These are scanned from the Article in Penthouse Australia. (Maybe the only time I had a good excuse to buy a copy! )
These SpeedWatch were notorious for reading LOW!
Mike English? Strapper Speed needle and 3m wave sail!!
"I'm sure I left my rig here somewhere.."
Chop jump sailing upwind (after the wind eased a bit!)
A young Jason P on one of the other days.
Yes, I am shocked to see how low Mal's boom was on that sail! He still has that sail. We actually tried it again in about 2005/6 and I was blown away by how far ahead of it's time it was. It was set on a soft, short carbon mast which was also unusual at the time. He modified the sail himself by cutting out a section of the head above the top batten to induce more twist, and it worked beautifully. It was originally a 4m or 3.9m Proto. sail so it ended up being a 3.8m.
When he got back into speed sailing in the mid 2000's, he was rigging his booms at about the same height as I was, but he is 8" taller than me!!
Here we were sailing on an easterly at Sandy in 2006. Me on 5m, Mal on 5.8m. Boom height virtually the same. When I used his rig the boom height was fine but the harness lines were so long I could only reach the boom with my fingertips!
Thats a flat sail on a wide boom in the foreground and a wide board on the water. One extreme to the other in 15years
Thats a flat sail on a wide boom in the foreground and a wide board on the water. One extreme to the other in 15years
He,He! Yep, still use widish booms.
Sails were a little flatter but this day it was gusting well over 30 knots and it was before the first 4.4m Koncepts were made so the sails were pulled pretty flat. This may have been the day that Mal pulled a 44 knot peak speed just before wiping out big time on the chop after the bearaway! . In those days that was almost an unheard of speed!!!! His board was the original F2 missile which was about 50cm wide! Fin was the very first if the TM45 series (V1) like this:
There is some big gaps in my photographic record between 1988-1990 and 2004 when the GPS thing started.
Here is some stuff (posted previously) from 1988 OR'89. Channel 9 sent a chopper down to film but it was on one of the other days, not the big SW. Windsurfing had a bit of mainstream media 'cred' in those days! This was all filmed in a 25 knot Easterly.
Thats a flat sail on a wide boom in the foreground and a wide board on the water. One extreme to the other in 15years
He,He! Yep, still use widish booms.
Sails were a little flatter but this day it was gusting well over 30 knots and it was before the first 4.4m Koncepts were made so the sails were pulled pretty flat. This may have been the day that Mal pulled a 44 knot peak speed just before wiping out big time on the chop after the bearaway! . In those days that was almost an unheard of speed!!!! His board was the original F2 missile which was about 50cm wide! Fin was the very first if the TM45 series (V1) like this:
Yeah it took me ten years to match that speed on the same run! Remember that day last year Daffy? So windy.
There is some big gaps in my photographic record between 1988-1990 and 2004 when the GPS thing started.
Here is some stuff (posted previously) from 1988 OR'89. Channel 9 sent a chopper down to film but it was on one of the other days, not the big SW. Windsurfing had a bit of mainstream media 'cred' in those days! This was all filmed in a 25 knot Easterly.
Daffy - That was 1990 when channel nine came down. It was my first year on Strapper an Pryde.
I had a 13" Strapper speed board that I wish was still in my shed.
There is some big gaps in my photographic record between 1988-1990 and 2004 when the GPS thing started.
Here is some stuff (posted previously) from 1988 OR'89. Channel 9 sent a chopper down to film but it was on one of the other days, not the big SW. Windsurfing had a bit of mainstream media 'cred' in those days! This was all filmed in a 25 knot Easterly.
Daffy - That was 1990 when channel nine came down. It was my first year on Strapper an Pryde.
I had a 13" Strapper speed board that I wish was still in my shed.
Thanks!
Those old boards have to be out there somewhere! I have a few oldies in my shed.
No thats a very young jason Polakow. Byron used to do the Sandy Pt thing.
He is still around surfing etc.
The guy in the video, black and orange wetsuit/board. I thought he looked too old to be JP(back then). I could be wrong though.
Cool to hear Byron still hits the water.
The guy in the video, black and orange wetsuit/board. I thought he looked too old to be JP(back then). I could be wrong though.
Cool to hear Byron still hits the water.
Yes, that is Byron.