de Lionel » 11/03/2004 21:10
3/11/2004 1:59:53 PM
Hi guys, as they said on top i enjoy a lot writting on the forums.
Many topics i want to
write but for sure i will get lost. I will try to read on top and see on what i can help.
According to the
results...if it is the indian and not the arrow...??? Hard to decide. The top positions are really hard to dispute, i think
that there are at least 15 guys able to win events or world championships according to skills of racing.
Of these 15 guys
not all of them have the knowledge to make the equipment go faster than normal. Lets cut this group to 10 guys. Of this 10
guys there are at least 5 that have certain advantages as getting custom masts, fins, and even sails (as Kevin and Phill
normaly). This gives this good racers group of 5 guys and extra speed comparing to the other guys. So we make the top 3
positions really hard to get by non top companies guys. Guys as Arnon Dagan, lots of polish guys, Andrea Cuchi and others
have been for ages but why they don't get to the top of the podium...?? they aren't the top riders so they won't get the
best stuff at the moment of the truth. Thats probably why we have seen all the big PROS rotating wining events and we almost
never see a new guy wining. So thats the generall idea how it works with the gear. Its quite unfair but nowadays its better
than the old days of PWA so we can not complain.
According to gear and tuning...as they said maybe a setup that a pro
use might not work to you...why? because he might be 20 kg more than you, trains 5 days week and bla, they are pros!!! so the
style of sailing of these guys is totally different to a normal racer.
The new equipment looks really good on all the
brands. Steve and me used on all the races the 10.7 RS4. The fanatic and the F2 are boards that have a lot of power and gives
you the ability of puting a small faster sail as you dont need more than that. Steve and me are really fast sailors to start
planing and we have a light stance.
I was using a R12 66 M on all the races and we can say that the wind was pretty light
too. This was my best setup at the moment and it was all set to my style, my board, my sail and most important my personal
style of sailing.
When you decide to take equipment of a pro you need to realise that is all tune as a group so if you
have different board or sail or style or weight you will probably need different stuff. Andrea for example used the 12.5 on
most of the races with a really powerfull fin. he normally uses big sails but the main difference with me is that his board
hasn't got the power and lift so he needs to get this with his sail and fin.
I would say that the gaastras were
looking good on this conditions, but still Phil and Kevin were on customs. Ross anyways had a production and beat them so
they look good. this sails probably worked good here as you get a lot of back hand presure and this helps on flat water to
make the board lift and get angle.
The Prydes got the top results so i would say were better...this sails are super
stable when you are sailing. If you wan t more power you just can go big on sizes or release the outhaul a lot that it wont
affect the stability. Downwind they seemed to have an advantage against the other brands. The only thing that you might take
into acount is that when you are gonna start planning or accelarating off the start you need a couple of more seconds to
start planning. But as soon as you go you have a good aceleration.
The windwings looke ok and they are working really
hard so they will get some good resultys this year again.
Concerning to the Norths...the are like a mix, the double
sleeve is not so big but according to Micahs result i would say that he didn't have the board before the event and when he
got it there was a storm on mauii and he couldnt really get used to it. so i dont know about them as Seth was getting pretty
good results.
I must leave now but i will come back with the fins and boards later.
Gonzalo ARG3 (
)
FRA 5611