Yesterday I tested the Tribal Rapid 41 and 45, the combined effort by Chris Lockwood and Peter Weitenberg.
It was just a first quick spin in gruelling open water conditions with increasing windspeeds sometimes gusting over 50 knots, conditions normally completely not suitable for a 41, yet I got a really good impression.
In a one on one comparison with day victory claiming Serge Beumer, my best mate and test buddy, racing on Chris Lockwood's CA44, a board on which we normally fight our open water high speed battles it got clear that massive open water speeds can be set with Chris' new design....even with the 41 in the gruelling conditions we had yesterday. I can already tell the 37/39/41 are the ultimate speedbank and Luderitz weapons.
It's to be noted we are mostly to effectively nearly always just as fast, with me mostly having the edge in windspeeds between 30-35 knots and Serge when it's getting to be extreme. I raced Serge for a very short period only as I didn't want to break my bones on a new board and size that is normally virtually unsailable on our spot. While we raced to my surprise I was slightly faster. As I know myself and my competitive nature I quit and I am happy I did otherwise I might have written these lines from hospital...
Serge took day victory while I tried to get my head around the concept of the new Tribal Rapid speedseries and Tribal Radix slalom series, slowly understanding the modern day differences happening underfoot.
Serge is one of the proven fastest open water riders in the world in conditions like this, beating Twan in similar conditions we had yesterday, hence he is a great match and comparison.
www.gps-speedsurfing.com/?mnu=forum&forum=2&val=193204
I didn't post as I didn't race apart from doing a few harakiri runs with Serge when the winds were still building up, but after the test I decided for the first time since my re-emtry I will fully switch from old gear: Falcon Speed/Falcon 80/Falcon 90 (all 2007 models) and CA44 to the new Tribal boards
As all well informed and objective riders know, boardspeeds don't differ a lot nowadays. Most is about control and ease of use with which speeds can be reached. Trim is essential and experience/talent takes care of the rest.
After a bit more thinking I will write down my first impressions and explain what, according to me marks the true difference. Obviously I do not aim to take the honour away from master designer and magician Chris Lockwood and his tech partner Peter Weitenberg.
If Chris disagrees on my findings so far, he is fully entitled to virtually gun me down. If possible with a paintball and not true bullets...
I will write as honestly as I can, based on an adult life long speed experience.
Thanks for the short review. Had a bit of a look at Chris's board but it was a bit hard to pry it out of his hands seeing that it was the only one in the country. He is as always Faaaast and in control.
Yeah he was insanely fast in Cervantes earlier this yr and on a big board for the conditions too, 103??
Select to expand quoteBSN101 said..
Yeah he was insanely fast in Cervantes earlier this yr and on a big board for the conditions too, 103??
I think he stole some flat water from elsewhere . Only found big waves n chop that day 
After a second test I have to adjust a vision presented in the first post. My prediction is simply that the Tribal Rapid speedseries will give an advantage of 1-2 knots in speed over standing boards.
It's getting clear to me what Chris was intending with the shapes and for instance at Lake George, in combination with weed shedding fins, acceleration numbers will prove to be mind-blowing.
Over the years I sailed just about all boards on the market, but never did I experience such an acceleration and frictionless ride after the initial push. The self trimming concept with a high riding board at a flat angle for a frictionless entry is most similar in feel to this:
Select to expand quotechoco said..
Pics of boards?, happy to test the 45
Sorry, nope I've got no pictures. I gladly leave showing them to Peter and/or Chris.
Some more thoughts on my speed statement to explain why I feel the speed gain will be proven this year in battles which won't be just focused on Luderitz. (Yet I am sure the dedicated hardcore Luderitz series will become THE benchmark in the hands of the right riders as the 37/39/41 truly mark a paradigm shift in record hunt speedboard design.)
In this case I am talking about real life speed conditions with a speedfocus of anything between 35-45 knots with a built in opportunity to far exceed that number. I am an average length 6ft tall guy, weighing between 78-84 kilo depending on winterfat or summer ripped physique.
The giants of speed like Vincent Valkenaerts, Hans Kreissel and Twan Verseput can put a board on the tail and keep it at a balanced angle because of first of all their proven skill, but straight after their length, weight and power. People all too often blindly follow their lead in regards to gear, while easily forgetting some designs are simply not suited for lighter riders. To me a Z-SLM is a perfect example of a pig to sail fin for my weight, yet I can understand why it works magic fir Hans Kreissel.
As a "normal" rider I am always on the look-out for a self trimming setting, giving me an edge over the heavy riders, instead of the other way around and thus I am searching for the ability to use narrower boards and smaller sails. As all know modern day gear has been designed the completely opposite way. As a consequence, the gustier it gets and the tighter a course gets, the harder it is to overcome weight and length at a comparable skill set as power has become key. On a side note, this is also one of the reasons why I am a huge fan of open water races as it supports you in finding the perfect angle for your weight. Races simply become more interesting to me as true skill can be easier recognised. (Just an opinion). As it happens I am nearly sure this is what Chris designed the 45/48/53 for. I can feel it on the water and I can see it on the shore, looking at the design.
I feel the whole set with the 53 having the volume of a 60 wide board and on top of that the double concave V set-up with bevels and a completely unique vision on volume distribution with a self leveling tail/trim tab, combined with a low rocker directly related to a tad longer than now usual boardlength, makes for an extremely smooth first connection with waves or ripples. Furthermore, in the super-smooth sandbank or sea grass supported conditions a hullshape can tend to feel "sticky" in the gusts once you are being thrown off balance only a little.
The true gain of the heaviest and tallest riders who also have the technique to utilise the inherent leverage advantage they have is their ability to hold the sail and board at a perfect trimming angle for longer. Read....the ability to keep it on the tail. Standing on Chris' new designs I can feel a "normal" length and weight, highly skillful speedrider has been thinking about the challenges he is being faced with, just like nearly all of us.
My prediction is that the boards will only benefit from the built-in design characteristics even more once conditions get to become truly perfect, as the tendency of a board to either start tailwalking or digging itself into the water, thus limiting acceleration, have been coped with accordingly. For sure the heaviest and best (as I do not aim to take anything away from the skills of the very best riders) will still be fastest as leverage and weight will always be a factor but at the same time I am sure the normal length and weight rider can start thinking the other way around and use his/her lighter weight to their advantage. Exactly that to me is the biggest feat of the new Rapid designs.
Looks like the Rapid is now available. Congrats Chris they look great 
www.tribalwindsurfing.com/en/home/162-4730-radix-slalom.html#/
Looks rad. The larger board sizes and their stated sail size range make me realize that I'd really like to see some results from "sub-optimal" or "light-wind" spots that would require such big sails. How fast has someone actually gone with a 9.5m sail anyway?
Select to expand quoteozzimark said..
Looks rad. The larger board sizes and their stated sail size range make me realize that I'd really like to see some results from "sub-optimal" or "light-wind" spots that would require such big sails. How fast has someone actually gone with a 9.5m sail anyway?
That'd be a typo
