All the tests for the 2013 Freewave edition are now online on Boards, you can check out the introduction and all of the individual tests by clicking on the images below.

Introduction.

Quatro Freestyle Wave.

RRD Freestyle Wave.

Fanatic FreeWave.

Goya One.

Witchcraft Chakra.

JP Australia Freestyle Wave

Tabou 3Style.

Starboard Kode.

RRD Freestyle Wave

RRD Freestyle Wave

The RRD comes from a long and very successful heritage of freestyle wave designs.  They have always been renowned for blending a decent amount of comfort and ease of use with good performance.

RRD chose to supply us with their 90 litre version, making it the smallest in test as they feel that the width was more comparable to the rest of the group.  At 61cm wide it was in fact one of the wider boards, but the tail width was the second narrowest.  It was also the second shortest in test.

The Freestyle Wave is designed as a single fin and comes complete with great quality detailing and accessories.  The pads in particular were extremely soft and comfortable.

On the water, the narrower tail width and lower volume make the RRD feel smaller underfoot than most of the other boards in this group.  However, the relatively high maximum width does make it a fairly stable and secure platform when not planing.  As the wind increases, the larger single fin set-up of the RRD makes it relatively easy to get planing on from a technique perspective.  It wasn’t the quickest of the group to get planing, but the smaller size of the board may have contributed to this.

As a classic single fin Freestyle Wave, it’s manoeuvrable enough on the wave and requires minimal technique to get it to turn.

RRD Freestyle Wave

Once shifting, the RRD is all about ease and comfort.  It scores as the most ‘passive’ board in the group, because it is very settled and requires minimal technique to get the best from it.  It isn’t as fast as the other boards in the group for raw speed, but the ease and control may mean the end result is on par, particularly in rougher conditions where the control is a noticeable asset.  For a single fin, the RRD actually has quite a planted feel to the way it rides, which keeps the board locked down but at the same time, offers a slightly less engaging ride than some of the more lively boards.  If you are looking for a comfortable cruiser, they don’t come much more comfortable than this.

Very comfortable ride in the chop when it’s super windy, which gives it a bit of speed because you can lock it down.

On the wave, the RRD gives an impression of being very easy and smooth to turn, which it is for the initiation and early part of the turn.  For novice and less aggressive wave riders, there is plenty of performance on tap to develop the basics of front side and backside wave riding with a very ‘easy riding’ feel to the way the board turns.  More skilled riders who are looking to push harder, may find that the performance isn’t as agile as some of the more cutting edge tri-fin set-ups are able to offer.   Again, the RRD is all geared towards ease of use and makes the performance accessible to even the least skilled of riders.

Feels like an arm chair cruiser with lots of control.  Works well at the top end, but makes it less engaging to ride at the bottom end.

The RRD Freestyle Wave, single fin set-up.

RRD Freestyle Wave, great for freestyle too.

TARGET BUYER

The RRD Freestyle Wave is a classically designed Freestyle Wave board.  It has all the usual ‘easy riding’ traits that we now associate with RRD boards, particularly the freestyle wave models and offers a huge amount of control at the top end, and in rougher/choppier conditions.  It isn’t as agile on the wave as the multi-fins, nor as lively underfoot as some of the other boards within this group, but RRD’s forte is control, comfort and ease of use and to this extent the RRD hits the nail on the head.

Check out the rest of the Freewave testing series:

Freewave test 2013

Whether you are a wave sailor, high wind freerider or a freestyler, freewaves used to be the ‘standard’ board of choice between 85 and 100 litres.  However the advent of multi-fins, allowed wave boards to get bigger, drawing away many of the wave aficionados, whilst dedicated freestyle boards got smaller and more dedicated, leaving freewaves largely the domain of high wind freeride sailors.

Having spent a few weeks testing these most recent 95 litre Freewave versions, we are left with a feeling that the majority of buyers may be missing a trick by overlooking freewave models.  Here’s why!

The Fanatic Freewave in action

One of the clones taking the Goya for a spin.

WHAT ARE THEY GOOD AT?

We have all heard the expression ‘jack of all trades and master of none’.  But what you must bear in mind is that when the wind is lighter and you are on say a 120 litre board, the conditions are generally flat, so it’s worth having a dedicated board for these conditions.  Conversely, when it’s windy, say 80 litre weather, usually the sea state is rough and it’s worth having a dedicated wave board for these conditions.  However the interesting thing with 85-100 litre weather is that the sea state can be anything from completely flat, through extremely chop right up to full down the line riding conditions.  And that’s why we need a ‘jack of all’ trades in our quiver.

Most of our Clones haven’t ridden freewaves for a few years, having been drawn away by the larger dedicated wave boards, but they were all very much in agreement that these boards, without a doubt, offer the most fun possible in the conditions we normally encounter in 85-100 litre weather.

In Tenerife, these boards plane and accelerate much quicker than a wave board, so we were getting much better jumps in the waves straight off the beach than we could get on the dedicated wave boards.

Once past the first peaking waves, the boards became great high wind blasters and we all had a huge amount of fun drag racing each other all the way out to the rolling swell out the back where the boards were able to oblige with big jumps, carving moves on the swell faces and aerial freestyle moves in the flats between the waves.  Then on the way back in, we were able to mix proper front-side riding with more freestyle. What other board in windsurfing can offer so much versatility?!  I can quite confidently say none!

Witchcraft tri-fin

The RRD single fin

SINGLE FIN OR MULTI?

When we first received these boards and saw the Fanatic, JP and Witchcraft offered tri-fin set-ups, we have to admit to being a bit sceptical.  After all, freewaves are supposed to plane easily, be fast and exciting to sail, do we really need the extra drag of two extra fins?

Well, we were certainly wrong!  Having spent a fair amount of time on these boards in a wide range of conditions, I can confidently say that tri-fins have really revolutionised the way these freewaves perform. On a wave, the tri-fins were in a different league for turning when it came to tightness and ease of turning. The fact Victor Fernandez used the Fanatic tri-fin to score some of the highest wave scores of the day in PWA Klitmoller this year is testament to how well these boards now turn.  In a straight line, they do have a more planted feel, but they still have an exciting ‘off the fin’ feel to them and at the top end have a lot more control with the extra fins keeping them from flying out of the water.

We are struggling to see any real consequential draw back of the tri-fin configuration.  Sure, they may be a tiny bit slower to get planing and at top speed, but the shapes of the boards within this group seemed to more than make up for this.  And of course if you aren’t convinced, you can always use the tri-fins as a single anyway!  We quite expect to see a lot more brands jumping on the tri-fin freewave bandwagon next year…and rightly so!

The Clones have been hard at work...image credit Si Crowther

THE TEST

The test was conducted in Tenerife thanks to the Official Test Centre, who were able to cope admirably with all the diva requirements of our test Clones and their huge array of equipment.  Tenerife has to be the ideal testing location for freewaves with everything condition you could ever want to put the boards through right off the main beach – cross-on jumping, chop, flat water and side shore waves up at the harbour wall – its all there!

We would like to thank North Sails for supporting the test with sails, so that head to head comparisons between boards could be made without worrying if the sails were making the difference.  We had a selection of identical Volt and Hero sails between 5.0m and 5.7m to test these boards on.

Simmer supplied the booms for this test.  Their Blackline carbon wave boom has built a solid reputation for being one of the best on the market and delivered faultless performance throughout our testing.

The full comparative test with scores and graphs will be released on Boardseeker at the end of this week.  In the meantime, enjoy the individual write-ups right here on Boards.co.uk!

After so many records were broken many riders were hopeful that the last Thursday would deliver more wind that would enable the speeds to be pushed a little further, but unfortunately it was not to be. Yet this will surely go down as one of the best speed sailing competitions in history, with many record broken, many times, and of course the overall speed record not only being taken over 50knots, but over 52 by Antoine Albeau!

Here on Boards we have covered the event every step of the way, so to check out all the coverage just head here; posts include videos, interviews with Antoine Albeau and Zara Davis, images and of course details of even record broken and top speed reached!

We would also like to congratulate all the riders that took part this year, it has been incredible to see everyone pushing the top speeds and it’s certainly inspired us to get the GPS out!

Luderitz closing ceremony

Are you into speed sailing? Has the Luderitz competition inspired you to head our to your nearest speed course too?

I hope that you are getting into my new technique series now, remember you can send feedback and question on the Boards forum (new members invited and very, very welcome) on the MTM thread by clicking here.

After presenting the key gybe tips in my last movie and Boards technique feature  l am now presenting a comprehensive light wind moves video in order to show you what you can do in lighter winds to take your sailing, carve gybing, wave sailing and freestlye up another notch.

I suggest that you watch the moves and as an exercise see if you can understand what I’m doing in order to achieve the move, and then visualise yourself doing it.

Of course now it’s your turn to get your motivated selves out there on floaty boards or windSUPs. WindSUPs are great for light winds as you can float easily, stay upwind (waterline length), dance around on them (no straps), make mistakes, accelerate in 7 -10 knots and lastly, uphaul in comfort (eva decks).

It is important to note that many of my clients learn a huge amount in my light wind sessions and really enjoy them far more than they thought they would. When I was growing up as a young windie we all went out on old beginner boards and soft sails and had fun races round some buoys, tried to knock each off but mainly we did lots of light wind freestyle and hours and hours out of the harness. Little did I know how much this was building my skills, love for the sport and preparing for my, unbeknownst, future coaching profession.

These are the key tips for these light wind moves:

• Duck under the water as soon as you get in so that you are wet straight away and don’t mind falling in
• SEE where you want to go and focus on your vision primarily when learning new moves
• Get low and keep the rig away whilst you enjoy the journey

Thanks for reading and watching and please do forward this, and my other articles on to your peers and sailing buddies and post online to social media sites.

Rip & Enjoy,

Jem

If you seriously want to improve and have a fantastic holiday book on one of Jem’s coaching clinics NOW! For 2013 Jem’s clinics are now selling fast so please consider Marsa Alam, Egypt in March, Moulay, Morocco in May or Rhodes in June and September, Psc, Baja in August or Mauritius in September. Find out more about Jem’s clinics with Sportif here. 

Jem’s wave technique movie Winner to Wavesailor is ready to PURCHASE NOW, and for all your fundamentals he has Beginner to Winner. You can now buy all three movies, including Freestyle, in the Trilogy box set.

www,jemhall.com is supported by RRD boards, wetsuits and harnesses, Ezzy Sails, Big Salty Weather and Prosport Sunblock.

Check out more technique on Boards here!

You might also like to read: 

In more Luderitz news Bjorn seems very happy to have gone over 51knots at the weekend:

“Hey everybody,

I finally reached the 50 knots barrier on the speed strip day 11!!!! 

The best result was 51.09 knots = 94,61 km/h on the 500 m strip, with top GPS speed of 99.02 km/h, so you see the 100 is very close now!!!  )

I did it on my 44 cm wide Star Board with my 5.6 Severne Sail Reflex 3.

I would like to dedicate this achievement to my 11 days old son Daniel, my wife Maria, and my other three kids, Alba, Liam and Martina!!!

Thursday looks promising for strong wind again, keep your fingers crossed for 40 knots +++,  to get some more action!! 

Also a big THX to the Luderitz Speed Challenge Team.

So long from Luderitz, Björn”

Follow all the news from Luderitz on Boards here.

Antoine Albeau and Cedric Bordes, tandem record holders. Image credit Eric Bellande.

Many sailors have raised the personal best speeds, with more national records being improved too. Bjorn Dunkerbeck is now getting dialled into the conditions on the canal, boosting his top speed up to 50.91knots….can he come closer to Antoine? Or even overtake him?

But Antoine just keeps going faster and faster, with his top speed still at 51.69 knots over 500m Antoine has now taken the two second top speed to over 100km per hour! This is an incredible 54.14knots over two seconds giving Antoine the fastest top speed in the world and the first person to take it over 100km per hour. Check out the full details on the GPS Speedsurfing page here. 

Anders Bringdal reflects on yesterday’s action on Facebook:

“Yesterday, Great day here in the canal. Antoine did what he does and smashed the 100 KM/h top speed. Pretty cool and is good to see. Bjorn also had a good day and came charging through.
I did not manage to find the grove and was slower.
Also managed to buss my self up a little more… sore ribs on my last run.
Now Thursday forecast looked good yesterday. Today it looks so so again.. We still wait for that stronger day as we all feel we can go faster.
Like we say in France, A-Fond”

Bjorn Dunkerbeck, looking to chase down Antoine's record.

So, it looks like there could be a couple of mellower days ahead on the canal, before potentially more records flying on Big Thursday, Boards will of course keep you updated, for now over on Windsurf Journal they have now released the first episode from the canal…

“I am furiously packing for my next clinic which is off to Jeri, Brazil for my annual sojourn to warm water, wind and waves (watch Whitey’s video from last year below) with my merry bunch of rippers.

Brazil_HFS from Dave White on Vimeo.

Clinic News:

Marvelous Marsa Alam, Egypt is now receiving quite a few bookings so please book up before we sell out and come on down to take a break from Winter and get tuned up for your 2013 season on March 13th and 20th.

Perfect Prasonisi, Reliable Rhodes which over 10 years and around 40 clinics has averaged 4 – 5 days a week of planing conditions and is now taking bookings. New for 2013, in Rhodes, is my ladies clinic, called Jem’s Jewels, where I will be assisted by a female co – coach, Rachel Tucker and we will be providing a supportive, inspiring and focussed environment where ladies will have the opportunity to not only enjoy a great holiday but also seriously improve their windsurfing.

The Mecca of Moulay, Morocco on May 9th and 16th is already taking a lot of bookings and we are ready to give you a fab holiday and an awesome waterperson (WP) / wavesailing experience, bookings are with Oceansource.net

Email me for more details on these clinics and to discuss your booking.

Now back in October we were very proud to announce that Antoine Albeau has given RRD it’s first world title by winning the PWA slalom title for 2012 on his RRD X Fire slalom machines. Well the man knows no bounds and he has now smashed the world speed record!

After my Ireland wave clinic I had a Dutch group join me in Ireland and they were a top bunch and had a right old time out in Brandon Bay and very much enjoyed being Jemetically Modified, check out their exploits below.

Brandon Bay Windsurf trip – Loading the van with a lot of gear. from WindsurfReview on Vimeo.

After Ireland it was next stop to West Wales, via the glorious Irish and hilly Welsh roads, for the BoardWise Bonfire Aberdovey demo where we scored wind and lots of happy windies loving the toys and it goes without saying that the FireMove was loving the conditions, whilst being powered up the super stable and speedy Ezzy Cheetahs.

Carpe Diem,

Jem”

On day nine of the competition in Luderitz the competitors were treated to winds between 40 and 45knots, another great day on the canal and many sailors more than took advantage.

Antoine Albeau

None more so than Antoine Albeau, who increased the record time and again, finally resting at 52.05knots at the end of the day.

Anders Bringdal

Anders Bringdal followed with a new Swedish Record which is also Production board World Record : 51.45 knots!

Jurjen van der Noord

Jurjen Van Der Noord the Dutch Record Holder also went over 51 knots today, joining Anders Bringdal and Cédric Bordes, with 51.26 knots!

Bjorn Dunkerbeck the famous 41 times world title holder just joined the event today in the afternoon reaching 49.53 knots, he did this after only a couple of runs !

Martyn Ogier

Well done to Martyn Ogier from UK who recorded a speed of 48.21 knots (current British Record held by Farrell O’Shea with 48.82 knots) and to Martin Van Meurs from Netherlands: 47.95 knots who improved their best speeds.

Zara Davis

Zara Davis was back on the water today after a little injury:

“1st day back on the water today, after stitches in my leg five days ago. It was quite painful and I took it easy and only did 5 runs. Initially I was disappointed with my best run of 44.25 knots, then Pete reminded me my initial hope before I came was 43 knots and if I had been told before i got here that I was going to do 44 plus knots I would have been turning cartwheels. We are all getting a bit complacent for sure. The wind today was very strong but gusty which favoured the strong heavy guys. Big respect to Antoine, for his 52.05 knot run and pushing the record higher again. Lena did very well today with a 45.5 run she is getting quicker for sure. A huge well done to Nick V for getting in to the exclusive 50 knot club.” Follow more news from Zara on her Facebook page here.

Catch all the latest speed sailing news from Luderitz and beyond here on Boards.

You may also like to:

Read more from Antoine on Boards.

Antoine Albeau. Image credit PWA/JC.

But the question is how fast do you think he can go? Over 53knots? Over 55? Share your thoughts at the bottom of this post!

Boards catches up with Boardwise to find out more about how the demos are run and what’s involved:

Just some of the Boardwise demo equipment set up and ready to go! Image credit Dave White.

“We run a summer demo at Aberdovey which coincides with the BSA slalom event. This is the biggest of the year with support from the town, the Yacht club and all the importers.

When someone comes along to a demo they can try all the latest kit, get advice from the people who really know about the products, but most of all just come to an event which gives them a great feel about the sport of windsurfing!

The main summer and winter demos are supported by brands including: Fanatic and North, RRD and Ezzy, Tabou and Gaastra, and Starboard and Tushingham. Not only do the brands supply top notch NEW equipment, they also bring along some top sailors too.

Demo regulars now include (to name but a few):  former PWA superstar Nik Baker, current Formula World Champion Ross Williams, master of speed Dave White, plus awesome coaches Jem Hall, Sam Ross, etc. They are all more than happy to help not only with rigging, tuning and choosing equipment but also can offer top technique tips too.

Lots of people turn up and sail on Saturday. Then Saturday evening usually involves a few drinks, before getting on the water again to blow away the cobwebs on Sunday morning.

All images from the Boardwise Bonfire Bash 2013 and credit Dave White.

We are usually fairly lucky with the weather, and the huge range of equipment on offer means people can almost always get on the water. But even if the wind doesn’t blow we all have a great weekend; there’s normally a good night out on the Saturday at least!

We also go to all of the student events through out the year; the SWA run a great series of events through the autumn, winter and into spring. They really focus on getting as many people onto the water at all levels; there is a great contingent of beginners and improvers at the student event and we are proud to support them by taking all our gear for them to use! Plus our van goes up to the local club once a week in the summer.

On Guy Fawkes weekend each year we run a Bonfire Bash, it’s a bit late in the year so it can be a little cold, but again we have a great weekend none the less with fires on the beach and an amazing firework display! Check out the full report from Boardwise on the here. 

Whilst most of our demos take place at Aberdovey, we do offer some more local ones and we are looking to do a few more at different venues next year.”

There are lots of clubs, schools, brands and shops that run demos. At Boards we always try to have the latest info on up coming demos online, but if one is happening at your local spot that we haven’t promoted then please do contact amy@boards.co.uk and let us know!

Find all the windsurfing demo news on Boards through this link.

Boards Recommended Demos

Boardwise  - based in Cannock, demos at various locations but regularly run at Aberdovey. Follow all the Boardwise news on Boards here.

Robin Hood Watersports  - based in Yorkshire, frequently run demos at West Kirby.  Follow all the Robin Hood Watersports news on Boards here.

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Juice Boardsports – based in Huddersfiled, regular demos on forecast run at Fraisthorpe announced both here on Boards and through their forum. 

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Bray Lake - based in Berkshire, run occasional demo days. Follow all the Bray Lake news on Boards here. 

Lagoon Watersports -   based in Hove, run occasional demo days (usually with Fanatic/North). Follow all the Lagoon Watersports news on Boards here.

L.A.R. Watersports - based in Pagham, run occasional demo days. Follow all the LAR Watersports news on Boards here.

Puravida Boardriders - based in South Glamorgan, run occasional demo days. Follow all the Puravida Boardriders news on Boards here.

Quayside Windsurfers - based in Norfolk, run occasional demo days. Follow all the Quayside Windsurfers news on Boards here.

Wet n Dry Boardsports - based in Basildon, run occasional demo days. Follow all the Wet n Dry Boardsports news on Boards here.

4Boards  - based in Southampton, run occasional demo days. Follow at the 4Boards news on Boards here.

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Many more demo days and information about similar events can be found on the RYA’s Project Windsurf – UK website. They even have a specific demo events page right here where many chose to share event info. Project Windsurf UK also gives you the opportunity to share what is happening at your local windsurfing spot, so head on over and get involved!

You might also like to read:

RRD Cult Ltd V5 from Dave White on Vimeo.

RRD X-Fire 129

Key Features: 

Four new designs (90,114, 122 and 129) going fast has never been so easy!

All new TT Tail, which delivers even more control and stability than the V4 and makes gybing and acceleration even better.

New back foot rail design gives comfort plus smooth power on the legs when you need it most.

RRD X-Fire

Technology for 129-122-144: EPS/Full PVC 3mm top and bottom/Biaxial carbon 100 grams on decl/80 Grams UD 80 on bottom/Custom made technology.

Technology for 105-98-90: EPS/Full PVC 3mm tip and bottom/80 Grams UD80 on Deck and Glass/160 Grams Glass Bottom/Custom made technology.

Technology:

Presenting the RRD XFire Part One…

And Part Two…

Video from Antoine’s run released!!!

And an awesome video from the day from Jurjen van der Noord!

Anders Bringdal smashing 50knots on a production board!

There was some confusion in our previous report over the official times from Anders and Antoine, but here is the official report from the Luderitz Speed Challenge team:

After the promising previous days, everyone felt that the 50 knots barrier break cannot be far.
Today was the 4th race day, and marks the day that mythical 50 knot barrier was smashed !
Records kept tumbling almost with every run this afternoon, and some of the speeds still need to be confirmed by the Time Keeper.

First, the Swedish Record Holder Anders Bringdal broke the 50 knots barrier twice, with 50.41 and then 50.46 knots improving the world Record on Production Board as well !

After that Antoine Albeau surpassed Anders’ performance with 50.62 knots recovering his position of World Record holder in Windsurfing, which was also shortly held by Cédric Bordes in the afternoon with 49.66 knots.

Anders Bringdal. Image courtesy Luderitz Speed Challenge.

Zara Davis has also improved her World Record in Windsurfing with 44.92 knots and also Lena improved her Turkish Record with 43.81.

The record on Tandem has been also broken by Antoine and Cedric Bordes (1 board / 2 sails / 2 riders) with 38.12 knots!

And lots of other National Records were smashed!
Mark Grinnell from South Africa and Matthias Röttcher from Namibia were successively improving their national records which they had already broken earlier during the day.
Mark: 46.49 kts and Matthias: 46.69 kts.

Jurjen Van Der Noord, the Dutch competitor who has just made his first runs today broke the Dutch Record with 47.53 kts.
Patrick Diethelm has improved his Swiss Record and is the 3rd time in the Windsurfing world as well with 49.71 knots!
Nick Vardalachos from Greece and the British Farrell O’Shea improved their record.
Nick: 48.84 kts and Farrell: 48.21 kts.

Christian Benzing who was battling with his German fellow countrymen, broke the German Record in Windsurfing with 45.57 knots.
This incredible day has now gone into the windsurfing history books.The world’s windsurfing community was waiting for a “come back” in Speed Sailing. The goal of the 2012 “Lüderitz Speed Challenge” was to work on that point and offer the best conditions to finally break this mythical barrier. We can expect even better results during the coming days.

Follow the Ludertiz Speed Challenge here on Facebook. 

Plus check out the great album from World of Windsurf here. 

The RRD Firemove in action. Image credit Nic Botha.

The Clone getting down to business!

Despite what some sceptics say, there is no doubt that windsurfing equipment continues to improve for the better.  Having tested my fair share of boards over the years, I will happily admit that most years progress is small and occasionally static or simply a sidestep into another direction, but I can guarantee that when you take a snapshot of say a five year period, you will see marked improvements wherever you look.

Most changes are evolutionary; small and incremental.  Sometimes however they are more dramatic.  Multi-fin wave boards would be a fine example of where within one product release, the turning performance of wave boards made a huge leap forward.

As with most developments however, there are usually associated drawbacks.  Multi-fin boards may have improved the turning capabilities of wave boards overnight, but five years later and they still can’t really match the straight-line performance and excitement factor of a single fin.  It’s referred to as a trade-off; and almost all design developments have trade-offs.

Within the freeride board market, the last major step forward was arguably the concept of more compact, wider and shorter boards.  Now RRD have introduced their Firemove, which pumps up the width even further, but more notably thins the board down, giving less volume and size to the rails.

RRD Firemove, one of the easiest boards to gybe of it's size!

They claim the result is a board that can plane quickly, even with a wave rig on it, manoeuvre like a freestyle-wave board and still match freeride boards for speed and upwind pointing.  Oh and they also mention that it’s ‘the ultimate carve gybe platform’!  That’s a tall order to live up to, so we decided to get hold of one and see what all the fuss is about.

The Firemove is offered in five sizes 100, 110, 120, 130, 140 and three construction options to suit your budget/ requirements.  We were supplied with the 110 Ltd, which is 236cm long, weighs 7.58kg and measures a whopping 75cm wide (10cm wider than many boards of this size).  It comes as standard with a 36cm fin and is recommended for 6-8m sail sizes.  Because of the extra width, the board sails bigger than its volume would suggest, making it more comparable to say a 120 litre board. Although it’s worth bearing in mind that volume is still critical when it comes to uphauling.

RRD Firemove

We tested the Firemove with a 7.3m no-cam sail in a range of conditions from shoulder high chop to flat water and also underpowered right through to overpowered, so managed to get a fairly good handle on its performance range.

The first thing you notice is how easy the board is to plane.  Not only does it plane early, but perhaps more importantly, it planes easily.  You don’t have to bear off the wind much to get it going, the width gives great stability and the short length means that reaching the footstraps is simple.  Once in the straps, you will appreciate the very soft, comfortable feel of the pads and straps, which really match the character of this board.

Acceleration is good and once up to speed the board has a very comfortable trim and stance.  It has a stable feel to it at speed and rides comfortably off the tail, yet with the nose remaining locked down and in check when flying over pieces of chop.  Short, wide boards have proven themselves for blasting performance and ease of speed, but can often lack a bit of excitement, with their less responsive characteristics making the rider feel a bit like a passenger on a skim board.  I’m pleased to report that the Firemove has managed to keep agreat balance of comfort and excitement.  This could really have been the make or break of this board.

Boards of this nature should be fun to sail and it’s a credit to RRD that they have managed to retain this fun, lively sensation within such a wide shape, yet still kept just the right amount of control to make its full performance attainable for most abilities.

Point the board upwind and it flies, as you would expect from such a wide shape.  The 36cm fin suits the board well for all-round performance, but if you want even better planing and upwind performance then you could definitely go bigger.  As conditions get rougher the control is pretty good with the board staying trimmed down in the gusts and chop.  However, as with all boards of this style (wide), when they do eventually lift i.e. the wind gets under them, they do it very suddenly and you have to react quickly to bring them back into line.  When you point the board right off the wind for a full speed run, the width does start to become a bit more noticeable making the board harder to ride right off the tail keeping the nose high.  To be fair, this is only really noticeable when well powered up, pointing right off the wind and in chop.  But in these conditions, you may notice the shoulders catching a little when going over the backs of waves.  We found that the mast track worked best a little behind middle, which helped keep the shoulders riding high.

RRD Firemove

When it comes to gybing, the Firemove is arguably the best gybing board we have ever sailed of this size.  You can bank the board really hard in to the turn with no risk of catching.  Most impressively however, where many boards of this size tend to set a line and turn on it, the Firemove remains manoeuvrable and can be banked in even tighter at any point through the turn.  It’s no wonder that there are claims about this boards wave riding potential as it really does turn unbelievably well for a board of this size.

So, here we have a new style of freeride board, which planes early, goes upwind well, is comfortable and easy to sail at speed, doesn’t take an experienced rider to get the best from and gybes fantastically.  Of course as we discussed above, there are always trade-off’s and in this case it’s mostly to do with absolute top end control in chop. But the truth is that the gains on offer from the Firemove and the style of board that this model has brought to the freeride market, far outweigh the drawbacks and from where I am sitting that’s called progress. The Firemove has created quite a following over the past 12 months or so and having now sailed it, I can definitely see why.  Give one a try!

For more on the RRD Firemove and other RRD products head to the RRD website here or the home of the British importers for RRD, Seasprite, here.