During the 2016 World Windsurfing Championships in Eilat, Israel earlier this year, Neil Pryde laid down the gauntlet to the sport of kiteboarding when it unveiled their plans to change the way the world looks at Olympic Windsurfing. While it was just a sketch and some pretty colours, the concept struck fear in the hearts of centerboard lovers around the world.

There was no centerboard. But there was an extra wing!

The RS:X Convertible is set to become the worlds first one-design hydrofoiling windsurfing class, up for Olympic inclusion and for the first time in a long time, proven to be a design that regular sailors might like to sail around the bay. It's a small slalom board design with a 7.8m sail, plenty big enough for light winds on a hydrofoil, and small enough to be fun when the wind blows up. Called the RS:X convertible because the hydrofoil is optional, on those strong wind days the foil will be replaced with a conventional slalom fin and racing will revert to fast and furious action we're more accustomed to seeing on the bay.

While it's not the first hydrofoiling windsurfer to be produced, it will be the first to be mass produced. With that comes some extensive testing in various conditions and by a range of riders. Getting the foil just right will be critical to the success of the class, because once the moulds are made - that's it for at least a couple of years!

Check out the pictures of testing in New Caledonia, and discuss whether you'll be buying one when they're released next year in the forums.

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