Yeah in a weeded up coarse that I suggested we go to at South beach - give us a weed free coarse and we will see mate ... shame no sectors turned up on Sunday to "beat the pants off the race boards in WA".
Damo is right though!!! 
The Sector is an amazing race board for getting into the sport & racing for 90% of people - I reckon few would beat a top sector rider ( Damo is super fast on them & more importantly 100% consistant ) around most coarses, and in weed as Damo said the Sector is way faster than big finned raceboard because the weed catches real bad on slalom fins - Used the sector for 2 weeks over Chrissy break and loved it from 10 to 30knots in WA.
But if you like to ride 100% on edge in all directions, upwind, cross and down wind a dedicated race is the biggest, crazy arse, blast you ever had. Go the 100% race board & will you need to set aside 20 plus hours of pain & suffering to even start to master the beast.
Damo you gonna suffer with your New Airrush race board mate -
Yes Jase thanks for confirming..
I have just gotten hold of a demo sector and a few of us are going to be testing the waters against each other. Going to be interesting to see the newbies having a crack on one board then the other.
Have to agree with the guys saying you have to be comfortable and compentent on your gear to acheive good results. It's not just about gear but about how good you are on it. Plus how you set it up as well.
If you read my Sydney race post you'd see I fell off twice down wind in the second race dropping me from first to third.
The two races I won I made the down wind leg clean and clear with much more control.
Going to be interesting to see if I can get the DUck Tacks maaster before next race time.
SO far my time on this board is about maybe 4hrs worth and I can gybe now reasonably consistantly and ride the board really well up wind. Down wind is still a challenge, and Tack's close but really still have a few hrs to spend on them yet..
I'll let you know how a bunch of us go playing with the Sector 60 against the north LTD.
I had a run on the AA, nice board and similar to the North I thought The AA was easier to ride, sat lower in the water and more stable, against the north got up on top of the water was definitely quicker but alot more technique needed to get the potential out of the board.
puetz did a review of a sector 60 v north ltd
www.seabreeze.com.au/forums/Kitesurfing/Review/Sector-60-V2/?SearchTerms=sector,60
Sigh , that link was in response to sorse saying he was going to take some sector out for a blat against a few raceboards and compare . that link was merely some user related feedback on the two .
Did you see me say anywhere that the sector was going to compete 1 on 1 with a race board , and really with the course racing in nsw and here in WA , it's more about getting people into the sport and not arguing about a true race board kicking a sector in any direction .
Ok boys so we had a small spin yesterday in enclosed waters and not a true long test.
I was surprised that the Sector rode like a cross between a twin tip and a surfboard, very easy to ride and get alot of speed out of.
I had two guys who had there very first go on both boards and I am getting more confident on the North..
The sector does go up wind really well specially given the smaller fin size, it is so easy to ride that both first time riders were getting good speed out of it and able to turn it and sometimes tack it due to the smaller fins..
Neither of them actually got the north board up and going upwind at all. As they were struggling to get up on it and stay on it the fins were biting or they were dropping and rail and getting tossed off..
I had dun on both boards yes I got a bit more speed out of the north and a bit higher angle upwind, but goal was to see how the boards rode, Sector comes in at $1199. The new north will be $1799.0 and that is with out fins..
Sector will get you riding fast and in a short time you'll be beating anyone on a twin tip. North board will take alot more hrs of time and energy to sail to reap the benefits of extra pointing and speed.
So will come down to comfort on which board you are faster on and how much time you've spent on it..
I can understand why some guys are beating other guys on race boards.
The Alex I think is somewhere between these two.
Also the North is the current 2011/2012 board. There is a new and improved version coming out in March, so be interesting to see what the differences are.
I have seen one pic and it has double rear straps like a windsurfing board rather then the single one it currently has..
I can also state that if there is weed big fins stop dead..
Hope this helps, if someone wants me to play on any other gear I'll happily take it for a spin and rate it :)
I would love to see a comparison between the 2010 Underground and the sector... Next saturday steal it from me for a while
Love racing, love my sector. I think its a great board to get into racing, price and performance wise. If you really get into racing and can justify a pro level board, after a season on the sector you will have the skills to make the most of a full on race board. Then, when its time to sell you can still get a good price for the sector on the SH market because of its crossover appeal.
for those that are interested below is our race program in PNG this year. we will have 3 one designs in the fleet and a couple of other sector V1's. See what else turns up on the beach from the crew keeping their gear secret till the last minute :)
April - Season kick off - easy short course race taurama 14th
May - down winder - sero to ela beach 19th
June - long course race taurama 16th
July - Hula race weekend 14th or 28th
August - marathon race - taurama - lion island 3 laps 11th
September - king of the harbour - hobbies Vs windsurfers Vs kites 8th or 22nd ela beach
October - short course (slalom) race taurama 13th
if you are keen for some winter race training [}:)]
I so need to win lotto so I can travel everywhere and kite all the time with new people and in new locations..
I don't want to be a pro I won't to go ride where and when I like on what ever I like.
It's nice not to be sponsored now and enjoy the freedom to ride anything I please :)
Ps Jordan will have the Sector down there so you can definitely take it for a spin and I'll try your underground, but not in a propper race though :)
Have you got your kite repaired??
Dave, where did u get the sector demo from? Haven't been able to get one to demo in Sydney.
I am told Kitepower have Airush boards and have sold a few.
I recommend seeing if Steve has one or if he knows of a local sailor who may give you a run on there board.
I'm off now to hit the water we have 8-10knots going to check out some light wind action against my local windsurfers..
Cheers have a good weekend Dave
I am really enjoying riding my Sector 60. But learning to gybe it is hard - I reckon even harder than first learning to get up and going as a beginner. I have got my feet swapped a couple of times but then fallen off anyway.
I haven't tried a Duck Tack yet - they look difficult too.
Learning these turns on a race or semi-race board is a good challenge.
Also, a few pictures of some 2012 production raceboards, I couldn't find a real picture of the 2012 North one...
RRD:
NAISH:
ROYAL:
UNDERGROUND:
CABRINHA:
Sweet toys that all look filth- that RRD has a super rad diamond tail, love to try that to see how it went. LOOKS FAST DOWN WIND. Loving my new AA 2012 after 12 hours on it, I'm amazed how easy it rides in heavy chop at full speed, a much improved rocker and rails from my 2011 Cr 64 AA. I reckon if you got a any brand 2012 race board it's now all about skill of rider & keeping cool in racers. I hope a few of these boards find a home in WA to try.
Yep the sector is way easier to ride than a normal race board, but still goes upwind very well.
As Ric said Erin,
Great to see so many new photo's of gear going up, thankyou guys and lets keep this feed back going..
So far tips I have had for duck tacks include,
Look up at kite as feet will find themselves.
Leave the turning of the board till kite is almost directly above you,
Then turn board hard, take your front foot out really late and try to stay standing rather then fall back.
Jam front foot in strap and dive kite hard to drive board forward and keep it planning.
Can anyone add some more??
Gybing, easiest thing I have found get right on top of the board full stance up right with feet apart and keep kite powered through out the gybe minute you loose power and or lean back is when you fall in the drink..
Feel free to add.
yep, that sounds right.
TACKS: the thing that really helped me to get (some) tacks OK is to stay upright, kind of trying to have your weight above the board, instead of leaning back.
Keep kite high during tack and do not hesitate to loop it behind to keep some power once you start going on your new side (in light wind you will need to do that). Also, I usually keep front foot in as late as possible, while I remove my back foot just before pushing the board into the wind = my back foot will be touching the front of the back footstrap.
Once you get out of the tack, it is obviously better to have your front foot in the strap, but I think the first priority to get is to have your kite pulling you constantly during the turn. Once you get your tacks better, then you can start trying to put your foot in the front strap ASAP.
JIBES: I bring the kite high above my head, remove my back foot off the strap, put my back foot on the other side of the board touching the front of the back strap, start the turn and loop the kite down, and then change position ASAP to get front foot in and then back foot in. Unless the wind is really super strong, I always loop the kite down for jibes.
that's what I think I am doing on my raceboard :0)
looks like your having fun dave! good to see ric giving the raceboard a dig too!
looks like the north board goes upwind much better than the airush
you have to put some serious hrs of training into these boards :(
see you at the next raceday [}:)]
Hey Dave, I've only been able to get out on my sector once so far, spending too much time working at the moment. But wow! they do go fast. I was flying all round belmont bay/wangi even though I could barely launch my kite. Thanks for the video. I had absolutely no idea how to tack, even the gybes are a challenge.
cheers
Col
