This is what a professional windsurfer needs to do when he lives in Bonaire. Just like our Taty Frans from the Point-7 Black Team. In April he had 4 reasons to do it.
- Pick up part of his new gear!
- Compete at the first EFPT in Austria.
- Tune in his slalom equipment with our speed sailor Twan Verseput, and Dirk Doppenberg, our sales manager who is also fast and knows the product well (check his gps results in the gpsspeedsurfing site!).
- The first PWA Slalom event this year should be in Israel by end of June and what is better than travelling to explore your own speed against other guys to compare the equipment feedback?
Here the double interview to TWAN VERSEPUT & TATY FRANS.
Where did you sail yesterday?
TWAN: Kornwerderzand
TATY: It was a nice slalom session at Kornwerderzand.
Who was first on the water and faster in rigging?
TWAN: Think it was me after Taty arrived a bit later, probably need a bit of a rigging contest to find out who is the faster rigger!
TATY: Twan was first on the water follow by Dirk I had a long drive and had to get food before arriving at the spot. I am a slow rigger, I take my time to even though I know my settings.
How windy was it?
TWAN: Between 15-20 knots bit gusty
TATY: Was gusty could be around max 20 knots of wind, but not a bad place and timing to be there.
Conditions of the water?
TWAN: Flat/ side off wind
TATY: Flat to small chops the lower you go; it felt a bit like back home at Sorobon bay.
Which sail did you use?
TWAN: 7.8 AC-one ’21
TATY: 7.8 AC-one 2021 what a sail. Very happy with it.
Which board do you use?
TWAN: AV Boards Modena 72.5
TATY: Future Fly boards 117 DH
Which fin do you use?
TWAN: 37 Carpenter
TATY: 36.5 carpenter the best size and fin I have till this day.
What is the distance between your foot straps?
TWAN: Both back and front outside hole, all the way in the front.
TATY: Well on all my slalom boards I use the back inserts on both the front and back.
Mast foot position on your board?
TWAN: Medium position (130cm i thought)
TATY: At 130cm with 7.8 and a bit further in the front if I am on the 7.1.
How much to you set your extension?
TWAN: 42cm
TATY: I set my extension at 40cm and pull the downhaul leaving 2-3cm space from the sail pulley and extension pulley.
How much do you set your boom?
TWAN: 2cm above the dot in the middle of the boom cut out
TATY: I always keep my boom height setting between chin and chest. It all depends on the sail size: For example, 7.8 I go chin and 7.1 I go just a little under my chin.
Which change in trimming do you do from light wind to strong wind?
TWAN: Sail trim, boom height, harness lines length. I normally put my harness lines 2 inches longer from 28 to 30 inch. If it is super windy i go also 2-3cm more in front with the mast track.
TATY: I don’t work or change much with the downhaul setting once you find a sweet downhaul setting, please try to keep that and I mostly use the outhaul to adjust the sail for light, medium or strong wind. Do not make the sail to flat it will feel unstable I always make sure the sail slightly touches the booms. Boom height chin is the best option for light/medium wind, slightly above chest is good for strong wind. Lines I always use 30inches no matter the winds conditions.
What was your top speed?
TWAN: 35 knots (65 Km\h) |
TATY: My top speed was 34.23 knots, but I am sure the moment I went out the wind was already getting lighter. But I am happy with the board speed.
How many Km did you sail?
TWAN: Around 75km
TATY: About 40km.
Who was faster between the 2 of you?
TWAN: Upwind: Taty, in the upwind/ crosswind in the gusty flatwater conditions he is flying! If I have the power i can keep up but in the lull, he found a way to keep the hammer down!
Downwind: Think I’m a tiny bit faster, this is also more my discipline. But it was super close with Taty! Jibing: Did not do so many jibes together but Taty is of course the better jiber, guess I’m not bad for a speed sailor to ????
TATY: Overall, Well I think I was faster, but ‘Twan had good board speed when his right hand is in the front. I was a bit faster with left hand in the front, which is also the direction I am faster. But much respect to the Dutch guys who sailed yesterday with us they have amazing speed even some had the ACK and ACZ but flying.
Who would win a slalom race?
TWAN: Taty in these conditions probably, with some more wind and downwind course i can hopefully give him a hard time!
TATY: I guess that would be me, BUT TWAN is getting better at jibing, hope he can find the way to work on that. He could do good in slalom.
Was Dirk faster than you guys?
TWAN: He was right on our asses! He still fast and amazing sparring partner!
TATY: Dirk is Dirk, he can be surprisingly fast. So, to have him around is a must and a good teammate. Thanks Dirk.
A speed gps race?
TWAN: Both Taty and Dirk are superfast, who gets to right gust keeps the hammer down will be fast!
TATY: I need to work on that , I know speed sailing is a whole different ball game compare to slalom speed sailing. I really respect Twan in that area.
Was it a cold day?
TWAN: Relatively warm for Dutch standards (although Taty will probably not agree with this haha).
TATY: It was okay, not as cold when I sailed in Brouwersdam a week ago, my hands are always cold, my fingers hurts but the temperature was okay my foot was not cold so that means we had a good day.
What did you eat after sailing?
TWAN: Big plate of pasta! (some snacks from sportvoedingswebshop.nl which Dirk provided during the day).
TATY: Thank you Dirk for the sport voeding bar, I had a redbull and a steak sandwich by subway, banana, cookies. Hahahaha.
