bel29 forum posts in last 60 days

Paducah said..
www.windsurf.co.uk/johan-soe-steps-away-from-pwa-slalom-season-to-chase-iqfoil-goals/
"Johan Søe has officially withdrawn from the 2026 PWA slalom season, choosing instead to fully commit to his Olympic and iQFOiL campaign. The Danish foil specialist often known as the ‘Beast’, has won every slalom event he has entered since 2023!"
Two of the best PWA foilers (Soe and Goyard) are now campaigning IQFoil even with the new 8m sail limitation. There's a whole lot to read into this. One thing that comes up to me is that the PWA limitation on the number of hydrofoil wings forced a trend to larger sail sizes and smaller hydrofoil wings, the opposite of what most recreational riders use. It also dampened development of performance lightweight gear as most of the focus was on smaller wing sizes as opposed to bigger wings that would be used by or influence the gear of rec riders.
For all the chatter about the IQ gear being meh compared to modern designs, it probably is but still can provide a good day on the water. It's a shame that Starboard stopped selling the additional gear (wings and fuses) that were compatible to extend the usefulness of the IQ gear that racers offload.

fully agree. if any more nails were needed in the proverbial coffin, this is it.
while manufacturers (and their influencers) are out there pushing the fin again, ironically neither of the first two big events of the year (IFCA, POS) have managed to pull off much (and in the case of POS, any) official fin racing, both effectively being saved by... the foil! a few levels down, this goes for the rec sailor too: many a session is saved by our ability to switch to foil.
so: the answer cannot be to drop foil development altogether; instead, the lessons learned must be directed at developing ever more efficient, easy to use, low to medium wind foil gear across the whole performance spectrum, rather than killing it or letting it die a slow death on the illusive expectation that the fin will save us. been there...
disclaimers: I love a good fin session as much as the next guy (but don't live in an area blessed by trade winds), and truly hope that all those making the trek to Gruissan will be sandblasted by a good-ol Tram next week so the fins can have their time to shine.

sheddweller said..
5 years isn't long enough to develop a race sail? PMSL! ??

I think this is a function of the 3d production process as opposed to the traditional sail loft approach. Vincent mentioned something like a 6-month turnaround time for a proto; even if exaggerated a bit, that is clearly of a totally different order of magnitude than what small lofts like... Loft (in Tarifa), P7 (Garda) or Duotone (Maui) can do: build, test, adjust, retest... easily within 24h or less.

We all like Mario because he is... likeable, but in the end he's an influencer.

Just by way of illustration: I spent about a month in Sydney in March and with my 1 board 3 sail foil quiver I foiled every single day I went out to Botany when I thought there might be at least *some* wind. With an equivalent fin board & sails I'd have sailed less than half of the time and done less than a quarter of the km's.

That said, I'm eagerly looking forward to getting back on a fin slalom board soon but I'm not prepared to wait for suitable conditions to come along.

the screwdriver trick works, but make sure to use the right size. the clip won't easily break I don't think. perhaps use some lubricant to reduce friction.

ah, thanks for sharing. also still waiting on my (dlab and sls) boards in the US, but we're typically behind...

slightly off topic: also saw that some French shops had the new X Pace, which also isn't on the website yet. should be a nice sail for the Blitz if you're looking for something without cams.

On one view, this model (pre-orders) is a more realistic model for a market that even in its heydays never fully functioned according to normal supply and demand signals. On the other hand, if pre-orders also disappear, the end will be near very quickly.

I also used the more expensive/thicker clear tape, not the thin cheap stuff which I agree doesn't stick as well/peels more easily. It's still a hassle though and do wonder how much real-world difference it makes (other than in the head). Also, can't say I've actually seen much use of it on the pro or Olympic circuit but happy to stand corrected.

I've done it using simple clear packing tape. but it's harder than it seems (you need a clean cut to avoid peeling, otherwise you risk making matters worse when it starts to peel) and in the end was too much of a hassle so gave it up. Of all the variables it's probably the one that holds me back the least

I've had a bunch of stuff in storage that needs to go in the next 10 days. All free and in working conditions--no cracks, tears, rips etc.

2 boards: Exocet 100 formula, Starboard iSonic 90 (incl board bags with working zippers)
4 sails: MS 7.0, 9.2xt, 10.0xt and 11.0xt
3 masts: MS srs75 430, srs100 490 & 520
2 booms: MS 190 & 250

Pick up in Annandale. Contact me via mp please.