Why J Heineken is so fast downwind ?

[pouch]

from what I read on Heineken's report, Julien and ollivier was leading at the weather mark
but heineken was putting down the hammer on the downwing leg.

do you have any explanations on that fact. I use to race with Julien, I am sure he is very fast downwind.

It seems that Julien was using a Jay factory raceboard tri fin set up (see below) my understanding could be that the front footstrap (located close to the rail) is most favourable to upwind but not to downwind..





does any one has some pictures of heineken race board ?

thanks in advance

[ronnie]

You can see the board in this video.


This is a low res screenshot.

[pouch]

Thanks ! Its is pretty difficult to guess fin size, it seems that fore fins are straight..

not so much info due to poor quality of the vid



max size for fins Jay factory is 40 cm

most of boards are tris.. with very impressive fins

cheers

[playacopal]

He's so fast cause he trains in Playa Copal, Costa Rica.....
so does Rob Douglass and Damien LeRoy!!!

[pouch]

He's so fast cause he trains in Playa Copal, Costa Rica.....
so does Rob Douglass and Damien LeRoy!!!

we you have chance to see them , take some pictues of their board and don't hesitate to share

Well despite more than 250 views of this topic, it seems that Heinekein's gear is somehow a secret

but what about Damo : he was mentionning that tri fin can be future of kite raceboard

quoted "I have been playing with the tri-fin recently and well the future looks like it might be changing"

does anybody knows what kind of set up damo is currently using ? I presume that we will get theanswer at la ventana

cheers

[Gebi]

3 or 4 fin set up? The jury has still not decided what is fastest.

What's important is that the fins set up you use is well tested and balanced for your weight and riding ability. On Kite race boards the balance is very different for ever 15 pounds or rider body weight.

The kites used make a difference as well. As each brand flies different and pulls different. To go fast you need to know your kites limits and power outputs and keep it in the right power zone. Customizing the depower system so it is micro tunable is very good as well.

Footstrap positions need to be custom tuned as well. Footstraps an inch too far back or too far forward can cause the board to be hard to ride when pushing on the race course.

The fastest riders have tuned their fins sizes and strap positions and have learned to adapt to the boards resistance. It is not an easy solution. Time on the water and a refined fin set up is the key.

It's all about the tuning.....

Once production boards become more tuned it will be easier to just buy stock equipment and learn to ride it as most of the testing will be done by the manufacturer.

P.S. Seems Damo is still on the quad set up......
All the best,

Gebi

[pouch]

thanks gebi for your wise advice, but unfortunately for me, I am more often riding the internet than my race board

anyhow I guess that Damo is working hard on fin setting , particularly when you see the following screenshots : finsize are huge

If someone impose me some limits (eg max fin size up to 50 cm) I would go for it , I guess Damo is doing the same

[twah]

since when did race boards become so big they can count as a boat.

i thought this was kiteboarding not kiteboating. race away but this is a bit ridiculous...

[leepasty]

Is Johnny pumping the kite downwind?
I see he has a extra log depower rope

[ronnie]

Is Johnny pumping the kite downwind?
I see he has a extra log depower rope

I've seen photos of Adam Koch doing the same thing.
My guess is that it allows them to depower/trim the kite without having to lean in, so they can hold more power with their weight outboard.
They steer with their back hand and trim the kite with the front hand from what I have seen.

Alex Aguera on tri versus quad