Today the wind on the river was averaging 10 to 12 with the biggest gust 13 knots.

Used my 85 cm wide Patrik 140L with a 50 Z fin - the same combo i always use only this time i was using a 9.4 Gun GSR sail instead of my 7.7, Venom.

Not quite formula kit but wow it does feel a lot heavier and much more cumbersome than a 7.7m

I used the same North Platinum boom and although the mast is longer its only adds 300g or so to the weight.

Its the swing weight of large rigs that just kill you not the overall weight i think.

The one big advantage i found of using a sail 1.7m bigger than my 7.7m was its planed through every single lull bar none in over two hours of constant sailing.

I do not think i was planing any quicker than on my 7.7 but thru the 6 to 8 knot lulls its so much easier to keep it going.

The big downside was upwind. Using a formula sized sail with only 85cms of width it was hard making much progress in to the wind.

A bigger fin would likely help but really i need a 200 litre or so formula board to better support this sail and then i think i would love it.

With my 7.7 my 140 litre sits much higher out the water and i can fly upwind with ease using little effort.

Using formula sized sails is not for everyone. Doing a planing gybe is simply not going to happen!

Carrying a 9.4 to and from the water is tough.

Overall it has a different feel and for those especially light days like today it does offer more time planing.

I could always get a foil if i could learn to sail the damn things.