Author Topic: Connor Baxter - SIC team rider...  (Read 11199 times)

burchas

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Re: Connor Baxter - SIC team rider...
« Reply #30 on: May 05, 2016, 04:59:58 AM »
Another way to look at it is that this practice is keeping this race alive as an international event.

The Hawaiian downwind races are unlike virtually any other in the world in terms of the conditions that the paddlers face. It's not generally going to be financially viable for the big brands to create a top-flight unlimited just for races in Hawaii, which is going to be a fairly small market anyway (especially because of SIC on the doorstep). So if the top riders were compelled to use boards built by their sponsors then they wouldn't do the races, and the Hawaiian DW races would become local races only.

I personally wouldn't want this to happen. So it seems to me that this re-badging is just one of those compromises that has to happen. I'm very sorry if anyone buys a board thinking that it is the same board that their idol used in this race, or the M2O or whatever. But it's a case of "buyer beware". We don't often see top racers using boards that we can actually buy, in any race worldwide, just as the tennis racquet that Roger Federer uses won't be the same as the one in the shop that you buy, even if it does have the same sponsor's logo on it.

Didn't think about that aspect, you might be right A10. Leveling the playing field is a good thing as far as the boards. Let the talent speak.
It brings memories from the days I still watched Formula 1 until it became such a sh*t show, where it didn't matter who was driving as long as
he was driving the McLaren. They had to force them to do more pitstops in order to keep it interesting by introducing more room for human error.
in progress...

Chilly

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NSP 2016 12'6 Surf Race Pro

PonoBill

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Re: Connor Baxter - SIC team rider...
« Reply #32 on: May 05, 2016, 08:40:57 AM »
Another way to look at it is that this practice is keeping this race alive as an international event.

The Hawaiian downwind races are unlike virtually any other in the world in terms of the conditions that the paddlers face. It's not generally going to be financially viable for the big brands to create a top-flight unlimited just for races in Hawaii, which is going to be a fairly small market anyway (especially because of SIC on the doorstep). So if the top riders were compelled to use boards built by their sponsors then they wouldn't do the races, and the Hawaiian DW races would become local races only.

Yup, it's a tiny market and extremely specialized. In some ways it's "Maui Only" since the Maliko run is pretty specialized. The unlimited rudder boards work everywhere that downwinding is done, but they're optimized for the nosebleed drops of a Maliko run. Two thousand miles of tradewind fetch hits a ten mile stretch of highly variable bottom depth.

The Viento run here in Hood River is very exciting and challenging, and I do it with a Bullet, but I'm one of very few. 99 percent of the boards here are 14'. They work just as well. You need a rudder and a big board to optimize speed in a big drop where turning across the face and finding a way over the swell in front is critical. In a waist high swell a 14 does that just fine, but when you can hide a windsurfer in the divot a rudder adds an advantage that's hard to overcome.
« Last Edit: May 05, 2016, 08:51:28 AM by PonoBill »
Foote 10'4X34", SIC 17.5 V1 hollow and an EPS one in Hood River. Foote 9'0" x 31", L41 8'8", 18' Speedboard, etc. etc.

covesurfer

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Re: Connor Baxter - SIC team rider...
« Reply #33 on: May 05, 2016, 10:37:21 AM »
The big boards are fantastic for Maliko runs. For channel crossings, they are even more suited. The big 17+ Bullets can carry speed and provide needed stability when crossing the grain, going at an angle where waves are slapping at you from the side for many miles. The rudder can quickly help you catch a swell travelling in a different direction as well as help keep you out of trouble when a rogue swell comes at you from an unexpected, random direction. Lastly, we have currents and sideways conditions where ruddered boards help save your shoulders from paddling on one side for extended periods. For mere mortals, like me, that are not elite paddlers, they make life grand.

Frankly, I can't bring myself to step off a rudder board in Maui. I used to have a fixed fin, race 14' when we first moved here. I used it a couple of times when there was no wind. Usually, even then, it is so bumpy that the instability negates the advantages of a race board. I finally gave up and sold the race board. But, I noticed a lot of 14's in the Maliko race this weekend. The newer shapes seem very successful.

Several guys smashed the hour on 14' boards, which, in my opinion, is really quite a feat. I need to get educated about these new shapes. I'd love to be able to run a 14' racer on occasion. Probably too expensive for me, but when the racers start selling them off to get a newer version, it might be worth thinking about picking one up. The first guy on a 14' (Bullet Obra) was 18th place, with a time of 54:39. That is downright incredible. While I think it says more about the paddler's amazing abilities than the board's capabilities, something must be getting figured out for a 14' to make it to that level. Wish I'd had a chance to check out Bullet's board!

When I've been lucky enough to visit the Gorge, the 14's are tremendous fun. But all of the water conditions I mentioned above are not really present. Only small directional changes are needed and there is no paddling at sharp angles to the wind. Things are all going in one direction pretty much. Paddling in Maui is truly open ocean with some stretches where extended sidewind/sideswell paddling is required. The rudders make this stuff relatively easy so that you can think about other things than just trying to stay on your line.

 


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