First impression of the Exocet Warp SL56

As I arrived on the spot the wind was blowing 12 to 18 knots. I was disappointed about the conditions but I decided to rig the sail anyhow. I took the RS6 6.7 with minimum downhaul and put a SL7 33 under the board to maximize the chance to get the board planning.
I went out and immediately started planning. Did the wind increase or does this board plane so easy? I also have a Warp SL61 on order and while I was sailing I started to wonder if I really need a SL61 also.
The board has a very light feeling. Compared to the previous Warp’s the feeling is more direct and less soft. Good thing. The acceleration in a gust is instantaneous. As if the light and stiff board does not have any gravity at all.
I immediately felt at home on the board. It gives great confidence. That’s the thing you need to start pushing hard.
And then the first jibe, the board doesn’t lose any speed at all and comes storming out of the jibe. This is really a fantastic feeling. I once had a board (JP XCITE Ride) that was also a fantastic gyber in flat water. A long time ago I had a F2 Axxis which was fantastic in gybing in chop. The Warp SL56 is a combination of both. Very good exit speed and cutting through chop in a gybe.
The Exocet DDSA (double density shock absorbers) are still there and do their job. The foot straps are stiffer and even with the thick surf shoes (ION Ballistic) no problem to get in the straps.
I changed the SL7 33 for a SL7 31. Still enough grip for the RS6 6.7 in these light conditions. The speeds also went up a bit. I think that the SL31 will be my preferred fin for the 6.7 and I will put a SL7 29 for the RS6 6.2. When I get my other boards I will try the following combo’s.
Warp SL71 + RS6 8.4 + RS7 45
Warp SL71 + RS6 7.2 + SL7 39
Warp SL61 + RS6 7.2 + SL7 33
Warp SL61 + RS6 6.7 + SL7 31(33)
Warp SL56 + RS6 6.2 + SL7 29(31)
Warp SL56 + RS6 5.4 + SL7 27(29)

All I have to you now is to wait for some more wind to break my GPS records!

Lake Garda

My first vacation to the Lake Garda in Italy. I heard of some good wind conditions in the summer and I decided to give it a go. I camped in Torbole. In the morning there was a slight breeze coming from the North. Not really enough wind to go out. In the afternoon the wind came from the South. This wind is called the ORA. The morning wind is called the PELER.
It is difficult to start from the town of Torbole because the wind is not as strong near the coastline as it is let’s say 200 meters from the shore. The best starting place in Torbole with ORA wind is the parking place near the windsurf school Conca. (You will have to pay 8 euro’s a day to park your car there) The ORA wind will blow from about 2:30 pm till 6:00pm with a force 3 to 5 beaufort.
After one week in Torbole I heard from another windsurfer that the PELER wind is much stronger in the morning in Malcesine. There is a bus-parking there were you can park. The PELER will blow from 6 am till 9:30 am. One morning I tried to leave the camping early to go to Malcesine. Unfortunately I couldn’t leave the camping before 7 am because the gate was still closed. When I arrived at the bus-parking about 7:20 am there was not one parking space left. About 50 to 60 windsurfers were already out on the water!
The ORA and PELER winds are best in the summer when the temperatures are high and there are no clouths. One exception to this is the wind you can get after a thunderstorm. Then you can have 6 to 7 Beaufort for a couple of hours.
The Lake Garda itself has clear blue water. The water is coming from several mountain rivers. The water temperature in august was about 21° Celsius in Torbole. I also visited the following towns in the north of the Lake. Riva Del Garda (good food, nice market places), Limone (famous for Lemon agriculture), Torbole (windsurf), Malcesine (beautiful town and castle). In the south of the Lake you have a completely different landscape. The lake is no longer surrounded with mountains and the lake is much wider. The towns Lazise (within walls) and Sirmione (island within Garda Lake only connected with the main land with a small road) are also worth visiting.

All pictures are taken from the surfsport Conca d'Oro.
Special thanks to Equipe-Trading for the loan of the Warp Slalom 73.
Special thanks to Datamotive, my sponsor.



Conca

Impressive mountains

DataMotive

Andrea Cucchi and myself.

Speed

Speed2