| Then there is the Mistral WindGlider. At 48 inches wide, it’s the widest board on the market. It’s so specialized it might be put in a category of its own. The WindGlider, for example, doesn’t plane. It’s an outstanding tool for learners, but it also offers an inexpensive and simple solution for very occasional sailors, including their friends and family.
The WindGlider is unique in several ways: it’s inflatable, it’s four feet wide and it has about 300 liters of volume. The fact that it’s inflatable means not only that it collapses into a small size, but also that it’s really big without being heavy. The bare hull weighs only 30 pounds. The great width and volume mean it’s the most stable board on the water, which makes it the easiest to stand on. We wish the WindGlider were able to plane the way all-around boards do, but for novices and casual windsurfers who don’t have the time or windy conditions needed to progress that far, the WindGlider’s performance is good. It can go on any point of sail at a good clip, and it turns on a dime. The standard 3.7square-meter rig is super-light and easy to handle, yet big enough to power the WindGlider nicely in a light breeze.
Unlike other boards, the WindGlider can be converted into a sit-on-top kayak with the purchase of an inexpensive kit or into one of those pull-along toys that kids ride on behind power boats. In short, the WindGlider is a good way for learn-it-yourselfers to check out windsurfing and a couple of other sports as well. |
