Last Saturday in El Medano - Big finish!
My two weeks in El Medano have come to an end. We’re all on the plane right now flying back home. Yesterday was my last day sailing and I’m very pleased with the result.
Witchcraft
I started sailing at around noon. I got an email from Uwe earlier this week asking me to try the Witchcrafts and let him know what I think. The OTC used to have two Withcraft Chakra. 100 and 88 litres. I sailed the 100 last year and wasn’t very excited about this board. Witchcraft has the kind of boards that you either like or don’t like. There doesn’t seem to be anything in-between. As far as the 100 Chakra, I didn’t like it. I’m always keen to try lots of different kinds of gear so I took the opportunity to get re-acquainted with the Chakra. The 88 and 100 have gone and there is now a 94. Rumour has it a new Witchcraft Wave will be added later this year. I’m keen to try it once it arrives.
For now I took the Chakra 94 (V2.0). The wind was a little lighter then yesterday, but still a strong 5 - light 6 bft. A board this size was the right choice for me in these conditions. I sailed the board for about one and a half hour. Here’s what I think of the board (and again this is my opinion. There are many who might disagree).
The pro’s: The board planes easily and reaches a nice speed. When you hit a lull the board will keep planing for a long time before it stalls, giving you enough time to reach the next gust and keep going. The three fin setup provides excellent grip and you will have a hard time getting it to spin out. The fins also provide you with excellent upwind ability. In addition the boards turns really well when gybing and making larger turns on the wave. The design of the nose helps you go through white water very easily.
The con’s: I’m not a big fan of the ergonomic foot straps (this is a personal thing). The foot straps are located in such a way that my toes on my front foot keep touching the other strap (not a big thing, but still annoying). I don’t like the way the boards feels when jumping, it seems to have a bit of a live of it’s own in the air. This could be due to the size of the board and may be less obvious when jumping smaller versions. When riding waves I find it hard to make short, snappy turns with the board. This is in part due to the fins (I think) and is (again what I think) the reason why Witchcraft also offers versions of their wave boards with smaller fins. I don’t know if they do the same for the Chakra (which is basically more positioned as a freestyle wave board). The ride is quite smooth, but when you hit chop or a wave the spray keeps hitting me straight in the face. Not something I mind every once in a while, but it gets annoying after a while. Then there is the stance. You need a very wide stance (distance between your feet) on a Witchcraft and keep a more upright sailing position. I personally don’t enjoy that position.
Verdict: Like I said in the beginning, you’re either like or don’t like the Witchcrafts. I don’t enjoy sailing them because I find the ride uncomfortable. Not because they don’t perform (they do). This is the kind of board you really need to try yourself. A friend of mine tried the Chakra and loves it. There’s nothing more personal then a windsurf board I guess.
Update: Bouke (shaper/owner of Witchcraft) was kind enough to send me an email, after reading this article, with some comments and pointers. First let me point out once again that this is my personal opinion and that there are a lot of people who enjoy sailing the Witchcrafts every day. I invite every one to share their experiences with Witchcrafts in the comments. Part of my goal of this blog and website is to get everyone to try more gear, not just listen what the magazines, websites or blogs (like mine) say. Form you own opinion before you buy (I’ll still give you mine though if you ask for it).
Back to Bouke.
- I spoke about the spray hitting my face. Bouke indicates that this can easily be resolved by placing the mastfoot a little more backwards. I was sailing the board with the mastfoot in the centre. I’ll try this when I’m back in November.
- The footstraps can be adjusted to create a less wide stance. I will also try this in November.
- The footstraps are better for your feet as they will preserve your feet better if your sailing for many days in a row. I can’t test this so I’ll take his word for it.
- He acknowledges that a more advance sailor would benefit from smaller fins, but most sailors will not notice any major difference. I fully agree. The fins do an excellent job and changing them would only be necessary when you have a more radical sailing style. I assume that you’d rather have the Wave then the Chakra when your style is more radical.
His tips should resolve most of the issues I mentioned. I’ll make sure to try them in November and inform you about the difference they make. You can contact Bouke by the way if you do have questions or need advice. That is one major advance of Witchcraft; support directly from the shaper. That can’t be any better.
Severne
You might wonder what sail I was using. I was sailing a 2011 Severne Blade 5.7. The OTC already has a number of 2011 sails available and ready to be used. I’ve tried various Severne sails last year. I think they are great sails (especially the Blade and S1) for lighter sailors, spots where the wind is very consistent or spots with powerful waves that will keep you going. They lack a bit of power in my opinion which I don’t enjoy. I was curious to find out whether things had changed this year. I was pleasantly surprised as the Blade seems to have more power this year and is as easy to control as before. I liked it so much that I kept using it for the rest of the day (tuning it every once in a while to see what the difference would be) even though the conditions where quite gusty. Normally I would have switched to a power-wave sail from a different brand. Thumbs up for the new Blade.
Starboard Quad and Evo 2011
As I mentioned before the team from boardseeker.com is in El Medano testing all kinds of wave boards and sails. Adrian was kind enough to let me spend some time on the 2011 Starboard Quad 87 and Starboard Evo 86. They also brought smaller models (77l) but the wind just wasn’t strong enough for me to even think about trying them.
N.B. Let me make one thing clear right away. My observations are made based on about one and a half hour of sailing these boards with only one fin setup. If I would have had more time I would have been able to come to a more refined conclusion. I own the 2010 Starboard Quad 81 myself and was keen to see what changes where made. The Quad 81 is basically my reference when comparing the two new boards.
First the new Starboard Quad 87. This has the new fin box and offers various ways of tuning the fins for various conditions and styles. There is a little sticker on the bottom that shows you the different options:
1. Onshore - Big fins forward and small fins in the back, just like the current 2010 Quad.
2. Sideshore - Big fins in the back and small fins forward, like almost every other brand. The board was setup with this configuration.
3. Loose - Only two big fins in a twinzer configuration.Two 16 cm fins are added for this (similar to the new Evo).
The fins are different from last year. They are smaller and more swept backwards. The smaller fins on the 2010 board are made of plastic. Now all fins are made of fiberglass. You can feel that makes a difference as they are stiffer and track/grip a little better. The boards outline seems to be the same (I didn’t have the opportunity to check or measure) but the rocker has been changed (so I’ve been told). The board gets going quite easily and planes very comfortably. It’s not a fast board but neither is the 2010 model. You can feel right away that the board is more maneuverable, more nervous (but in a good way). The board loves jumping (even in this bigger size) and has great control in the air. The second difference can be noticed in its upwind abilities. I was struggling a bit to go upwind. This is in part due to the setup of the fins and also by their smaller size. It will still go upwind but not as nice as the 2010 model. I would have loved to try the onshore fin setup to see what the difference would be. The wind was very gusty near the shore and I had trouble finding decent waves (if any). The board does turn faster and shorter then the 2010 model. I think the more advanced sailors will love this. People who are getting to grips with wave riding will probably not feel a big difference and might even like the onshore setting better as it provides a bit more grip. All in all a very nice board. My only worry is about the sizes of the fins for big guys like me.
Update: I have been looking at images of the Quad and the fins always seem to look bigger and less swept back then the fins I’ve tried. I haven’t found an explanation yet.
Update 2: U-Ride have reviewed the Quad as well. Check their article for more pictures and information.
Next up was the new Evo. The Evo has been gone for a year and has now returned as a new board with two configurations; twinzer or single fin. I sailed the twinzer configuration (also with the new fin box). The Evo has two 16 cm fins that are far straighter then the fins used on the Quad. The board also seems to have more V then the Quad. I noticed that the Evo planes a bit faster then the Quad and has slightly higher speed. It also goes upwind a lot better. Like the quad it loves to jump. I really enjoyed sailing the Evo today. I tried to catch a wave or two but was struggling again. I can’t really say whether the bigger twinzer fins make it harder for very short turns, but long turns are no problem. Being a heavy guy I think the fins will be fine for me. Maybe a lighter sailor would like to use a smaller set of fins.
Another small change that makes a big impact are the new foot straps. Starboard has said goodbye to the straps on the 2010 model (which you had to make tighter by pulling a strap) and gone back to a more classic/standard and comfortable design. Biggest change is the size indication on the inside of the straps. At the OTC you’re constantly using different boards and need to adjust the straps to your liking. I always wondered why no one every put some kind of size indication on the straps. Now Starboard has listened to my prayers. The sizes are in one centimetre increments (I think) and my size is 3. So the smallest size plus three centimeters.
Then there is the new fin box. I still need to be convinced of the advantages, apart from the weight. The 2010 Quad has a similar, smaller version of this box for the smaller fins. I need to tighten these fins every other session because they will be loose again. How will this work in this newer version? Then there’s the issues of getting your fins all the way into the board, so that they make a nice connection with board. I’ve seen guys struggle to get the fins in deep enough. Even resorting to brute force and a rubber hammer. A mini tuttle box will pull the fins into the board. This doesn’t. It tries to push the fins down from the side. Not the best direction if the fin needs to go down. Then there is the fact that part of the screw very often keeps sticking outside the board’s bottom, basically creating a small obstruction in an otherwise smooth suface. We’ve always been thought that a boards bottom needs to be as smooth as possible. Now there are parts of screws sticking out. Might not have any effect, but it just feels wrong.
Time will tell!
At the end of the day I concluded that the Evo was my favourite board today. It just made the best of the conditions and gave me the best ride. I can’t wait to try the boards again in different conditions (maybe Wijk aan Zee, North Sea) to see which I will prefer then. I hope the OTC will have these boards in store when I return in November (you’re free to join me if you like, just drop me an email) and give them another good test.
Big thanks
I would like to thank they guys from boardseeker.com once again for giving me the opportunity to try these boards. The guys are hard at work testing a huge number of wave sails and boards and I can’t wait to get their verdict on all of them. Make sure you visit their website now and once the results are up. I’ll make sure to let you know when that happens.








