I think you'll find sailboards can't keep up on a proper course, they
are damn fast on a reach and not in any other direction.


brian wrote:
Andy,
there's this race in San Francisco, USA. It's between two bridges,
dead downwind. Anything powered by wind can enter. Kite boarders,
18ft skiffs, windsurfers. 2002 Kite boarder won, followed by a
windsurfer 2nd, followed by an 18ft skiff. 2003 Windsurfer won,
followed by an 18ft skiff.

I saw part of this race, and it looked to me like the windsurfer was going
much faster in spurts but the skiff was keeping up. The final result was
that the 'board won by about 30 seconds.

In general I think Andy's remark is accurate, windsurfers are very very
fast reching, but they are not much (if any) faster around a regular race
course... especially windward/leeward...




The skiffs do ok upwind but are still behind the windsurfer at the
upwind mark.
I proved that to myself today. There was some racing today on
Biscyane Bay.
420s, 29ers. I let the 29ers clear there start line. I sailed after
them on my windsurfer. Upwind downwind course proper. When I rounded
the upwind mark ahead of them, I waited till they rounded and passed
me, then I started for the downwind, past them all and was first to
the downwind.

Sorry, a 29er is hardly in the same league with the 18-footer skiffs.
Shucks, a lowly Johnson 18 will beat a 29er all day every day, and it
doesn't even have a trap.

I've beaten windsurfers around triangular courses in a Laser 2 and in a
470, and while I never raced one formally in the Johnson 18 we often pass
them when doing casual sprints.



AC boats would win the upwind in less then 10 knots. 10knots the
windsurfer would be waiting at the mark for the AC boat.

It's possible, depending on the conditions and the board & the boardsailor.
Wouldn't a chop slow down the windurfer, too?

In any event, remarks like mine are not going to go over well on the
windsurfer group where people say things like "a Lechner (ie very old heavy
windsurfer) will smoke any regular sailboat" which is laughable.

Fresh Breezes- Doug King