board, fin & paddle = you

[JEG]

Last weeks euro tour race was interesting?!
We all know Michael is in form at the moment but seriously he was on 21.5 wide board, Large blade & time trial fin and the conditions were head wind, chop, side & downwind......Cmon!!!
Repeat that = Michael is not that tall nor big but use a large blade, downwind on a skinny flat water board and use low profile time trial fin....really 

[Area 10]

Yep. I watched it and thought “oh, what’s the point?” and reaffirmed my resolve never to race again.

Once the young kids that are currently learning SUP all over the world are adults, they will be able to use boards and other equipment that no-one over the age of 40 would even be able to stand on in flat water.

That will be the end of the old geezers (and gals) in SUP racing. But then that’s probably how it should be: it’s pretty strange that guys in their 40s and 50s in some races can be winning or at least competing for the top places.

In 5 years’ time a 21.5” wide board will be considered a touring board.

This was of course all predicted by Jim Terrell several years ago.

But bravo to all those racers who have the talent and have put in the hours of training to be using those boards in those conditions. I take my hat off to you. It’s faintly dispiriting if you are a wobbly old git like me, but I should really just get real and stop trying to join in with the cool kids.

[JEG]

That's true.
Looks like he won again on yesterday's euro race in France and i'm guessing the same equipment setup. Apparently the conditions had the lot (surf, dw, chop & flat).
Is this mean for super heroes can use/ride what they want.
For weekend warriors have your learners plate up and go wide board, small blade and big fin or go home.

[Luc Benac]

seriously he was on 21.5 wide board, Large blade & time trial fin

You mean he was using the VMG Mako Time Trial - 9" large base 7.5" deep fin?
I have always found it a great fin that felt more able than just sprinting but I woudl be curious to know the criteria that top paddlers use to select their equipment. I have always assume either of two 1) what makes them faster measured or assumed or 2) what they are used to i.e. stuck it in the bag and keep using it

[Area 10]

They probably tend to use whatever their sponsors tell them to use. These guys and girls are so ludicrously talented that they could get the best out of anything.

I do very much like the design and performance of the VMG fins. But I do NOT like the price or the eggshell fragility. Or the fact that I had to spend an hour with a detail sander to get my Mako 35 to fit most of my boards. I guess they expect that 90% of people buying them will have Starboards, and they tend to use a windsurf-type box.

[Luc Benac]

You mean that is why the 2018 Starbord have such thick, high sides, so it fits more sponsors stickers?
I am assuming that Boothy could freely choose from the whole VMG range of fins, so curious why the Time Trial on an open water race choppy race. There must be a logic to it .....

[JEG]

These boutique fins are expensive and its shouldn't cost that much because they made overseas not handmade from manufacturer's work shop. The designs are nice, light etc but imo a waste of my money. Yes they come from great designer with lots of knowledge but when i tested them its disappointing as they say they would do. I see some ppl bragged about their product because of thier talent in balancing act on the board but it's not helping us weekend warriors. If you like your vmg fin then the mako 37 is my pick and the rest out of vmg range is hang on the garage wall.

[JEG]

The only logic with tt fin for Michael is there fastest fin in vmg range therefore he likes that on any condition. Can I make an assumption, he will be using these euro race setup on maliko run this year with record breaking time from last year travs 2017 maliko record.

[Area 10]

Boothy likes to lead from the front. So he may be picking the TT fin because he thinks it will give him an advantage in the first 200m of the race, to get in front. Lots of tracking and low drag.

[Luc Benac]

Boothy likes to lead from the front. So he may be picking the TT fin because he thinks it will give him an advantage in the first 200m of the race, to get in front. Lots of tracking and low drag.

Makes sense. He fell only a couple of times on the Spring coffin yesterday so it works for him.
I actually really like the Mako TT myself and was really surprised by it in small chop/downbreezer.
I have the 37 and the 44 but i am using the Black Project Sonic instead of the 37 lately as the size seems to work better with my two favourite boards.
The 44 i use with the Vapor when conditions are on the bigger side of what we have here i.e. 25-30 and hip high.

[JEG]

I didn't like the tt on my boards, yes it's fast but slow when its rough. I preferred the mako 37 out of the sonic and tiger, its an allrounder kinda fin.

[Area 10]

17 mins into the race at San Sebastián, Booth is potentially in a position to catch a nice bump that Titou has just caught. But he digs a rail and falls, in exactly the way I’d expect if you were trying to downwind with a fin with too wide a base, like the TT. Fins that shape encourage broaching in lumpy conditions.

[Area 10]

...and then he falls down again around the 45 min mark, going round a buoy which takes him cross-swell. Again, another situation where a fin like the TT will cause trouble.

He also fell in the previous race in a boat wake situation that looks like it should have been possible to handle.

I reckon he should be rethinking his fin choice Put on a fin with a narrower base, Michael, these falls are costing you more time than the fin will save you.

Btw, the San Sebastián race was a mix of everything, conditions-wise, and the day belonged to the flat deck boards (e.g. Olivia Piana, Arthur Arutkin) and the mildly-sunken deck boards (e.g. Booth), not to the full dugout boards. It would have been interesting to see how much more time and energy Boothy would have lost when he fell if he’d have been in an Ace.

[Luc Benac]

Thanks for all the details.
I have taken a different approach to fins lately.
I have the Sonic on both my Vapor and my Ace-GT for all water conditions (flat, choppy, tide, light downwind) and only change fin for a downwind if conditions get bigger.
It does simplify things quite a bit and I am curious to see if running the same fin brings any improvement in all aspect of paddling.

btw: I seem to be a little faster with the Sonic over than the Mako 37 (which use to be my go to fin) on both the Ace-Gt and the Vapor.

[Area 10]

Interesting. I often paddle cross-chop 15-20 knots so I prefer fins with a smaller base, so I use the Mako 35. I have been surfing (just little 2ft waves) and downbreezing (1ft bumps, 15-20 knots) my RS this week and have been pleasantly surprised by the Mako 35. I still prefer a 9” Squirrel for those conditions but the Mako is faster in flat water and seems to do everything pretty well. I’d like to try the other VMG fins but they are so bloody expensive that I can’t justify the expense, especially since there are limited fittings available in the UK so I may have to modify the fin base to fit. As far as I’m concerned they’ve just found the point at which I say “nah, that’s too expensive and too much hassle” - and I am a fin fanatic! They need to make cheaper and more robust ones IMO, even if this means they are heavier. It’s bonkers that I can buy a SIC full carbon fin that is pretty much the same weight for about a fifth of the price in the UK (and is tougher).