Maui Monthly Magazine Issue #116 - December 2014

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no.116. December ’14

WAVE S

JAP NORIO A

Our Experience, Your Reward

SAILING

PAN ASANO

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no.116. December ’14

Our Experience, Your Reward

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WAVE SAILING

JAPAN NORIO ASANO

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no.116. December ’14

FACEBOOK DECEMBER PHOTO TIMELINE

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RUDOLPH WITH YOUR NOSE SO BRIGHT...

That’s one to follow into the holidays at year end. It’s the winter Solstice exactly as I write this, anticipating the change into shorter and shorter nights, rather than finding much ‘wintery’ around here in Hawaii. It’s a funny place to live if one grew up anywhere that had anything approaching the four seasons. Cold rain, really long nights, even snow (brrrr), no longer fit since I chose Maui as my place. And I have to say it’s not a choice I ever regret, especially when traveling in Winter in Europe or Japan. I’ll take a nice swim in the warm ocean for my holiday celebrations.

Life has really changed in our home as well. I remarked to Samantha the other day that it felt like we were living like we were 100 years old. Making a safe and useful home environment for my 99 year old mother, and tending to the life of Samantha’s 94 year old mother close by, leaves us with limited access to what had become our normal life before taking this on. Being almost 69 myself also adds to the feeling of ‘living older’. Fortunately, my mom loves nothing more than getting out on the CORNELIA so that bit keeps us all younger feeling. And we all know we are always only as old as we feel.

I am also going to take this MauiMonthly message to send out my greetings and salutations to all the wonderful followers of our Forum, the most honest and productive crew of product evaluators we could ever want to have. I feel the openness and unrestricted content (‘cept for the everpresent trolls) is part of what draws the continued participation and good connections. I haven’t been as active lately as an administrator and am finding it difficult to keep up technically so I have decided to give up that role and the spotlight position. I’m sure the forum will go on nicely without that input, and I will still be checking in regularly to keep up with action in the sport.

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The coming New Year will bring many changes for all of us as the world decides whether to switch to Peace and Prosperity or the ugly alternative. We all hold these decisions in our hands every day. I am pretty certain that in our community, the vote is always for the the former, and includes wishes for 18-22, warm, side shore, and the time to enjoy it. I suppose if we fill our lives with that sort of thing there would be little time to seek out the ugly alternative.

It’s been almost ten years that MauiSails has been bouncing along as the little brand that can. The evolution and perfection of the sails went hand in hand with Art Szpunar’s development as a top sail designer. He always approaches the design challenge with a very personal attachment and has become intimate with the subtle process. I always felt I had done a good job creating or staying with the technology, but Art picked up and ran with tools that were already beyond my experience. My own proprietary program was very good, but Art took it beyond its limitations. We can all be happy he is that good. Better than I ever was.

The photo is from a beautiful day with no stress, and Keith and Karen Baxter (she took the snap) coming alongside in their SUP escort boat. We were definitely gliding on the magic carpet. It’s easy to imagine a slight course adjustment to the South direction...

For now though, it’s all about Moms.

Aloha for 2014 Barry Spanier

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PHOTO BY KAREN BAXTER

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FACEBOOK DECEMBER PHOTO TIMELINE

Our Experience, Your Reward

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THE NEW 3-BATTENS WAVE SAILS FROM MAUISAILS Our revolutionary “Mutant� 4-batten ultra compact wave sail has proven itself over the past couple seasons as the dominant tool for both top level wave competition and any dedicated wave sailors that demand the most progressive performance and agility on the wave together with excellent drive, power and wind range. More information at http://bit.ly/1oAC9kl

FIND OUT MORE >>

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Our Experience, Your Reward

PRETTY QUIET MONTH

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December was a pretty quiet month for me as it was the end of the racing season and time to figure out what gear I will be using for next year and if I will even be racing at all. I was pretty sure that I would figure it all out and get it together to race another season, not sure how many I have left in me but I am sure that I want to do at least one more. I was also on the road a bunch with some end of the year vacation trips I had planned and our family trip to Utah for the holidays.

The first trip I did was to South Dakota for some pheasant hunting and also a couple days in Utah for some waterfowl hunting. After this great trip with old friends and my brother it was back to Maui for a week for a little wave sailing and more organizing for next year. Then I packed up the family and off to Utah for Christmas and New Years with my family in Utah. With plenty of snow and cold weather we had some great sledding and ice skating and I even got to do some more waterfowl hunting.

In between all the holiday festivities I was figuring out my next years plans and I will unfortunately be leaving Maui Sails. I had a great run with Maui Sails for three years and had a great time working with Art, Barry, Phil, Caroline, Bogo and the rest of the Maui Sails team!!! This team was a great group of people to work with and their help and support was overwhelming and made traveling and competing on the world cup very worthwhile.

Plus the gear that they make is exceptional for all types of sailing and use, I will surely miss the team and the Maui Sails gear. I would like to send out an extra big thanks to Phil and Barry for giving me a chance to represent Maui Sails!!!

A big Aloha to all of the Maui Sails team out there!!!

Micah Buzianis

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TRAINING IN COLD CONDITIONS COMPARING TR-X WITH TR-8 The beginning of December was very cold even in the south of France (Grau-du-Roi). Anyway, I decided to take part in a training weekend organized by Nicolas Warembourg, former PWA rider. This training was with a four person group with a same level to experience a sportive training in the heart of winter. Our objectives are clear: facing shopy conditions and gusty winds as perfect preparation for long distance races in 2015.

After a 800 km snow ride in car, I found wind but also a quite low temperatures: 5 degrees celsius.

My 7.0 and 7.7 TRX being already sold out, I had to use my spare material: 7.0 and 7.6 TR8. This is a great opportunity to compare the feeling of the two models, 2014 and 2012. First, the static weight, the TR8 seems much heavier. I checked the settings of the battens and added a little tension and go! On the water, I’m not lost, sailing works well and I am ver quick in the game test match! The weight difference is less important in navigation but it still feels a certain inertia in particular on the top of the sail during the chop passages. It’s not bad but it’s less comfortable. I realize that the X-Ply TRX gave us flexibility.

For a light weight like mine (78 kg) is a real improvement.

It’s more stable, the twist in the leech and mast works better. The objective of this training is to test new fins and compare Zfins SL with ZFins SF. The TR8 seems to require a larger fin to make the board lifting properly. SF is perfect on my 110 and Falcon 7.0 TR8. I used little longest harnesslines to be more efficient against the waves.

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The TR8 requires more boom tension than the TRX to get some top speed and really accelerate, we always need to tune the adjustable outhaul to stay efficient and maintain some speed through the areas where the wind is lowest. The coach is filming us and taking photos to prepare the evening debriefing.

He also randomly changes my fins without saying it to me in order to test my ability to guess which one I’m using. This is the first time I do this, it is very interesting and pretty educational.

The wind starts to become more up and down and it’s raining. Once again the feeling is that the TRX is more homogeneous in these conditions. Getting though winds holes seems slightly better with 7.0 TR8 (provided you get the right tuning), but in strong guts it is less comfortable, sailing seems less twisted and the movements of the top of the sail can be brutal. The trough of the TR8 is more concentrated as I have to slightly move back my harness line to be properly ensconced.

But in the end, the TR8 keeps moving naturally in the wind (as the TRX do). Through and upwind, I do not notice any difference, but I must admit I’m a little less comfortable in downwind conditions and waves descents.

It’s getting very cold with the sun going down and the water is getting choppy. It ends with a jibe training. Again I feel a kind of inertia with the sail during the rotation. The feeling is different and boom to boom is more difficult, and to make a long story short the sail is less maneuverable. After a 3 hour and an half navigation, we go to analyze this day around homemade waffles and hot chocolate. The day after, the wind is stronger, I take back my TRX 6.3, thus confirming the impressions I had and described here above.

See you soon !

Xavier Le Saux – FRA 420

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TRAINING DANS LE FROID !

COMPARAISON TR-X & TR-8 Le début du mois de décembre a été très froid. Je décide quand même de participer à un week-end de training dans le sud de la France (Le Grau-du-Roi) organisé par Nicolas Warembourg, ancien coureur PWA. Après 800 km et de la neige sur la route, nous arrivons enfin. L’entrainement se fera à 4 personnes de niveau homogène. Nos objectifs sont clairs, travailler dans le clapot, les petites vagues et les vents irréguliers pour préparer la saison de courses longue distance 2015.

Après une bonne nuit de sommeil, il y a du vent mais il fait très froid : 5°C à l’abri !

Ayant déjà vendu ma 7.0 et ma 7.7 TRX, je suis obligé d’utiliser mon matériel de rechange : 7.0 et 7.6 TR8. C’est une occasion de comparer le feeling des deux millésimes, 2014 et 2012. Tout d’abord, le poids en statique, La TR8 semble beaucoup plus lourde. Je vérifie les réglages des lattes, j’ajoute un peu de tension et c’est parti ! Sur l’eau, je ne suis pas perdu, la voile marche bien et je suis très vite dans le coup en match test ! La différence de poids est moins importante en navigation mais l’on ressent quand même une certaine inertie notamment sur le haut de la voile lors du passage de vagues. Ce n’est pas désagréable mais c’est moins confortable. Je me rends compte que le X-Ply des TRX nous a apporté de la souplesse. Pour un gabarit assez léger comme le mien (78 kg) c’est une véritable amélioration. On est plus calé, le mat et la chute de la voile travaillent mieux. L’objectif de cet entrainement est de tester de nouveaux ailerons et de comparer les Z-fins SL avec les Z-Fins SF. Les TR8 semblent demander une taille plus importante d’aileron pour bien faire lifter le flotteur. Le SF est parfait sur ma Falcon 110 et 7.0 TR8.

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J’allonge un peu les bouts pour être plus performant face aux vagues. La TR8 demande une peu plus de tension à l’écoute que les TRX pour vraiment accélérer, il faut davantage jouer avec le palan d’écoute pour être toujours performant et bien passer les zones où le vent est moins fort. Le coach nous filme et prend des photos pour préparer le débriefing du soir. Il change aussi très régulièrement les ailerons sans que je sache à l’avance ce qu’il a mis. Le jeu, à la fin, est d’essayer de deviner ce qu’il a mis et de mesurer les avantages et les inconvénients des uns et des autres.

C’est la première fois que je fais ça, c’est très intéressant et très formateur.

Le vent commence à devenir plus irrégulier et il pleut. Là encore on sent que la TRX est plus homogène dans ces conditions. Le passage des molles semble légèrement meilleur avec la TR8 7.0 mais dans les rafales, c’est moins stable, la voile semble moins vriller et le haut de la voile peut donner de légers coups de raquettes. Le creux de la TR8 est plus centré aussi, je dois légèrement reculer mes réglages de bouts de harnais pour être vraiment bien calé. La TR8 se place naturellement dans le vent. Au travers et au cap, je ne note pas réellement de différence, je suis un peu moins à l’aise sur les abattées et dans les descentes de vagues.

Il commence à faire très froid avec le soleil qui se couche et le plan d’eau est de plus en plus haché. On termine par un entrainement de jibe. Là encore on sent une certaine inertie de la voile lors de la rotation. Le feeling est différent et le boom to boom moins évident, bref la voile est plus lourde. Après 3h30 de navigation nous rentrons analyser cette journée autour de gaufres et d’un chocolat chaud préparés par Annabelle la femme du coach. Le lendemain sera plus fort.

Je reprendrai ma TRX 6.3, confirmant les impressions de la veille.

Xavier Le Saux – FRA 420

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FAMILY HOLIDAYS! December was another action packed month as Sarah and I finished off our trip to New Caledonia then headed back to Maui to enjoy the holidays with the entire family!

We wrapped up our trip in New Cal with plenty of wind and waves till the moment we got on the plane. Another Tenia session had me craving for more port-tack sailing, as the new experience was more fun than I can even describe. We had a couple sick slalom days too, ending with a fun race out of the ACPV windsurf club where 15 teams of 4 raced for 4 hours straight. Teams were made up of all ages, and it was awesome to see so many people, young and old, stoked to get together to go have fun on the water.

After a two-day trip and 10hr layover in Sydney we were finally back home to Maui. Sarah’s family flew out for the month to join us for the holidays, and my parents came from LA as well for the first meeting of the fams! Nothing like having our parents meet in the Kanaha parking lot, wind blowing, and everyone ready to get on the water, there really wasn’t much more either of us could have ever asked for.

Despite the inconsistencies of winter wind, we still had some fun days down at Kanaha for the families to sail, and even scored a few killer Hookipa/Kuau sessions.

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It was a dream come true to have our families together for my 29th (holy sh&$) birthday, and xmas, at our new house in Kuau. It was a blast cooking an American style Xmas dinner for her family, and my parents and I couldn’t have asked for anything more!

Looking forward to January and hopefully some more wavesailing sessions, though as long as there’s surf through the winter, it’s hard to complain!

Cya on the water, Casey Hauser US-634

THE NEW MAUISAILS ’K’ SERIES MASTS http://www.mauisails.com/masts.php

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HO’OKIPA DEC ACTION IN LENS OF JIMMIE HEPP

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