Last time I windsurfed seriously it was 1995 - some time ago. I could water start and carve gybe with moderate success. Back then I has a F2 Sunset Slalom 105 litre and a Strapper slalom 120 litre with a collection of sales from 5.5 - 7.5. (Truth be know I liked the Sunset better but it had to be reasonably windy 20 + before I enjoyed it on the 5.5)
These days I am 90 odd kilos ( alittle heavier) and am looking to get back into it. I live on the Sunshine Coast and my plan is to sail more Lake Cootharaba and I need some honest imput on gear.
I have been looking at the Fanatic Eagle as a possible board choice 126 litre but sails are way different these days. The Ezzy Infinity looks pretty good and I was thinking of starting with a 7.5 metre possibly even a Neil Pryde 7.7 metre Hellcat.
Any advice on this or possibly other gear choices?
Ezzys are good strong durable sails, NP have a bad durability record, only go for a Hellcat when your back to being a good sailor otherwise you might hole it
Just remember with sail, you gotta match the right bend characteristic and IMCS mast to them, the NP masts cost alot, but ezzy ones are cheaper and durable and can mix-and-match tops and bottoms
No I don't have any Ezzy sails, but heard all this.
Fanatic Eagles look like a good flat water board
But don't listen to me, your probably a better windsurfer then me anyway (1 year so far, 80% time inland without boards)
What sorta wind will you sail in?
What style do you do? Freeride, freestyle tricks, speed racer, etc?
Wind - I'll sail anything, windier the better but I'll assume 10 - 20 knots as average.
What style, I used to think of myself as a speed kind of guy but I would say a combination of speed,freeride and fun. More a flatwater/ lake person.
The 120L hawk may be a better bet if you like a bit of speed, and it's still quite maneuverable. The 7.7 Hellcat would be a great match, it's a fast stable sail without the locked in feel of cams. With 10-20 knots the 7.7 Hellcat will just about cover that range with some tuning.
The NP sails are a lot more durable these days. I'd say if you want performance go hellcat and Ezzy for all round and durability. But do buy the right mast for the sail you choose. The NP sails a more mast specific, so if you go down that path you will be committed to Pryde gear.
Gday Vonnikki
My best advice is keep it simple, having been sailing for 20 plus years, simple seems to work.
I am about the same size as you
My Kit if I had to have just one board
105-110ltr free ride board very orientated
Sail 7.5 /6.4 / 5.3
(This will normally mean 2 masts.... I did sail on the Sunny coast for 10yrs on a 7.0 / 6.3 and 5.2 all rigged on a 430 mast... 7.0 was..ummm less than perfect, but worked for good free rides)
Cheers
Climber
PS check your messages
Hi,
Neil Pryde are good sails. If you are interested in going fast then things haven't changed much since 1995, the fastest sailors use Neil Pryde. Back then it was Anders Brindal and Bjorn Dunkerbeck. Nowdays its Antoine Albeau kicking everyones arse.
Not sure about the Fanatic boards but I'm sure they are good. Any brand is going to be good today. I personally use Tabou boards and really like them.
Of course all this depends on your budget.
I got back into windsurfing last year and am really glad to do so. Have a great time. Consider getting a GPS and joining a team in the GPS Challenge.
Been many posts of people getting back into windsurfing with varying degrees of past skill. I suggest do a search in these forums for just that. Ton of great advice from people.
Being a big guys of 95kg and quite strong I have broken a lot of gear in the last 2 years since getting back into it. Like someone else said Neil Pryde isn't the best for strength and it can be quite expensive. I have heard nothing but good reports about Ezzy sails. Good price, mostly x-ply construct which is usually only reserved for wave sails. Not sure if you've had past experience with cambers that are in the Infinity it has a whole different feel to the sail but definately more grunt. If you are going to mix it up and sometimes get into the waves and flat water then maybe go a Ezzy Freeride sail (camless). That's what I'm going to get to replace my NP V8 8.5.
Don't cut corners on strength, it will pay off being a bigger guy.
Good luck with everything.
Time to wheel out the Loft fan club again!
Another brand to consider is Loft sails. Great balance of price, performance and durability. I love my O2 7.4 and 5.9. They're not terribly mast specific and amazingly tunable for the conditions. The 7.4 can get me going from 12 knots and I can hold down the 5.9 up to about 30 knots. I'm 80kg, so you might want to add 0.5 - 1m or so...
Available from:
www.windsurfingsales.com.au/
have a look at this.
www.shq.com.au/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=26&Itemid=57
Try as much demo gear as you can,this will give you a good gauge on what will work for "you"
