Sail size(s) for lightweight hobby formula racer

[Andy1234]

Hi there

I’m 1.75m (5.7ft) tall and I weigh 62kg (137lbs). What sail size(s) would recommend for me (hobby windsurfer) on my old formula board on swiss lakes? Maybe there any other lightweights out there - e.g. ladies …

Here some more details:
I have to replace my current 9sqm (an old YES formula sail – with its 2 cambers maybe comparable to a freerace sail), which is the only sail I use on my Starboard formula 175. During the last Engadin Surfmarathon I thought (again) that a bigger sail would be great and maybe manageable. I adventured a few years ago to buy a 11sqm (a NP RS1 which came out then), because I thought that a 10sqm would be to close to my 9sqm. But I couldn’t handle these 11sqm at all: I couldn’t sail it actively, I was overpowered even in light gusts and it felt to heavy even in low wind conditions. Today I’m sure I made also some mistakes in rigging (not enough luff tension). Now I’m thinking of replacing my 9sqm sail with another 9sqm or with 10sqm – or maybe in a first step with a 10sqm adding 9sqm to it later. But it would be great to keep the amount of sails low. I’m almost sure, that it will be a more freerace-like sail (e.g. NP RS-Slalom or V8) than a pure competition sail for pros (e.g. NP RS-Racing). There is a NP RS-Slalom 9.2 and 10.0 - would that be too close? By the way: With the new sail I would like to keep the option to switch from a formula board to a modern slalom board. And: With my 9sqm on my formula board I like the overlap with my 100-L-Board-6.9sqm-freestyle-sail-combo.

Thanks for any comments

Andy
Switzerland

[Randy]

Andy,

I'm about your same size and also sailed wide boards with big sails. I've not raced formula, but I did own various formula boards. For me, 9.6 was the biggest sail I ever felt comfortable with. (Loft 02). I had a Sailworkds Retro 9.5 and a Sailworks Race 9.8 (forget the model). I could sail them both, but they were just too big to be fun. (The Rertro 9.5 was pretty close, however.) I did sail a friend's 11.0 Retro with his Bic Techno Formula once. It was sailable, in very light wind (took nothing to plane) but I felt it would be way too big if the wind got any stronger.

I'm sure there is a lot of technique to sailing big sails, and I suppose with work and effort I could have used the bigger ones. But the main problem was almost as soon as there was enough wind to plane the big sails got "too big".

For me, a cam sail automatically feels at least a meter bigger (and I'm biased - I don't like cam sails for other reasons). But this may just be a matter of "feel" and nothing else.

[Unregistered]

I'm 165cm 62kg, my set up 7.5 and 10m2 for formula rigs, make sure you use
high quality extra soft fin, you might need 10.5-11 m2 if you want to be really aggresive,
but 10 m2 should work well, also, the latest models of race sails are easier to handle/better range, so it would be best to buy the latest model, both sails should be full on race with adjustable outhaul to get the range out of them. If you have the budget, I would recommend a new formula board also, like I said, the latest formula gear (boards/sails) are
easier to sail, speciallly for lightweight, even comparing to 2 year old stuff there's a
substantial difference. Hope that helps

[Jean-Marc]

Andy,

I'm also a lightweight (65 kg) using a Severne Code Red R2 11.0 sail on my HS105 + RS7 55 cm fin. This is almost as good as another lightweight racer on his F158 + 70 cm fin and NP RS5 9.8 sail. However, a 9.0 such as RS5 is a bit too small to really enjoy light wind (e.g., today offshore 7-10 knots on Lake Geneva). It also depends what's your minimal threshold you're aiming at starting the planing too.

For hobby use, you really don't need a full-on racing sail; freerace sails are usually lighter, less complex to fine-tune and more powerfull in lower range. For your light weight, I would suggest a light, soft and easy to pump sail such as Severne Overdrive 10.0 (or NP V8 10.0) which is plenty enough in the 7-12 knots wind range. You can then jump on your freestyle board + 6.9 sail as soon as you'll get overpowered with your big sail and F175 (as of 12 knots for my 65 kg on Kombat 86 + NP Jet 6.9).

Where are you located in Switzerland (if you want to test drive my Code Red 11.0 sail on your F175)?

Cheers !

JM

[Andy1234]

Hi Randy, Post 3 and Jean-Marc

Thanks for all your helpful feedback - great!

Maybe I should try a 10sqm freerace sail or a NP RS-Slalom. Then I will see what happens next. On the other hand a 9.2sqm would be a (fun) promising and less risky one-sail-compromise. But let's start with some workout for a 10sqm ...

... on Lake Geneva ...
Where are you located in Switzerland (if you want to test drive my Code Red 11.0 sail on your F175)? ...

I'm located somewhere around Zurich. Sometimes I travel to Lac de Neuchâtel quand il y'a la Bise ou du vent d'ouest. I would also like to explore once the magic spot "Excenevex" at the lake Geneva. Thank you very much for offering your 11sqm sail for testing, but I'm almost 100% sure that a 11sqm won't be an alternative - so testing isn't really necessary. What's your homespot?

Regards
Andy

[LK]

Testing indicate that the 2008 Overdrive 10,0 has the power of a 11 m2 Code Red.
So if thinking of RSS, V8 and likes, I would consider the Overdrive too, easy rigging, fast, stable and light in the hands and very tuneable

Regards

[Jean-Marc]

Andy,

I'm in Geneva. Saint-Blaise is a nice spot with strong WSW wind and high swells. Excenevex (*) is the same as Saint-Blaise but works only when it's blowing strong bise like today (25+ knots) or tomorrow (30+ knots), it's a real nice onshore wave riding spot (large sandy beach, a bit like Préverenges near Morges). A long ride from Zurich but worth it for 2-3 days in a row...

Cheers !

JM

(*) http://perso.orange.fr/windsurfing74/les%20spots.html
http://perso.orange.fr/windsurfing74/session%2030%2035%20noeuds.html