Will it downwind? Yes or No?

[Area 10]

OK, so the answer is "no", really. Nice video though. What is the camera you are using?

[Off-Shore]

OK, so the answer is "no", really. Nice video though. What is the camera you are using?

Okay, I admit these weren't stellar conditions, but the thing does downwind.... maybe not like an Ace, but pretty impressive for an iSUP... 

This was shot on a GoPro Hero 5 Black, on Wide FOV Mode with Image Stabilisation switched ON. 1080 x 60fps.

Note, I have found that Superview FOV with Image Stabilisation switched ON (which takes it back to equivalent to "Wide" FOV) is the best for Headmounted GoPro Hero 5 Black

[deepmud]

OK, so the answer is "no", really. Nice video though. What is the camera you are using?

As a newbie I couldn't tell why you would say this - my experience is two windy days on a small lake and some video-watching - what can I learn from this?

[Area 10]

OK, so the answer is "no", really. Nice video though. What is the camera you are using?

As a newbie I couldn't tell why you would say this - my experience is two windy days on a small lake and some video-watching - what can I learn from this?

Downwinding is all about surfing the bumps, not just getting blown along. Boards that downwind well permit lots of this surfing. Boards that don't tend to just get blown along and the nose pokes. Check out the instances in this video where the paddlers are obviously "surfing". OS's video shows precious little of this, but plenty of nose poking (pearling), and mostly it looks like getting blown along rather than the board releasing and skimming across the water with the water spraying off the sides like you are seeing fairly regularly in this video - even from a 9-year old boy. Open water surfing.

[Eagle]

What Clement does is DW fun.  Not much rest and going gently along - but a lot of HIIE sprint paddling and surfing to the max.  Using the power of the waves down the line shoots him up to the next one.  This is what we do up in Squamish.  Or at least try to do.  Haha.

But Norm does stuff like that no probs though.  Quite unfair really.  The year he did the M2O a while back he beat JR in his age class.  Norm was 26 - Spithall was 29 and Jeremy was 30.  Terrene was 16 and Travis won it.

http://www.supracer.com/2013-molokai-2-oahu-results/

But you looked fine on the 25 inflatable OS.  We need to get you on AS23 or Sprint 21.5 now.   

[Off-Shore]

Okay. I concede that I have never ridden an Ace like Norm (yet ), but I have paddled in similar conditions and taking the RPC 14 x 25 Elite Race in something like this would be......lively.

If only to prove to Area 10 that this board can downwind, I'm going to wait for some epic conditions and take it out again. Watch this space...

I tried to paddle a Naish 12-6 x 24 Maliko 2 days ago on a downbreeezer and had "difficulties". These difficulties manifested themselves in not being able to stand up on the board... let alone downbreeze.. I convinced myself it was the length and I was too heavy for the board. So 23 and 21.5 will be... a challenge 

[Off-Shore]

Managed to persuade the owner of this hollow carbon Think XGT 14' x 30" today to lend it to me for the next "Will it Downwind" vid...

When I began this series, I started with a Think XO 14' Race Prototype I used to own, so this should be interesting.. wider and more stable. It is light and fast on flatwater... but will it downwind?

[Area 10]

Well, you are going to say "yes" and I'm going to say "no"

You set a pretty low bar for saying "yes". It seems that as long as the board stays with the handle pointing towards the sky and doesn't go backwards then as far as you are concerned it "downwinds"

[mrbig]

Area 10, I suspect it "down breezes" just fine. Heck, my 2015 Starby Race is fine as a down breezer. Boof boof boof!

[PonoBill]

What on earth is Colas using for a paddle?!?  It looks like one of the old Quickblade shovels that Laird liked. I don't remember the model name--there was the Kanaha--which was a good blade, and that thing, which was horrid.

I think the "Will it downwind" thread needs a lot of variability in judging. Especially since it's likely to eventually include a gutted refrigerator full of empty water bottles and the Nissan we spotted during a Maliko a few years ago. Kind of like the open class for racing--60 to dead isn't as definitive as 20-30. I suggest:

Class A -- board that looks like it should be good
Class B -- board that looks like it might not be good
Class C -- Board that you'd have to be nuts to try
Class D -- something that floats

I'd say the Think is a Class B board, which means if it doesn't toss you off every fifteen feet and it catches more than three bumps, the it's a yes.

[LaPerouseBay]

What on earth is Colas using for a paddle?!?  It looks like one of the old Quickblade shovels that Laird liked. I don't remember the model name--there was the Kanaha--which was a good blade, and that thing, which was horrid.
/

I didn't see the video, but I had a Peahi.  I called it the big owie.  I shaved that thing down to a long skinny blade and it worked pretty good. 

Check out the early Starboard.  All handmade.  Raaphorst sold it to me back in 08.  Fun times.  They are resting on the 'ol red F-16.  Still shiny.  6 month wait back then. 



Ha, here's another angle.  Man, that starboard was unimaginably stiff.  Zero flex in the shaft.  It hurt worse than the Peahi.  I eventually forgot to put it back in my truck at Makena.  Subconscious mind did me a big favor that day.  Got a qb kanaha to replace it.

Check out that old tiller design!  All handmade metal parts back then.  First unlimited DW mold.  Mark was on his way!

Pedal was and still is a piece of shit design.  PB, get back to Maui, I may do an electric rudder.  I need face time to see if your experiments were feasable or just another bunch of hot air.    

Why the hell Mark doesn't put the spring in the back is really a mystery.   I love walking up front where that stupid bar is. 

[Quickbeam]

But Norm does stuff like that no probs though.  Quite unfair really.  The year he did the M2O a while back he beat JR in his age class.  Norm was 26 - Spithall was 29 and Jeremy was 30.  Terrene was 16 and Travis won it.

I don't know Norm personally, but I certainly know of him. To me, one of his greatest accomplishments was finishing the Yukon River Quest. And not only finishing, but the way he finished. A flat out sprint to the end. An amazing paddler!

[Eagle]

OS - The XGT and XOR both are really nice hollow boards.  You should do fine on it as long as you keep the nose from tracking and twisting in steep waves.   

And QB - Norm is a super nice guy.  Shuttled in his truck from Britannia back up to Porteau and chatted about his M2O race.  But when I paddled with him that day he used his custom 25 Eradicator instead of his old Bark Expedition.  Haha.  But no laughing matter - he rides either of those boards with great power speed and skill.  Just jumps of the board standing and sprints away from you.  So unfair.  But he is younger than me.  That is my reason.  So I like to think anyways haha. 

But yeah - that Yukon distance race was over the top.  Weird thing was - one of the female riders from Alaska - was someone my wife and I met down in Punta Cana a year or so ago.  She was teaching the yoga class.  And got to stay for basically nothing.  She brought down an inflatable and was practcing in the surf because Norm I think - was going to test her for her SUP instructor course.  Such as very small world.  Crazy sometimes.   

[Quickbeam]

And QB - Norm is a super nice guy.  Shuttled in his truck from Britannia back up to Porteau and chatted about his M2O race.  But when I paddled with him that day he used his custom 25 Eradicator instead of his old Bark Expedition.  Haha.  But no laughing matter - he rides either of those boards with great power speed and skill.  Just jumps of the board standing and sprints away from you.  So unfair.  But he is younger than me.  That is my reason.  So I like to think anyways haha. 

But yeah - that Yukon distance race was over the top.  Weird thing was - one of the female riders from Alaska - was someone my wife and I met down in Punta Cana a year or so ago.  She was teaching the yoga class.  And got to stay for basically nothing.  She brought down an inflatable and was practcing in the surf because Norm I think - was going to test her for her SUP instructor course.  Such as very small world.  Crazy sometimes.   

Wow, that is a small world. I'm not sure, but I think Ken Larsen, who you may also know, took his instructor's course from Norm. And then just this past September, I took my instructor's course from Ken.

A while ago Ken told me a story about a race he was in with Norm. I don't remember where it was - probably one of the local races. Anyway, Ken said he drafted Norm for most of the race and somewhere close to the end Ken figured now is the time, and he started to make his move to overtake Norm. Just as he did that, Ken said Norm just powered down and pulled away. Ken said there was just no way he could catch him. Ken himself is a very good paddler, so that showed me just how good Norm must be.

[PonoBill]

PB, get back to Maui, I may do an electric rudder.  I need face time to see if your experiments were feasible or just another bunch of hot air.    

A few more days, though I'm only going to be there for three weeks. Diane can't come--new puppy.

The rudder worked fine. There's some new IOT (internet of things) chips that might make it easier to build one.