Chris 249 said..

RichardG said..
There is a good chance top RSX sailor and top foiler NZer, Antonio Cozzolino will do the Perth LT worlds next year I am told by a friend. Even some foilers like the chance to test their mettle against top sailors on one design gear. Anders Bringdal wants to come out too as he competed in 1984 and many others will be here too.

By the way, the world's #1 RSX sailor did the LT worlds in Italy. I didn't realise Anders is coming out; that'll be cool as he's always been a good guy.

Yes Chris totally agree. We also have at least one foiling Moth sailor Mike Kilduff (NZ 12) who will join our LT fleet next year after the Moth worlds this year. In the foiling Moths fleet here there is also a sailmaker Phil "Bugs" Smith of Avalon Sails who used to work for Hot Sails Maui and he has also purchased a few LTs as well. I believe, but not entirely sure he may have once been on the Sailboards Australia/ Bombora team that did the Pan Am Cups with Maguire, Kelly and O'Connor and others. Many sailors recognise the racing benefits of the LT. Thanks.

MatStirl said..
Love windsurfing- don't care what form of it people do.
Sail shortboards and used to sail raceboard.
When racing it sucks when everyone has different expensive gear.
Stewed over the LT for a while - no footstraps etc but for what it's intended- racing around a course in light to medium winds or learning it's pretty good and like anything a challenge to sail well.

It has resurrected racing in Hobart and will no doubt get a few more kids into windsurfing...and it's cheap.

I can understand why some people don't like it but if everyone had a few goes in a local course race with the social side and beers that go with it they might think it's ok.

It even appeals to some juniors as the rigs light and it's not long before they beat the old dudes.

I'm hearing of people buying a 2nd one - who ever buys another of the same thing in windsurfing?
I'm thinking of it so my wife or kids can race or sail too.

Yes...we have seen this week one of Perth's top foilers buying the LT for his nephew as well and a few LT sailors buying one for themselves and one for their spouse as you say. Get on board with the grass roots growth. It is also the only way to do organised course racing in big club fleets on a weekly basis. Then there is state, national and international competition too. That is cool.

Mounts bay and Peli by Denis Jones. 24.5kn max. Photo and video by Snides.

The LT is so good and sales potential so great that Severne moved their board production back to Cobra to get access to the LT cobranding. The Severne LT is rumoured to be out in January.

Yep, makes me want one !

How much are they?

Might go back to where it all started.

The LT will get new people into the sport and people who sailed years ago back into the sport way before foiling will, if you think otherwise you are delusional.

There is no way it can ruin it.

In October 2019, 241 GPS sailors posted one or multiple sessions in GPSTC during the month. This compared to 250 in 2018 and 273 in 2017. During this period foiling and the LT has been introduced to the market. There has been some effect, but clearly it hasn't spoilt GPS sailing for 92% of participants.

For me the LT is a racing board in which sailors can test their sailing skills, fitness, tactics, tuning and board handling against each other on one design equipment. It actually is as I see it a one design Pan Am Cup style board which we are now able to use at club level, on flatwater, "sans" footstraps and with improved design and technology. Sailing the board is a great workout. These are great times and the LT's popularity is growing. This weekend Sunday afternoon 3 races starting circa 2:25 pm were sailed at Mounts Bay Sailing Club on the Swan River in the invitational series in around 20-25 gusting over 25 knots with many up to 27.5 knots. Masterful sailing by Scotty McKercher (former wave world champ) with two bullets (2 wins and a second), Tim Gourlay ( current lightweight LT world champ with podiums in each race-two seconds and a third), Mike Galvin (one win and a third) and Nick Poll (a third in one race). All legends of the sport and champions. A few lessons learned since we have been racing in lighter winds most of the time recently. Mast track position forward close to front to stop the board rounding up while making it easier to bear away, rake the daggerboard upwind to stop rounding up and promote greater upwind speed in the higher winds. If a sailor is on the overpowered side, it is understood as the theory goes as explained to me that a mastbase position a bit more forward will tame things down a bit by keeping the nose of the board down. Tighten the strings more outhaul tension particularly but the thought is not to overdownhaul which kills speed and changes the draft of the sail unfavourably moving it further back and increasing back arm pressure. Harness line settings need careful attention in these winds. Many of the top placers were sailing the downwind legs of the course in a series of reaches and gybing back onto the course to lay the downwind mark in the reaches while others took a squarer course laying the mark. The fleet was 19 sailors many of whom retired. These were very challenging conditions, at least for me, for the LT sailors to test their mettle in. Thanks to Snides and all the team of volunteers at MBSC on the start and rescue boats for all the efforts they put into running and setting up the races in such a professional and first class manner. All the retirees including myself made it back safely without assistance but the rescue boats took great care to watch out for all.

yeah it really is special. so much fun for everyone.

RichardG said..
For me the LT is a racing board in which sailors can test their sailing skills, fitness, tactics, tuning and board handling against each other on one design equipment. It actually is as I see it a one design Pan Am Cup style board which we are now able to use at club level, on flatwater, "sans" footstraps and with improved design and technology. Sailing the board is a great workout. These are great times and the LT's popularity is growing. This weekend Sunday afternoon 3 races starting circa 2:25 pm were sailed at Mounts Bay Sailing Club on the Swan River in the invitational series in around 20-25 gusting over 25 knots with many up to 27.5 knots. Masterful sailing by Scotty McKercher (former wave world champ) with two bullets (2 wins and a second), Tim Gourlay ( current lightweight LT world champ with podiums in each race-two seconds and a third), Mike Galvin (one win and a third) and Nick Poll (a third in one race). All legends of the sport and champions. A few lessons learned since we have been racing in lighter winds most of the time recently. Mast track position forward close to front to stop the board rounding up while making it easier to bear away, rake the daggerboard upwind to stop rounding up and promote greater upwind speed in the higher winds. If a sailor is on the overpowered side, it is understood as the theory goes as explained to me that a mastbase position a bit more forward will tame things down a bit by keeping the nose of the board down. Tighten the strings more outhaul tension particularly but the thought is not to overdownhaul which kills speed and changes the draft of the sail unfavourably moving it further back and increasing back arm pressure. Harness line settings need careful attention in these winds. Many of the top placers were sailing the downwind legs of the course in a series of reaches and gybing back onto the course to lay the downwind mark in the reaches while others took a squarer course laying the mark. The fleet was 19 sailors many of whom retired. These were very challenging conditions, at least for me, for the LT sailors to test their mettle in. Thanks to Snides and all the team of volunteers at MBSC on the start and rescue boats for all the efforts they put into running and setting up the races in such a professional and first class manner. All the retirees including myself made it back safely without assistance but the rescue boats took great care to watch out for all.

Some good pointers there.
Agree that the board suits regatta type racing.
I didn't at first but I really enjoy sailing the board upwind in about 15 knots. Once on the rail it really gets going.

Something for Richard for Christmas


www.facebook.com/flx/warn/?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.aloha-store.fr%2F181-miniaturemaquette&h=AT2GwXLVbBa0GO6IhpEsjhBWkVvfYWfnE1G9FNIfYL0x7XIpEokeAQTMM26_FMd3R6EEyxglAe2Plk2JBJOcGh3_t2sxp-SeN-EJPWATv9vA9Pv0v9yltc16XSmDe-I

I went down to the dinghy park of my club where I now store my new LT. One of the club owned rigs was left in the rigging area and all the young (pre-teen) opti kids there for a training day were playing around, up hauling and trimming the LT rig. Once I started rigging my board, a bunch were around me asking the normal kid questions "Why are you doing that?" "What does that do?" "Do you own this board?". I heard at least two kids remind their parents that the club is running an introduction to windsurfing course in the Christmas holidays.

Yes, I believe the future of the LT will be just fine...

Vic states 48 on start line !

gorgesailor said..

MatStirl said..

RichardG said..
I think as the grass roots of the sport grows (eg.LT) then the opportunities at the top end of the sport grow too eg PWA etc. LT is the vehicle for the weekend racer and its fun and like all high performance sailing requires skill and fitness. To illustrate this point, for example, I understand that the prize money in SUP pro events is much greater than for windsurfing as there is a big grass roots. Longboard surfing re-emergence since the 90s revitalised surfing and many older and also younger riders took up the sport and the cool stoke of the log. I think the LT can do the same to grow the grass roots.

I reckon that's spot in.
Windsurfing has had no beginner scene/popular one design board for 25 years.

Foiling will mainly appeal to the already converted. There's got to be some easy cheap means of getting some fresh faces into the sport otherwise it will only shrink further over time.

The popularity of LT's will ultimately benefit foiling...or whatever path the top end of the sport takes in the future.

What's a club?

MatStirl said..


I reckon that's spot in.
Windsurfing has had no beginner scene/popular one design board for 25 years.

.

Are you serious, never heard of techno293 I assume. Over 440 youth at the worlds in Spain just last month

Its great you guys love your wallies but try and keep it real.