Around 1995 I started windsurfing with the BIC Dufour Wing longboard. That's about fifteen (15) years ago !!! Around 2002 I purchased an F2 Comet 330 longboard which has a flatter bottom, butt is NOT as stable as the 200 liter Dufour - for my 100 kilos... In 2005 I received a BIC Samba longboard from a neighbour. At this point I started sailing on the St-Lawrence River with the Samba. Other sailors were mostly using shortboards and were always waiting for the right amount of wind from the correct direction :-(
In 2007 it was a special birthday for me, fiftieth (50th) and my wife n I discussed whether I should purchase a digital SLR camera or a brand new sailboard. Since electronics and cameras always seem to go down in price and sailboards up, I decided to purchase a sailboard. My original thoughts were to get a newer longboard, something like the Fanatic Viper from 2-rad or the AHD Zen from Auventfou. The fact that Tinho Dornellas designed the ZEN was an influence. Tinho is the only MASTER instructor in the U.S. and seems to feel like me, just get the people on the water - comfortably.
I narrowed it down to the AHD ZEN 170 liter board. René of Auventfou asked if the board was for me or the family. He also asked me where I was currently sailing ... He convinced me that the AHD FastForward/FF 160 liter was the ticket. It is the same board as the AHD ZEN 170 without the centreboard and without the extra layer of protection. Sometimes wish I had that extra layer of protection !! More on that subject later. Cuz what I discovered quickly was, the board is very sensitive and as such I purchased a $150 board bag soon afterwards. I also had not realized that my previous mast feet and mast extensions would NOT work on the shortboard. The good news is this "newer" mast foot of $80 and the 40+ cm extension of $80 could be used on any future shortboards.
So, for my 50th birthday in 2007 we purchased my first short board AHD FF 160 liter 79 cm board
So, what are the specs of this baby ?
Volume: 160 liters
Width: 79 cm or 32 inches
One Foot Forward/OFO: 53.8 cm or 21.52 inches
Weight: 9.9 kilos or 21.75 lbs
Sail Range: 5.0 - 9.0 or 5.5 - 10.0
Fin Box: Power ie single screw/bolt
Fin Range: 47 - 53 cm
Included: Straps, pads and Select 53 Race Fin
Vee/Tuck OFO: 0.0/2.0
Vee/Tuck 8FO: 0.0/8.0
Rise 4FO: 5 mm
Tail Release: 3 mm
Bottom: double concave in the tail - rare now
To understand some of this check Board Design.
Since the board was expensive (for me), I had to start with the sails that I had. My best sail at that time was my Niel Pryde/NP Warp Speed 7.0 sq meter sail with 3 cams. This picture is NOT mine and is badly rigged - cannot find my pics ^&*
As you can see, it is a dacron type of sail and is at least well shaped - when rigged properly. I will either find my pics or take some fresh ones...I also had a duct taped Gaastra 6.4 that my buddy gave me when he purchased his new Sailworks Retro.
We purchased the shortboard in the fall of 2007 and I tried it on a very windy cold day at the Pte-Claire Cartier launch site. People there in the know asked me what the heck I was doing... Explained that I just wanted to see if the kit could handle bigger winds and it can. My windsurf experience was not up to par then, butt I just had to know if I had made the right purchase :-)
I had lent my F2 Comet to a work colleague for one summer. He had that duct taped Gaastra 6.4 and he "got hooked". He purchased a new BIC Techno 160 and Sailworks Retro 7.0. We came up with the board volume together since he was about my weight and had had bad experiences with sinkers. I tried the Retro 7.0 on my board and discovered a new world. For my weight I felt I could go even a bit bigger.
So, the next year I priced out the Retro 8.5 with mast and boom. It was just too $$$. Went back to my buddies at auventfou and was introduced to Maui Sails of the infamous Barry Spanier. Wanted to stick to no cam light 8.5 sail and thus purchased the Pursuit 8.5. My buddy with the Retro 7.0 also purchased a Retro 8.5 not long after I purchased my 8.5 :-) Just to say that yes, an 8.5 works really well for our weight in lighter winds around 13 knots - especially on our larger 160 liter shortboards...
As you can see in the following pic, the board has ample flotation for my weight and the sail is more than large enough for my size. This photo was taken on the St-Lawrence at a site I like to call Captain Morgan's.
At this point I was still uphauling and had two(2) harness lines on each side of the boom. I was trying to get used to a shorter harness line with the boom up higher.
Based on my notes, the first summer was dedicated to "getting used to the board", the next summer I had the new MS Pursuit 8.5 and started planing... Harness skills were getting better, but no foot-straps yet. I was hooked on this new experience of flying over the water and as marked in my profile, I am always looking to more time on water. The board is floaty enough and the sail works in a certain range. Others suggested formula boards if I want to get out earlier. For me this just is way too much of an investment in $$$ and we have had summers where water levels were so low I hit rocks in the middle of the St-Lawrence with my current fin(s). (Formula boards take giant fins around 70 cm long) Yes, I did purchase more fins - have a weed fin and a slalom fin now. Will dedicate another chat on fins cuz they are a critical part of the equation and were missed completely in the early years !!
So, what I did was try an MS MS-2 11.0 sail in 2009. The sail was an older version and I managed to break the bottom panel. It was still monofilm and later versions were stronger X-ply. This was a $200 experience/experiment, but showed me the sail just a little too big and yes a bigger sail would give me more TOW. So, I purchased an HPL boom which turns out to be carbon = bonus. Purchased an MS TR-4 10.0 with matching 520 cm 100 % carbon mast. That is now my lighter wind engine and yet , I still look for more. This year I will be using my BIC Dufour Wing longboard with the MS Pursuit 8.5 on the St-Lawrence in the really light unstable winds. Have read nothing, but good things about this old baby :-)
So, what are my final thoughts on the shortboard world ?
Am happy to have discovered it and yet find it a bit expensive for a family dad with four (4) kids. In terms of fun, can't be beat. Have many memories of myself smiling while flying. There is lots to learn and now do waterstarts, but footstraps and jibes are next and mandatory. The board is said to be able handle sails from 5.5 to 10.0. I have used up to 10-oh with no issue and down to 6-oh. In those conditions , it is too much for the board. This board is great from 7-oh to 10-oh. As discussed with some vendors, most boards have an ideal range of about 2 to 3 square meters. After that conditions warrant another board.
In 2010 I purchased a 2000/2001 Fanatic LTD Bee 124 liter 63 cm board for bigger winds. It is older and narrower, butt for what I paid for it, it will be a great fun just to try and the board was a classique...It is in the basement up at the chalet and has not been tried yet ...
As you can see, like most windsurfers , the toy collection starts to become a disease :-)
Not sure I will ever need more than that for where I live and the conditions I sail in.
So: BIC Dufour 200 liter longboard + AHD FF 160 liter shortboard + Fanatic Bee 124 liter shortboard. One day hope to replace the BEE with a Fanatic Hawk 125 (no longer exists) or a Tabou Rocket 125. My eighteen (18) year old son says he will take the F2 Comet 330. It is better suited to his weight and size than mine. Hope he gets the windsurf bug too :-)
Life on the water = so sweet :-)
I try to bring one to two people to the sport every year :-) Even if they do not become avid windsurfers, I always hope they will spread the word :-)
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