jeff feehan wrote:


well, being "not much (if any) faster" than a keelboat or skiff around
a windward leeward is considered pretty great by most windsurfers
familiar with the problems involved.

Sure. Faster = better
But you still can't pop a beer while windsurfing, or bring a friend.

BTW I have not had a chance to benchmark the speed of these kitesurfers against
any of the boats I sail. From watching them, they seem to prefer reaching back &
forth.


it was only a few years ago - like
maybe 4, that even that would have been imposssible. as you say, windsurfers
are fast on a reach, but they have always been. their good windward/leeward
speed is a relatively new phenomenon, it represents a dramatic performance
increase over trhe last few years.

Well, monohull performance has increased in the past few years too. There are
more controllable rigs, screechers, square tops, improved foil designs, etc etc.
But it seems to me that improvements in windsurfers are more widely distributed
faster than in small fast monohulls. Especially one-design classes, most of which
are actually rather backwards-looking and Luddite.

Fresh Breezes- Doug King