Recommendations for light-wind wavesailing

[7176]

Congratulations on your choice. I have a Fanatic All Wave and it is great fun
for wave sailing. I know you are giving your cc a rest but, I would recommend
having a mast track installed if you are going out in decent waves.
The mast base insert is a square plug suitable for lighter use I have torqued out the mast insert on two different boards. Both honored the warranty ,
no problem. After that, I chose to have the mast track installed.
Enjoy the board. You made a great choice!

[wm7203]

Thanks for the comments, everyone.

I am looking forward to trying my new gear after I manage to get it down here.

I sailed and surfed many times at Raul's, which is an excellent set-up when it works, but it works only episodically -- when it gets both S or SW swell and good wind at the same time. From San Diego it requires a day-trip, and the winds are not reliable, and so you have a good chance of getting skunked, which happened to me several times after iWindsurf took down its sensor for the site. But if the winds blow, they will blow all afternoon. The water is noticeably colder than it is at most spots in San Diego because the California Current rejoins the coast at around Coronado Island or so.

I am far to the south of all of those places in Baja that everyone is mentioning. For windsurfing and even kiting, there are much better spots than here all over Baja and California, but for someone like me this place works. I will provide a few updates after I have tried out my new boards and sail.

[dogjohn]

I have Mistral New Malibu about 175 liters. I sail smaller boards in the Delta too, but I'd like to try light wind wave sailing with the Malibu. I've never wave sailed so would look for small waves initially, maybe in Santa Cruz since I'll be down there in a few weeks.

Does anyone know if the New Malibu has a decent shape for light wind wave sailing?

[dllee]

I hope you're not at Scorp Bay, that spot is packed with hoodads wishing it was 1964 , riding 10' logs, and telling everyone they are "surfers". Plus, winds there tend to be mild at 8-15 most "windy" days. Stayed for 4 days, didn't even take the boards off the roof, back to Abreojos for us. Open Eyes gave us 15 out of 15 days of plus 18 mph, and I"m still mad at Fat Dave for forcing us down to hoodad heaven.
New or old Malibu will work just fine, mostly Cowells, Pleasure, and spots east of Privates. It'd be fine at NB, except for the long carry from the parking lot.
Don't go out on South swells if it's overhead, certainly not if you're not a experience surfer on the first windsurfing day in the waves.

[windward1]

Hi Dogjohn,

I do not know about the new Mistral Malibu, but I used to sail and old Mistral Malibu off of Pleasure Point. It worked fine and was like a longboard in the waves at the point. I assume the new Malibu is shorter and wider as that is the trend.

W1

[dllee]

I keep a old Fanatic Shark 145 lying in the garage just for the purpose of meeting Windward 1.
250 x 78, 145 liters, and I SUP it with a 25 cm JP beginner board fin with tons of area.
Can't sail it in 1 mph, but anything 3 or above is just fine.

[windward1]

Whoa! I am flattered! It would be an honor to sail with someone who has sailed (and pioneered) so many places. You, Lee D, have sailed more places than I have on my bucket list to sail.

And I agree with the OP about how the Santa Cruz area is about as perfect as it gets for surfing, cycling and windsurfing. Not that I do much of all three, but do partake as much as I can of the last one. Hope to broaden out a bit if I get to retire. Retirement is planned to be in the Santa Cruz area.

[dllee]

Yeah, SC is one of the nicest outdoor spots possible to find in the golden year's. Old Doug Haut used to extoll it's virtues to me, a city boy from San Francisco, and it just washed over my head.
I hear he's still shaping once in a while, Matt doing a lot of the shaping. I should drop on by someday, maybe a weekend Sat., when the owner's are around just for old time's sake.
I promised to drop by Wise's on a Sat too, but he keeps coming in only on Fridays. I worked for him for 5 years, knew him from '66 at the old Wawona St. shack that used to belong to Oneill, then thru the 43rd and Vicente years, hanging out there, shaping a few boards for him, and finally working the retail store in the early '80s.

[PeconicPuffin]

[dogjohn]

Hey Windward1,

Thanks for the info. on the Malibu. I think the New Malibu is very similar the original Malibu so I'll give it a try. Where are good places to launch in Santa Cruz? I may be able to get down there this weekend.