A last minute late but fun session with John Overmeer to finish off the windy days. I decided to go for some proper test sessions in which I gathered massive info on the new Tribal Asy.
The fin is nothing less than sensational when it comes to grip, control and most important the ability to adjust board angle depending on the fin size of your choice for given conditions.
Waterlevel today was the highest of the last couple of days which resulted in irregular, short and steep chop. Wind was clearly less with gusts up to 35 knots but good enough for 5.7, eventhough 6.3 would have been perfect for fast runs. Endspeed was pretty good each run as in the short gusts aceleration was fantastic. It also felt as if I could have easily taken double wave size without any problem. I had sections in which the board was at total easy riding on the fin alone as if chop wasn't there. I foresee a very interesting season coming up as this to me is the very first new era asy suited for lighter riders. No need to load the fin the way I am used too lately, but more of the slippery feel of the past without the bad behaviour of those fins sometimes ending in bad crashes due to unpredictable spin-outs. It's also extremely obvious in regards to endspeed there is no limit. Even on chop you can feel the willingness to explode speedwise.
Chris Lockwood designed this fin with 60 knots in mind and I believe him when he says this design is capable of setting a new standard at Luderitz. We are only scratching the surface of this new and thrilling design which holds massive opportunities to go extremely fast on the broad and super gusty Luderitz course, but potentially more important on any open water course as it helps the rider to feel at ease as the board rides as if chop is non existent when you pick the right size. I have been swapping constantly between various fins the last couple of days, granting myself a proper test before writing indeep on the design. When I gave Serge my fin in the Ciara storm I had to sit it out as it was my only small version and the one I used was way too powerful. I couldn't get my head around what was happening underfoot and now I feel as if I at least am getting a first glimpse of the potential built within this design. In a few weeks I learned a lot about the fin and I feel it's safe to say Chris has delivered (again). Time will tell how fast this fin really is but I dare say upfront some pretty silly outcomes are on the horizons.
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