Downwinding with Jonathan

[DavidJohn]

I was on my 14' Jav and he was on his new 12'2'' Freeride board..

[PonoBill]

What the heck is Jonathan up to. Haven't seen him in Maui for a while. Or maybe it's just my crappy memory.

[Off-Shore]

I don't know Jonathan, but that is a pretty impressive mid-glide headstand he pulls off at 2:35 on that board...

[DavidJohn]

I don't know Jonathan, but that is a pretty impressive mid-glide headstand he pulls off at 2:35 on that board...

There's a better one here..

[Night Wing]

@DJ

Two more very nice videos. BTW, I was impressed on how well Jonathan's 12'2" Freeride was working as a downwinder.

As always, thank for sharing your videos. They are always a treat for me to watch.

[Quickbeam]

I don't know Jonathan, but that is a pretty impressive mid-glide headstand he pulls off at 2:35 on that board...

There's a better one here..

Liked the music. Nice version of a Del Shannon classic.

[JonathanC]

Hi Bill, still kickin', going to Maui in summer so I miss you unfortunately.
I'm loving the little 12'2, it's so much fun and and way faster than any 30' board has a right to be. I was a little skeptical of the really complex bottom shapes of the Allstars (mainly through ignorance) but wow, this little board has blown me away. It gets into bumps easily, surfs beautifully and probably the best trick is it's ability to head deep into the wind, and of course it's super stable. I actually bought it as an all round family board but it's so much more. We had a super ballistic downwind run recently that was gusting into the 60 plus knots range and with some scary offshore gusts, I took the  Freeride and actually enjoyed the experience. Just so you know, I am sponsored by Starboard in Australia, but I always try to tell it as honestly as I can. Headstands, just go for it, what could possibly go wrong

[Argosi]

Great to see you on video downwinding again!

Does that board have the same bottom shape as the All Star? I wondered how that complex bottom would do when it comes to carving a turn on a downwind bump.

[PonoBill]

Good to hear from you dude. As you know I'm kind of partial to 12'2", so I'll have to give the Freeride a go. I have so much fun with my ancient Starboard 12'2" and Ku Nalu hollow carbon. Antiques, but fun. I love doing downwinders on surfy board. I'm just not fond of everyone being gone when I get in.

[JonathanC]

Great to see you on video downwinding again!

Does that board have the same bottom shape as the All Star? I wondered how that complex bottom would do when it comes to carving a turn on a downwind bump.

Thanks Argosi! Yes it does have the complex 'Allstar' bottom shape, I'll try to get some photos of it so you can see. I too was dubious about how it would surf, the tail is actually quite wide but fine, view from the rear is all central concave and very wide chines, actually not all that much meat left when you view it from the tail when it's on top of the car. It feels very naturally surfy during a downwinder, very easy to turn and trim across the wave face, hopefully I'll actually get to surf it in regular surf rather than downwind waves this weekend and be able to report more after that. It's really all about easy control, the rocker works well so that it doesn't stall if you step back but it does slow you down slightly, you know that feeling when you finally get a big enough wave during a downwinder that you can actually get right back and really fell like you are surfing, that all feels very natural and easy.
In reasonable winds it would be a fantastic board for downwinding beginners, probably great at the gorge, also being shorter the tendency to pearl is greatly reduced. I did a downwinder a couple of weeks ago on the 2017 Allstar 14 x 27, same day that PT Woody made the Ace vid (I think!), that's a really nice board but right now I'm having a ball on the 12'2,  it's a really fun complement to my Ace.
Have to agree with PonoBill, no doubt it's slower than the unlimited boards but to be honest paddling with DJ In the vid it didn't seem any slower or harder to catch waves on than his 14, first into the beach at the end of a run is pretty overrated IMO. There was plenty of wind so I could catch waves reasonably effortlessly, probably would have been a different story in 12 or 15 knots. One of our buddies who was on 17' Bullet was significantly faster. I'm just enjoying the simplicity and fun surfing ability of a smaller board.
Hey Bill, I actually thought of you and the old 12'2 SIC/Starboard when I got this thing.

[yugi]

^ did you try the earlier flat hulled version?
If so, how does it differ?

And what about for windsurfing?

[baddog]

It such a weirdo shape, I like it.

[JonathanC]

^ did you try the earlier flat hulled version?
If so, how does it differ?

And what about for windsurfing?

Hi Yugi, only very briefly tried the old version, it felt a little 'ordinary' to me. That's the thing that has surprised me about the new one, it feels so alive.
Had an opportunity to surf the board on Saturday, some reasonable waves, shoulder high and it was so much fun, despite the complex bottom shape the transition rail to rail is super easy and smooth - that actually does my head in a bit!
It doesn't have a mast base fitting but I've got no doubt it would be fun to windsurf.

[baddog]

Hey Jonathan,  How do you think the 11'2" would go for me?  I'm 73kg.  Thanks, Mike