As the size sail and board a rider can use is largely dictated by weight (I acknowledge that technique is very important too), why are windsurfing races such as the LOC divided into age divisions rather than weight divisions?
Weight divisions within each age group would require reshuffling of the prize pool but would make the event more even....
If you allow different sail sizes that negates the weight difference.
If you made all sailors use the same sail soze then you could create weight divisions.
You cannot effectively do both.
Hmmmmm... yes and no.
Big heavy guys with weight jackets are faster because they can hold a bigger sail ...... once you are planing the weight difference is different (if that makes sense)
Hmmm how to explain it - light weight is more important at slower barely planing speeds?
EG: I am 100kg ish. When wavesailing I use a bigger sail than everyone else.... sometimes.
If they are on 5.7 I'm on 6.2, If they are all on 5.3 I will go 5.7 ish.
BUT by the time most ppl are on 4.7 I am also on 4.7. That is because by then it is so windy it doesn't matter. When they're all on 4.2, I am also.
So really you are both right - depends on conditions
jaybee and aus4 are completely on the money.
it's not just sail though, usually where divisions occur there is board retrictions also. in classes where there is no limit on gear then the it is far more fair.
a heavyweight in light winds is massively dissadvantaged, so they need to use a wider board or bigger sail to stay on the plane. you don't need to just plane in a straight line you also need to plane through gybes. if your not planing then your gone.
weight divisions even things out in racing with strict equipment rules. where for eg sail size is limited to 8.5m or board width is limited to 70cm as a very simplistic example.
being light you need more skill to keep up with the fat guys. think about this nest time you see a bloke in the 75kg range really putting the hammer down next to a big oaf 
On flat water, especially on a square course, heavier is definitely faster, but in the ocean, as in The LOC, it's 99% skill.
Of couse you have to choose the right gear though...
that may be true,
but limit everyone to a max sail size and skill won't play any part in it as in light winds the light guys will win and in heavy winds the heavy guys will win.
loc has an open gear allowance so as the nsw guys above have said doesn't need weight divisions.
aus1111........On flat water, especially on a square course, heavier is definitely faster, but in the ocean, as in The LOC, it's 99% skill.
i agree, on flat water advantage for heavier sailors over lighter sailors is greater than when sailing on choppy/swelly water, where skill becomes an increasing factor.
however in this sport, once powered up the heavier guy with similiar technique will win hands down as topend speed is far greater.
a 55kg sailor has next to no chance against a 65kg sailor for topend speed.
the same when a 65kg sailor races a 80kg sailor.
however a 80kg sailor can get close to 100kg sailor for topspeed, why i don't know.
to say, it's 99% skill[in ocean sailing], sorry 15 to 20% skill, the rest weight + strength.
if it was a high percentage skill then where are the winners 75kg and under of any slalom/marathon event.
a few smaller/additional prizes for winning one's weight division could be offered at LOC.
can't see it happening however.
With the same sail area light weight sailors are advantaged - until it gets "really" overpowered, then the advantage is the heavy sailor.
With unlimited sail area the light wind bias is reduced, bigger sailors can use bigger sails for increased power in the light wind, and small sailors can use smaller sails when it is windy.
Even with formula sails (10, 11 and 12m sails) for any given sail area the light weight sailor has advantage until it gets really overpowered and then they change down a size while the heavy sailor has to persist with the bigger rig.
As a sailor with a power advantage myself I find...
In the light winds I use my 12m sail and still do not plane as early as lightweights with 10.7. Once planing things equalise.
When it is windy I use my 10.7 and sail the same straight line speed as the lightweights on 9.8m sail.
Being able to use a bigger sail is a blessing and a curse. Yes it gives you more power, but also has increased drag, and may well be at the limit of its performance range and hence really uncomfortable.
Last week I did some speed runs and found that my 10.7m sail was faster then my 12m sail (by about 10%).
There is no perfect handicap system, check out yachts and dinghies. They have struggled for a lot longer then we have with handicaps.
There is only one place where weight is good - and that is in a Steamroller.
JB
Ditto to jaybee's comment
speed runs, comparitive testing, power advantages - jb those trophy harness lines Sean is putting up for us silver fleeters are looking like they have got your name on them
Different body dimensions will alwys dictate what sport one excels at .eg tall people and basketball, fat people and sumo wrestling, short people and horse racing.........
Looking at the top 20 in this year's LOC, I don't see any bias towards big sailors whatsoever.
I reckon there would be only 4 who are over 90 kg (Patrik, Bjorn, Dan & James), and there are a lot more under 80, and several under 75, including Karin
Where is my division "Male from Eastern states, under 75kg, over 70kg - must have driven the Nullabor within the last 4 weeks"....
When does it stop...?
Another way you could do it; say all the sailors use 8m sails and same boards,the heaviest sailors weighs 90kg and the lightest 75kg.
All the lighter sailors(under 90kg) must carry weight to weigh in at 90kg,then the field will be even in a way...i think
weight divisions would be unfair becuase AUS1111 would be the only one in mosquito weight and he would win all the trophies! (becuase of his skill) :)
What about a formula incorporating size and weight of sailor in relation to board and sail dimensions therefore working out a complicated handicap rated system similar to the Sydney to Hobart yacht race ??????...........(yes I'm kidding)[}:)]
you don't need divisions in formula, just give the trophy to Steve Allen and go to the pub. [}:)]
NotWal,
Optimisation of inertial mass factors based on hyperbolic frequential fourier transformations is obviously not your bag.
ou forgot to raise the advice quotient by the power of the length of ass crack.
H (kg) = cube root Wt (kg) x Ht (cm) x (A^LCrack) L (cm) / 1 - sq root v1 -v2 / c^2
There, I have fixed it for you.
Bloody amateur!!!!
good stuff.....made me laugh.... there was a light weight division (under 75kg) but it has been replaced with FE+ in Australia.
Steve Allen was 81kgs when he won the worlds for the 3rd time this year, in what I would consider to be a medium to heavy winds comp. Clearly he is an exceptional racer, but certainly not a heavy weight.
I'd say that wraps up this thread.
