast on starboard. I gor off the line well and off
to the right corner with speed but backing down 2x to clear the weeds
on my fin In the light stuff it's important to remember that your
laylines are further than normal. I tacked and came up short having
to tack another 4x to round the top mark. At that time the top 3 were
gone and I struggled to catch the 4 boards who rounded just in front
of me to salvage a 6th, pumping hard all the way to the finish.
So with only 4 races complete I find myself in 3rd as we need 5 races
for a throwout. Both Micah and Schurman are sitting deep both carrying
an OCS.
Paulao and Fernando have sailed the most consistant and thus are in
the top 2 spots.
Mondays forecast looks dismal but anything can happen.

Results and photos @ http://www.cavigliafoundation.org

Steve
USA4

Sent from my iPhone

Caviliga regatta day 1

A quick report from day 1 in Miami @ the caviliga regatta.
All the usual characters + some new faces at the first regatta of the
season.
The formula fleet got off to a late start but managed 1 race in the
breeze with Schurman BRA999 taking the bullet just infront of fellow
Brazillian BRA3333 and Buzianis in 3rd. I managed to stay in front if
the rest of the rest of the fleet with the winds building up to the
mid 20s.
A quick break for lunch on the barrier island was all it took for the
breeze to calm down as sailors began to shift gears into light wind
mode. Most of the fleet was still on their 10s and 11s struggeling for
power. I managed to sail pretty fast but in the wrong direction as I
banged the right corner, tacked and game over. Not enough time for a
recovery with just a 2 lap race.
Buzianis got the bullet but was osc.
Finally we tried to start a 3rd race in little to no wind and it was
abandoned as most of the fleet never got planning.
Tommorows forecast looks decent with 15-20k.
Steve
USA4

Sent from my iPhone

Know your winter tides

The northerlies continued all week with more formula and slalom sailing on the SF Bay.
Even some time at fort point catching the outside break but the lee of the south tower on a NE breeze throws a big shadow. Jean got sucked in for a good 5 min before having to paddle out.
The best breeze was in the middle of the bay but the swell and sunshine under the gate were temping. It was this time about 4 years ago I got sucked out the gate on a big ebb tide and rescued by the coast guard. Needless to say, I keep a better eye on the tides. With a northerly or NE breeze, the marin headlands shuts down most of the wind under and outside the bridge.

Fridays afternoon slalom session was lit on the warp 7.3 and 105l slalom board in 12-22k
A bit too much power with the 42 cm fin when it gets above 16-18k but Jean, Andre and I got some amazingly fast runs from anita rock to the presidio shoals & out the slot. See the 2nd 1/2 of Jeans winter sailing video below.Saturday saw the breeze fill in late but I got 2 solid sessions in with the warp 11.0 and ML10.
Im beginning to get a better feel for the sweet spot on the board. Downwind feels the best with the board working really well in the outside, chicken and double chicken straps.
Thanks for Dwells @ Waterhound for the photos
and Jean for the headcam videos.
Also check out the photos of Wells sailing his kona at ft point on sunday.
http://plminteractive.com/jmphoto/proofs/10_01_10_ftpt_wind/
Despite trying the 7.3/slalom combo just wasnt enough to get up there

january training

Wednesday Jan 6 got me back on the water again after 3 weeks of being landlocked!
The sheer sensation of tracking a formula board upwind @ 25k is truly spectacular.
Under the golden gate is even more fantastic.
The ML10 felt more dialed in with the 10m rig as the 15-20k NE gusts filled into the beach @ crissy field. I ran my track @ bit further forward than before with 114cm to the front fin bolt. Downwind it was fantastic. The board tracks well and really goes deep with the chicken and 3/4 chicken. I wish I could say the same about my gybes and tacks.
My hands and feet only lasted about an hour on the water before turning a useless numb.

2 times outside the gate to the red nun before finding a wicked eddy amongst the afternoon flood tide and having to unwind ourselves from the lee of the south tower.
No chance of finding any swell @ft point.
USA13 and I ran a skewed Friday night course A in the NE breeze for some power reaching between Anita and X.
My thigh muscles were pretty useless after that.

Is there more to life than windsurfing?

No I havnt given up windsurfing just yet...just adjusting my schedule a bit to accommodate some new goals. During this off season, I will be concentrating a bit more on my architectural career vs windsurfing. I'm hoping to knock off a few off the ARE exams this winter and over the next 2 winters (and leaving the summers for windsurfing) so that I can become a registered architect.
Yes, there is more to life than windsurfing...something I never thought Id say!

Nonetheless, I was super exited to pick up my new ML10 formula board a few weeks ago at the Lab in northern Californian. Its always a fun trip up to see the maestro Zajicek and his lab in full action.
There are various states of formula boards and slalom boards in mid construction. Blanks of foam perched on the wall, waiting to become a finished product; boards vacuum wrapped to the rocker table halfway to their life and finally sitting their on the main table was the lightest formula board Ive picked up... 7.8 kg of pure craftsmanship.
Honestly Id rather give my $ to no one else knowing the hard work and dedication that goes into building a custom board. Seeing the other repairs he does to production boards, I noticed the inconsistencies, sub par work and materials that go into production boards and ask myself if its really worth it. Sure, it might be cheaper but Ive learned the lesson before...no one wants to blow out a fin box in the middle of a regatta or have their foot go right through the deck of the board. When you buy a ML board, you know its going to be exactly like the one produced before it and exactly like the one produced after it. You cant say that with a production board!
I only managed 2 sessions in very light winds on the new board before leaving for the holidays . It did seem to pop up on a plane sooner than my old 160 and go pretty damn fast but its going to take some adjusting to find the sweet spot in terms of angle and speed.
My goals this season are simple: Improve my upwind angle.
Something Ive been struggling with for several seasons. I gave up quite a few positions at the Worlds and even losing the US Nationals because I couldn't match my competitors angle upwind.
Furthermore, Im going to be putting some different sails into the quiver this year to see how it helps the program. Ill stick with what I know works well- the north 10.0 and will be trying out the NP evo2 10.7. Not much traveling on the agenda this season so Ill leave the 12.0 out of the equation and concentrate on racing in SF.

So if you dont hear much from me over the next few months, its not because I'm not thinking about windsurfing every moment just like you but rather the mechanical, plumbing and electrical codes are currently taking up their spots on the top of my brain.
In the meantime you can follow what sessions I do get at http://twitter.com/usa4

Also, some gear still for sale: north sails 12,3, 11, 10, 9, 8, 6.3, 5.8, north masts 550, 520, HPL booms, F2 105l and 125l slalom boards
Contact me at bodnersp @ gmail.com

Bill Weir- fare thee well

We lost an icon in the sport of windsurfing this week. Bill Weir of San Francisco succumbed to a year long battle with brain cancer. Like everything in life, he gave it everything he had up until the last minute.
We knew Bill as a great waterman. His passion for windsurfing went beyond racing as he was an ambassador for the sport- always bringing new people in with his zeal and enthusiasm for the sport and life. He even went on to document the sport of windsurfing with an amazing film on the beginnings of the sport.
His van and music were icons in the StFYC parking lot for as long as I can remember.

I spent countless sessions with him at Fort Point and on the Friday night course at StFYC but they all seam like a distant memory now. In my first years in SF, he pushed me more than anyone else, owning the Friday night course but always available for a "debreifing" in his van after the racing.
That was his course and we all knew it. When I was finally able to beat him in a Friday nite series, I was so damn happy. I had so much respect for the guy.

He was larger than life and always fist to the mark.

We'll miss you dear friend.

Godspeed on the journey ahead.

A memorial service will be held @ 3:30 pm Monday October 12th @ the Saint Francis Yacht Club (adjacent to Crissy Field). More info @ http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/billweir

There will be a brief service to honor Bill, followed by a reception at the yacht club.

In lieu of flowers donations can be made to the Surf Rider Foundation and Save the Bay
Before the service you are still encouraged to walk along the beach at Crissy Field and enjoy the beautiful place that Bill called his second home.

2010 formula boards...another 2 year cyle

With a September 30st deadline for the 2010 ISAF Formula board registration, we're beginning to get an idea of the boards for next season. Looks like at least 7 or 8 new models to choose from for the upcoming season which really highlights the strength of the class! Healthy competition always brings the best forward.
The development lately over the past few years has really evened out with most of the shapes either leaning toward light wind performance or control as it gets windier.
But can 1 board still do it all?
In 2008, the class rules were changed so that boards needed to be registered at the beginning of a 2 year cycle. Weve just completed the 08/09 season and the new boards for 2010-11 will be class legal to race starting Jan 1. Board manufactures needed to register their boards by Sept 30 or face missing out on the next years.
Picking a board largely depends on where you'll be racing but remember you can always change rigs and fins to accomodate the conditions.
Industry leader, Starboard took the idea of that releasing 2 boards is better than 1, but unlike F2 last year, they are making both available at once: A heavy rider board and a light rider board. Its a bit of slap in the face at the formula rules (which limited new designs to a 2 year cycle) but kudos to them for making the best available to both heavy weight and light weight riders. The difficult decision will be which one to choose!
Early information suggest the LWR is based of the 160 shape that worked so well in the breeze and the HWR is based off the 162.
Gaastra will also have a new board and should be excellent as usual with the developmental input of Ross Williams and Arnon Dagon. Their 2008/9 board was one of the easiest to tune from the beginning and did not seem to be so fin sensitive like the other boards.
There's not much known about the status of the F2 program with their lead designer Patrik Diethelm bailing ship after last years financial insolvency in the F2 group. The word is little change and new graphics for the 2010 board. Look for the continued legacy of light-wind performance form F2 and maybe another Diethelm board from Patricks own label!
The all new 2010 Black Machine by Exocet will really benefit from the input of one of the best testers and forces in the industry- Gonzalo Costal Hovel. He has been living and breathing formula and slalom for the last few years and really knows his stuff. Expect the best!
With ARG-3 graphics on the hull, Im not to sure this will be popular with the Brazilians!

Legendary Bay area shaper, Mike Zajicek has also been busy making not 1 but 2 boards for the upcoming season. His signature line will have a an improved version of the L8 with longer rails and a broader nose and no doubt, almost all of the SF fleet will be one!
One official run downwind in the bridge to bridge race and the thing was flying. Expect a comfortable ride with standard double chicken for the SF voodoo chop. The lightest weight and best constructed formula board on the market!
He's also been commissioned to shape the new JP Formula board. All indications suggest something very similar to the ML10 but maybe a bit bigger in the tail for the likes of Buzianis or Albeau. The "race deck" is a new feature with raised padding under the front footstrap for better control. See more PR here.Finally there's 2 new boards from Carbon Art....780 and 820. They've made some sweet slalom board and even cleaned up at the US Nationals this summer in the Gorge! With a radically different tail and NO CUT OUTS, these 2 designs should be interesting!
Additional info on the Carbon Art boards at their forums


Sean put together a nice collection of photos of the new starboard and exocet boards shown at the Worlds in Santa Pola. Check out the photos at AUS120.com