Lightwind Weapon or Old Man Board?

by Alan Cole · Saturday, June 14th, 2025

Windsurfing kit doesn’t come cheap. I rarely — if ever — buy brand-new gear, and some of my boards, sails, and accessories are probably more than 20 years old. But it’s still nice to keep up with the times where I can.

The relatively new 2021 Severne Nano 87 that I bought a few years ago never really worked for me. It was a nice board to sail on its day, but in typical onshore conditions at Borth and Ynyslas, it just didn’t cut it. When I first got it, I struggled to get it to grip and track in a straight line — there was just no bite from the fins. I swapped out fins and eventually got it working OK, but it still needed to be well powered up and didn’t have much upwind performance. Not ideal for getting out through dead-onshore, mushy waves.

So, I finally gave up on it and decided to trade it in. After a bit of research and shopping around, I went for a second-hand JP Magic Wave 89. It’s slightly longer, better suited to onshore conditions, and has a thruster setup instead of quad fins — so it should offer more grip and better upwind performance. Time will tell.

Getting Older, Going Bigger?

While I was looking, I also started toying with the idea of a larger board to get me out in lighter winds. Historically, I haven’t really bothered with anything below 25 knots. Living right on the beach has always meant I could afford to wait for the good days — light-wind sessions were usually just an excuse to rest or do something else!

But now that I’m a bit older and usually sailing solo, I don’t head out when it’s completely mad anymore. It used to be that no wind was too strong or too wild, but these days I tend to skip the full-on carnage sessions. So maybe extending my range down into the lighter wind days would be a good thing — letting me sail in less extreme conditions, more often.

With that in mind, I started looking for some suitable ‘big kit’. I didn’t want an old man’s setup — I still want performance and a bit of excitement — but a full-on slalom board would be a bit much for the sea and choppy coastal conditions. So I looked into freerace boards and ended up going for a 2022 Goya Bolt 127. Hopefully, it’ll deliver near-slalom levels of speed and performance, but in a slightly more accessible and controllable package.

That said, it’s still the biggest board I’ve ever owned (aside from the old Dufour Wing I learned on in the 1980s). At nearly 75 cm wide, it’s quite a beast. Paired with the 6.7 m² Gun Sails Rapid I already have, it should get me going in 15 knots and still be pretty exciting at 20!

Filling the Gaps

Of course, one sail isn’t enough. The 6.7 m² should power the Goya Bolt nicely, but it’s fairly old and a bit of a jump from my 5.7 m². So I figured a 6.2 m² freerace sail would fill the gap perfectly — enter the 2023 Duotone E-Pace HD. If I like these lighter wind sessions, who knows? A 7.5 m² might be on the cards too — though that would mean a new mast and boom as well…

With my mind made up, I headed inland, met up with Steve, and made our way to Boardwise. While I was there, I also ended up buying a snowboard for Morgan and a new set of harness lines — so it turned out to be a rather expensive day out!

Here’s my Current quiver of windsurf boards and sails

Boards

#	Board	Volume (L)	Type	Vintage / Notes	Ideal Conditions & Notes
1	Goya Bolt	127	Freerace / Freeride	2022 model, ex-demo	Light-wind blasting, early planing
2	Starboard S-Type	104	Freerace / Freeride	Older model	Freeride blasting in 18–25 kn, pairs well with 5.0–6.2 m sails
3	RRD Freestyle Wave Y25	104	Freestyle Wave	2022 model	Bump & jump, coastal chop, 5.0–5.7 m sails
4	Mistral Heat	90	Freeride	Vintage (likely early 2000s)	Not really used these days
5	JP Magic Wave	89	Wave / Freeride	2022 ex-demo	Cross-onshore waves, 20–30 kn with 4.5–5.7 m sails
6	Naish Hybrid Freewave	85	Freeride / Wave	~2005 model	Agile and lively wave board, loved for feel and turning. Old, but my favourite board ever!
7	Mistral SL Red Dot	80	Slalom / Race	Vintage	Flat-water slalom with older race sails
8	JP Wave	78	Hardcore Wave	Vintage	High-wind wave sailing, 4.0–5.0 m sails
9	Fanatic Falcon Speed	68	Speed / Slalom	Vintage	30–40 kn flat water speed sessions

Sails

#	Sail	Size (m²)	Type	Notes
1	Gun Sails Rapid	6.7	Freerace	Best with Goya Bolt 127 or Starboard S-Type
2	Duotone E-Pace HD	6.2	Freeride / Freerace	2023 model — camless free race, stable and light feel
3	North Warp	6.3	Race	Pre-2010 — pairs with Mistral SL Red Dot or Fanatic Falcon
4	Gun Sails Horizon	5.7	Freewave / Freeride	Good for RRD FSW 104 or JP Magic Wave in 18–25 kn
5	North Warp	5.2	Race	Pre-2010 — strong wind slalom days
6	Neil Pryde Combat HD	5.0	Wave	Robust wave sail — ideal for Magic Wave 89 or RRD FSW 104
7	Gun Sails Wave	5.0	Wave	Spare wave sail for bump & jump
8	Duotone Session HD	4.5	Wave	Great for 30–35 kn onshore waves
9	Gun Sails Wave	4.0	Wave	Strong wind control — ideal with JP Wave 78

Sail and Board Pairing Matrix

Sail	Best Board(s)	Typical Conditions
6.7 Gun Sails Rapid	Goya Bolt 127, Starboard S-Type 104	15–20 kn freeride / lightwind blasting
6.3 North Warp (Race)	Mistral SL Red Dot, Fanatic Falcon	16–22 kn flatwater speed / old-school slalom
6.2 Duotone E-Pace HD	Goya Bolt 127, Starboard S-Type 104	16–22 kn coastal freerace / casual slalom
5.7 Gun Horizon	RRD FSW 104, JP Magic Wave 89	20–25 kn bumpy chop / onshore surf
5.2 North Warp	Mistral SL Red Dot, Starboard S-Type 104	25–35 kn powered slalom sessions
5.0 NP Combat HD / Gun Sails Wave	JP Magic Wave 89, RRD FSW 104	22–30 kn wave or high-wind bump & jump
4.5 Duotone Session HD	JP Magic Wave 89, JP Wave 78, Naish Hybrid	25–35 kn onshore wave / messy surf
4.0 Gun Sails Wave	JP Wave 78, Fanatic Falcon Speed	30–40 kn nuking wind / control-focused days