Starboard Phantom Racing

After the successes at Yyteri, Finland and Medemblik Holland, Starboard announces their third Phantom 295 event this year. From the 1st until the 5th of December,The Kings Cup will take over Phuket. Download your notice of Race by clicking here.

During the annual King’s Cup in Phuket, Thailand, forty complete charter kits will be readily available to youngsters who want to compete. Daniel Blinnika, current vice-world champion in Raceboard youth will be the man to beat, as well as Olympic gold medalist Marina Alabau. Several windsurfing federations will also send their best-ranked youth sailor to compete.

Marina Alabau

Starboard, in association with the Royal Varuna Yacht Club, the Yacht Racing Association of Thailand, the Royal Thai Navy and the Province of Phuket, organizes the one-design class Phantom 295 races during this beautiful event in its 25th inauguration. 8 days of keelboat, multihull, and of course, Phantom 295 racing. Thailand’s dry season promises North – West winds and exciting racing conditions with no need for wetsuits; a lycra against the sun will suffice, in combination with sunscreen of course.

For young competitive windsurfers who want to get away from the cold winter and race some of the best Phantom 295 sailors in the world, this is your chance. Starboard will fly in the winners from previous editions, and by making 40 complete sets available for anyone who wants to compete, world class racing is guaranteed.

The organization has arranged a package deal with the Kata Beach Resort & Spa, for approx. EUR 100 a night, and a range of alternative accommodations in different price classes are listed on the Kings Cup website.
We advise competitors to fly to Bangkok, and book a budget airliner like Air Asia to get from Bangkok to Phuket, which is a very short flight. Phuket is not only a world-class watersports destination, but also one of the bigger Thai cities with a bristling nightlife, making this Phantom 295 event a trip of a lifetime. With competitors traveling to Phuket from all over the world, entries are limited and we advise you to book your place in advance.

Warm water, incredible course racing and South East Asia

For more information, have a look at the Kings Cup website.

For more head to the Starboard website here www.star-board.com

Dave took the new board out for a thorough test whilst working on new race sail designs with Ken Black using new materials. Starboard have introduced two new stand-out features onto the 2012 Phantom Raceboard – the slanted mast-track and the ‘Batwings’ along the tail edge.  According to their design rationale the unlevel mast track allows the board to roll onto the rail much easier when in the elevated position.  The Batwings are using rocket air flow theories to help the board’s speed in varying condition.

The Starboard Phantom

So what did Dave have to say –

“It’s weird when something new comes along because racers all get super critical. I was. So I went out needing to be convinced rather than believing it would be faster. The elevated mast track theory makes sense and that really did work. In light winds it is normally pretty hard to get the board on the rail and to stay there in chop but with this new track, even in the same mast position as before the board was up railing quicker and happy to stay on the rail. It will however take a little time to get your toes to find the pedal. I have to confess I read the brochure text on the benefits of the batwing after sailing so I was not directed on what should happen. I did not really notice much effect in non planning conditions downwind, however upwind it did seem to help tracking and this was not mentioned. But the biggest improvement was the desire for the board to stay on the plane. It is fantastic. Usually I am pumping like mad in marginal conditions to keep planing downwind. This wide tail meant you could go broader, faster and stay planning. Brilliant, because I hate pumping. It does rider higher in full planning mode so is still ‘fast and free’. The other characteristic I noticed was how the gybe changed. Looking at those wide wings made me think gybing was going to be tough. The board will not let you make a snappy tight turn as before, and it forces a slight wider arc which is easy to control and stay on the plane as you exit. Makes the whole turn very smooth. I am sure there is more to come. It looks super cool – that maybe enough”

For more details visit: www.tushingham.com or www.star-board.com.

If you fancy taking the new Phantom for a test drive then give the guys at Poole Harbour Watersports a call – they will have one for March: Pooleharbour.co.uk

Starboard Phantom 295

The Phantom 295 is the new all-in-one international windsurfing class supported by Starboard, with events held around clubs, centres, schools and championship events, coordinated by Starboard international and a global network of national distributors and partners.

The class positions itself as a feeder to many established classes: social and competitive on one hand, and affordable plus practical on the other.

One board and three sails are available: 6.5, 7.5 and 8.5

Technical innovations like its Bat Wings for high-wind planing and light-wind streamlining or its flex-tip daggerboard make the Phantom 295 truly standout.

So look forward to seeing it officially in action at future events in 2012:

• 11-19 August Youth & Masters Raceboard World Championships in Medemblik, Netherlands

• 11-16 June Raceboard World Championships in Yteri, Finland

Charter equipment will also be available for these events – for more info contact info@star-board.com, with “Phantom 295″ as the subject line.

More at www.star-board.com

Bob Cunnigham's flying Phantom

Stories on speedsailing are predominantly about tiny boards, huge winds and speeds up above 40 knots. But Tushingham speedster Bob Cunningham has thrown down the gauntlet to all Raceboard sailors who use a GPS to measure their speeds.

On 18th June Bob visited his local speed strip St John’s Lake near Plymouth. He put in some impressive runs on his iSonic 87 and X-15 sail but what really drew the attention of the other windsurfers was the speeds he was reaching when he took his Phantom 380 & 8.5m Lightning for a spin! His top speed on the Phantom was 32.6 knots, with an average of 30.6.

You don’t need specialist speed kit to have a great time pushing the limits of you and your equipment. So come on Raceboard sailors – Bob has raised the bar to a high standard… Can YOU beat his speeds?  If you do – then at the end of the year the team at Tushingham will give the leader on the GPS site an Aeron V grip boom of their choice.

Have a look at the data from Bob’s session on the GPS Speedsurfing website: http://www.gps-speedsurfing.com/default.aspx?mnu=user&val=80623&uid=961

For more information on the Phantom Raceboard check out  www.star-board.com