The Season so far...over 140 racing in various States...incredible. Next stop 2020 Nationals at Brighton & Seacliff Yacht Club - Jan 23-26 2020.
90 entries and counting for some great sailing and super fun socials. Entries still open until Jan 11 - if you haven't you know what to do:

theclubspot.com/regatta/uGjqsKWUWf

In WA we already had the excellently run 2019 States at MBSC , with 24 entrants, seems to have been missed below since it was held at the end of the 2018-2019 season. The competition included course racing, marathon, freestyle and slalom.

Can we get 40 entrants to the 2020 States being hosted by SPYC ? Will we see further gangbusters growth in numbers ?

Paducah said..

Gestalt said..

Paducah said..

Chris249 said..
Terms like "reasonably well" and "glide" are so subjective as to be pretty much useless in many ways. To me, ...

you were castigated for making assertions about equipment that you've never used and in some cases not seen.

none of us here are going to agree with each other on every point and comment but underlying our conversation is the knowledge that we have actually done what we are talking about.

How do you know I haven't seen an LT? I've personally helped fund getting them on the water here. Now, who's making assumptions?

I've said many times it's a fine board but not a panacea. I have seen them up close - circumstances didn't permit me to sail one the weekend we had them but several of my friends did. Their feedback was pretty much exactly what I anticipated. It's a nice board. However, it's wanting in a mixed race fleet which is what we have here.

If popularity grows locally it will eat into some mixed fleets.
My hybrid raceboard is more fun to sail but there is something about racing/tuning the same gear - even if you do get beaten.

Beating someone on better or different gear doesn't mean much to me.

RichardG said..
Info from Sunday 8th Dec club race- The details below are sourced from the winner Michael Ingram, FIRST AND FASTEST at MBSC, Swan River Perth.

Race Report: mailchi.mp/73b5fb4d4980/5emnvuqmzf-12117901?e=20ed377539&utm_source=seabreeze.com.au

Course distance (rhumbline) = 10.8 km
Sailed distance (by me) = 17.1 km
Max speed 19.8 knots (20.7 knots after the race)
Ave speed 7.1 knots
Windspeed- approx. 20-22 knots plus

"If you look at my course, I made a few poor decisions going upwind on legs 4 and 6, tacking at the wrong time and over-standing marks.Mast base right at the front, centreboard almost half-up going upwind, and sail had downhaul on 5.7 and 40 on the boom / outhaul. The sail was a bit too flat going downwind but was easier to handle upwind. Another mistake was not putting the centreboard right down when the wind lightened off near the finish in the lee of the club."

RichardG said..
Info from Sunday 8th Dec club race- The details below are sourced from the winner Michael Ingram, FIRST AND FASTEST at MBSC, Swan River Perth.

Race Report: mailchi.mp/73b5fb4d4980/5emnvuqmzf-12117901?e=20ed377539&utm_source=seabreeze.com.au

Course distance (rhumbline) = 10.8 km
Sailed distance (by me) = 17.1 km
Max speed 19.8 knots (20.7 knots after the race)
Ave speed 7.1 knots
Windspeed- approx. 20-22 knots plus

"If you look at my course, I made a few poor decisions going upwind on legs 4 and 6, tacking at the wrong time and over-standing marks.Mast base right at the front, centreboard almost half-up going upwind, and sail had downhaul on 5.7 and 40 on the boom / outhaul. The sail was a bit too flat going downwind but was easier to handle upwind. Another mistake was not putting the centreboard right down when the wind lightened off near the finish in the lee of the club."

Presume it's blowing from SW.
The mast increment stickers aren't all in same place unfortunately.

Didn't sail direct to marks on downwind and no jockeying on start line before race?

Paducah said..

Gestalt said..

Paducah said..

Chris249 said..
Terms like "reasonably well" and "glide" are so subjective as to be pretty much useless in many ways. To me, ...

you were castigated for making assertions about equipment that you've never used and in some cases not seen.

none of us here are going to agree with each other on every point and comment but underlying our conversation is the knowledge that we have actually done what we are talking about.

How do you know I haven't seen an LT? I've personally helped fund getting them on the water here. Now, who's making assumptions?

I've said many times it's a fine board but not a panacea. I have seen them up close - circumstances didn't permit me to sail one the weekend we had them but several of my friends did. Their feedback was pretty much exactly what I anticipated. It's a nice board. However, it's wanting in a mixed race fleet which is what we have here.

here is what i said.

"you were castigated for making assertions about equipment that you've never used and in some cases not seen."

i based that on what you said.

which is you've never used the LT and prob only seen one once or twice and you said you've not seen a WOD for 25 years.

Yes, they will definitely plane downwind - you're not going to do 19 knots at displacement speed as in the race above!

In 20 knots sometimes it's faster to gybe downwind, sometimes to roll fairly square; the choice depends on factors such as gusts and waves. Personally I find the fact that you have a very wide range of angles makes for some very interesting downwind tactics. At the worlds, for example, the guy who was 5th in the MLs (well ahead of a Kona world champ and ex-Olympian) sailed downwind at really high angles almost all of the time like a RB, but the others in the top 10 sailed lower angles, gybing through as little as about 25 degrees at times when the chop and gusts were right.

Gestalt said..

Paducah said..

Gestalt said..

Paducah said..

Chris249 said..
Terms like "reasonably well" and "glide" are so subjective as to be pretty much useless in many ways. To me, ...

you were castigated for making assertions about equipment that you've never used and in some cases not seen.

none of us here are going to agree with each other on every point and comment but underlying our conversation is the knowledge that we have actually done what we are talking about.

How do you know I haven't seen an LT? I've personally helped fund getting them on the water here. Now, who's making assumptions?

I've said many times it's a fine board but not a panacea. I have seen them up close - circumstances didn't permit me to sail one the weekend we had them but several of my friends did. Their feedback was pretty much exactly what I anticipated. It's a nice board. However, it's wanting in a mixed race fleet which is what we have here.

here is what i said.

"you were castigated for making assertions about equipment that you've never used and in some cases not seen."

i based that on what you said.

which is you've never used the LT and prob only seen one once or twice and you said you've not seen a WOD for 25 years.

No idea of the background but god it's tedious to see the pathetic arguing on chat forums. Whoever starts it get a life.

Yeah, I always wonder which is best in an LT in a blow - straight to mark or tack downwind. My biggest problem is the upwind leg mind you.

windsufering said..
Entries in the Lt nats approaching 90, one month out !

This must be the biggest nationals in any sailing class in Australia !

RichardG said..

windsufering said..
Entries in the Lt nats approaching 90, one month out !

This must be the biggest nationals in any sailing class in Australia !

Imagine if in the next few years entrants reached several hundred.
That would be worthy of some media attention.

snides8 said..
Sharpie nationals at mounts bay in 8 days
has just ticked over 50 boats entered= 150 sailors.... think we are going to need more bar staff that's my idea of a big nationals!

Should be good for club revenue. 3 people on the boat are great for the social side, basically when you get say 50 boats to nationals you can easily have around 350 people hanging around the regatta with all the families and "groupies" , great party and most importantly world class racing on the race course. Worlds Windsurfers Dec. 2020, Mounts Bay, Greg Johns says the expectation is 250 sailors so should also be good, but Sharpie sailors and groupies might be bigger drinkers per person !

Chris 249 said..

snides8 said..
Sharpie nationals at mounts bay in 8 days
has just ticked over 50 boats entered= 150 sailors.... think we are going to need more bar staff that's my idea of a big nationals!

"and both are far more popular than the trendy classes that some people keep on insisting (against all evidence) to be the future of sailing".

Still trolling for a bite hey Chris249.

Belly25 said..

Chris 249 said..

snides8 said..
Sharpie nationals at mounts bay in 8 days
has just ticked over 50 boats entered= 150 sailors.... think we are going to need more bar staff that's my idea of a big nationals!

"and both are far more popular than the trendy classes that some people keep on insisting (against all evidence) to be the future of sailing".

Still trolling for a bite hey Chris249.

Not at all - just stating facts and in particular to the fact that despite the huge hype of earlier years that claimed that skiffs were the future of dinghy sailing, the Sharpie is still more popular in Oz than any similar skiff.

I'm not trolling or slinging **** at any class; to repeat myself again, I've said the following things about windfoiling;

"it's the best for some people"
Windfoiling is "Good stuff, and I'd like to get into windfoiling"
windfoiling is "it's a great thing and may be the best thing for lots of people"
"We're not trying to say that windfoiling isn't great"
"NO ONE has said that speed doesn't matter to a lot of people or that they shouldn't sail foils."
"windfoiling is "the best thing ever" for you and the OP and others - fantastic!"

No one can claim that anyone who is so positive about windfoiling is trolling about it. You're doing great stuff down at WSC and I've always been positive about the type of windsurfing you like; I just wish you could respect the choices other people make.

gorgesailor said..

Chris 249 said..

Belly25 said..

Chris 249 said..

snides8 said..
Sharpie nationals at mounts bay in 8 days
has just ticked over 50 boats entered= 150 sailors.... think we are going to need more bar staff that's my idea of a big nationals!

"and both are far more popular than the trendy classes that some people keep on insisting (against all evidence) to be the future of sailing".

Still trolling for a bite hey Chris249.

Not at all - just stating facts and in particular to the fact that despite the huge hype of earlier years that claimed that skiffs were the future of dinghy sailing, the Sharpie is still more popular in Oz than any similar skiff.

I'm not trolling or slinging **** at any class; to repeat myself again, I've said the following things about windfoiling;

"it's the best for some people"
Windfoiling is "Good stuff, and I'd like to get into windfoiling"
windfoiling is "it's a great thing and may be the best thing for lots of people"
"We're not trying to say that windfoiling isn't great"
"NO ONE has said that speed doesn't matter to a lot of people or that they shouldn't sail foils."
"windfoiling is "the best thing ever" for you and the OP and others - fantastic!"

No one can claim that anyone who is so positive about windfoiling is trolling about it. You're doing great stuff down at WSC and I've always been positive about the type of windsurfing you like; I just wish you could respect the choices other people make.

BS. ....You are starting to sound like RichardG who has turned into a troll since the LT. It's become hard to read some of the posts even though I am following the LT with interest.

BS??? Oh come on - how the hell can anyone who is so positive about windfoiling be trolling windfoilers?

It is a fact that lots of people have been calling skiffs and foilers "the future of the sport". No one can deny that - just google the term and you'll see how popular it is. It is also a fact that such classes are still far less popular than other types. That is surely very relevant when it comes to the real future of the sport.

Dunno how anyone can refer to undeniable truths and be extremely positive about windfoiling and be called a "troll". And I don't know why people assumed that a reference to 19 foot long 3-person dinghies had to be referring to foiling windsurfers.

To some extent the LT is attempt to tie into the infrastructure and organisation that yacht clubs provide. This is a quite different path to what has been the traditional source of windsurfing activity. I would think that some yacht clubs are struggling a bit at the moment with the challenge of competing for the sports dollar of families. It will be interesting to see how it all works out over the next few years.

RichardG said..

gorgesailor said..

Chris 249 said..

gorgesailor said..

Chris 249 said..

Belly25 said..

Chris 249 said..

snides8 said..
Sharpie nationals at mounts bay in 8 days
has just ticked over 50 boats entered= 150 sailors.... think we are going to need more bar staff that's my idea of a big nationals!

"and both are far more popular than the trendy classes that some people keep on insisting (against all evidence) to be the future of sailing".

Still trolling for a bite hey Chris249.

Not at all - just stating facts and in particular to the fact that despite the huge hype of earlier years that claimed that skiffs were the future of dinghy sailing, the Sharpie is still more popular in Oz than any similar skiff.

I'm not trolling or slinging **** at any class; to repeat myself again, I've said the following things about windfoiling;

"it's the best for some people"
Windfoiling is "Good stuff, and I'd like to get into windfoiling"
windfoiling is "it's a great thing and may be the best thing for lots of people"
"We're not trying to say that windfoiling isn't great"
"NO ONE has said that speed doesn't matter to a lot of people or that they shouldn't sail foils."
"windfoiling is "the best thing ever" for you and the OP and others - fantastic!"

No one can claim that anyone who is so positive about windfoiling is trolling about it. You're doing great stuff down at WSC and I've always been positive about the type of windsurfing you like; I just wish you could respect the choices other people make.

BS. ....You are starting to sound like RichardG who has turned into a troll since the LT. It's become hard to read some of the posts even though I am following the LT with interest.

BS??? Oh come on - how the hell can anyone who is so positive about windfoiling be trolling windfoilers?

It is a fact that lots of people have been calling skiffs and foilers "the future of the sport". No one can deny that - just google the term and you'll see how popular it is. It is also a fact that such classes are still far less popular than other types. That is surely very relevant when it comes to the real future of the sport.

Dunno how anyone can refer to undeniable truths and be extremely positive about windfoiling and be called a "troll". And I don't know why people assumed that a reference to 19 foot long 3-person dinghies had to be referring to foiling windsurfers.

Perhaps I was projecting a bit of RichardG & Windsuferings tone onto your posts, the patronizing dribble - asking how many entrants in windfoil races etc...etc ... bla blah... We live in a different world here in the US. The board will have to stand on it's own here. IMO the reason the LT is so popular in Australia is the Promotion from Windsurfer class organization there & Sailing club infrastructure. Without that, it would be just another windsup. Here it has to appeal on it's own merits & value $$. Right now, I don't see it. That's why I am watching the growth down under

Hi Gorge, Please advise why you refer to the LT as a glorified Windsup ? Have you ever sailed one ? Please do not use terms like "BS" and "troll" or similar missives in this or other threads as you underline the weakness of your argument and debase this forum. I certainly object to your personal attack on me which is without merit. Cheers and best wishes Richard

Reaping what you sow Richard, .........Cheers and best wishes

Belly25 said..Reaping what you sow Richard, .........Cheers and best wishes

RichardG said..

gorgesailor said..

Chris 249 said..

gorgesailor said..

Chris 249 said..

Belly25 said..

Chris 249 said..

snides8 said..
Sharpie nationals at mounts bay in 8 days
has just ticked over 50 boats entered= 150 sailors.... think we are going to need more bar staff that's my idea of a big nationals!

"and both are far more popular than the trendy classes that some people keep on insisting (against all evidence) to be the future of sailing".

Still trolling for a bite hey Chris249.

Not at all - just stating facts and in particular to the fact that despite the huge hype of earlier years that claimed that skiffs were the future of dinghy sailing, the Sharpie is still more popular in Oz than any similar skiff.

I'm not trolling or slinging **** at any class; to repeat myself again, I've said the following things about windfoiling;

"it's the best for some people"
Windfoiling is "Good stuff, and I'd like to get into windfoiling"
windfoiling is "it's a great thing and may be the best thing for lots of people"
"We're not trying to say that windfoiling isn't great"
"NO ONE has said that speed doesn't matter to a lot of people or that they shouldn't sail foils."
"windfoiling is "the best thing ever" for you and the OP and others - fantastic!"

No one can claim that anyone who is so positive about windfoiling is trolling about it. You're doing great stuff down at WSC and I've always been positive about the type of windsurfing you like; I just wish you could respect the choices other people make.

BS. ....You are starting to sound like RichardG who has turned into a troll since the LT. It's become hard to read some of the posts even though I am following the LT with interest.

BS??? Oh come on - how the hell can anyone who is so positive about windfoiling be trolling windfoilers?

It is a fact that lots of people have been calling skiffs and foilers "the future of the sport". No one can deny that - just google the term and you'll see how popular it is. It is also a fact that such classes are still far less popular than other types. That is surely very relevant when it comes to the real future of the sport.

Dunno how anyone can refer to undeniable truths and be extremely positive about windfoiling and be called a "troll". And I don't know why people assumed that a reference to 19 foot long 3-person dinghies had to be referring to foiling windsurfers.

Perhaps I was projecting a bit of RichardG & Windsuferings tone onto your posts, the patronizing dribble - asking how many entrants in windfoil races etc...etc ... bla blah... We live in a different world here in the US. The board will have to stand on it's own here. IMO the reason the LT is so popular in Australia is the Promotion from Windsurfer class organization there & Sailing club infrastructure. Without that, it would be just another windsup. Here it has to appeal on it's own merits & value $$. Right now, I don't see it. That's why I am watching the growth down under

Hi Gorge, Please advise why you refer to the LT as a glorified Windsup ? Have you ever sailed one ? Please do not use terms like "BS" and "troll" or similar missives in this or other threads as you underline the weakness of your argument and debase this forum. I certainly object to your personal attack on me which is without merit. Cheers and best wishes Richard

Reaping what you sow Richard, .........Cheers and best wishes

Dear Belly25, the questions are not posed to you but rather to Gorgey. I nevertheless find there is no justification for the comments made by Gorgey insofar as my posts are concerned. Your comment above hardly makes sense at least to me. How can one reap personal attacks simply by debating issues dispassionately and politely on this forum ? Please refrain from interrupting this thread with your personal ambushes and unfair attacks which have nothing to do with the merits under debate. Your intelligent input is welcome but anything else hardly warrants a look. Foiling is great and I love it. I just love racing and sailing the LT in the large course race fleets we are getting run professionally under sailing clubs. Apologies for any sense of grievance you feel. Loads of best wishes.