EL-11 Windsurfing

Monday, April 14, 2014

Spring is here and my kids are windsurfing!

Whew, it's been a long winter but spring is finally here. I consider it spring when the ice is off the lake, and this weekend Lake Winnebago finally thawed. I can't wait to get out there for my first session. I've heard from some guys in Illinois and other Midwest areas that have hit the water already.

Liquid Water finally returned

Fortunately, I was able to get a trip west to the San Francisco area at the end of March and was able to get a bit of windsurfing in while I was there. My brother lives near Rio Vista - one of my favorite sailing locations ever - and supplied enough gear for the whole family. Check out the videos of our fun weekend trip to Sherman Island in Rio Vista, CA. The kids were having a blast on their rig while Andrew and I took turns sailing too.

My 6 year old daughter!

My 8 year old son!

A whole lot of fun!

Saturday, December 28, 2013

Winter Kiting

After watching kiters for quite a while, I am finally giving it a try. My brother in law, Zinger, has really wanted to try kiting so we decided to take a lesson this week. Kevin Gratton at Windpower Windsurfing & Kiting Center did a great job with us today, and Zinger really took to it. I only worked on kite handling but next time I will get on a board as well. Here are some videos and pictures of our first time out. I'm really impressed by how quick Zinger picked up the sport. We're both excited for the next session!

Zinger on a 12M Naish Ride. This kite worked great for us today!

Google+ Photo Album:

Winter Kiting 27Dec2013

YouTube Playlist:

Monday, November 11, 2013

Robbie Naish and Mowind

Look at this crew...

Almost 20 years ago exactly. This picture was taken at the 1993
Tudor/Mistral Tour Championships in Islamorada, Florida. It was a week
or two before Thanksgiving that year. Several Mowinder's took home
trophies and posed with Robbie Naish, who made a guest appearance for
Mistral.

Front Row: Steve Vande Corput, Mike Derr (he won the snowboard in a raffle), ROBBIE NAISH
Middle Row: Maika O'Rourke (spelling? She is George Konopka's daughter), Melissa Spoerke
Back Row: Arden Anderson, Wayne Anderson, Jim O'Rourke, Kevin Gratton, Dennis Lang

Wednesday, November 6, 2013

Modified Mistral Energy

I read a cool post on James Douglass's blog yesterday, and it reminded me of a board modification I did a few years ago. I cut off the nose of a 1991 Mistral Energy CHS and added cutouts to the tail. I did this to make it a better board for gps speed sailing. Check out the YouTube video I made from the pictures I took throughout the project.

In the end the modified Energy was faster, mostly because the high end control was improved. The stock Energy usually started to feel very "nailed down" and unable to deal with chop once speed got over ~30 mph (using arm mounted gps). Top speed I ever reached on gps (with the stock energy) was 33 or 34 mph in very flat conditions at Bird Island Basin.

After modification the board felt much looser even at 30+ mph and I regularly recorded speeds of 34 or 35 mph in choppy local conditions on Lake Winnebago. I think the cutouts reduce the amount of lift generated way back on the board and lets the board ride a little higher angle in the water. It is also more sensitive to slight rider input to get through chop.

The reduction in waterline on the rail reduced the upwind ability, but the board still can get upwind ok as long as it's lit enough to stay on the fin. But definitely worse upwind if only lightly powered.

Overall, the mods did what I hoped - added high wind control and top end speed. It was a fun project and I would encourage anyone with some old gear in their garage to try a similar modification.

Check out these links for another project I did - adding double chicken straps to my Formula HWR:
LINK 1
LINK 2

Monday, October 28, 2013

Enigma Slalom Boom

I just received a Severne Enigma Slalom boom as well. 180-226. It has a slender grip area and large diameter tubes by the extension area. Wide tail piece like the Enigma Formula as well. 8" wide for each of them.

In the pictures I have the new Enigma slalom boom laying on top of the Blue Severne Line boom I had been using the last few years. I like the camo color scheme. Can't wait to try it out!

Enigma Formula Boom

I just received my Severne Enigma Formula boom. It has a nice slender v-grip in the working area and big tubes back by the extensions. The front end and tailpiece look very nice too. The tail piece is 8" wide. Check out my post on the Slalom boom for more pictures of the tail piece.