Lightwind Gear for Vancouver

[agrelon]

Hi all,

I'm moving to uni in Vancouver for the next 4 years. Unfortunately, I've been told the wind there is generally light, rarely breaching 20knts... Aircanada does not allow travelling with windsurfing gear, so my trusty Futura 93 is getting a rest for the moment.

As I'm going to be there for 4 years, I'm thinking of investing in some new lighter air kit which will hopefully get me time on the water. Right now I'm 60kgs, with a good level (waterstarts, quick shortboard tacks, planing jibes, duck jibes...).

I'm thinking the Futura 122l could be a good choice. Has anyone tried this board with a 9.0m or similar size sail? If the board can take these sizes well then I could probably get some pretty good performance from 9knts up. I guess when I unite all my kit somewhere this could be a good complement to my F93l.

If anybody has any feedback about this board or the wind/conditions in Vancouver I'd appreciate your comments.

Thanks.

Adrien G

[Ken]

Check out this website, it should get you started.

http://thewindmap.com/#49.1098377905....47607421875,7

[agrelon]

Thanks for the answer, I knew about Jericho but it's interesting to know that launching from even closer to the campus is possible. I could basically trolley my kit up there instead of keeping it at the club in Jericho. There's also a small beach, Wreck beach, 300m west from my residence, that could be handy!

I just need to know a little more about the wind strength there. If days over 20knts happen, I should probably get the 111 (still a good step up from the 93l). If they are super rare, then the 122l would be a better choice.

[PG]

Unless the wind is REALLY light, i.e. requires Formula, I do think that your 60 kg weight a board like F93 should work just fine with a bigger sail. Look for a powerful sail in the 7 m2 range, like a Sailworks Retro, to complement it in lighter winds.
Swtiching the F93 for a much bigger board will give you very marginally better planing (if any at all) and you would make large sacrifices on good days.
If you are going to have a one-board quiver you should not go any bigger than F101, and at your weight I think it would carry a 7.8 just fine. A bigger sail at your weight brings diminishing returns.
A quiver of F101 + 7.8 + 6.0 + 5.0 would have you covered for most conditions. But I do not know the exact conditions in Vancouver. However, there seems to be some lakes with pretty good thermal winds nearby...

[mark h]

I think Adrien's F93 has to stay in France for now

Maybe you should look long term at this one. The F122 would be a great big brother for your F93 when you finally manage to stay in one place when you finish studying

[agrelon]

Originally Posted by mark h

I think Adrien's F93 has to stay in France for now

Maybe you should look long term at this one. The F122 would be a great big brother for your F93 when you finally manage to stay in one place when you finish studying

Yeh, sadly the Futura is stuck in HK thanks to Aircanada and their no windsurf policy. I was also thinking long term with this board seeing as I'm going to be there for at least 4 years. I'll have a better idea of what I need and how often I'll be able to sail after this coming first semester. Though I'm not going to like seeing the trees swaying if I don't have kit that's ready to hit the water. What I can see on google earth is that the closest beach to my residence is 300m away, so I could basically keep my beloved equipment in my room and trolley it up whenever it's blowing.

The on-campus wages are pretty sweet, in a term I can make enough to buy a new board so I'm going to get busy.

Maybe I'll get a Kode 68 for my trips down to the gorge, hehe.

Now I want some tests comparing the 2011 and 2010 Futuras! See if the new ones are really worth getting and paying more buck for or if a 2010 one with a discount is a better deal.

[PG]

You should maybe check if you can send your board from HK to Vancouver by ground freight (i.e. ship). It might be even less expensive than to pay for board transport on an airline, assuming that this airline accepts boards.

[agrelon]

Originally Posted by PG

You should maybe check if you can send your board from HK to Vancouver by ground freight (i.e. ship). It might be even less expensive than to pay for board transport on an airline, assuming that this airline accepts boards.

Hmm, I'll look into it. I checked out UPS, DHL and FedEx and they are all out of the question pricewise.

[racerX]

Virgin fly out of Hong Kong and take kit, next time you visit, use them instead! Fly back through san franciso, stop of at the gorge...

[agrelon]

Originally Posted by racerX

Virgin fly out of Hong Kong and take kit, next time you visit, use them instead! Fly back through san franciso, stop of at the gorge...

That sounds like my kind of plan! Do you know how much extra they charge for flying with kit?