I have been using a 5' directional board as my light wind board for the last two weeks. It is the new Xelerator 5’ kite surf fish, and the main idea behind this board is to get you going when others can't, or to get you going on one or two kite sizes smaller than the rest.
Currently I am able to stay upwind in as little as 10 knots with onshore conditions and waves on my 12 square meter Cabrinha C02 and this directional.
I have long been a avid light wind kite boarder and have been experimenting with large kites such as 16, 18 and 20 square meter kites. My conclusion is that bigger kites - even a 20 square meter kite only allows you to stay upwind in 12 to 13 knots and upwards, as the bigger the kite the less efficient it is and the more it pulls you downwind. Big kites don't point upwind enough. My biggest kite that I use now is a 12 square meter, and I find that the 12 square meter works great as the kite is fast (good for wave riding and boosting) and it stays in the sky when the bigger kites drop out of the sky.
On Sunday I had a interesting kiteboarding experience. The conditions were onshore with 3 - 5 foot onshore waves. Whilst most were on 16 square meters and unable to go behind the backline at all, I was able to clear the backline with ease every time on my 12 and this board, and I kited all the way to Cape Town's harbour wall and back to Kite beach. Normally these kind of trips are done as a downwinder, and I thought that this was pretty unique as I am not sure how many people has managed to kite to the harbour wall, let alone kite back to their starting point.
In the future the directional boards will be very popular for light wind conditions. When you use a twintip in light winds a lot of power goes to waste as you need to edge the board to stay upwind - resulting in a huge loss of power. With a directional board and thruster setup you can ride the board with very minimal edging and using the fins to point you upwind.
Board Construction :
The Xelerator 5’ kite surf fish, was designed by Ralph Hertweck for extreme wave riding and light wind kiteboarding.
Ralph has played around with this design since the beginning of 2004, fine tuning the final dimensions and rocker line, and the board has been in production since July.
A single concave hull shape with a 3 fin thruster setup results in very early plaining and in combination with the fuller tucked under surfboard rails and the extra volume the board is capable of maneuvers as only known from surfing and windsurfing.
The board also features the Duragrind layer at the bottom of the board with a Shark Skin finish. The Duradrind layer is a thick layer of protection at the bottom of the board, and the Shark Skin finish on top of that functions similar to that of a Shark's skin. A shark's skin can be thought of as 1000's of needles stacked together. When the shark moves through the water, the water only touches the tips of the needles instead of penetrating the gaps in between the tips of the needles, resulting in less friction and faster moving speeds through the water.
The main difference to the old directional board designs is in the rocker line. A more constant rocker line - similar as in shortboards - allows for extremely tight turns straight up the face with cut backs right under the lip. That’s a pure surf feeling.
Some people might have seen Ralph and Andrew ripping on their “Surf Fishes” on 11m kites on days when not even a 20m kite got anybody else going. Riding one wave down the line from Dolphin beach to the Kite beach and tacking back with only one tack to the Dolphin beach to catch the next wave down the line, proved to many people sitting on the beach and waiting for more wind, that this board is the perfect light wind fun machine.
Visit http://www.xeleratorkiteboarding.com/ for more information