Raceboards (Aguera CR53, CR59 and my new LE CR69) have doubled my days on the water here in the Arizona desert. We have a huge lovely lake but terrible shifty, holey and offshore wind at the one kite launch.
Like you said, lots of resistance from the twin-tip kite crew. Though the windsurfers are clearly fascinated by the kite/race being faster when they're planing and still going strong when they're slogging . And they'd never seen kites drive upwind like that before either. The kite/race really does give you that awesome flying on the fin feeling I used to have way back in my windsurfing days on my old Richard Greene GEM world cup course slalom boards with big blades. Big smiles, first time I've had that sensation since switching to kites 8 years ago.
I think the latest IKA "box rule" raceboards can get more people to try them. 27.5" wide, 6'3" long and as much as 85liters of volume which effectively floats 170lbs of the rider. I just sold one of my Agueras to a fellow who was slogging on a 17m / door when a kiteracer on a 13m blew past him driving upwind hard. The huge wind range of these wide boards / long fins have been great too for keeping my quiver smaller. My biggest kite for the past year has been a 13m XBow despite my 210lbs.
Originally raceboards were merely a way for me to get on the water sooner. But I've grown to love the speed and "go anywhere" freedom to roam our 2.5 x 4 mile (30 km²) lake. Now the raceboards are all I ride here, reserving my little bamboo surfboard for the gorge and coast.
My latest ride for the desert, not me in the picture