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Pat
Moderator
Joined: 30 Aug 2007 22:56
Posts: 86
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 Re:Good thread on '80s (LB) windsurfing Your right this is a great thread. Our own Chris (alias 249 and who was one of the driving forces behind this site) was a big contributor on this thread. I am sure that he will not mind if I repeat some of his fine words here. I think that they sum up the mood of the thread.
[i]I started 1979, original Windsurfer with wooden wishbone, wooden centreboard, wooden everything. That year, Robby Naish, Cort Larned and Mike Waltze came out here to Australia to race (Wrigley's Windsurfer Surf Series) and my brother and I raced against them. It was the second "funboard" contest ever IIRC (after the first Pan Am World Cup in Kailua)
Got into D2s about '82. I heard about them, knew they sucked, thought they were stupid...then I was given a go. About 5 knots of wind and it was just carving through the water with pace. I went out and got one; the first privately owned D2 in my state I think.
Got an early waveboard - a Windsurfer with extra scoop, footstaps and the back 2' cut off. Then got into funboard racing. THrough the mid '80s boomtime, we had 3 out of the top 4 in each world cup discinpline and the world's best wavesailors out here every year. Lots of sponsorship and prizemoney, cars being given away; that sort of stuff. Great racing against Bjorn, Robby, Anders, Svein. We also had surf slalom - downwind zig-zags with the outside mark right in the impact zone, and a set of marks right on the sand. Amazing stuff.
I bouoght the pre-concave custom Naish raceboard, all 12'11" or so (3.95m) of it, just 190 L or so. Beautiful board, still under the house. It was the original proto of the first Pan Am, not the '90s one but the '82 version. Robby used it to win the first WOlrd Cup round ever.
Raced the worlds in the predecessor class to F42 at Lake garda, '85. First time I raced Bjorn and Anders; Bjorn was just this little kid I was training with, so small he couldn't use a full-size raceboard (F2 Lightning). I used to be able to beat him upwind......not any longer!
Dropped out of racing funboards after putting myself in hospital in a forward roll. Stayed with Division II (the open class which spawned the Lechner) for a while. Beautiful boards but mine was a $200 POS, lost the nationals on the last leg of the last race after leading all the way. Ahh well.
Dropped out of windsurfing for years, just the occasional sail 'cause all the shortboard BS got to me. The charm of those early days was that although gear was developing, much of it was good in light airs. As soon as it got all about strong winds and techno-weenieism, the sport died.
As far as the "the sport needed to improve its gear" line goes, look at sailing. Most popular class of all - the one that kids sail - was designed 1947. The most popular adult's class is 1969. Most popular yacht, 1923 design. All are still growing.
The most advanced dinghy, Int. Moth, now attracts a fleet sometjhing like 5% of what it did when it was cheaper, simpler, and slower.
We don't need new gear, we just need simplicity and an accent on the sailing rather than what we're sailing with.
Or so it seems to me.
Three cheers Chris I could not have said it better.
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