How good is slalom x. Real windsurfing flat out. Coverage at feurte has been very professional
I must admit that after the Slalom-X the Slalom-foil is a bit ... boring. More classy, definitely faster but bit boring. It was interesting to to be able to compare speeds, foiling is up at least a couple of knots, if not more, in a straight, but it goes at least ten knots faster at the jibes. We need some improvement in fin board design. Even PWA pros can't jibe with speed!!!!
I thought it was a great slalom event, with foil slalom and fin slalom in separated into different events. Both had close racing. Men's fin was won by 0.7 after 6 eliminations. Foil by 3.3 after 7 eliminations, but wasnt decided until the last elim. The women's events werent so close, SQ dominating in fin. In foil Justine Lemeteyer could have fluffed the last elimination to lose it, but she won.
Coverage and add-ons were an improvement.
I thought it was a great slalom event, with foil slalom and fin slalom in separated into different events. Both had close racing. Men's fin was won by 0.7 after 6 eliminations. Foil by 3.3 after 7 eliminations, but wasnt decided until the last elim. The women's events werent so close, SQ dominating in fin. In foil Justine Lemeteyer could have fluffed the last elimination to lose it, but she won.
Coverage and add-ons were an improvement.
Slalom X not as slow as you may think...some of the windsurfers were hitting 37 knots at times. Great to see high wind slalom again, and to see how knackered they were after each race was fantastic. Nico Prien commented it took as much energy to do one slalom heat as it did to do a day of foiling!
Awesome event, really enjoyed watching the slalom X. The commentary (Ben) and drone footage has been brilliant.
Those guys must be super fit, Pozo and Fuerta must cause huge wear n tear on the body. Respect.
I wonder if future slalom board construction will be beefed up to cope with the extra battering they take?
Select to expand quoteRoo said..
Slalom X not as slow as you may think...some of the windsurfers were hitting 37 knots at times. Great to see high wind slalom again, and to see how knackered they were after each race was fantastic. Nico Prien commented it took as much energy to do one slalom heat as it did to do a day of foiling!
Is it me or does Nico prien love complaining and shouting at other riders.
Select to expand quoteBen1973 said..Roo said..
Slalom X not as slow as you may think...some of the windsurfers were hitting 37 knots at times. Great to see high wind slalom again, and to see how knackered they were after each race was fantastic. Nico Prien commented it took as much energy to do one slalom heat as it did to do a day of foiling!
Is it me or does Nico prien love complaining and shouting at other riders.
All show for his channel
Select to expand quoteRoo said..
Slalom X not as slow as you may think...some of the windsurfers were hitting 37 knots at times. Great to see high wind slalom again, and to see how knackered they were after each race was fantastic. Nico Prien commented it took as much energy to do one slalom heat as it did to do a day of foiling!
Slalom is indeed physically quite brutal. I am always surprised by my heart rate. Just going around the pond on slalom equipment I am happily around my max. And not having been able to pick up foiling is a regret, given how much less demanding it seems to be on the body (ignoring the crashes). But there is always windsurf LT in the local morning breezes for the future 
Slalom gear is a great workout, last 2 hour session I averaged 159 bpm with a max of 193! A bit above the max for my age. That's why I love it, go fast or go home.
Select to expand quotechoco said..Ben1973 said..Roo said..
Slalom X not as slow as you may think...some of the windsurfers were hitting 37 knots at times. Great to see high wind slalom again, and to see how knackered they were after each race was fantastic. Nico Prien commented it took as much energy to do one slalom heat as it did to do a day of foiling!
Is it me or does Nico prien love complaining and shouting at other riders.
All show for his channel
Well I guess if he wants it to fail, I've stopped watching.
Select to expand quoteBen1973 said.. Is it me or does Nico prien love complaining and shouting at other riders.
I thought it was a bit too grouchy, especially from a leader in the sport. And i reckon i could see him heading in for it, he could have done something different.
That would be a very high risk spot to pass someone wouldn't it?
Select to expand quoteduzzi said..Roo said..
Slalom X not as slow as you may think...some of the windsurfers were hitting 37 knots at times. Great to see high wind slalom again, and to see how knackered they were after each race was fantastic. Nico Prien commented it took as much energy to do one slalom heat as it did to do a day of foiling!
Slalom is indeed physically quite brutal. I am always surprised by my heart rate. Just going around the pond on slalom equipment I am happily around my max. And not having been able to pick up foiling is a regret, given how much less demanding it seems to be on the body (ignoring the crashes). But there is always windsurf LT in the local morning breezes for the future
Yes I'm wondering how much longer I'll be able to sustain the heartrates I need for fin.
According to the 'suggested ' max heart rate for your age I should have been dead ages ago..
Select to expand quoteRoo said..
Slalom gear is a great workout, last 2 hour session I averaged 159 bpm with a max of 193! A bit above the max for my age. That's why I love it, go fast or go home.
When I'm sailing fit I often average 170 hitting 193 bpm for a 1.30 / 2hr session It's getting harder to get back to fitness after injury these days.
I love the workout I get sailing.
Muscles get toned , the old age gut and kilos disappear and all while I'm having fun! 
If I work hard enough to average 150 heart rate for a couple of hours cycling I'm hating every minute. 
Select to expand quoteMobZ said..Ben1973 said.. Is it me or does Nico prien love complaining and shouting at other riders.
I thought it was a bit too grouchy, especially from a leader in the sport. And i reckon i could see him heading in for it, he could have done something different.
That would be a very high risk spot to pass someone wouldn't it?
I'm surprised noone got hurt. It looked like Nicos board hit the other guys leg.
Personally I thought Nico should have handled the situation more graciously. In that situation he was the elder, more experienced sailor, and is the PWA president after all. What's more, it is pretty clear that Hidde simply dropped his jibe rather than make an aggressive or dangerous maneuver. (I know that Nico didn't say otherwise, but his reaction, i.e. that Hidde should have apologized to him, implies that he felt that Hidde was at fault.) It's then even more ironic that Nico looses his qualifying position in the quarter finals of the next elimination after he drops his own jibe, thus allowing.... Hidde to qualify instead!
By far the most dangerous jibe action was by my countryman Cyril BEL250 in an earlier round, who jibed into the back of Stroosma hitting his leg, and then catapulting himself into the path and under the foil of Merceur. Cyril rightly got DSQ'd and fined EUR250 for dangerous sailing for that action.
That said, there are clearly some that are more aggressive and willing to take risks (with sometimes dangerous consequences) that don't always get pulled up on it...
In all I'm surprised given the speeds and risks being taken that there aren't more crashes and injuries -- thankfully so.
Select to expand quotesboardcrazy said..Roo said..
Slalom gear is a great workout, last 2 hour session I averaged 159 bpm with a max of 193! A bit above the max for my age. That's why I love it, go fast or go home.
When I'm sailing fit I often average 170 hitting 193 bpm for a 1.30 / 2hr session It's getting harder to get back to fitness after injury these days.
I love the workout I get sailing.
Muscles get toned , the old age gut and kilos disappear and all while I'm having fun!
If I work hard enough to average 150 heart rate for a couple of hours cycling I'm hating every minute.
What are you doing! I never get more than a peak of 160bpm and ave is 120bpm. My max is 185 at 51years old
Select to expand quotebel29 said..
Personally I thought Nico should have handled the situation more graciously. In that situation he was the elder, more experienced sailor, and is the PWA president after all. What's more, it is pretty clear that Hidde simply dropped his jibe rather than make an aggressive or dangerous maneuver. (I know that Nico didn't say otherwise, but his reaction, i.e. that Hidde should have apologized to him, implies that he felt that Hidde was at fault.) It's then even more ironic that Nico looses his qualifying position in the quarter finals of the next elimination after he drops his own jibe, thus allowing.... Hidde to qualify instead!
By far the most dangerous jibe action was by my countryman Cyril BEL250 in an earlier round, who jibed into the back of Stroosma hitting his leg, and then catapulting himself into the path and under the foil of Merceur. Cyril rightly got DSQ'd and fined EUR250 for dangerous sailing for that action.
That said, there are clearly some that are more aggressive and willing to take risks (with sometimes dangerous consequences) that don't always get pulled up on it...
In all I'm surprised given the speeds and risks being taken that there aren't more crashes and injuries -- thankfully so.
Yeah, i didn't really think Nico getting angry was justified. but with the risk taking, these guys and girls are actually racing for "sheep stations", there are risks and then there are risks. Gybing blatantly straight into someone isn't the done thing, but ducking inside into a gap that's tight but doable to overtake someone is a part of the racing.
Select to expand quoteBen1973 said..sboardcrazy said..Roo said..
Slalom gear is a great workout, last 2 hour session I averaged 159 bpm with a max of 193! A bit above the max for my age. That's why I love it, go fast or go home.
When I'm sailing fit I often average 170 hitting 193 bpm for a 1.30 / 2hr session It's getting harder to get back to fitness after injury these days.
I love the workout I get sailing.
Muscles get toned , the old age gut and kilos disappear and all while I'm having fun!
If I work hard enough to average 150 heart rate for a couple of hours cycling I'm hating every minute.
What are you doing! I never get more than a peak of 160bpm and ave is 120bpm. My max is 185 at 51years old
Probably using big gear in our crappy patchy wind.
Select to expand quoteduzzi said..
...And not having been able to pick up foiling is a regret, given how much less demanding it seems to be on the body (ignoring the crashes). But there is always windsurf LT in the local morning breezes for the future
Foiling can be less demanding. Foiling wound up in big wind is certainly capable of getting the bpms up. Making a deep run downwind with about 2-3 extra meters of canvas knowing if you let up you'll absolutely explode makes one appreciate regular cardio workouts.
I'm waiting for a version of the LT that I can put my walker on that has special deck fittings for the tennis balls on the feet of my walker. When the time comes, that'll be handy.
Select to expand quotePaducah said..
Foiling can be less demanding. Foiling wound up in big wind is certainly capable of getting the bpms up. Making a deep run downwind with about 2-3 extra meters of canvas knowing if you let up you'll absolutely explode makes one appreciate regular cardio workouts.
yep, this.
verified it earlier this week: had a powered up (gusting 20+ knots) long-distance session on my foil racing kit (1m board, 9m sail) in messy wind chop/bay swell/boat wake earlier this week (with added risk of hitting jellies and other fish that are in abundance this time of year); on the downwind leg I hit 190bpm. admittedly it was also very hot and humid, but that's way up from my normal top heart rate on foil...
...and virtually identical to the top I registered two days later on my smallest fin slalom kit (99L board & 5.8 sail) in 30+kn and similarly messy water state and temperature/humidity: 189bpm. on the whole, though, the fin was way more taxing on the body, no doubt about it.
(also '73 vintage)
The sailor who wiped Nico Prien out just walked away without saying anything, let alone apologise. His foil came out of the water going into the gybe, and he straight-lined into Nico. Not deliberate, but he should have said something, or checked he was ok after. I think that was mostly why Nico was so pi$$ed off.
If the camera wasnt waiting for Nico when he came in he might not have shouted like that. Or he might have.
on another view Nico cut his own jibe unnecessarily tight, despite knowing that Hidde was there, cutting off Hidde in the process, potentially causing him to touch down and crash into Nico. just saying -- there is at least joint responsibility for that crash, so maybe Nico should have apologized too...
either way, I thought his reaction was disproportionate, and not a great look for the president. at the same time, I also appreciate the stress, frustration and exhaustion of the racing environment.
