Okay, got my new toy yesterday, my faithful Firerace had totally delaminated...so it was time to reach the next level : carbon !!
First impression : it's very well wrapped (count 10 minutes to unwrap the blessed thing !
)
Lucky I had my team mate with me
Fitting the straps : easy
Adjusting them : 5 tacks
Fitting the fin : surprisingly easy considering the incredibly deep hole for the screws !
Was joined by another team member with his 2013 freestyle edition
Getting TO the water : so light to carry !!
you already feel like a pro and you're not even on the water yet.
Beach start : considering you drew attention while unwraping on the beach (yes we do have our boards delivered at the beach here
), you know you have a crowd behind watching you, ready to have a good laugh if you fail.... so you wait for the correct gust and off it goes... and without warning it's already starting to plane.
Planing : as mentionned above, it takes off quite fast (same as firerace) but speeds up much more, ie : you better be quick to get your back foot in or you're in trouble when hitting the chop
Speed : conditions weren't that flash, but I could feel the speed ready to be released if only there were a couple of extra knots. Will report on that later on, when conditions are more suitable.
Control : now here's where it's a winner, so smooth over hte chop, so easy to handle and mostly a jibe machine !!
ex : I was getting to duck island (for those in the know...) was a bit crowded to jibe so I opted for a big fat u turn and stop, the PD didn't stop it carved through the curve and started heading back, just like that !! without any unstability or speed loss.... how cool !!
I then headed for the second island (paradise/maitre), to get there you need to cross the channel (big, big chop) didn't even feel it ! no sore knees, so turning away from waves...just perfect !!
It doesn't seem to enjoy too much back foot pressure, mind you I was using my 36 F4 fin with a 7.0m.
Side note, it has those funny inserts under the cut outs, been told you remove them when overpowered, will see !
All in all a very good buy !!! can't wait to use it overpowered to see how far I can take it !!
