Freeriders first impression of a race board

Warning : four beers in.
Board : Mistral One Design.
Wind : 5 kts increasing to 20kts.
First thing I noticed is how long the thing is , its long . It has 3.72 written on it , I think this relates to 3.72 times the length of a normal board. I'm sure the front of the board is in a different time zone than the back !
First stepping on was not bad with the c/board half down and sped off in what seemed like very little wind, ( very impressed ).
Five to ten k ts and the thing was slipping along like it was on bearings. Nothing would keep up with this in light winds.
Distance passed very quickly so I thought id turn back.
Yeah turning , that's not a word I would use with this . Its kind of more like waiting for the earth to spin under yourself . I thought I was being aggressive but I needed a cut lunch and 500m space to do it in . This may be an area that I need to improve in.
Then the wind got stronger 10 to 15kts. 8.2 V8 . Lots of fun , this thing is effortlessly quick. I don't know if it was planing or not , its not on or off the plane its just one smooth strange thing.
Beer 5. ( writing this , not sailing )
At this stage I thought I might play with some adjustments when it dawned on me the people that race these must be super human .
Adjusting outhaul , adjusting mast track , adjusting centreboard and choosing one of the fifty five foot strap options , which none suited me , ( need more straps ) is a skill . I could definitely use a couple more limbs ( extra arms growing out of my knees would be good ).
15 to 20 kts gusty and getting rough. I need more skill and time on this board . With the C/ board still half down and the track still in the middle and no straps where they should be I was loosing control . The deck grip was giving up and I was thinking of my small board which in this wind would be faster ,, more comfortable , controllable and with the added bonus of being able to turn.
So that's what I did.
Summery : Raceboards are strange and a lot of fun , its going to be my under 13 kt weapon , no one will catch me not even those Formula things , but those Formula things turn on a dime compared.
PS : some skill may change these initial views . However I'm hooked and love it , that's your fault olskool.

they are fast too. They will get up to 30knts if thats your thing. Mast track back and the boom a little higher so that you can reach the rear straps with the boom higher than your knees. This also is a must for when you get the mast track all fwd and the center board all down, standing in the side straps slicing upwind with the board rolled over a bit. More magic.

Wait to you push it hard on a reach and spin it out, 3.72mtrs sliding sideways at speed is a really odd sensation.



I watched an ex RSX sailor duck gybe a MIstral Raceboard in 25 knots using a 9.5mtr sail and plane out of the gybe. Pretty damn cool

There's also that video of Robby Naish forward looping one on youtube somewhere.

your next move ??

Love the writeup..

Around ten years ago I had a quick ride on a Bic raceboard on Narrabeen Lake in a very light breeze. It was quite an amazing experience. The board cut through the water with minimal resistance. A lot of fun to ride in light wind. I think I just tacked it as it was easier than gybing.

My thirteen year old son an I went for a cruise on Sunday.

Me on a Phantom 377 with a 9.5
my son on an F2 Lightning with a Severne RB 8.5

He was pretty chuffed with managing the 8.5mtr sail , 5km's across, one long port tack upwind railing the board the whole way and one long starboard broach reach the whole way back. 10 -12 knots and the Raceboard's were powered nicely.

Hard to beat spending a Sunday afternoon cruising around Moreton Bay on windsurfers with one of your kids

Nice report. Your Mistral can be jibed just about as quickly as any shortboard, but you have to adjust your technique. Here's the non-planing longboard jibe:
First, you'll have to take a big step to the tail of the board, or maybe two. Second, make big movements with the rig. The board is big, too! Third, figure out how to use the rail to properly turn the board. Non-planing, the centerboard should be all the way down. You then put weight on the opposite edge compared to a planing jibe to turn the board. Think of the centerboard sticking out like the paddle in a kayak when you turn. Put all three things together, and a longboard can be turned 180 degrees in a second.

One good exercise, in three parts:
1. Go dead downwind. Hop as far to the back of the board as you can and sink the tail. Your feet are next to each other, toes pointing out, heels almost touching. Try to get the nose of the board a meter out of the water. Pull the sail back to you, bending your elbows, to sink the tail more. Push it back to the nose of the board to stabilize. Really good guys end up with their knees under water.

2. Go dead downwind, hop back again (but not as far). Put your weight on the toes of one foot to turn the board, then on the other to turn it back. Make a few s-turns, seeing how far you can push it.

3. Start as in 2 (downwind, back on the board). Lean the sail far to the left to turn the board, then far to the right to turn the other way. Your hands have to move a lot on the boom so that he sail can go far towards the water.

Now put the three parts together: far back, rail pressure, big sail movements. Have fun!

Second outing.
Freshwater 5 to 20 kts gusty , swirly but flat water.
Thought I'd go small 6;2 V8 to get a feel for things.
Centre board down and halfway along mast track.
Getting much better at jibing the thing , I found I could switch feet much earlier than on a short board. Taking my time and loosing ground was not a problem because it goes so well up wind even with a short run.
I find myself running up and down the board a lot in the gusts . You can't just point it quickly downwind in a lull like on a small board.
Now this is something nobody told me about..... I could see a big gust coming , so as the wind was getting stronger and stronger I was moving back and over the edge as the board was nicely slightly lifting windward , all good and fun even though the boom was around my belly button.
Then all of a sudden the board flipped on its side presumably planing on its centre board for about 100 m .
I was scared !
Using all my nine lives I managed to save it . It could have been ugly. The thing is I had to keep the power on , I'd estimate I was railriding at 20 kts and backing off at this stage was a bad option.
Anyway , I now have a spincter muscle that could crack walnuts .
After that I flipped the centre board up and the track back which felt nicer in the gusts but not in the lulls.
I understand that I have to adjust on the go but it was very patchy gusty and there was no way I could keep up.
So I ended up with mast one third from back and cb half down , which seemed a good compromise in these gusts.
Still waiting for a nice even 10 kts to get a feel .

Hey Imax1! Great work.The railing certainly gives the ankles a workout. Its funny how Depowerering isnt the thing to do. Ive had some big hispeed railing moments. Whole lot ends up upside down all strapped in. Think ive escaped a few by tilting the rig forward?? Sheeting out reduces Mfp so board flies even higher!! Bad!!!
As Grich says use centreboard at varying levels. Reaching. Sometimes in light n gusty wind or strong current i will have centreboard down only a small amount to help get board planing closer to the wind. Once its up n running cb can be retracted if theres enough wind to sustain planing. Mastrack wise i dont really alter mine from middle of track. Seems a good general sailing position. But forward for upwind to increase railing n pointing. Back for reaching n downwind action. As for all the footwork, Welcome to the world of floating dancefloors!!

I just looked back on my stats and i got 24knts in April last yr on my Mistral EQ2 NP EVO7 7.8. I remember that it felt so fast. My board had a less than adequate gasket which probably held me back another knot or 2. Lots of fun going fast on the long boards, keep it up fellas.

Now we have grip and happy knees.