Never in the history of Windsurfing has such complete domination of the competition scene been achieved by one team

Check this:

www.star-board.com//news.php?readmore=74

and this:

www.star-board.com/

For the most proven,innovative, fastest, loosest and "rangiest" board what will you be considering next? Demos available at your nearest participating store.

Only 2 boards to do all that ?!

easy! - an evo 80 and an Isonic 111 ! That'll have the whole thing covered in the windrange that you state

Oh, I just realised that the '80' in an Evo 80 refers to the volume and not the max. width! Damn, that's going to be hard for me to sail on, even at the 35 knots level.

The Isonic is 111cm wide though isn't it? My formula board is only 100cm wide, but hey, what's an extra 11cm...

111 litres you say? Do I have to sail it on the dead sea?

quote:

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Originally posted by Auswind

For the most proven,innovative, fastest, loosest and "rangiest" board what will you be considering next? Demos available at your nearest participating store

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That's right folks - my nearest store is SURF FX and that's where I buy the most proven, innovative, fastest, loosest and "rangiest" boards out there, by JP

JP - you know what I mean and Tabou

cash for comment, cash for comment

"This is the very first time for any single brand to win the following titles within the same season;

PWA Wave World Championship
PWA Slalom 42 World Championship
PWA Super X World Championship
PWA Constructor's World Championship
Formula World Championship , 11 first places"


It's hardly surprising that no one has won all of those before - this is only the second season for Slalom 42 in the PWA!

just picked up a 2006 model GO for the missus a couple of weeks ago and the straps on it are a thousand times better than the straps on my 2004 carve

here is what windsurf UK had to say about the Evo finish and Starboard straps

"it is finished beautifully in blue livery and comes supplied with Starboard's superb Slick straps II and their uni-directional fish scale deck pads"

"Early to plane, incredibly smooth and with a massive wind range, it stood out in this test as one of the team's clear favourites"

and the Kombats finish - same straps - "is finished to the brand’s usual high standard. With excellent supportive uni-directional deck-pads, an attractive livery and some of the best straps available on the market (being quick to adjust, light and comfortable"

Regarding straps:

Make sure the spacing is correct regarding the foostrap screws - i have seen crew set up on wider strap screw spacing and lose 50% of traction to their board ... Set up correctly the feedback on Starboard straps over the years has generally been favourable over the years - but everyones feet are a little different.

Straps are very personal - i have heard good and bad comments about nearly every footstrap strap on the market. Its a bit like a pair of jeans - everyone has a slightly different fit.

If you like a firmer strap The FO redline is a very very nice aftermarket strap.

Regarding Hypersonic Layups -In Wood This is a full performance layup with weight to stregth ratio being the main emphasis. Even the paint has been thinned to keep weight down!
Warranty rates on the MANY Hypersonics sold in OZ over the years have been near non existant. However if you suspect a problem with your board please get in touch withyour shop where you purchased it - they will contact us and we wlll be happy to check it out.

On the innovation front - Chronologically look at the evolution from the original Go board - now the worlds best selling windsurf board(which won the Canadian racing nats back in 2000) , through to the start, shorter freeride Carve boards (Starboard are often credited in the media as owning this segment due to their many develpments and consistently excellent test results), Evo new wave design (STarboard started it - everyone else followed) trend , pro kids range and finally the Isonic (Antoine Albeau never won a final in 11 years of racing - in his first year on these he wins just about everything!) redefining slalom design. Shorter wider designs that give more speed , looseness and wind range in all aspect of the sport from first timers to world wave and race champions.

the innovation of wood which Starboard introduced to the Cobra factory (and they subsequently released as an option to other brands after the Starboard exclusive rights to this manufacture technique had expired) ,

and the new Active (hollow construction) which we have been active in testing these here in WA for the last 3 years and has now been released into production - Active Evos available in OZ right now ! (this construction method will also be passed on to other manufacturers by Cobra when Starboard's exclusive has run out)

and finally Starboard were the first to pitch the sport hard at the new generation by putting groms front , inside and centre of the 2006 catalogue - working hard at making the sport cool to the kids to compete with Xbox, Snowboarding , kitesurfing etc. rather than a shrinking sport for 30 years and up.

I think its an interesting story and we have a better windsurfing industry and image (not to mention more water time because of all this thinking outside of the box)

for the crew loyal to any brand

I respect your brand loyalty - a valuable thing these days. The truth is that all brands are capable of making sweet gear these days and many do! This makes for a healthy industry.

Contrast windsurfing with kiting where the latest gimmick or flashy graphic gets attention (often functionality gets buried under unsubstantiated hype)and brands rotate like the wheels on a pokie and we windsurfers are lucky to have an industry with such substance.

In order to keep things this way and

To know that you have the best chance of riding the best board / sail etc for your valuable water time:

Do some research on how many of the brand's team riders actually ride spec production boards in competition.. you would be surprised at how many brand's riders simply refuse to do this.

Check the magazine reviews - at least 2 to get a full picture.

Check- your local , national and international riders - who's doing best on what?

Check -Does the person talking up the board to you windsurf regularly ?

Check - If its a high performance board (Wave, Slalom , Formula)- what sort of National and international competition results has this hull got under its belt ? (and again-does the brand actually require that their team riders use production hulls in competion?) - If its frequently seen up there then this is a very good sign.

Check - Get a nice brochure to give you more specs and info - can you get hold of one easily?

Check - get on the internet - check websites info and forums - what is being said?

Check - do the people behind the brand (owners designers etc) all windsurf alot - quite a few brands have great windsurfing people designing and promoting the gear - quite a few dont - the gears true performance is usually the indicator

Check - is your interested brand, shop involved in the local scene , sponsoring ebents, running a school , advertising in local and national windsurf scene 0 its good to know if your outlet is "into" what is happening.

Do all of this AND get some graphics that suit you and your investment wil have the best odds of being in the right gear.

Whatever brand you ride informed and satisfied sailors make for a better sport all round. Time to go sailing!

Re: Footstraps. The ones that arrived on my F161 are amazing. Someone has really done their homework...cheers

Just an Opinion, the ONE thing starboard should do, is change their logo