Starboard's new 12'6" Surf Race.

[NRG]

The Surf Race is my board of choice....I will be racing with it again in BOP this year.  I feel confident, stable, and fast on that board.  It's also super lightweight....Brian S. and Starboard did good here.  Pic of me is on the proto at 2009 BOP. 

[river]

The new SB Surfrace boards are beautiful and the 15+ years of paddleboard experience that Brian Szymanski designed them with can be felt as soon as you take the first stroke.  The glide is amazing!  The Nose/Bow on the Surfrace and the NEW are unconventional and way more forgiving than "ice breaker" style bows especially when going down wind.  I have extensive experience using them in a variety of conditions and I am convinced they are fast.  Kudos to Brian and SB for coming together to offer a fast 12.6 production board.  If you havent tried one yet you dont know what your missing.     Ok there's my shameless plug:)

[PT Woody]

The Surf Race is my board of choice....I will be racing with it again in BOP this year.  I feel confident, stable, and fast on that board.  It's also super lightweight....Brian S. and Starboard did good here.  Pic of me is on the proto at 2009 BOP. 

Nikki, no doubt you've had plenty of time on the New as well. I imagine you would fly on that thing. Is it just too unstable in your opinion or what?

[NRG]

The Surf Race is my board of choice....I will be racing with it again in BOP this year.  I feel confident, stable, and fast on that board.  It's also super lightweight....Brian S. and Starboard did good here.  Pic of me is on the proto at 2009 BOP. 

Nikki, no doubt you've had plenty of time on the New as well. I imagine you would fly on that thing. Is it just too unstable in your opinion or what?

The New is an amazing board and is no doubt very FAST (Dan paddles the New and recently won a downriver whitewater race on it in Reno), but my personal preference is to sacrifice a bit of speed for more stability.  I would rather not risk falling in or compensating in my stroke and form during a race or in rough conditions.  I also like to move my feet around a lot when I paddle, so I prefer not to have recessed footwells.  I also understand the Surf race performs well on downwinders and I am pumped to try it out on Hawaii and Columbia Gorge runs this summer.

[Kiwi-SUP]

I had a great paddle yesterday trying out the FreeRace, SurfRace and The New. The FreeRace is definitely an improvement on the Pin - very stable with the lowered standing platform. The SurfRace and FreeRace are different beasts again. The last time I tried the SurfRace was in marginal conditions - going broadside down the coast (NW direction) with NE swell and a 20-30knot ENE wind. I couldn't stay on the thing. Yesterday the conditions were a lot more kind and I really enjoyed both boards. I did a 5km upwind paddle on the SurfRace and was impressed with how it went. I think that this will be the board for me as I cannot afford to get 3 boards and this one seems to be in the middle ground.
I do think in calm conditions the New will give the paddler a huge advantage - it just seems to get up and running so quickly. Maybe the sound of the water coming off the bow gives the rider even more of a sensation of speed. Got on a couple of runners and it just got picked up and flew.
I would recommend anyone to give these boards a demo. And no I am not a rep for Starboard.

[JonathanC]

Hey Kiwi, so glad you gave the Surf Race another go. I really don't think you can go wrong with that board once you get used to it. I am sponsored by Starboard in Oz but that really has nothing to do with my comments here, these boards really are ground breaking IMO.

[Marksride]

1st Race results for the production Surf Race in Portland, Oregon this weekend with a 4.3 mile course around Ross Island. Wind 5-15 mph with 1-2 knots of current, the first leg is with the current and wind, second leg is against the current and wind.

Start sequence has 39 racers on the start line with multiple classes, minus 1, me! I went up to my car to switch out paddles at the last second but I was sure I would make it back in time for the start. The horn sounds as I am in the parking lot, sh*# no f#*king way!!! I run through the parking lot, bound down the stairs to the beach and see the fleet take off into the distance. No choice, get on my board and go! I paddle with one goal in my mind, pick them off one at a time and see how far I can get before they turn around the island. The Surf Race responds to every stroke and as soon as I get a little offshore and glide into the current my speed increases, the wind picks up, my speed increases. Within 2-3 minutes I can see I'm gaining on the back of the pack rapidly. Now I start to pick them off one by one and look ahead to spot the 12'6" class leaders. I estimate that my pace is slightly faster than the leaders as I now can see them more clearly. A quick calculation tells me I have a chance to catch them by the bottom of the Island. As we round the bottom of the Island I am right on the tail of the guy currently in 3rd place in the 12'6" class. I cut inside of him and risk grounding, it pays off. Stroke, stroke, stroke and now I'm in 3rd place. Just 2 more to reel in over the next 2 miles into the wind and current. Confident that I can do it, I focus and paddle, the Surf Race responds. The low profile nose works great as I shift my weight forward and grind. Number 2 makes a tactical mistake and crosses the river too early and gets stuck in the current and wind. Now I only have one more to pass, of course he makes it difficult for me and won't slow down. I increase my cadence and reel him in slowly. Digging deep I only have 1 mile left until the finish. With 1/2 a mile left I take the lead and the former leader drafts me as the wind builds. He hangs with me until I can see the last turn and the finish line. Time to drop the hammer and shake him. I open up the gap further and now have a 14ft guy breathing down my neck. No way I am letting anyone pass me now, 200m to go I sprint flat out to the finish line finishing 1st in my class and 4th overall out of 40.

So how does the Surf Race perform, not too bad.

http://gorgeperformance.com/html/RISUPrace.html

[PonoBill]

Pretty nice of Mark to give me such a good lead. He was catching me pretty steadily on the second leg. I made a couple of mistakes--crossed the river way too soon, fiddled around in the middle of the current, got stuck on a branch. All in all I was a minute slower than the first race. I was in second when we made the turn at the bottom of the island, but lost ground right away. Finished third overall, first in the unlimited class.

The first race Mark was on an F18 that's almost a twin to mine. He sprinted off into the lead, but overcooked it and bonked at about mile one. He recovered and nearly caught me at the line, but not quite. He sold that one to Rod Parmenter.

No question that surf race is a fast board. With Mark on it I think it's a match for my F18 with me on it. We'll see over the next few weeks how this shakes out. If Mark keeps starting from the parking lot then I'm pretty sure I can take him.

[JonathanC]

Nice going Mark, do you have the carbon or the glass board? Have you had a go Bill? I've got this feeling it would actually be really good fun on Kihei downwinder, tried to get one to Maui last month but it was too early for the production ones. 

[Marksride]

Hi Jonathan,

The board is the carbon version and really sweet. I will have to let Bill have a go at it soon, maybe he will switch classes. 

[noa]

Hi Mark,
from what I understand you also have an F 18. How does your Surfrace compare to it for downwinders ?

[paddledaddy]

And how about comparing those two in the flats as well.

[andygere]

Great report and photos, that board sounds like a winner.  I know the effect was intended, but I am having trouble getting past the "bleed through" paint job.  Looks like a shoddy paint job from where I sit, and it's a shame on such an innovative board.  Reminds me of the short-lived flat finish paint jobs that Jeep tried out about 10 years ago.  They looked faded and sun burned right off the showroom floor!

[SUP Sports ®]

The finish has been used on Starboard's high end Formula windsurf boards for years...referred to as "race finish"...now, "brushed carbon"...just enough paint to inhibit UV...there are paint jobs on the market that add several pounds...

[marc]

And what about the 12'6 free race. Did someone tried it ? What are the differences beetween surf race and free race I would like to change my 12' PSH for a 12'6 race