Starboard Serenity **Prototype**

Starboard believe that in order for windsurfing to grow, non-planing windsurfing must become more acceptable as another dimension to our sport.

They believe this will allow windsurfing to compete alongside other watersports like dinghy sailing & kayaking in those warm, windless, summer months. Once people are hooked, then they will discover 'planing' windsurfing and we all know there is no turning back then! This prototype board is putting that theory into practise.

TIESDA YOU interview

We asked Starboard designer, Tiesda You, all about the Serenity.

What is it for?

Tiesda: It is a board for non-planing conditions. The hull is designed to be as efficient as possible in displacement mode, as opposed to a shape designed to plane. Instead of shlogging in lightwinds, you have a board that slips through the water quietly, efficiently and blissfully.

What is the thinking behind it?

Tiesda: Virtually all the focus on modern equipment is on planing
performance, and lately on hybrid performance where you have a compromise between planing and non-planing. The Serenity concept is about focusing on the non-planing side, opening up windsurfing to a whole new world of lightwind sailing.

It looks like it doesn't have a daggerboard, why not?

Tiesda: There isn't an adjustable mast track either. The idea is to keep Serenity plug-and-play fun, as opposed to maximising racing performance with the use of adjustable tracks and daggerboards. We haven't ruled those out yet, but it will come down to a choice between simplicity or ultimate performance. The position of the fin with respect to the tail means that the fin already acts in some ways like a daggerboard too.

What are the dimensions?

Tiesda: 480cm long by 60cm wide. The production weight is not yet known.

Does it work at all in planing winds?

Tiesda: Yes, but bear in mind that Serenity is designed to achieve peak performance in lightwinds; conventional planing boards are therefore quicker in higher winds once they are up and going.

COST: tbc
AVAILABILITY: Summer 2006