Forums > Windsurfing   New South Wales

Dinosaur Windsurfing - Old school rules!

Reply
Created by albymongrel > 9 months ago, 7 May 2020
albymongrel
NSW, 257 posts
7 May 2020 2:35PM
Thumbs Up

Dinosaur Windsurfing - Old School Fun

The boys down Gosford way have been getting restless and are going to go for a sail on Sunday on old gear for a little fun. The idea is to go for a sail at 12:30pm for 1 hour then record distance travelled and post some feedback on this thread afterwards with some photos.

I thought this may be a great way for us all to do something similar and add to the stories with varying gear used, some great old school gear photographed in use and a way for us all to enjoy a sail in isolation, not in large groups as not permitted, so we can choose to go to any of our favorite spots to enjoy some exercise, clear our heads and give and get some feedback on our experiences...

Here's some suggestions if you wanna play...

LOCATION
Any waterway in NSW of your choosing.

GEAR - Old School Windsurfing.
? Get out your old gear. To get in the spirit, preferably use Pre 1990 - any brand, any type - Nostalgic!
? If you don't have old gear, any model Windsurfer including LT with old or current windsurfer rig is cool.
? Harnesses ok. You can use an old rib crusher if you have one to add to your story or current gear.
? Boards and rigs (newer booms / Masts / Bases and Uni Joints are acceptable). But hey, add to your story with teak booms etc if you wish.
? Sails should be Dacron or Mylar soft sails - no cams, no mono film.
? 9.5m upper limit in rig size as these were available in late 80's.
? Set sail this Sunday at 12:30pm sharp.
? Sail for 1 hour
? Use A GPS (if you have one) TO MEASURE DISTANCE TRAVELLED.
? If no GPS, do your tacks and gibes near known landmarks and mark up on google maps afterwards to measure approx distance travelled in the hour.
Afterwards...
? Post conditions at your location using Seabreeze Willy weather, or other apps that give a good indication of actual wind at your location for this time slot. Also add your take on local conditions. on or offshore, choppy, flat, gusty etc.
? Post distance travelled, course taken and location.
? Top speed achieved (if available).
? Post a story and photos of the gear used, why you used it, some history about the gear such as have you done repairs or modifications, where and when you took possession of it, what you paid for it, old reviews of brochures,
? Performance and Conditions at your location on the day, how it went etc. did you get planing. More photos?
? Other sailors in your area at the time? and how you think you went in comparison. Funny stories, stacks rigging issues etc.
? How well you think it went compared to your favorite ride for same conditions.
? Please post Sunday evening if u can on the relevant thread on SEABREEZE / WINDSURFING NSW / Dinosaur Windsurfing.
? This is a for fun and exercise only, no Sheep-stations in play here, not just all about speed, it's about celebrating our sports history, our enjoyment of sailing on some old gear, the stories and getting out of the house so we don't all become ultra heavyweights.
NOTES
? Remember social distancing rules and abide by them please. Keep your distance when rigging and on water.
? We want to make this a highly visible so the public can see us on the water and in parklands when on the water and rigging etc. this makes it imperative we set a good example of social distancing and responsibility so please ensure you maintain distances when setting up, sailing and debriefing. The public are watching us...

HAVE SOME FUN, KEEP FIT AND GET IN THE SPIRIT OF OLD SCHOOL WINDSURFING!
Good luck, we can't wait to see your stories - A nostalgic trip down memory lane celebrating old school windsurfing on fun & ancient equipment!



Hoyle Schweitzer



Darby Newman

Hey why not drag out an old door and see if you can sail it aka Newman or Mike Waltz style!

Heavy1
NSW, 349 posts
7 May 2020 4:23PM
Thumbs Up

Ok Al I'm in.

Look forward to seeing the pictures and stories.

Heavy1
NSW, 349 posts
7 May 2020 7:43PM
Thumbs Up



Ive heard a whisper that we may be joined by an original Olympic Windglider, the bottom board in the photo. (the first ever windsurfing Olympic board) Rare generally , extremely rare in Australia.

albymongrel
NSW, 257 posts
7 May 2020 9:31PM
Thumbs Up

That would be good to see on the water!
hey here's the door - worlds first formula board!










albymongrel
NSW, 257 posts
7 May 2020 9:35PM
Thumbs Up

albymongrel
NSW, 257 posts
7 May 2020 10:01PM
Thumbs Up

Before a kite boarders start calling us homos.... you guys evolved from the same guy! Homo erectus though this guy wasn't lol.








Heavy1
NSW, 349 posts
9 May 2020 7:14PM
Thumbs Up

Ok guys . Big winds predicted.
John and I are still definite. No backing out now.
Distance will be interesting.

PD
NSW, 67 posts
10 May 2020 3:38PM
Thumbs Up

That was Mike Waltz sailing the door in Maui. Did it for a dare.

Heavy1
NSW, 349 posts
10 May 2020 4:55PM
Thumbs Up

Hi Guys.
Board mistral competition with the swing but not retracting CB. Circa 1982.
sail mistral power-head 6.2 from around the same time

The board has eva stuck to it because of otherwise non existent deck grip.
Initially gusting to 20 but settled down to 3 to 15 knots , but incredibly gusty

Tried sailing without CB, but I was constantly fighting to hold the nose off the breeze, so I swapped to the CB

Got the board off Al. Got the sail completely unused and in original packing from Gummie a few years back. Sail is full Dacron with no Mylar laminate.

The board has incredible glide and just kept going through the lulls but was very challenging in tipiness especially with the gusting and chop.
In then gusts the sail flapped like crazy, buzzzzzz, and the board rally threw spray, but I couldn't push it pasts 12 knots.

Photos to follow:





Heavy1
NSW, 349 posts
10 May 2020 5:03PM
Thumbs Up







AUS 814
NSW, 452 posts
10 May 2020 5:35PM
Thumbs Up

Ok my turn
Board , Davidson D2 circa 1980, made in Perth I believe under license to Reg Whyte, legendary Tornado Builder
I completely refurbished it last year, fixed couple of soft spots and faired it up. Does not leak at all.
Sail, 7.7 raf sail

Distance travelled in the hour was 14.68 km. A little underpowered at times towards the end but was generally pretty comfortable with the sail choice. Still a lovely board to sail esp upwind and reaching. Downwind can be hairy , need to leave CB down to avoid swimming.A lot of fun today , should do it again in 12 months time














Jethrow
NSW, 1224 posts
10 May 2020 5:41PM
Thumbs Up

Hey Heavy, that shot with the tracks on Google earth and the speed statistics at the side, what software is that?
I have a GT-31 somewhere and keep meaning to find it and see if it still works

AUS817
NSW, 391 posts
10 May 2020 6:05PM
Thumbs Up

Select to expand quote
Jethrow said..
Hey Heavy, that shot with the tracks on Google earth and the speed statistics at the side, what software is that?
I have a GT-31 somewhere and keep meaning to find it and see if it still works



www.ka72.com/

you can load your GT31 stats directly to the web page.

AUS817
NSW, 391 posts
10 May 2020 6:10PM
Thumbs Up

Board : Windglider Classic
Rig : Windsurfer One Design 5.7m mylar laminate
Distance Travelled in 1 hour : 13.198 km
2 Second Peak : 13.49 kts

As Pete and Lyndon have already said, very gusty SW to W breeze, which is quite usual for these directions at Gosford. The Windglider board was the original Sailboard class at the 1984Los Angeles Olympics, This board is the only Windglider board I have ever seen in person, as Windglider was not a big seller in Australia. This is only the 2nd time I have ridden this board, the first time in very light sub planing conditions. So I was quite surprised how well this board performed in 15-20+ knots. It rails nicely, and true to it's name it glides through the water, the narrow tail has one of the smoothest water releases of any board I have ever ridden.

As you'll see from the GPS stats, total distance travelled was 13.198 km and a top 2 second speed of 13.49 kts, which is not particularly fast, my foil board does around 24.5 knots, and my Phantom 377 Raceboard is about the same. But while the Windglider was challenging at times I still thoroughly enjoyed the ride. Bringing back memories of my early days of learning to windsurf and my first days of racing on the original Windsurfer in the early 1980's.

Thanks Lyndon and Al for setting up this Dino Challenge. Let's do it again when the social distancing rules are not so strict.





Photo including the Windsurfer rig I used today. Not quite the same as the original Windglider rig, but a similar basic concept.

Possibly the smallest fin I have ever seen on a sailboard. Interesting comparison to our current Olympic boards fin (RS:X Class).

Daggerboard comparison between the Windglider and the current Olympic Class Fin (RS:X Class).






Heavy1
NSW, 349 posts
10 May 2020 6:44PM
Thumbs Up

Select to expand quote
Jethrow said..
Hey Heavy, that shot with the tracks on Google earth and the speed statistics at the side, what software is that?
I have a GT-31 somewhere and keep meaning to find it and see if it still works


www.ka72.com

As John says , once you join ka72 you click upload and find the file on your device. Once uploaded it generates the image. From there you can upload to teams speed sailing. Some devices need a tweek to get the right sort of file. Contact me if your file types are a problem. Also the image needs to be copied by a screen shot... which is a pain.

AUS817
NSW, 391 posts
10 May 2020 6:57PM
Thumbs Up

Select to expand quote
Heavy1 said..

Jethrow said..
Hey Heavy, that shot with the tracks on Google earth and the speed statistics at the side, what software is that?
I have a GT-31 somewhere and keep meaning to find it and see if it still works



www.ka72.com

As John says , once you join ka72 you click upload and find the file on your device. Once uploaded it generates the image. From there you can upload to teams speed sailing. Some devices need a tweek to get the right sort of file. Contact me if your file types are a problem. Also the image needs to be copied by a screen shot... which is a pain.


Snipping Tool which is installed on windows PC's is the easiest way to get a screenshot.

Jethrow
NSW, 1224 posts
10 May 2020 7:03PM
Thumbs Up

Cool, thanks guys, I'll give it a run

Heavy1
NSW, 349 posts
11 May 2020 6:14AM
Thumbs Up

more photos


















Heavy1
NSW, 349 posts
11 May 2020 8:01AM
Thumbs Up




Sea Legs did 3.87kms on a classic F2 strato.
We all agreed that she had the board for the day, and was absolutely ripping. Just not for the full hour.
Tell us about the strato Sea Legs.

albymongrel
NSW, 257 posts
11 May 2020 8:31AM
Thumbs Up

Hey CC crew,
I have a confession.... had Mother's Day lunch instead of sailing. Sorry was a little sore from day before sailing, knee was feeling a bit clicky when screaming downwind on Saturday.

Doolander was on family cycling duty so that sealed my decision with no one else to push me along...

really good write ups guys, looking forward to Cimi's. Windglider review was good to read and I'd like to check it out one day... interesting scalloped out tail deck. Does that help with getting it railing?
mistral Comp review pretty well sums up how I feel about the mistrals, better in light stuff and yes a bit more tippy than a flat bottom board. A good board at the time but when true retracting centreboard came out became sorta redundant though would be good to see both models together and compare in light stuff. That huge dagger should give it an advantage.
Petes D2 looks really good, yes it would have been tricky in gusty stuff.

All was not lost to my windsurfing yesterday though... spent some time researching my go pro capabilities, how to use and download to iPad etc. found out I can get gps speed and tracking on footage. Unfortunately, was not on video when hooting along on Saturday so couldn't get those results. Will do in future though!

anyway, apologies

Heavy1
NSW, 349 posts
12 May 2020 4:56PM
Thumbs Up

















Two mistral competition IMCO boards. I think it was about 84 that they went to a fully retracting CB.

The older one has a bigger board that swivels but does not retract.
No attempt was made to cover the CB slot in either board.

For me I think I really need to switch to the further back mast position.
I'm sinking the nose too much and finding it wants to round up when the nose really engages.

They are both superior to almost all modern boards in light wind glide, but not at all fast in strong wind, and quite technical in high winds.

When railing the rounded rail has a point where it suddenly engages and really catapults the board up wind. But its a sudden transition.

These boards were from a time when windsurfing was incredibly popular. All I can say is I think people were tougher in the 80s!

If modern learner boards were this hard, no one would ever come back for a second go. Although I'm sure the issue was more than half the old sail, combined with choppy gusty conditions. Modern gear is wider and the sails lay off and are more stable. The hour was a really good work out, never resting in the harness for more than 10 seconds without adjustment.



Subscribe
Reply

Forums > Windsurfing   New South Wales


"Dinosaur Windsurfing - Old school rules!" started by albymongrel