Marco Boone from Windfoilen Nederland told me that I am among the first to lay hands on the new Starboard Freeride Foil 1500! I am glad that it is so because the standard Freeride Foild 1100 was one of the foils I enjoyed the most during last season. It was fast enough but also comfortable and not demanding in turns. However, I noticed that in the low wind, I had a need for something more powerful. Being close to 100 kilograms, I tried to compensate with larger sails, but that meant that I had to deal with 9 m2 sails. Well, if you are competing, that’s fine, but for true soulwindsurfing, I imagined sail not bigger than 7,0 and wind not stronger than 13-15 knots. I had tried with bigger foil (1500), but that meant I stepped over into the field of freestyle foiling. And that meant being slower. Well, slower than I like to be.
I was thinking about bigger foil in the direction of freeride, and fortunately, at Starboard, they had the same thoughts! A new addition to the Starboard Foil family for 2023. is larger Freeride Foil 1500 cm3 with an impressive span of 102 cm. And it seems that I am the first around to have it in my quiver.
Unfortunately, I will not be able to try it for another month or so (a lot of work to finish before the full windsurfing season starts). I have great expectations for this foil. It looks quite big, especially in comparison with the smaller predecessor in size of 1100. The shape is the same, but the span is quite long. You can see in the pictures the comparison between an 1100 and a new 1500.
The standard fuselage for Freeride Foil is Evo 95 cm, but I used it on Evo 105 and even 115. In general, I am not at home with 95 fuselages (maybe because of my height and weight). The 105 would be my fuselage of choice for this foil.
The standard tail wing for Freeride foil is 500. Yes, a very big tail wing. Until now, with 1100, I used an alternative 330 tail wing, but I think 1500 deserves 500. In the picture, you can see how both tail wings look together.
All that may seem like huge equipment to racers, but experience taught me that you have to appreciate the comfort. In most cases, it is better to be comfortable and stable than to struggle with smaller but allegedly faster equipment.
Anyway, for this season, I also plan to go on in another direction, on smaller, faster foil sizes. But that is another story for another post. For now, I must say that I like the feel and the touch of Starboard Freeride Foil 1500 and can’t wait to try it on water. As soon as I do it, you’ll be able to read the report here.
About the Author: Adrian
