Lucas Meldrum brings us this insight into his Cornish wave sailing sessions during the Autumn after moving down to Falmouth to study graphic design.
“It has been difficult to film lots of material this last autumn so I’ve built up a few clips and thought I’d throw it all in one big update video. Hope you guys get an insight of what I’ve been getting up to. Hopefully the Covid situation improves and I can make some more videos in 2021”.
The Hawaii big wave season in 2020-2021 has been firing on all cylinders culminating in a historic swell on January 16th where the swell peaked at a giant 22 feet at 17 seconds!. Naish rider, Ricardo Campello has made this incredible clip of his Jaws highlights so far!
“The Season has been non Stop on Maui , in the past month we’ve had 4 or 5 sessions at jaws . here’s my best moments from those past sessions , including #supersaturdaySwell . with sets over 60 Ft it was the biggest wave I have ridden so far . I am getting more confidence at Peahi ( aka Jaws ) each session I sail there but that last well was really something special . I was quite nervous as it was massive plus the wave and wind direction was not the best for windsurfing but at the end of the day it was all worth it!”
From our October edition of Windsurf Magazine, our editor Finn Mullen, takes a light-hearted look at the battle for our ages – fin v foil v wing, as he examines their pros, cons and practicalities.
Words Finn Mullen // Photos Tam Mullen
To read more features like this first, Print and Digital subscriptions are available. Prices include delivery globally for 10 x issues a year!
Technology and trends bring waves of change, but the choice to ride them or not is still personal. And certainly in windsurfing, there has never been more choice available on how you wish to glide on water, standing sideways and powered by the wind. We live in lucky times for our sport, or not, it really depends on who you speak to and their views on the f-word – foiling. It’s a divisive subject, and as if no more fuel to the fire was needed, along comes its partner in crime – winging. Now if at this point you are sitting with your head in your hands, screaming what was voted the UK’s favourite catch phrase, “I don’t believe it,” in homage to Victor Meldrew and to express your exasperation at the mere mention of foil or wing, there is very little I can do from here on in to stop you writing to the Queen demanding my head on a plate, but I’ll give it a try.
FRESH FORMS
Prior to my current job, I spent many years working at sea, where to make for a happy ship there was an unwritten rule that three things were never spoken about – politics, religion and pay. Inevitably, given how closely offshore work is linked to the ups and downs of the world economy, conversations around pay or rather specifically, enforced pay cuts, would arise from time to time, but largely the rule was observed and it was a very secular and apolitical workplace. Windsurfing is too for the most part thankfully, but it is a sport with many different forms and at some point I have to start talking about foiling and winging without issuing a very British hundred forms of sorry. Foiling and winging are here to stay, and in a nod to the zeitgeist of 2020, we are going to have to learn to live with it. But live with what exactly? It’s clear there is a crossover between windsurfing with a fin and windsurfing with a foil, but each has its own strengths and weaknesses, as does wing surfing. In an attempt to find out how they all fit into a modern quiver, I decided to do all three back to back in a similar wind strength and water state to find out.
Now if I were to make this a fair fight, it would have to be one which hit the middle ground in terms of wind speed as the ‘fin’ has the obvious top end advantage and foil the bottom. Force 5 was the median ground I chose and I used flat water with small chop as the water state, as that is where the majority of windsurfing takes place in for this wind speed. Rather than concentrate on the technical ins and outs of each discipline, and get bogged down in jargon, I wanted to look at the practicalities, feelings and advantages or disadvantages that each offered.
FIN
So starting with the ‘fin’, I opted for the evergreen combination of a 109 litre freewave board and 5.5 5-batten wave sail, which for my 95 kg felt a fast, easy-planing option in the steady wind on offer. There’s plenty to appreciate when you load up a fin, fully powered in your stance and locked into your harness, chattering along, accelerating and carving at will. The ultimate sailing craft? Well as a windsurfer I’m biased, but even objectively I think it’s hard to surpass the feeling of direct engagement that the sail/board/fin combo brings over anything else single-handedly piloted by a sail, or its versatility. Let’s not forget where we have come from either. In my early days of planing windsurfing the choice for these conditions was to either trade off the speed of a slalom type board for its lack of user-friendliness in anything but a straight line, against the distinctly sluggish nature of a wave board that offered a rewarding but demanding venture to turn and jump. Nowadays, thanks to decades of nuanced refinement in rocker-lines, rails and planforms we have hybrid designs that do it all. So why reinvent the wheel? Does familiarity breed contempt? Modern windsurfers have a heck of a range, so to challenge the fin, there has to be something wholly different on offer, and that is where, in my opinion, a foil does have its place.
FOIL
Now I do have to declare at this point, not a conflict of interest, rather a divergence of interest when it comes to foiling. My experience of wind foiling was a roundabout journey, in that I came from a SUP surf foiling background before I was able to try wind foiling. And it was purely down to practicalities in that most of my water time is done on a stretch of coast that is rarely flat with very limited opportunities to launch windsurfing gear locally in anything but breaking surf, which much as I can relate to the old joke about sailing being akin to standing under a shower tearing up £10 notes, it’s something I prefer to joke about rather than practice. One point to the ‘fin’ over a foil here because as a pre-requisite to wind foiling you do need somewhere you can launch easily and is free from hazards, natural or otherwise, as there is a large expensive structure a long way beneath your feet. A good friend of mine, an avid and accomplished coastal windsurfer, took his newly acquired foil setup to what he though was a reasonably safe stretch of water to find his feet, an enclosed quiet harbour area with a large reaching area. On his first run he took little notice of a few small buoys and lines ahead, until he hit one that was attached to a large mooring underwater, which promptly sheared his foil from his board (albeit helped by a failure to check his bolts) and he made a generous donation to Davey Jones’ locker. Now cautionary tales aside, if we were to limit our windsurfing to anything where there wasn’t any risk of kit damage, we might as well take up knitting, but there does have to be some extra consideration for foiling.
SILENCE
So having tuned my ‘radar’ for any anti-foil devices, I swapped my freewave board for my hybrid wind/sup foil board. My wife had been blasting on her 5.0 and being an advocate of ‘free foiling’ where you can use a smaller sail and no footstraps, I grabbed her sail as she took a break and took off, literally. Novice or pro, with sail or without, the overwhelming feeling of any flight on a foil is …silence. Part of the attraction of ‘fin’ windsurfing is blasting along, knuckled down with the wind and spray in your face, and a trail of snot hanging from your nose – all very ‘Rule Britannia’! Foiling is like the ambient Brian Eno version of fin windsurfing, cut up with bursts of the Prodigy at their most anarchic. It’s blissful, peaceful, feels hyper-efficient, the very essence of gliding, mixed up with heart-in-mouth moments where you balance on the edge of over-foiling or breaching, that can result in the mother of all ‘wheelies’ and a cheap castration. Bar having a sail in my arms and board under my feet, it’s a lot different to ‘fin’ windsurfing, but not in a bad way. Foils are a light wind game changer, I’m not going to delve into the physics of it, they just are and arguing otherwise is bit like denying the earth is round at this stage of the game. But the aim of this exercise was to compare everything in the same wind strength, pound for pound, and in that respect, wind foiling gives a fresh set of sensations for the flat water arena, which much as I love fanging around with a fin, it’s not an infinite amount of pleasure. Wind foiling adds that extra something on top to benign conditions; just enough to test you without being insurmountable, and giving a strong sense of accomplishment when it all goes right. There’s plenty to get hooked on, which is ironic given a harness feels superfluous a lot of the time for me. That’s because of how light the sail becomes wind foiling when using a smaller sail as you are generating so much apparent wind with the efficiency of the foil., but there’s still a lot, if not more physical challenges on offer as you balance all the forces; bit of a mind game in there too, so we’ll add mental workout to the list also. Wind foiling is like lots of little micro-puzzles to solve to keep your windsurfing mind, body and soul fresh and not descend into a world-weary, seen-it-all, human. For that alone, it’s worth the rip.
WING
Now to the new kid on the block, the ‘wing’. It was an easy choice to decide what size of wing to use, as I only have one – a 6.0! There’s a clue there as to something key you soon realize about wings, they might not look like they do, but they have an incredible range. A modern windsurf racing rig does also, but with all its cams, battens and carbon you would hope it does! A wing’s potency in this regard however comes less from its design, but by its nature of use, which means you can vary its power easily and safely at the top end by how you hold it, and the efficiency of the foil takes care of the bottom end. Foils and wings may seem an odd pairing given how one looks highly engineered and the other you blow up, but put them together and the marriage works.
CORDLESS
The changeover from sail to wing was not straightforward and I’ll explain why. Wings are affectionately known as ‘cordless kites’, and kites love to fly, with or without humans attached. So while I could happily talk to passing animals as I changed between my 5.5 and 5.0 sail, a wing left unattended is a wing about to leave on the first gust bound for Kansas. From the moment it’s pumped up, the wing needs to be secured.
You can’t be as carefree either when launching wing and board versus a windsurfer, as being so light the wing is quite mobile and you only have your wrist to make sure the wing doesn’t launch a surprise attack on the tips of your foil and impale itself. As for doing it in surf or a shorebreak, well I’ll let you imagine the comedic scenes until you get the hang of it.
RIGGING
So before we hit the water the wing has a -1, ahh but wait, I told you not to take all you see with a wing at face value. A major plus a wing has is its rigging – the lack of boom, mast and lines is obvious, but you also don’t need the ideal grassy rigging surface that a sail does. Would I rig my shiny, expensive sail on a sandy beach? No, because I’d end up with a not so shiny sail and jammed up mast etc. Ok I would make and have made exceptions, if I was going to score epic wave sailing, but for a regular flat water session I wouldn’t deem the potential gear damage v reward great enough. But a wing is a hardy animal that I can happily rig with a little care on sand or even rocks or slipways that I would never consider rigging a sail on, and it is fairly easy to actually paddle out of a wind shadow that some launch areas have, dragging a wing behind you, so it opens up a lot of areas to sail from that a windsurfer might ignore. And the whole setup is compact to transport, so spots with a long walk are easier too, so let’s just call it an amicable 0-0 for the wing pre water time.
FEELING IT
Under way on the wing there’s an immediate sense of not only foiling’s common trait of silence, but the fact that you are going noticeably slower than a wind foil or windsurfer. Is that a bad thing? The act itself is none the less engaging for it, as without a fixed rig, you really do feel the foil beneath you and the loss of speed is made up for by a feeling of freedom to really explore the manoeuvrability of the setup. Foils, powered by sail or wing, have incredible upwind abilities and that means you can carve up and downwind with little loss of speed or ground. That’s something that is heightened with a wing as your body is able to be more mobile and the wing is less constrained in its points of sail, meaning you can carve back and forth in mini arcs, pretending your Kai Lenny with relative ease once you get the basics down. You can do that too wind foiling, and both sports make the smallest waves or chop incredibly fun to carve on, it’s just winging does it better, and is why you see its application in waves being taken up, not to mention the ability to completely ‘park’ the wing in neutral and just glide freely on a wave. I should mention too that wing foiling uses shorter fuselages than wind foiling generally, which all helps manoeuvrability. But again, I’m concentrating on flat water application and the wing offers another dimension and alternative to explore for those that love to turn, rather than just straight line blasting, which is still a lot of fun on a wing too.
FRESH BLOOD
Anything new invariably comes with a price tag and sceptics. I’m no early adopter, but I also take the view that my chance to try new things in life decreases with every passing day, week and year, so the best time to experience new things is sooner rather than later.
In sport the 10,000 hour principle used to be accepted as the standard for achieving excellence. So in essence, keep practicing the same thing and you’ll eventually get good at it. That long held theory is now increasingly being eschewed in favour of gaining a breadth of diverse experiences and developing range if you want to excel. The new movements I learn to wind foil or wing all seem to give fresh blood to my windsurfing. Winging or foiling don’t replace or cancel my windsurfing, they help it. Physically winging is not very demanding, so offers an option when tired, but also because your stance is a lot more upright it helps balance out your body from the crouched stance of ‘fin’ windsurfing, so it’s a very good partner sport.
VERDICT
Fin v foil v wing is a vast subject to cover and I’ve only given a slight tongue-in-cheek taste here as much of the strengths and weaknesses come down to what locations you have to sail in and what they offer in terms of launching and wind and water states. A sail on a wind foil board feels and is, very efficient, and has the edge on getting going the earliest; but a wing offers an alternative that feels very ‘surf’ like, something that the very small boards you can use for winging engender a feeling of too. As for a traditional ‘fin’ windsurfer setup, well the connection between rider, rig and board feels to me much more direct in comparison, a bit like being on a motocross bike that you can turn, burn and jump at will, and that’s a nuance that will always have an attraction. But wind foiling and winging definitely have an advantage in gusty, light to moderate conditions, where the foils allow you to glide through lulls that a fin would languish in.
A wise man once said the less time you have, the more toys you need. Meaning if your windows to get on the water are slim, you increase the chances of having a good session if you have the kit to get you out there regardless. And one thing is for sure, if you have a foil or a wing, you definitely get more water time and a lot of reward from mediocre conditions; sounds like a good deal to me! But how do you pay for it you ask? Well as I told you at the start, there are some things at sea you just shouldn’t talk about!
Antoine Albert and a few friends just scored this huge swell in New Caledonia at the notorious reef break call Tenia. Gill Chibaud was on hand with the camera to capture some amazing wave riding action. It is a mission to reach this outer reef and the winds were light so this was a tough mission.
“When we arrived to the spot, the wind was super light and a huge river current flowing in the pass from the lagoon to the ocean made a mooring impossible because the current were pushing the boats into the bowl of the wave. We had to wait for 2 hours, engine on, for the wind to pick up a bit. After those 2 hours, I decided to try anyway, rigged up, went to the line up and caught a bomb. I was super pumped up and stressed out, got a couple more before getting caught inside a first time, took 3 waves on the head and broke my boom. Luckily I had a 2nd one, went back in again, get a couple more waves before getting caught inside a 2nd time and broke my extension. The wind was so light and the waves so fast we had to catch them deep and late”.
As you’d expect from anything with Köster’s name on it, this board is fast and it’s amazing what speed can do to most elements of your wave sailing. Each fin setup dramatically changes the board, and all should be used to make the most of the conditions present. A fast, extremely versatile board that can be tuned from super loose to more sure footed than a mountain goat.
THE LOWDOWN:
The Pyro is an all-new shape from Severne, specifically developed in collaboration with their newest signing, Philip Köster. Philip is well known as being one of the few sailors on the world tour that still uses a twin fin setup, and so the Pyro comes with three different fin configurations. Severne say that the, “Twin fin setup offers the loosest feel to make the board fun and manoeuvrable. Thruster is the go-to option for high speeds to deal with strong currents and gusty conditions and Quad offers the most stability and grip.”
The Pyro is delivered as a quad, and the board is striking in appearance, with bold black and white graphics on the deck and orange underneath. In terms of performance, the design certainly fits with what we’d expect from a board designed around Köster’s sailing style, with speed being a key function of the board.
A single concave morphs into vee through the tail, with minimal tail rocker and a fish tail to finish.
The rocker profile of the board is relatively flat, with an overall width of 59 cm, making it the widest overall board on test. The plan shape of the board shows relatively even volume distribution, with a little more of the bulk of the volume towards the middle of the board. Five slot boxes in the board give the full range of tuning options, but this has been achieved whilst keeping the board down to an impressive overall weight of 6.0 kg. All sizes come with quad fins that are fitted with the Severne Hex 4 system, meaning only one tool is needed for all fittings including the footstraps.
BRAND CLAIM: “Designed in collaboration with 5 x World Champion Philip Köster, the PYRO will ignite your fire. Speed rules. The faster you go, the higher you go. Specifically designed as a launch vehicle to propel Koster into the stratosphere, the Pyro prioritizes speed and power. Own the air.”
PERFORMANCE:
With three different fin setups, we had quite a bit to do to test the new Pyro to find all its attributes. We first tried the board in quad setup, where planted, stable and grip were the primary areas of feedback. The board planed well and made ground to windward with ease. You very much felt on top of the board, highly in control, and a good volume distribution under the rider made for easy transitions. On the wave the board had plenty of drive, but even more grip and carried great speed through the bottom turn. Severne claim that, “once the conditions really turn on, you will be able to push this setup to the max and get the most out of your riding.”
In thruster mode we found the Pyro found an extra gear and planed quicker, though Severne reckon it planes just as quick as a quad. The highly planted feel of the quad setup is replaced with a much livelier beast under your feet as a thruster, which accelerates up to rocket ship speeds, making it plenty of fun on the way out. This liveliness finds its place on the way in as well, as the board becomes quicker to transfer from rail to rail, still with good drive and speed, but a little less grip in the top turn, making it more fun in lesser conditions.
In twin mode, very little of the speed is lost, and in fact is coupled with a bit of the planted feel of the quad setup, albeit much looser underfoot. Early planing and super loose, this setup was extremely fun on both the way out, but also on the way in, where the board still bit well in the bottom turn. This was coupled with much more ability to change arc and bust the fins out with ease on the top turn, but still with the hope of bringing them back.
From our October issue we caught up with Dutch all rounder Arrianne Aukes for the following profile. Since this magazine was printed we hear that she has had her baby girl Aya, so congratulations go out to Arrianne and her family!
2019 proved how versatile Dutch sailor Arrianne Aukes is, with second place on the IWT wave tour and fourth place on the PWA freestyle tour. For 2020, Arrianne is looking forward to being a first-time mother; we caught up with her to learn more about her lifestyle.
Words Arrianne Aukes // Photos John Carter, Berky Algin.
To read more features like this first, Print and Digital subscriptions are available. Prices include delivery globally for 10 x issues a year!
I spent this summer with my boyfriend who lives in Datca, a very windy and beautiful peninsula in Turkey close to many Greek islands. I had to cancel all my windsurf (and yoga) clinics in Bonaire and Turkey because of Covid-19, but I managed to organise a few windsurf clinics in Holland in May which I enjoyed so much!
During the first months of the Covid-19 pandemic I found out that I was pregnant, which was a surprise as doctors had told me I could not get pregnant without treatments. I think my pregnancy has helped put things in a different perspective though. Cancelling the clinics was very hard, as I depend on them financially and worked a lot this year to make them grow. But I was very sick, tired and nauseated in those first months of my pregnancy and would have struggled a lot if I had to run all my clinics at the same time. I stopped doing freestyle when I found out I was pregnant, but I still feel good and confident cruising around a little on my windsurfer.
Being a professional windsurfer is a very uncertain job and Covid-19 showed me how hard it is to be an entrepreneur. My brother and sister kept getting paid by their jobs, while I lost all my income and it made me question a lot of things. At the same time, I really believe that the past few years have taught me so much and that I will always be able to find a job if I need to. I see now that Covid-19 has made windsurfing grow so much in Holland, so like every bad thing it also brings new opportunities.
COMPETITION
It was a great experience to do the full IWT Tour last year and although it was quite hectic to combine it with both freestyle and all the PWA wave events, it was a memorable year. Because of the IWT competitions I went to places I had always wanted to go to, but had never been to before, so I am very grateful that I had the chance to do that last year. Japan, Peru, Oregon and Maui were all amazing and unique places. It’s a very friendly vibe and not having a tour this year makes me realise even more how much I miss hanging out with all the girls on tour!
I don’t make any money competing as I don’t get paid and prize money only covers travel costs. I organise windsurf and yoga & windsurf clinics and retreats in Holland and other countries and that is mostly how I make a living.
HIGHS AND LOWS
One of my high points was definitely the IWT event in Japan last year. This was the first event of 2019 and I came straight from Australia where I had been training non-stop for six weeks. Just being in Japan was such an experience already and the organisers of the event were so incredibly kind to us all. On arrival in Japan I suffered a sudden severe shoulder injury, which was very bad timing. I had a cortisone injection, but the day after they started the competition in very strong, onshore conditions. Even with the cortisone injection I could barely move my arm, but somehow I still managed to go out and sail, and even won the event!
My low point was in Oregon, where I managed to win the single elimination. In the double elimination Sarah Hauser was leading with some really good wave rides, I was using a 3.4 sail as it was so windy, but I still managed to land a clean back loop which I was really happy with. I was pretty sure I won, due to having two jumps in the bag. The result came a few days later, without showing us the judging sheets or the possibility to check our results. Afterwards I saw they scored my clean back loop lower than a forward. I got apologies that the scoring was not right, but at that moment, coming all the way from Turkey to America I was sad. It’s hard to find the balance to simply accept these things or knowing when you have to step up for yourself when things don’t feel fair; it’s a judged sport and sometimes you’re lucky and sometimes not. I think it is important that you have professional judges at big events with prize money to avoid situations like that.
WAVE OR FREESTYLE
I love them both! Wave is more of a challenge for me now after giving freestyle all I had for so many years. I like how determined you have to be for freestyle, and how learning new moves can be like a little puzzle, where you slowly get closer and closer to landing it. Also, freestyle is more social. I loved all those uncountable hours on the water with friends, training freestyle, watching, pushing and helping each other. In waves it’s you and the wave. During the PWA in Maui we had huge waves during the competition, I would normally never push myself in such big waves. I was scared to go out, but competition helps me to put away my fear and go for it. I had a few nice waves and was SO full of adrenaline after! That feeling is just incredible.
YOGA
For me yoga has helped me so much being a windsurf athlete. My grandad was already doing yoga 30 years ago, so I guess it is in my blood! When I started doing more yoga at the beginning it was mainly to stay a little flexible with all the windsurfing I was doing. But as I got increasingly into it, I realised yoga is so much more. Yoga is very beneficial as an athlete as it helps you to connect your mind and body. Yoga also made me realise I did not use my breath right. With competitions I was always out of breath after a 6-minute heat. Meditation and breath work helped me a lot to be calm and focussed during competitions, and to use my energy in the right moment.
Yoga is beneficial to all ages, it’s important to listen to your body. Yoga is not about how good you are at it and not about getting better, it’s something you do for yourself to create awareness about your mind and body.
TIPS
Believe in yourself! I always doubted if I was good or young enough and I think it had a bad influence on my career. Just enjoy practising and start with doing as much competitions as you can so you can get used to competing, and to meet other girls in the scene so you get more motivated. At the moment Sarah-Quita Offringa is definitely still on top of her game and she is pretty tough to beat, but everything is possible!
TRAINING
I think doing many different sports helps to make you a better windsurfer. I love stand-up paddling and surfing in the waves, and I believe they are very good physical training to strengthen ankles, knees, legs and to get a better feeling for waves. In Holland I like to go for a bike ride and of course I do a lot of yoga too! Now I am pregnant I like to go for a swim in the ocean every day to keep my body fit and strong. I still teach yoga online and windsurf as well, but no crazy sessions, just easy-going cruising around a bit.
TRAVEL
I definitely miss travelling, but at the same time it was nice spending some time at home in Holland and Turkey and to not constantly live from a suitcase. The first months of Covid-19 were difficult as my boyfriend and I could not see each other for a few months while I was pregnant. I could have never imagined living during those special months without each other. Covid-19 has disrupted my plans, but then with my pregnancy in a way it was the perfect timing. I won’t miss out on any competitions this year because of my pregnancy as they are all cancelled anyway and it makes it easier to accept what is happening in the world. There will be no travel or competing for me this year for sure, my belly is too big! But I am planning on competing again next year; hopefully it will be possible with the Covid-19 situation.
GROWTH
I want to keep growing and improving as an athlete and I hope to inspire more girls and women in windsurfing. I love the feeling of freedom windsurfing gives me. I love how it makes you feel strong, humble and hungry for more, all at the same time. I love how it clears your head and how it’s a full body workout. How you always want to improve, because no matter what your level, there is still so much to learn. And mostly because it connects me so much with nature and the elements.
Duotone have released this cool insight into team rider Jordy Vonk as he strolls along the beach at El Medano with his little dude! Jordy fills us in on what he has been up to over the past year, how he stays motivated and his aspirations for the up-coming year!
STARBOARD ULTRAKODE 82 Carbon Reflex Sandwich TEST REVIEW
VERDICT:
A fast board with a fully connected feel, that allows the sailor to connect seamlessly from bottom to top turn, with the various fin options giving versatility across different conditions. The 82 UltraKode would make a great one wave board for a smaller rider, or a small board for a heavier sailor.
THE LOWDOWN:
The UltraKodes in Starboard’s range for 2021 are their dedicated wave board, with five all-new shapes. As in previous years, the range is split across two design teams. The smallest two sizes, the 78 litre and 82 litre on test here, are shapes from Mark and Jaeger Stone, whilst the larger sizes are from Albert Pijoan.
All sizes feature four Starboard Starboxes and one US box, meaning that boards can be set up as thruster, quad or twin. The Starboxes allow the fitting of both slot box and US box fins. All models are supplied with new Stone signature Black G-10 thruster fins by Drake and all boards feature swallow tails, which helps reduce the overall length of the boards, with the 82 coming in at 217 cm in length. In general, the 82 has become more compact than previous years, with a slight increase in thickness. UltraKodes feature fast rocker lines in the planing surface area for speed and early planing, combined with a concave bottom shape that is meant to create grip and aid with rail-to-rail transitions.
The board is finished with Drake footstraps that are made from FSC-certified, sustainably sourced and plant-based Yulex foam, and the overall construction of the board has been made with sustainability in mind.
BRAND CLAIM: “The UltraKode 82 has a more compact length with a shorter tail and more thickness. The overall result is more control, more manoeuvrability when riding waves in light winds and a wider range.”
PERFORMANCE:
On initial inspection, the UltraKode’s lines give it an almost classic look, despite its compact dimensions, with a less parallel outline than many of the compact shapes on test. When you first get into the straps on the board, this plus a very ergonomically shaped deck dome, give a really connected feel to the board, the back foot seeming to be able to wrap itself from rail to rail. The UltraKode was one of the smallest boards on test and did feel so, although once powered it planed smoothly and was fast, giving the sailor lots of feedback.
The speed and connected feel made it fun through jumps. On the wave is where this really excelled, with the transition from rail to rail in bottom to top turn being incredibly easy and forgiving, allowing you to execute great top turns even if your timing was well off.
As a thruster you could still adjust your arc through the bottom turn and whilst as a quad the grip increased, you still had the ability to drive the tail round in the top turn and get it to release without losing control. Whilst the thruster worked well as a go-to option across all conditions, the twin option gave that extra flexibility for radically changing arcs and making big turns on mounds of mush.
THOMAS TRAVERSA: GUIDED TOUR REUNION ISLAND (PART 2)
Gaastra / Tabou rider Thomas Traversa, continues his Guided Tour series with his second insight into Reunion Island and in particular, the iconic and spots of Etang-Salé and Saint-Leu! Sharks have been a problem here so the line ups are pretty quiet! As usual there is no holding back when Thomas rides these gnarly reef breaks!
From our October 2020 issue of Windsurf Magazine we caught up with Peter Munzlinger who is the man behind the designs at GA Sails. He tells us about his work, the new requirements that foiling brings, and how he got started in the windsurfing industry.
Words Peter Munzlinger // Photos John Carter.
To read more features like this first, Print and Digital subscriptions are available. Prices include delivery globally for 10 x issues a year!
BACKGROUND
I was a passionate windsurfer from the age of 16 back in the 1980s. While most of the guys I sailed with were interested in building their own boards, I was into making and adjusting my own sails. This part of windsurfing fascinated me. I remember the first thing I did when funboard equipment first arrived on the scene was to take some Division 2 sails and modify them with a shorter boom to make them into funboard sails. I had seen pictures of guys in Hawaii and was inspired to make the changes so I could have similar equipment. Before windsurfing I was also into sailing, my parents had a sailing boat and I had a catamaran. Somehow I was attracted more by the sails in windsurfing than the boards.
LAKE GARDA
After school I went to university to study engineering, but my first job was in Lake Garda. I grew up in Tuscany in Italy on the coast, and after the summer holidays I had an opportunity to go to Lake Garda to work in a windsurfing shop. It helped that I knew how to speak Italian and German perfectly. I took the job and that is where I met the guys who were doing the North Sails distribution for Italy. They noticed my passion for sails and luckily they offered me a job. After that I made the decision to move to Lake Garda, which at the time was one of the big centres of windsurfing in the world. In Tuscany I would never have had any opportunities; I had to move. With North Sails, I worked hard and started doing sail repairs, which was the real beginning of my sail design career. Within a few years I made some sails for myself and at the distributor meeting for North Sails in Garda, the guys tried my designs and they were performing better than some of the North Sails at the meeting. After this I was invited to start designing one simple sail in the range, that is how it all started.
After North sails, I had a spell where I worked for Dakine who wanted to make windsurfing sails, then I had a spell with Yes Sails who were in Lake Garda and were quite successful as a small brand. I sponsored Andrea Cucchi back then and we were also great friends. When he decided he wanted to start his business with Point-7, he called me and then I worked with him for many years on the ‘Black Sails’! We were very successful with racing with the late Alberto Menegatti and won many races at European and world level; it was a cool period working with Andrea.
GAASTRA
One day Knut Budig from Gaastra called me and offered me the chance to be their designer. It didn’t take me long to make the decision to take the job as this was a very good opportunity for me to work with a bigger established brand. This was the end of 2010. I started with Gaastra and I am still here ten years later. My first job was to work on The Vapor race sail as it was at the end of the season and it was not finalised. Basically I started from zero and didn’t have the Gaastra design software at the time, so made the sails my way. Arnon Dagan and Alberto came to my place in Sardinia where I had moved to and we worked non-stop on the prototypes. We were lucky because we had a month of wind every day. It somehow all came together, even though it was a lot of hard work. After this initial period I started using the Gaastra software and getting to work on the rest of the range over the following years. After the first season I could gradually start introducing my own ideas into the designs. When a company makes over one hundred sails in the range in all the sizes, it is not like you can make changes overnight.
In the past two years foil windsurfing has exploded into the market. For this project it meant completely new designs; something I was very excited about and it has been a real passion project producing the GA foil sail.
GOALS
I still windsurf a lot myself, so one goal for sure is to meet the intended purpose of the sail and the needs of the customer who are going to buy it and their expectations. As I am a sailor myself, what I am looking for is a sail that is easy and user friendly. I don’t want to have sails that I am fighting with, but at the same time I also want a good performance. You have to find a compromise between power to get planing early, the range of use and how comfortable it is. Some ranges I can test myself or use guys where I live, but with the race and wave ranges I need the input from the pro riders. Our team is vital here for their feedback. For the development of the Vapor I work in close contact with Cedric Bordes and Ross Williams, I have to filter the information and try to understand and translate it into my reality of what is possible. For the wave sails I work mostly with Ross Williams and Thomas Traversa. Lately for the foil specific Vapor Air I worked closely with Sebastian Kordel and Nico Goyard who are among the best foil racers in the world.
It is great to work with such a talented team, those guys are such awesome sailors and give me precious feedback.
MOTIVATION
I still love windsurfing. Every time it is windy I want to go sailing and that usually involves testing. After all these years the fact I have to test my sails is a good motivation. If the conditions are not that great but I have some new prototypes, I can still get excited about going sailing. I want to see as soon as possible how they perform. The foil explosion was a huge motivation for me. I was very interested as everything was totally new and exciting. It was a challenge, making new sails for a new concept and trying to work out how everything works.
THE OTHERS
With the Internet we can always see what the other brands are doing with their designs. I am always interested to see what is happening with other designers. Sometimes I have ideas before others, but then I see they have had the same concept. Anything new is interesting to me. All the designers are doing a great job. There is a mutual respect between all the brands and a lot of fantastic designs on the market.
BEST AND WORST
The best part of the job is that I can go windsurfing as part of my duties when I am testing. Being on Maui at the GA photo shoots are like a dream come true for me. On the other side there is a lot of stress with deadlines and making sure all the ranges are ready. I have to travel to China several times a year to make sure everything is ok with the production process. It looks like a dream life and job, but at the end of the day there is still a lot of hard work to do.
RIGGING ERRORS!
Definitely the most common errors are not enough downhaul and way too much outhaul! That is a great classic. That way you get a super tensioned leech and a loose luff, the opposite of what is desired. You want a nice tensioned leading edge of the sail and a free twisting leech to get performance and stability. So downhaul to the specs. to get a nice and loose head, then start at the outhaul with a neutral tension, if it’s windy and you are overpowered you add 1 or 2 cm more, if it’s light and you need power, release 1 or 2 cm. Another issue is the boom height. Standing on the board it should be around chin height, and again if you are overpowered and need control, lower it a few cm, and do the opposite in light winds and if you need power.
RESULTS
With Gaastra we have won a wave title with Thomas Traversa and we have won and been on the podium at many PWA events. This is very satisfying for me to see these results. We were also very successful with foil racing results. What we are missing is the PWA slalom overall title, but that is very difficult to achieve. At the moment Albeau, Iachino and Mortefon are dominating, so it pretty difficult for any other riders to challenge these guys.
FOIL SAILS
Foiling requirements are very different than normal windsurfing, you completely eliminate all the chop and impact situations, so you can concentrate more on the performance and aerodynamic aspects. The outlines are different as you sail more upright, so to close the gap on the board you need a lower foot outline. Then you need less back hand pressure as the power comes mainly from the foil and you want easy control, so in general I design a shorter boom and something stiffer and more stable in the sail (not too stiff as you still need some flexibility to pump onto a plane in super light winds). For the aerodynamics a higher aspect design (longer and more narrow) help too, it does not work so good for traditional windsurfing as it puts you more out of balance, but for foiling it makes you faster and pointing higher. On foiling race sails in particular you also have a flatter entry profile for more performance, on a normal windsurfing sail you would not like that too much as it is more critical to sail and less forgiving in chop.
NEW IDEAS
What is interesting when you try something new in a sail line is that this concept can suddenly adapt to other sails in other ranges. With the foil sails I experimented a lot and it brought quite a few new ideas which I could use in our slalom sails. Slalom sails must be able to handle chop and the rig must be flexible to spill the excess power out. On a foil sail you are out of the water and the sail is very stable and smooth. The rig does not move at all because you have no impact. However some features can work for both types of sail. On the foil sails the emphasis was about the control and less back hand, so during the development progress I put in more and more concepts to improve this. Other performance and aerodynamic oriented features of the foil sails were not really applicable, but I took over some shaping ideas and the way I structure the panels to the other sails when I was looking for increasing the control and overpowered handling. In particular using negative shaping and the positioning of it.
TRENDS
Theoretically we could have a lot of new technologies to build superior sails, but the main factor limiting this is the cost. A windsurf sail cannot cost 3000 euros! Nobody would buy it. If you look at the America’s Cup, they have unlimited budget and those sails cost tens of thousands. You cannot compare it. I would say construction is the area where big changes could be made! We are still using the old method of sewing the panels together in an ancient way. It depends on the cost efficiency, but it will come for sure. Potentially we could be sticking the panels together (glue) or even moulding them in one piece. Theoretically for the performance of the sail we could become super light with the modern materials, but on the other hand if they are getting too thin we will have big issues with chafing and durability. The trend in the past years, which I think will continue into the future, is more performance, but at the same time having sails that are easier to use with a bigger range. That is the main goal. In the past you had a very narrow range of use with a sail, but now you don’t need that much equipment to go sailing. If you don’t have specific needs as a super specialized sailor, I would say one square metre between sizes is fine for recreational sailing in light winds. For wave sailing or stronger winds you need a smaller spacing, as when the wind gets stronger the forces increase exponentially.
SIZE MATTERS
Basically the only difference between big and small sailors is the size they choose for a given condition. I have sailed a lot with bigger guys than me (75 kg) like PWA slalom sailors, who are mostly 90 kg +, and I was just using their smaller stuff. I didn’t have to change the settings except boom height (as they are also taller than me) and for the same reason shortening a little the harness lines.
SAIL SOFTWARE
I use specific software for sail design. It is not about simulation or 3D stuff, but more about efficient designing. It is parametric and I can easily change one or more parameters and then push a button and the software generates the panels. As I have to design more than 100 sails each season that’s the only way to make it possible. As an example, if you would design a sail by hand, and only change one aspect, let us say boom length for example, you would have to redesign the whole sail.
SAIL CARE
First and most important thing is keep the sail out of the sun as much as possible, so when not sailing, try to put it in the shade. The UV rays of the sun literally destroy the materials the sail is made of and shorten dramatically the life span of a sail. At Gaastra we try to minimize that using UV inhibitors in our laminates and also the metallic flakes in our X-Ply help reflect the harmful rays, but still you have to take care of that. The materials the sails are made of have no problem with salt water, but if you rinse your sail frequently with fresh water you wash the salt crystals and the dirt away, which over time scratch the monofilm and reduce the visibility of the sail window. Also avoid sharp objects, rigging on rocks and creasing your sails, these things are more common sense, just take care!
AMBITION
My ambition is to try and make the most successful sails on the market and one day win the PWA slalom title with our sails. Now with foiling we have a great chance for success, we are already on the podium and I am confident we can have great results.
High wind warning! Maaike Huvermann Storm Chasing in Holland at the legendary freestyle spot of Brouwersdam!
“FINALLY! We had a big storm hitting The Netherlands for the first time in a few months! The wind was forecast to be 25 to 35 knots, but it turned out to be a lot windier than that! We were all stacked on the 3.6 trying to hold on to moves. Felt great to be out on the water, can’t wait for more soon!”
Fanatic are launching their 2021 freeride series online from today. Here is their product video for the 2021 Blast and the Ultra Blast Rat edition! Details of other boards coming soon!
40 years with a Blast! We celebrate 40 years of Fanatic with the return of some of our iconic graphics on special editions of our most successful shapes – like the Ultra Blast Rat Edition.
The parallel rails allow the water to flow free of turbulences allowing great acceleration, top speed and easy gybing characteristics. Performance has never been so easy!
Check out the new Fanatic Jag from their 2021 freeride range which has just been released online.
“Thoroughbred slalom boards impress with extreme top speeds. But they constantly require your full attention and strength. The Jag LTD is different. It is easily as fast as dedicated competition shapes but at the same time it is incredibly comfortable to ride”.
Completing the 2021 Fanatic freeride line up are the new Gecko and Gecko Foil ranges that have been released online today!
Fanatic 2021 Gecko range:
Fanatic say “The ideal choice for the ambitious windsurfer on the way to the next level. From the very first runs hooked into the harness all the way to full planing power gybes, the Gecko will always help you along the way. Available in a selection of constructions and special editions, the Gecko is made to grow with you”
“Switch effortlessly between freeriding and foiling with our versatile Gecko Foil – and enjoy the widest range of riding sensations available from one board in light to medium wind conditions. Enjoy the progressive planing, effortless gybing and engaging ride, when the wind decreases, simply exchange the fin for a foil and the board will fly in total control thanks to its wide outline and forgiving nose”.
Federico Morisio has shared his latest video from Chile, a ‘vlog’ explaining about the location, the conditions and his training for the International Windsurfing Tour in 2021.
“Winter training is ON and I’m determined to learn new moves, prepare for the 2021 International Windsurfing Tour “Topocalma Infernal” and keep moving forward at 360 degrees on my dreams, even though we’re living in such a crazy Covid-19 situation worldwide! Never give up, always keep going! Enjoy some cool action, like the video, let me know your thoughts in the comments, subscribe for more and share with friends! I did my best to share valuable info, cool action and great vibes, which I guess everybody needs right now!”
John Carter looks back on his first trip down to Cornwall following the first UK lockdown!
Words and Photos: John Carter
LOCKDOWN
The lockdown no doubt affected every windsurfer in some way or other. We stayed at home, spent time with our families and stayed off the water for six weeks straight. It was a strange time! Who could have predicted that Covid would change the world as we know it in a matter of a few months? It turned out to be a time to reflect, a time to stay positive and a time to reassess certain values.
In the midst of the crises none of us knew the outcome and while I am writing this, we still don’t really know how the future or the new normal will evolve. Being off the water was like a torture to some but at the same time it was that perfect chance to spend valuable time with our families, stay fit in other ways or catch up with some of those home projects that have been eternally on the back burner. Travel was off the cards, even driving to your local beach for non-essential purposes was frowned upon. These were unprecedented times and the affect this confinement would impact on the windsurfing industry was worrying.
GREEN LIGHT
As Peter Hart eluded to in his Affairs of the Hart in Windsurf issue 396, once the green light was given on the 13th of May that we were allowed back on the water, windsurfing was exactly the freedom that many of us were yearning for. That feeling to be back on the water flying across the sea powered by the wind was something that not only appealed to the windsurfing diehards but it also too many who had abandoned ship and sought out alternative sports or had just gotten lazy and let windsurfing go.
Funnily enough during lockdown the weather went hot and balmy anyways, a kind of calm before the storm before it blew its socks off in June! When the wind blew after lockdown, local beaches were packed like the old days. Peter Hart said he had never seen Wittering’s as busy and the likes of Branksome, Avon Beach, Shoreham and Poole Harbour were also awash with sails flying across the water. Yep, windsurfing was the fix we were craving and the perfect way to social distance while having fun and scoring our daily exercise. Just getting on the water in general seemed to be what many needed. Windsurf, Foil and SUP products were flying off the shelves and some shops were struggling to replenish sold out stocks. Nobody could have predicted that either!
RELAXATION
By June restrictions were becoming more relaxed and now we could travel again, possibly to score waves and better conditions. In the last four months, I had only travelled off the Isle of Wight once for a day trip to Weymouth and weirdly enough I felt a sense of relief when I made it back home into my own little bubble. After thirty or so years of jetting around the world, this was most certainly going to be a vastly different year. Most of my income comes from shooting events, and guess what? Pretty every event on this year’s PWA calendar was already cancelled. With international travel virtually off the cards, the beaches of the UK were going to have to be my preying grounds for the foreseeable future. Staying at home, or at least staying in the UK for me was definitely going to be my new normal!
NATURE PAYS US BACK!
Towards the end of June, a rare summer Gwithian forecast popped up on the radar. Nothing massive but a west swell with 2.6m waves at 12 seconds and southerly winds was almost certain to serve up some decent wave riding, especially for the time of year. It was almost like natures payback for the past month’s confinement.
I knew Timo Mullen would be all over it having strictly served his lockdown sentence without hitting the water when all the government warnings were in place. In normal times I would also be well up for a couple of days in Cornwall but living on the Isle of Wight kind of comes with complications. Only three of the five ferry crossing routes were running and all of those were with restricted timetables and the compulsory wearing of face masks. I had heard through the grapevine that quite a few sailors from the south coast were planning on a hit and run mission to Cornwall to enjoy this summer bonus wave session, so after much deliberation, I decided to join the party and jump in with Timo but first, I would have to make it to Poole to grab a ride. In some ways this quick sojourn to Cornwall was a chance to feel normal again. See a few familiar faces from a safe distance and score the chance to dust of my cameras.
MOVING AROUND
I had to wear a face mask for the first time on the ferry which felt very strange. There is something about masks that makes everyone look a bit creepy but at least up on the top deck outdoors you had the option to take it off. I then trekked through the quiet streets of Southampton, caught a train down to Poole, sat alone in an empty carriage, again with a mask on! Everything felt surreal to be honest, but I made it to my destination keeping my distance along the way. Moving around before was just something that was taken for granted now, I was taking in every moment with a different perspective and trying to get on with life in the safest possible manor.
We cruised down to Gwithian where there were already a bunch of vans in the car park waiting on the high tide to peel back from the rocks at the bottom of the goat trek. As soon as I arrived, I grabbed my camera gear and wandered away from the crowd, determined to keep my distance, respect the locals and just do my own thing. The awesome thing about windsurfing is that the social distancing on the water especially with wave riding is a natural thing. You line up on a swell, ride the wave, kick out and then head out for more. Today was actually quite windy compared to the forecast so the action from the word go was thick and fast.
The beach here is huge and wide open with space for everybody so no problem there. It was windy, maybe 4.5m or smaller and the surf was pumping considering the time of year. All the old faces were about as well as plenty of new guys and a few that had made the trip down for the day. Windsurfing just seems to have ticked that box for our escape from all this madness and resume life as we knew it before. Just to be able to get in the water is often remedy enough to refresh and reenergize but the challenge of wave sailing of a tricky day was sure to burn off the cobwebs.
SOCIAL DISTANCE
It was awesome to see so many sails on the water and a lot of smiling faces. Andy Chambers had driven down for the day, sailed five hours until his lockdown hands were raw and now faced another three-hour drive home. Was it worth it, hell yeah even with raw calluses!
The likes of Chris Muzza Murray and Jamie Gibbs had taken the day off work to fully utilize this epic summer forecast and sailed two long sessions. Timo was on the water for six hours loving every minute.
The likes of Blacky, Andy Fawcett, ED Buchannan, Ian Ross and a bunch of other locals were also out there like any normal windy wavy day. The après sail chat in the car park was done at a distance with everyone keeping to their own space. Some guys just rocking up sailing, jumping back in the car and leaving while some stopped for a chat, keeping to the two metres.
Aside from that little bit of distancing the beach felt safe and just like any normal day. Of course, despite the Covid situation, nature still does its thing, life still goes on and windsurfing remains one of the best ways to revitalize, stay positive and keep healthy! I made it home safely glad that I had made the effort to shoot this awesome day on the water.
It was not the best I have ever seen Gwithian by a long chalk but just getting out for a day in the fresh air, seeing so many people on the water and being back behind the lens made me feel that I can work with the new normal and that windsurfing is definitely alive and kicking!
Spend any time with Francisco Goya and you will know what a special human he is. Watch him windsurf, and you will know what an extraordinary windsurfer he is! Continuing our ‘Mark of a champion’ series from our October issue of Windsurf Magazine, we put the 2000 PWA Wave World Champion under the spotlight to learn more about the Argentinian legend. Humble and honest, these are his wise words.
To read more features like this first, Print and Digital subscriptions are available. Prices include delivery globally for 10 x issues a year!
Words – Francisco Goya // Photos – John Carter,Bjoern Zedlick, Ben Welsh, Fura.
BEST LIFE
It is important to me that I try to be the best at what I do, either freesailing, competing, building gear, or in business. It is more fun when I’m learning and expanding the horizon.Focus and time usually works to make this happen. Life is more sustainable when I follow my passions and allow the cycles to mature.
PEOPLE
To me, people are more important than results and products. I believe excellence happens when we balance humanity with performance. This is how we can keep reaching for our true potential and why we are here.
DEFINING
A defining moment in my life was before my 18th birthday when I decided to go for my dream life. Once that was set, with time everything else worked itself around it – friends, windsurfing, family, the business, etc.
TEAM
I feel close to all of our riders, from our young up and coming who are making giant leaps, like Maria Morales, Marino Gil Gherardi, Adam Warchol,Luc Guidroz and Pepe Krause, to the top pros like Marcilio “Brawzinho” Browne, Kai Lenny & Antoine Albert that continue to lift the bar 1 inch at a time, and the more experienced ones like Boujmaa Guilloul, Levi Siver & Ben van der Steen, that keep on pushing the limits while bringing in their magic and uniqueness into the products and the business’s operation.
DECISIONS
The best decision I have made recently has been to focus on windsurfing; I believe there is so much to be done in our sport.A wrong decision was not to go a bit earlier to windsurf in Chile this year as my flight got cancelled due to Covid-19.
BALANCE
Things that are perfectly balanced are motionless, so unless you are a monk in the mountains, I find it very challenging on this side of the planet to maintain a life balance.
A more attainable balance for me is taking care of my basic needs – working & playing. Sounds pretty easy to do, but to be honest, I still get out of wack.With the speed and amount of things I have to do, I have to remind myself which ones are the essential balls in the juggle, and the ones that can be dropped for now. When I’m not balanced, then everyone and everything around me feels it, and tasks become a struggle instead of opportunities to grow from, so it is essential not just for myself.
MOTIVATION
What motivates me to go on the water each day is that I know that it will be good no matter how cold, gusty, rainy, small or big it is, or how tired and busy I might be. I know that I’m going to feel my best, and I will learn something guaranteed.
COMPETITION
The nerves I experienced in competition transferred a bit to product launches and keeping up with the speed of the business. I haven’t been that good at dealing with it sometimes, and it affects my sleep. I have hit that wall a few times when I wasn’t able to disconnect and it isn’t fun. I keep reminding myself it is an important and serious business as many people count on it, but having fun and flowing with those moments gets everyone and me to a better place in all aspects.
As an athlete, there was a lot of adrenaline in my day to day, so when my focus shifted to our brand and business, it wasn’t sustainable for me or fair for the rest of the team and my family, and I needed to make a change in my approach. Luckily everyonehasbeen patient with me, understanding my intentions and letting me ride that one out.
The things I enjoyed the most about competing at the top level of windsurfing was that I was travelling around the world, meeting people along with their cultures, and at a time when there was no mobile phones or emails to distract me from those experiences and moments.
Sometimes I kept my distance from my rivals, but mixing was part of it too, there was so much to learn from everyone, and we were all happy to split the traveling bills also, so it worked well. In the end, it only mattered who was ready to ride their best on the competition day.
When you compete with the best, you find yourself in some situations that you are stoked for what you are seeing, but then you realize, wow, that is not looking that good in the score sheet. So while competing with basically anybody on the top 20 your jaw would drop a few times in those ten minutes. What I actually enjoyed the most was competing with my closest friends, as no matter what, you knew that at least one of you would advance. But if I had to choose my favourite sessions, it would be freesailing with a few stoked riders in a new spot.
NEXT LEVEL
In windsurfing right now there are about two dozen riders that are fully committed and keep taking it to the next level, so alongside our team, riders, I’m inspired by riders like Ricardo Campello, Antoine Martin,Philip Köster, Victor Fernandez, Jaeger Stone, Camille Juban, Bernd Roediger, Morgan Noireaux, Daida & Iballa Moreno, Balz Müller, Gollito Estredo, Matteo Iachino, Pierre Mortefon, the Goyard brothers, etc.
WINNING
What’s more important, winning or money? How much money are we talking about? Nahh, haha, if I had to choose, I would choose to win, because it takes a lot more to be at the top of your game, and if you can win, you most likely have enough money to get by.
POWER FOOD
I’m mostly vegetarian, keeping the rest to a minimum. My best sessions are usually with not a full stomach.
TALENT
I have some ability, but I wouldn’t bet on it more than putting time in on the water. I enjoy the element of surprise of what happens along with when you put in a long session. My strengths are consistency, but I’m not a machine by any means, more like a boat that gets from A to B, but it rarely points at B.
FOCUS
During my competition years, I was riding as much as possible, which kept the focus on what I wanted to learn, while the ocean was becoming more like home. My wife and kids don’t follow windsurfing, so they make it pretty easy to change focus when I have to.
‘ROCKY’ MOMENT
Winning my first World Cup in Pozo in 1999 was my ‘Rocky’ moment. I remember getting kicked out in an early round of the single elimination. I was so mentally beaten that I could barely get back home; I filled up the bath and meditated underwater, letting go of everything. Afterwards I went to bed and slept for 14 hours. The next days became a new standard for me of what it meant to be alive.
MPG TRAINING
I just had won Pozo when I saw Scott Sanchez of Team MPG (Maximum Performance Group) and how he was working with Micah Buzianis and Jimmy Diaz on the slalom side of things. I felt that I needed someone like him to work on my weaknesses if I was going to win again. It was his companionship and consistent training, step by step, he didn’t want to see 10s, but rather less 4s and lots of 7s. That year we ended up at the top of the podium at every event, from national events to the World Cup, and from Japan to Ireland; the rewards were pretty obvious.
WORLD VISION
I love riding Ho’okipa; that is the dream of dreams. But there was so much that I wanted to learn from the other spots and riders from around the globe. I also felt that it was all connected to the life that I was envisioning ahead.
When I won the PWA wave world title in 2000, I couldn’t believe it, a part of me felt that it was going to be a life struggle that never ended, don’t ask me why. I don’t think any less or more of anyone if they did or did not win anything, but I felt it was like a giant weight off my head.I was also a bit sad as that mountain was now climbed for me,and along with that, the desire to climb it again was gone. A few months after I experienced an even deeper joy when I heard we were expecting our daughter, and eventually the new mountain of family and a sustainable business were clear ahead.
BUSINESS TIME
We started Quatro back in 1994, we were 4 friends andwe just wanted to have the gear that would allow us to ride how we wanted, with nobody to convince. In 1999 I signed a five-year contract with Boards and More that included developing equipment for ‘real world’ conditions, and in 2004 I was ready to bring that whole experience through to the Goya Windsurfing Team.
MARCILIO BROWNE
When Marcilio won his first wave world championship within a year of signing him up, it was amazing, like a storybook.He has continued to impress us all for almost 10 years now, taking his sailing to the top in all conditions. If you think he is good, just wait until you sail next to him, it’s out of this world.
I believe what makes him so good is that he has been doing what he loves for a long time. His Dad loves to windsurf so much and was able to transmit that feeling to him.
YOGA
Yoga brought me a lot of awareness of the body and how to stay healthy. I practice a bit every day, Brawzinho is pretty consistent with it also.
DEVELOPMENT
The team is constantly looking for that extra power, control and magic from their gear. Braw, Kai, Keith and Levi focus on the wave area. Antoine and Yarden on the freestyle side, Ben and Bryan on the racing side, Maria, Adam, Luc, Pepe on the youth development and thenwith Keith, Jason, Bjoern and Lalo we work at transmitting it all into the new line, it’s a fun process.
There is always something good about any piece of gear, sometimes by showing you how bad this or that can be.
Kai Lenny went out on one of my old favourite single fins a while back, 64 litres and under 52/32 cm mid/tail widths, you could see how he had to adapt as the board mainly worked on the critical part of the wave; he was getting some good turns. The truth is that there is a lot more range on today’s gear, that allows everyone to be at the top of their game on a wider window of conditions.
ADVICE
My kids make fun of me every time I come out with some advice. They say, “Ohh, here we go, Dad’s wise words of wisdom!”My advice though is, be yourself, be patient, and remember that your best waves will be on the feeling of gratitude.
ALOHA
I’m forever grateful to everyone that believed in this dream, this is their ride too, and we are just getting started. Thank you!
Digitalformat. (Prices include delivery anywhere globally 10 times a year.) Digital edition available now, print edition in shops and with subscribers soon.
Cover: Ricardo Campello going XXL at Jaws! Photo: Fred Pompermayer.
BIG JUICY READS
SUPER SATURDAY January 16th 2021 saw one of the biggest swells in years rumble into ‘Jaws’. We get the lowdown on the historic session that followed.
BIG BASQUE COUNTRY Storm Bella sent huge waves and strong winds into the Basque Country. Thomas Traversa, Julien Taboulet and Pierre Bouras tell us more about the ensuing hecticness.
PARÉ POWER Marc Paré, E·334, is tipped by many to be a future PWA wave world champion. He tells us about his roots and ambitions.
THE ZEPHIR PROJECT Antoine Albeau, is on a mission to break the windsurfing speed record. We get an insight into the project and some of its findings so far!
BRITS GO BIG Brits, Robby Swift and Adam Lewis, tackled the massive ‘Super Saturday’ swell at Jaws in January. They recount the highs and lows of the session.
BRACK MAGIC! Paul Hunt, Emile Kott and local sailor Mark Perry reflect on a stormy evening at Bracklesham Bay, England, that served up some classic ‘Brack Magic’!
INTO THE WIND! Timo Mullen, John Carter, Alfie Hart and Lewis Merrony report from Newgale in West Wales on a day of 30 knot northeasterlies and a thumping swell.
GEAR SHED
2021 105 LITRE CROSSOVER BOARDS TEST The test team put a selection of coastal all-rounders to test in UK wind and waves! The lineup includes;
FANATIC FREEWAVE TE 105, NAISH ASSAULT 105, QUATRO POWER PRO 105, RRD FREESTYLE WAVE LTD 104, SEVERNE DYNO 105, STARBOARD KODE REFLEX CARBON 105, TABOU 3S PLUS TEAM 106.
TEKKERS
PETER HART MASTERCLASS –THE SKILL BORROWERS Harty examines the phenomenon of ‘transferable skills’ and asks doyens in various activities how their existing expertise has helped or hindered their windsurfing.
JEM HALL – QUIVER PLANNING Jem Hall gives us his tips for the compilation of a modern quiver, with input from pro windsurfer and sail designer, John Skye.
BOARDSHORTS
LATEST & GREATEST
By the power duly invested in us, we bring you all the ‘newsie’ bits about new stuff right here.
LOWDOWN – GRAPHENE GAINS
ION gives us the lowdown on the wonder material “graphene” as their new cutting-edge inner wetsuit lining.
LOWDOWN – POINT-7 F1E Point-7 have a new sail concept, the F1e, a camber induced hybrid series for both foil and fin. Andrea Cucchi gives us the lowdown.
FLYING FINN!
Finn Hawkins won mens youth European and world titles in iQFoil last year. The young Cornishman tells us more about his winning ways.
SITTIN’ ON THE DUNNY
EDITORIAL – NEXT LEVEL Windsurfing is going to the next level, bring it on says the Ed!
AFFAIRS OF THE HART – A MASTER OF ONE Harty explains why being brilliant at one sport doesn’t necessarily mean you’ll immediately excel at another.
Ezzy have just released their flagship Ezzy Wave sail which has been re-shaped for 2021. They tell us more here!
EZZY WAVE 2021
The Ezzy Wave is our sail of choice, and the sail that we recommend to everyone. The Ezzy Wave carries the Ezzy tradition of easy handling and quality while also being one of the lightest wave sails on the market, with the 4.7 weighing in under the 3 kg mark.
EZZY WAVE 2021
With the Ezzy Wave, we aimed to make a sail that provides early planing and power for onshore conditions as well as dynamic maneuverability and handling for side-shore wave riding.
Reshaped, the new Ezzy Wave is flatter in the batten above the boom, making the sail feel lighter and easier to move around.
This makes the sail both much better for jumping maneuvers and easier to handle on the wave. This change also improves high wind handling.
In our factory, we rig every sail, we inspect our work, we tune the battens, and we calibrate the downhaul gauge with a load cell, so that when you unroll your sail, it will rig perfectly the first time out of the bag—and every other time.
The Ezzy Wave makes us proud because it represents our lifetime of dedication to the craft of sailmaking and most of all our love of windsurfing.
Reshaped, the new Ezzy Wave is flatter in the batten above the boom, making the sail feel lighter and easier to move around.
In our factory, we rig every sail, we inspect our work, we tune the battens, and we calibrate the downhaul gauge with a load cell, so that when you unroll your sail, it will rig perfectly the first time out of the bag—and every other time.
The Ezzy Wave makes us proud because it represents our lifetime of dedication to the craft of sailmaking and most of all our love of windsurfing.