Chris 249 said...Gestalt said...
hi chris
the difference between OD and other forms of windsurfing is innovation.
Yeah, I was using OD gear as an example to show that faster sailors can have very different requirements in gear, because of their extra skill.
i don't think it true to say that gear tested by pros doesn't play a positive role in gear development. just look at FW class. the width thing has been the single most positive influence on board design across the spectrum. the pros are also chasing gear that is easier to sail in particular wind strengths and conditions. it allows them to concentrate on tactics or pushing the limits of moves. that said not all pro sailors are racers. some are just exceptional talents that free sail.
the whole tow debate is a moot point. tow will make anyone better. practice is practice.
hi gob
i'm not someone pushing the limits, i just do it for fun. that doesn't mean i can't feel the improvements certain tweaks have made and enjoy well designed gear.
hi ken.
very true. not all gear's brief is for competition.
Gestalt, I wasn't trying to say that pro developments never helped, merely that there's a good case to say that they don't always help. But the point is that the gear that goes better for the top guys can be very different from the gear that goes better for the average guys.
To explain the Wally analogy; if you have a Wally race in 28 knots and big waves, the top guys will go fastest when they use the normal full sail. But back in the pack (and there's some guys there who are **** hot in the surf on their other gear) they'd often be better off with a smaller sail in heavy winds because they spend too much time struggling to control the full sail or falling off.
The point is that even with such basic gear, what works for the top guys does not always work as well for the average guys because they are often going slower, aren't as strong and/or as good at using their available strength, fall more often and therefore need stuff that re-starts more easily, have a harder time handling the rig through tacks, etc etc etc.
You can apply the same thing to other areas of boards (rail shape, fin size, sail type) and other areas of sailing, in my opinion. Look at Robby Naish, who someone else cited as an example. He can use a smaller board in wave comps than someone like me, because he is soooo much better that he can quickly uphaul when up to his waste in water and in the impact zone. Someone like me just can't consistently uphaul a board that small in those conditions, so I need different gear. And he can do a much more aggressive bottom turn without making a mistake or slowing down, so arguably he needs a different rail shape and rocker line.
If I grabbed Robby's gear I'd just sink and flounder. If I use my easier-to-sail gear I'd still flounder,
but not as badly.
Ken's point that not all gear is pointed out pro sailors is a good one, but IMHO there's more windsurfing gear that's aimed at leading edge than in other sports I do, and I think that means that the sport becomes unnecessarily hard and probably doesn't perform any better. I'm a mediocre bike racer and no one tells me to use the same gear settings as Cadel Evans, but plenty of people get told to use the same sail settings as Bjorn despite the fact that we aren't as fast as he is and we sail in a different way.
Time on the water CAN be a different issue, for sure - but it's also sometimes closely related. Most of us have budget limitations on our sailing, and often it can be better using cash to get TOW in good conditions rather than getting a shinier sail..... well, that's my take on it anyway.
