Is it me or is everyone asking the same question

www.seabreeze.com.au/forums/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=61092&SearchTerms=12,downwinder

www.seabreeze.com.au/forums/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=61241&SearchTerms=12,downwinder

Jenkz has a 12' Naish Glide that he really likes for that purpose. Hopefully we can arrange another downwinder over the next few weeks, you should come along.

Hey Belly
As far as I know there are none over here for demo so your welcome to give mine a go. I bought mine without trying one, but I got a lot of advise from other Breezers who had used one and they were right on the money. See if you can give the Starboard pin a go as well. I tried it but was unsure of how it would perform in open water but thats just my personal feel. As the crew on here say demo demo demo...
Will pm you when we next do a downwinder.

Hi Supbelly,

I'm loving the Starboard Pin as an all round board, just a little different shape to get used to but I find it fast and stable and great for upwind and downwind. In light wind down-wind it is amazing what it will catch, seems like the displacement style nose stops the usual "push" that can stop you getting those little runners. Upwind the pointed canoe type bow just pierces chop and gets rid of all the slap slap you normally get.

It's certainly worth a demo but please put a big fin onto it - the standard fin is way to small IMO, even something like an 11 or 12" big wave fin if you can get your hands on one.

We had a 3k race in Melbourne on Tuesday and the Pin was the first board over the line in front of three 12' Glide's with a guy paddling who wasn't expected to win and had only had the board for a week!

Hi Supbelly,
I have a DC 12'6 available for a demo/purchase (the Doctor winning board) at Peter Dunn's place. PM me if you want to have a go

GS said...

Hi Supbelly,
I have a DC 12'6 available for a demo/purchase (the Doctor winning board) at Peter Dunn's place. PM me if you want to have a go

ahh, this hurts, it used to be mine

The pin does seem to be a great board but I'm still not entirely convinced about them out in the open ocean with decent wind and chop. It might be that I haven't spent enough time on it in those conditions though, or maybe its because I've got absolutely no sense of balance.

If you want something a bit different, I know someone that can sell you a kayak for a good price just hasn't got a paddle.

laceys lane said...

GS said...

Hi Supbelly,
I have a DC 12'6 available for a demo/purchase (the Doctor winning board) at Peter Dunn's place. PM me if you want to have a go

ahh, this hurts, it used to be mine

Don't stress too much, you might be able to get it back, I am probably going to freight it back to the Goldy

Has any one tried a jimmy lewis albatross for downwinding etc.. Probobly asking a question that someones asked before like i normally do but hey....

akhawk said...

jenkz said...

Not anymore but it will possibly be replaced by something else thats also yellow.
PS.. Throwing in the tiedowns clinched the deal. Thanks AK

Thats ok, you should see how much fun i'm going to have with your flare
What are you going to get now? That old board bag is going to need to be huge!

And me running after my kids helped too!
Hey Jenkz my radio in my car doesnt work. Can you have a look at it... at no cost?

mikeman said...

supbelly said...

Hey guys amd gals,
Im chaseing a new board something around the 12ft range purely for cruzing and downwinding.. Im not gonna be any sort of pro but wouldnt mind playing around in some of the races and what not..Would love to do the doctor next year..

Anyways back to why im posting i was wondering if anyone has any recomendations on what to buy, at the moment im useing a 10.5 starboard for this style and its working ok but just want something a little more specifc..

Thanks Belly..

I'm not sure why many of you in WA are limiting yourselves with riding such short boards for downwinders. Personally I feel that if you want to get the most out of your downwinding experience then go for a longer board with a rudder. You guys get real ocean swells over there so I can't figure out why you are not going for bigger boards. It seems to me that the 16/17' range would be ideal. There are plenty of good options these days.

Over here the down wind scene is very new and at this stage there are only 5 or 6 of us that seem keen. A lot of the guys that sup over here are also windsurfers and kitesurfers so when the wind is up they are off doing that. There seems to be very few boards around Perth that are over the 12'6" mark so demoing boards is not easy. Speaking for myself, I'm keen to learn more about paddle technique, reading runners, etc on a board that I feel comfortable with, and once I have become a more accomplished down wind paddler may then look at a more specific board. However the 12'6" does seem easier to store and transport around.
At this stage we have only about three races per year and the last race was the first to introduce classes which were 12'6" and unlimited. I think some (myself included) are waiting to see how the downwind scene develops over here before investing too much into expensive gear.
Its amazing how much has changed in the last 12 months. In the 2009 Dr race the biggest board was 12'6" being JL Albatross and starboard cruisers to this year we had DC boards (12'6" up to 16 or 17'), 2010 starboard race boards, 17' Glides etc. Hopefully things keep taking off over here as I reckon we have a magic part of the world to get into the downwind paddling.

Don't revolve everything around the races. You can downwind anytime and its so much fun that you don't want to be limiting yourselves by your equipment.

Maybe we should try get a few boards over there that you guys can play with, or a few of you should head over this way and see what it's all about.

To be honest I've only considered boards 12'6" and under but that is largely due to storage both at home and transporting. After listening to your suggestions, I'll certainly be considering bigger boards when the time comes to be buying a racing board one. In the meantime I'll try and spend as much time as possible on the water learning and improving and doing some research into what the best options will be. Courts has just been over to Hawaii and I think was buying a downwind board over there so he'll be a good person to chat too regarding the best boards for our local conditions.

Hey supbelly,
Sorry you couldn't make it out yesterday for a paddle. Luke mentioned you had to work, bugger! According to his gps, we did about 9km but only took 40 minutes or so from Woodman point to Freo sailing club. Heaps of runners the whole way and some fun waves as we went through crazies. Hopefully you can make it along to the next one. We'll have to give more notice next time.