Thomas Traversa continues his excellent guided tour series with a family road trip highlights clip from trips to Barcelona and Portugal in 2017 and 2019.

Thomas Traversa “Let me take you on a little journey through time : first to Barcelona back in 2017, and to Portugal early 2019. This guided tour is about traveling in winter with my family, and the big step we made when we bought our own camper-van! In 2017 we went to Barcelona on a East-wind storm, together with Julien taboulet and his family, as well as our friend Fred who took us in his camper-van for that trip. a couple of years later we had our own camper-van, a second kid, and drove to Portugal for this first family trip for the four of us! I was lucky enough to score two amazing days on the water at Peniche, supertubos!” Images by : Sophia Traversa and Mathieu Pelikan / SIAM images

The post THOMAS TRAVERSA: FAMILY ROAD TRIP appeared first on Windsurf Magazine.

Fanatic are happy to announce that our new Stingray LTD and HRS models are online from today!

The new Stingray LTD closes the gap between Wind Foiling and Wing Foiling.

Its compact shape is perfectly tuned for easy and fun wind foiling with a regular windsurf rig yet equipped with all the options and versatility to swap your sail with a wing – this board is up for everything!

If you think Wind Foiling is too difficult try the Stingray HRS! This dedicated free foilboard makes your take-off into the world of foiling as easy and accessible as possible.

Designed to grow with your skills.

Fanatic have more details on their website here:

The post FANATIC NEW STINGRAY AND STINGRAY HS appeared first on Windsurf Magazine.

The PWA have announced the first event of the 2021 at an exciting new location in Israel.

World Cup Slalom is back!

---

The PWA is pleased to announce the confirmation of the first World Cup Slalom event to take place since the start of the pandemic. The 2021 Tiberias PWA World Cup will take place in Israel from the 21st to 25th June at the city of Tiberias, on the Western shores of the Sea of Galilee.

The event will create a unique combination of past and present. As the first event to be run using the PWA’s new integrated slalom format, cutting edge windsurfing technology will be perfectly showcased against the backdrop of this truly historic location.

Founded in 20 CE by Herod Antipas and named in honour of the Roman Emperor of the same name, Tiberias has great significance in both Judaism and Christianity and is steeped in history. In June of this year however, it will play host to a modern generation attempting to walk on water, albeit with the help of the latest in hi tech equipment! Throughout the summer months, regular thermal winds generate superb flat water conditions, and create an ideal location for any windsurfer, from those just setting out for their first steps on the water to the seasoned professionals of the PWA.

The Tiberias PWA World Cup will truly be an event of firsts. As well as being the first event of the new slalom format and the first slalom event with the new equal prize money structure, it is the first PWA slalom world cup to take place in Israel and the first to showcase the PWA’s new media service, delivering a range of content from live streaming, to daily online highlights and even including the first in what will be a new series of TV shows on the PWA tour. Perhaps more than anything though, as the first, full blown PWA world cup to take place since New Caledonia in 2019. It will be a welcome return of top level PWA windsurfing competition and all eyes of the windsurfing world will undoubtedly be turned on Tiberias towards the end of June.

As the most prominent athlete in the Israeli windsurfing scene,

Arnon Dagan, ISR-1 (NeilPryde, Future Fly) played an integral part in bringing the event to Israel, alongside the local event organisers –

Comtecgroup and

Target-Market.

“Since I was 13 years old, I always looked up to the sailors of the PWA. I Could never imagine that the PWA will hold an event in Israel one day. In the past 15 years I have been trying to bring the tour to Israel and now finally its happening! Israel has incredible spots for windsurfing, from Eilat in the South, to Haifa in the North. The lake of Galilee in Tveria is one of the most consistent places in the world for wind in the summer. I can’t wait to welcome my friends and windsurfing superstars and see them flying on the water. It is an amazing development for the sport of windsurfing in Israel and everyone here is super excited”.

PWA President, Jimmy Diaz, ISV-11, (Duotone, Starboard), was equally enthusiastic.

“The past 14 months have been incredibly tough for all the riders on the PWA tour and organising events in these unprecedented times has created unique challenges. To be able to realise any events right now is a great achievement, but to have one in such a great and historic location, with such great conditions, is a huge boost to our sport and to the PWA Tour. We are grateful to both the city of Tberias, Comtecgroup, Target-Market and Arnon for their efforts in making this a reality and we are all looking forward to being back on the start line!

The post PWA ISRAEL 2021 TIBERIAS WORLD CUP ANNOUNCED appeared first on Windsurf Magazine.

ION are happy to introduce their Amaze Ambient Sea Capsule range.

The post ION AMAZE AMBIENT SEA CAPSULE appeared first on Windsurf Magazine.

Brazilian, Mateus Isaac wins the 2021 Lanzarote Foil Challenge!

Photos by: Leondro Betancor and Victor Hernandez.

---

On Saturday, May 8, the Lanzarote Foil Challenge was completed, the first international race around the island of Lanzarote using a wind foil, which ultimately had the participation of 15 sailors among which were the first international figures of this sport as well as local sailors who for about nine hours and a half toured the coast of the island in this first edition of the first ultra marathon race on a windsurfing board.

The race started around 9 am in Playa Blanca, going up the coast of Janubio to El Golfo with a total of 12 miles in a time of about 1 hour. This first leg passed without any incident, with German Sebastian Kördel coming first, Mateus Isaac second and Lithuanian Rytis Jasiunas third.

The second leg to La Santa was marked by extremely light winds preventing several of the participants to continue to the next leg that ended in La Graciosa. The Frenchman Damien Arnoux withdrew from the competition due to problems with his equipment, as well as, Kurosh Kiani. Furthermore, Basile Jacquin, Nico Forés, and the locals Esteban Nieto and Rafael Lasso, were all affected by the lack of wind and retired after arriving at La Santa town. After almost two hours of sailing, the Portuguese Miguel Martinho reached La Santa in first position, Mateus Isaac in second and Ramón Pastor in third, although this leg was exempt from scoring points.

Six sailors were those who continued to the island of La Graciosa in the third leg to the beach of La Caletilla, with Mateus Isaac in the lead, followed by Sebastian Kördel and José Luis Boronat. After a half hour break for lunch and to adjust the material, all the sailors hoped that in the downwind leg the wind would be in their favour to pick up speed and enjoy the race to the maximum. And so it was. The race resumed around 15.00 to set course to the beach of Las Cucharas, in Costa Teguise. Arriving first was Mateus Isaac followed by Ramón Pastor and Sebastian Kördel. After some sections marked by the lack of wind, the rest of the race developed favorably and the sailors enjoyed the downwind with wind speeds of more than 20 knots reaching a speed of 45 km / h approximately.

In the fifth leg and with a stable downwind, the sailors who had to retire in La Santa rejoined the race, but without scoring points. This leg to Playa Honda was the last one that scored with Sebastian Kördel in the lead, Mateus Isaac in second position, and Rytis Jasiunas in third place. In less than an hour, the last leg to Marina Rubicón took place, where the first to arrive was Sebastian Kördel followed by Mateus Isaac and Rytis Jasiunas. All the sailors were greeted by the audience who applauded the feat of sailing around the island in 9 hours and a half. In addition, all those interested were able to follow the race thanks to the eStela navigation application that transmitted the location of each of the sailors in real time.

The participants were accompanied all the time by four support and safety boats and the race was supervised and regulated by the race judge Davide Zilli, checking that all the safety standards and rules of the race were met. Of course, all the sailors were equipped with their safety equipment during the entire route (helmet, life jacket, safety rope, necessary tools, camel bag, and cell phone with an extra battery, charging cable, and waterproof case) and were provided with energy bars and gels to replenish energy.

In the final classification, the Brazilian Mateus Isaac took the victory, with the German Sebastian Kördel in second place and the Spaniard Ramón Pastor in third. The awards ceremony marked the end of this first ultra marathon regatta on a windsurfing board, which undoubtedly has left a great impression with the participants who overcame a great challenge and saw the coast of Lanzarote from a different angle than usual.

The organizers of the Lanzarote Foil Challenge, Los Charcos Windsurfing Club, Marina Rubicon, the Canarian Sailing Federation, and the Real Club Nautico de Arrecife were very grateful to all the sponsors and collaborators who have made possible this first edition, wishing that this regatta has continuity and consolidates the island of Lanzarote as one of the best scenarios for the practice of foil windsurfing.

The Lanzarote Foil Challenge has been made possible thanks to the sponsorship of Turismo de Canarias, the cabildo de Lanzarote (Lanzarote, a unique island and European Sport destination by Turismo Lanzarote), sport area and Teguise City Council, as well as the rest of the collaborators of the competition.

The sailors, meanwhile, were very happy with the development of this challenge, a real test that only six were able to complete. This is an added attraction for future editions that will surely continue to bring together on the island of Lanzarote the best windsurfers in the world.

The post LANZAROTE FOIL CHALLENGE appeared first on Windsurf Magazine.

Not all windsurfing heroes ride big waves or win world championships. Damien Jordan sings the praises of a true ambassador for windsurfing – Nick Blackburn, a.k.a. ‘’Nick the windsurf bloke’.

Words Damien Jordan // Photos courtesy Nick Blackburn

---

One man has made it his mission to single-handedly make windsurfing cool again and to get people out on boards with the wind in their hair- if they have any. And it isn’t a former world champion or famous sporting hero. It is Nick Blackburn. A chippy (carpenter) from Newhaven and Seaford Sailing Club who just loves windsurfing.

Nick can be often heard moaning about “dingy sailors”. Telling you he “doesn’t get the point of jam” when making breakfast for an early ‘Cadet Week’ start. And most weekends he can be found on his trusty mower keeping the berths and walkways of his beloved Piddinghoe Pond cut with his dog Bob in his role as Rear Commodore of Piddinghoe.

Over a year ago the club had just a few “old” windsurfers. However for the last year Nick has made it his mission to turn up every weekend (come rain, shine and most importantly wind) to open the windsurf shed, get out all the equipment and encourage the “other lot” to come and have a go at windsurfing.

He isn’t paid. The club doesn’t charge for this. Some even say quietly that he isn’t a windsurfing instructor. He doesn’t get anything more than the satisfaction of seeing windsurfers fill the pond. A true windsurfing ambassador is what you do hear people say. ‘Nick the windsurf bloke’ is what anyone who turns up calls him.

He does not care if you have never windsurfed before. If you’re old or young. He even doesn’t care if you normally sail a Laser, an Opie and even a Catamaran (blooming dingy sailors!!). He wants to get you out windsurfing. And it has worked.

Most Saturdays Piddinghoe Pond is full of windsurfers. A club sailing pond that is shared with a fishing club, gig rowers and sailors. However now windsurfers often outnumber them all.

And the younger members of the club love it, youngsters who compete in national sailing competitions. Some who are barely big enough to hold the sail. They are all there windsurfing.

Thomas is one such younger member who is an extremely competent and successful young sailor who regularly competes against and beats much older members and says, “It was a real life saver when we first came out of lockdown. I don’t know where we’d all be without his generosity with gear and commitment to sorting us goons out every week. The improvement we have all made this year, along with all the new sailors who have got into it is brilliant and couldn’t have happened without his encouragement”.

Club sailors have also abandoned another day sailing a boat to take it up. In these tough times for many, when hand washing and risk assessments (he’s a windsurfer and they are not known for their love of risk assessment) take up much of the time of those organising sports, Nick has managed to keep to the rules (yes you heard it here – windsurfers can follow rules) and make windsurfing work. And this has been of great benefit for the health and well-being of sailing club members of all ages. A quick “blow out” or bomb across the pond does wonders and puts a smile on your face. Even if that involves a wipeout and trudge along the muddy bottom of the pond before remounting the board.

Zoe is one such experienced sailor, an instructor for the Cadets and herself a teacher. She says, “Learning how to windsurf this year has been a blessing in these uncertain times. I could not have done it without Nick’s full support. Encouraging me to go back out after a nasty wipeout, sending me pictures of boards for sale to ensure I had the right equipment, and giving me advice on how to set up the kit in different wind conditions means I may not be a great windsurfer but I am however now a windsurfer”.

He finds equipment and rigs it for those wanting to take part from within his windsurf shed, the back of his van or often from his own equipment. His many windsurf contacts give him equipment so that all of these novices can take part.

One young member who has benefited from this generosity is James, he said, “Nick has greatly improved my confidence in windsurfing since I joined the Saturday morning windsurfing club. He inspired me to progress from my F2 Lightning to a Bic Techno 152 litre board, and to try using the harness more (which I now use consistently). Earlier in the year, Nick encouraged me to increase my sail size from a 5.5 sq. metre sail. Shortly afterwards, and out of the blue, he donated a camber-induced 7.2 sq. metre sail to me to try out! I have since gained the confidence to get planing using the sail in force 4-5 winds, which has been great fun. He has since encouraged me to start using the footstraps, which is my next challenge!”

He takes time with everyone. Shows them how to set up their rig, gives them advice, shows them what to do, and this investment of time pays off as they come back week after week.

And don’t think poor Nick doesn’t get to go out and hammer it still himself. He still goes sailing. For him that’s more often when the beginners have gone in because the wind has got too mad or they have fallen in for the twentieth time. He then gets to bomb across the pond and show everyone how it is done.

Many don’t know that he learnt to windsurf on this very same pond a number of years ago himself as a kid, when the wind blew through his long distant head of hair. Now Nick is creating a new generation of windsurfers to follow in his wake.

Windsurfing on the south coast of England is in safe hands with ‘Nick the windsurf bloke’ – a true windsurfing ambassador.

The post NICK THE WINDSURF BLOKE appeared first on Windsurf Magazine.

WINDSURF MAGAZINE #404 JUNE 2021

Revival: North Sea Storm Session, Tenerife Slalom Training, Tested – 2021 Freeride Foil Boards, British Sailing Team, Peter Hart’s Planing Gybe Tips, Los Caños de Meca Spot Guide, Jem Hall Tacking Technique, Profiled – John Skye, Lina Erpenstein, Sam Esteve.

---

Subscribe and receive your copy in either premium 

Print or 

Digital format.
(Prices include delivery anywhere globally 10 times a year.) Digital edition is available now, print edition in shops and with subscribers soon.

Cover  Florian Jung flying in South Africa.

Photo  Samuel Tomé.

---

CALL OF DUTY
John Carter and Timo Mullen storm chase to Fraisthorpe on England’s northeast coast. JC tells us more about the session and Mark Dowson gives us the details on his local.

TENERIFE TRAINING
Marco Lang and Lena Erdil give us the lowdown from El Medano, Tenerife, as the pros prepare for the 2021 racing season.

GOING FOR GOLD
Sam Ross tells us how the selection process for the British Sailing team works and the training already underway for the 2024 Olympics.

JOHN SKYE
Former European freestyle champion and multiple British windsurfing champion, John Skye, gives us an insight into what has shaped his long and varied windsurfing career.

SAM STYLE
Two-time European tow-in freestyle champion Sam Esteve is known for his slick moves. The young Frenchman tells us all about his windsurfing and ambitions.

LOCAL LOVE
María Andrés sings the praises of her local spots around Los Caños de Meca in the south of Spain and gives us a guide to some of her favourites.

THE LIFE OF LINA
Lina Erpenstein has finished fourth in the PWA rankings three years in a row, all whilst studying to be a doctor; she tells us more about her varied life.

DO THIS!
Reader Rob Jarvis offers some entertaining tips for every windsurfer! Or as he told us, “Ten mistakes I’ve made, that good sailors don’t!”  

GEAR SHED

2021 FREERIDE FOIL BOARDS 
The test team don their flying gear to check out some of the latest wind foil boards on the market. These include:

FANATIC BEE 7’8”,
JP AUSTRALIA FREEFOIL 115 LXT,
SEVERNE ALIEN 125,
SLINGSHOT WIZARD 130,
STARBOARD FOIL FREERIDE 150 WOOD SANDWICH,
TABOU MAGIC CARPET 110 MTE.

2021 FREERIDE FOIL CATCH-UP TEST
The test team review the NeilPryde Glide Wind 13 freeride foil. 

TEKKERS

PETER HART MASTERCLASS – MISSION PLANING GYBE – PART 1
In the first of a two-parter on planing gybes, Harty starts by looking at revising your approach and attitude.

JEM HALL – TACK ATTACK!  
Jem outlines the main tips you need to achieve progression in your tacking technique.

BOARDSHORTS

LATEST & GREATEST
The world is a better place when you know the latest and greatest in windsurfing’s press releases are right here for your reading pleasure.

SITTIN’ ON THE DUNNY

EDITORIAL – REVIVAL
The Editor takes a look at windsurfing’s revival.

AFFAIRS OF THE HART – WINNING IS FOR LOSERS
Harty discusses research that shows having your eye solely on the prize may not be the best winning strategy.

---

Get your 

Print

The post #404 JUNE 2021 appeared first on Windsurf Magazine.

The 2020 Atlantic hurricane season was the most active on record, with its highlight being hurricane Epsilon, crashing onto Europe’s shores with a monster swell that made headlines across the surfing world. From Cornwall to the south coast of England, Brittany and Ireland, we get a flavour of the windsurfing that went down in Epsilon and afterwards.

Photos John Carter, Ian Butt, Hanno Kinkel, Darragh Gorman / @lighthouse.industries, Conor Flanagan / Red Bull Content Pool, M.Rozic.

This feature was first published in our January / February 2021 issue! To read more features like this first, Print and Digital subscriptions are available. Prices include delivery globally for 10 x issues a year!

EPSILON

John Carter – “Back in October 2020, Hurricane Epsilon generated a huge blob of black swell which launched massive, potentially record-breaking waves to a myriad of spots all over Europe. The likes of Mullaghmore in Ireland and Portugal’s Nazaré were both firing on all cylinders, as the swell caused surfing headlines on the Internet.

As for windsurfing, it was a tough call to know where to be for the outfall of Epsilon. With travel restrictions rife due to the pandemic and certain countries in total lockdown, the right thing to do was to stay close to home and work with whatever nature delivered locally. Cornwall was forecast to have west winds on the biggest day with a massive 7 metre swell, while the south coast was also expecting a chunky groundswell up the channel combined with west / southwest winds.

In a normal year, for sure I would have loved to bomb over to the biggest and most spectacular spots possible, but with all that was going on in the world, I opted for staying local and hitting England’s south coast and after a bit of deliberation, I decided to settle on Boscombe and Avon.

ACTION STATIONS

On arrival at Boscombe, we looked set for some decent action, with logo high ramps looming up in front of the stormy dark skies in the background and a good thirty-knot plus breeze to fuel the take offs. From the get-go, the action was fast and furious with ramps galore and plenty of meaty sections to hit as the long period swell brought with it some heavy sets in front of broody skies out to sea. A sign of the times were several cruise ships anchored helplessly out offshore, but at least they provided some background interest for my camera’s shutter.

Jamie Hancock has been devoting a lot of time to his successful filming career, but today was a windsurfing day and an escape from being behind the camera. As normal he was boosting some huge back loops as well as picking up the chunkiest sets in search of a glory wave 360. Coxy was ripping as normal, dicing with Boscombe pier as if it didn’t exist! Showing off his local knowledge he seemed well in tune with finding the best ramps to fly into some huge stalled forwards and bowls to smack without remorse.

Matt Wemms had driven down from Avon purely for some banter on the beach and persuaded me that I should be shooting from the vantage point of the end of Boscombe pier, which didn’t seem like a bad idea at the time. I ran up the promenade and onto the rafters of the pier, only to witness Coxy bust out a sick aerial just as I was setting up my camera; gutted!

Shortly into the session Nic Hibdige joined us on the water, looking for some more frantic action than at Avon and you could say he definitely managed that! Within twenty minutes of his short and sweet session, the wind did its lull in the sequence just at the same time he smacked a lip perilously close to Boscombe Pier. As he frantically swam after his kit on the inside, all he could do was watch helplessly as it was swept beneath the concrete pillars and through to the other side, luckily all intact!

Well that was my experience of the outfall of hurricane Epsilon! No, I was not down shooting huge waves in Cornwall, in awe on the cliffs at Nazaré or clinging onto the back of a jet ski at Mullaghmore, but it has been one of those years when you have to settle with what you have close to home. I enjoyed my day on the south coast, with no pressure, a bit of banter with the boys and home early enough to say goodnight to the family. Who knows how 2021 will pan out, but 2020 has been one where you have to adapt and make the most of what is on your doorstep! Let’s see what 2021 will bring!”

SOUTHBOURNE,

ENGLAND.

James Cox – “I received a call from JC saying he was keen to come over to take some local shots. A quick check of Southbourne confirmed what I suspected – total doom closeouts. So we wrangled our way to Boscombe Pier to play with something less carnivorous. Cross to cross-on head high plus waves and solid 4.7m weather greeted us. Let the games begin! The jumping was awesome and there were some meaty wave rides to be had, with Jamie Hancock and Hunty leading the charge. I was watching from my hilltop parking space, frantically trying to gather my gear whilst cursing Bournemouth council’s policy of height restrictions on their beach car parks.

I eventually launched quite near the pier and luckily had enough power to force my way out past the end of the jetty without getting dragged under by the current. The next few runs were spent dallying with positions close to the pier, where some lovely waves were breaking, but a fall and separation from kit would have meant terminal carnage and a keelhauling through the pier structure! The swell began picking up and some waves were breaking off the end of the pier, giving an opportunity to risk full power bottom turns, as worst case scenario you would end up on the safe side of the pier. The boys were amped and smashing it.

Particularly psyched I smacked into a lip that launched me into a glory aerial. I nearly made the exit but got swallowed by a ball of whitewater. I dragged my wretched self onto the beach and never had so many props from the boys about a move, even Matt Wemms was saying it was great! He has never said a good thing about my windsurfing before this, even when he ‘sponsored’ me! Of course, it was a ruse. They shot me down by saying that JC didn’t get it on camera because he was changing position, but continued to tell me how it would have been a front cover shot. This reminded me that there are no limits of the efforts of true friends to snap a fellow chum.

About this time Nic Hibdige turned up. A short period of him ripping was terminated by a drop of wind and Nic then swimming frantically under the pier after his gear. At this point we decided to derig and depart. Apparently the wind picked up again afterwards, and Avon Beach turned on for a magic late session, with the likes of Andy Chambers and Clyde Waite having it by all accounts. It was too late for Hunty though, he was already on his way home, probably halfway through his KFC bargain bucket and the rest of the crew had dispersed too. I also had to head back into the carnage of work and parental duties. My session was short but sweet; looking forward to the next storm!”

IRELAND

Finn Mullen – “As surges swirled round my feet in the normally sheltered harbour, the morning of Epsilon’s arrival dawned with the reality that this was one swell that was going to live up to the hype. In the preceding days, the forecasts had been rock solid on the exceptional swell size, it’s rare to see such consistency. Red Bull took note and put together a plan for one of their sponsored surfers, Conor Maguire, to surf Mullaghmore, a famed big wave in County Sligo. As for wind, the forecasts said there would be some, but enough to windsurf or too much to mess with the surf, that was hard to say. The projected force 5-6 was the sort of strength that could fall either way, or the headland could block it completely, as it often does.

I was tasked with putting together the safety for Conor, having had experience of doing a similar role for the Red Bull Storm Chase. At the time Ireland was in a very strict ‘level 5’ Covid-19 lockdown, with only certain work and activities permitted, so from the outset it was clear that whilst our operations could be performed under the ‘level 5’ guidelines, our procedures and plans would have to be very robust. And so on that morning of the 28^th October 2020, ‘Big Wednesday’, a team of 6 jet skis and operators, 2 spotters, 3 paramedics, 1 E.M.T. and a private ambulance assembled, along with 4 photographers and videographers to capture the action. Tow-in big wave surfing is very much a team effort and the size of the team reflected the level of support we knew it would take to keep Conor safe. If he was feeling any pressure to perform from the level of investment made by Red Bull, he didn’t show it, but if you know Conor, that coolness permeates into everything he does. And perform he did, thanks to both his insane surfing skills, but also those of his jet ski driver, Barry Mottershead, who had the hardest job of the day, picking the waves for Conor to ride and putting him in the right spot to whip into some of the largest waves ever surfed in Ireland – no easy feat. Conor caught the biggest wave of his life so far and the resulting footage broke the internet, with Barry and Conor receiving deserved accolades for all they achieved. Offshore, Epsilon spawned a monster wave measuring 98.4 feet, one of the highest ever recorded by a wave buoy in Irish waters. It was a truly incredible day and I couldn’t have been happier for it to end successfully for two very humble and deserving humans.

As for windsurfing, on these sort of forecasts I’d normally keep things pretty mobile until the last minute, as you never know what the day will actually bring; weather in Ireland is unpredictable, as any local will tell you. And sure enough, true to form, the forecast wind never showed, and spray you see in the shots or videos of Conor’s waves was due to the ferocity that the wave breaks with, creating in effect its own wind on the face, as water is sucked up from the reef and spat out from its famous tubes. Normally as a windsurfer I’d be gutted about no wind, but after a few long days planning the safety, and sleepless nights with a toddler, I was only thinking about looking at the inside of my eyelids for a few hours. I didn’t have to wait too long for my wind fix though, as hot on the heels of Epsilon, came storm ‘Aiden’ three days later, the first named storm of the 2020/21 list compiled by Met Éireann, the UK Met Office and the Dutch National Weather Service (KNMI). It was nothing like the size of swell of Epsilon, but it was a great way to start the winter. Since then, it’s been an invigorating mix of wind, waves and relatively mild temperatures; a welcome antidote to the rest of 2020’s ills!

AVON BEACH, ENGLAND.

Clyde Waite – “Avon is a popular place to sail because of how accessible it is, both in terms of parking and easy wave riding conditions. Not many places on the south coast provide down-the-line wave riding in a southwesterly. Even when it’s small, the wave peels for a long time, so whether your level is a wave wiggler or looking for a lip to smash without too much of a comeback, there is usually something on offer. Avon has a mellow local scene of all ages, so there is always plenty of decent banter on the beach. It’s not without its risks though. West-southwest winds are the best for wave riding, but the wind is normally very light on the inside in that direction. If the wind dies or your kit breaks, in the worst-case scenario there is a conveyor belt current that takes you to Highcliffe down the coast.

The forecast for Storm Epsilon had all the makings for a classic day of long, smooth wave riding at Avon Beach. It needs a wave period of above 11 seconds and a decent swell to turn on. Epsilon had this and more. The fact that it came during half-term, in the middle of a week of already good conditions, meant I was stoked even before hitting the water! One benefit of local knowledge at Avon is knowing where the sand bars are, when to hold back, stay on a wave, or gun a flat section for the inside reform. Avon can make your day or break it if you get it wrong! There are so many ripping at Avon these days that it is a pleasure to watch when it is firing. Usually because I am in a rush to balance family life, I don’t get a chance to sit around and enjoy the vibe. Avon is a great place to watch, as the beach is very sheltered from the wind. It was a treat to watch waves on the low tide sandbar getting dismantled by the local boys and girls. After the morning chunky high tide session, I was waiting for the evening session, which had the peak of the swell arriving with a pushing tide. ‘Big Wednesday’ didn’t quite live up to the hype, but it was still pretty good!”

CORNWALL

Timo Mullen – “Storms….I love to hate them, they always over promise and under deliver. So with such an unnatural air of pessimism from me, I am usually pleasantly surprised if I score epic conditions! I hope that makes sense!!

The general consensus on every forecast I looked at was hurricane Epsilon would break the record books for swell, with NW Ireland very exposed to it. However I was landlocked to England courtesy of Captain Covid-19 and regardless, Ireland was in a strict lockdown with travel only allowed within 5 km of your house, meaning all the big wave spots I windsurf were out for me.

It was pretty clear the swell was going to max out most of the Cornish beach breaks, so I had to look outside of the box, maybe some of the wrap round spots that only work in big swells would be an option. Sometimes that can feel like a cop out as your instinct is telling you to hit the biggest spot, but experience has taught me that you can spend the whole day chasing your tail and end up at ‘that wrap round spot’ just at the wrong time when you should have been there 3 hours ago!!

So, my plan was set – 100% focus on Daymer Bay. I’ve been sailing there a lot lately and the banks have been insanely good, in fact that week I reckon I had the best windsurf of my life there, so the stars were kind of aligned.

As predicted the storm brought the promised swell, but the wind was not really playing ball. On arrival at the beach it was pretty light, maybe 5.0m for me, certainly not the promised 40 knots! The car park was packed, as Daymer is a pretty safe bet for all surfers and windsurfers in a big swell. Lots of the local Cornwall crew had the same idea as me – Blacky, Meardon, Thorpy, Muzza, Kingy, they were all there!

I rigged my 5.0m Severne Blade and Nano 92, as it pretty much has the biggest wind range of all my sails, powerful in the lulls and you can still survive if 40 knots did come through. I’d say the swell on the far side was about mast high on the good sets, and those sets were absolute perfection; it was super cross-offshore and just reeling. I had one wave that I will remember for a long time, full tilt high-speed top to bottom turns running for 500 metres with a huge aerial at the end, my best wave I’ve had in England for sure, and at Daymar Bay! Maybe I shouldn’t be so pessimistic about these storms in the future!

‘Post Epsilon’, Cornwall has had one of the best runs of conditions I have ever witnessed there. Lots of great days at Marazion, and one stand out day at Gwithian, which was just flawless. Unfortunately, due to Covid-19, getting photos has been difficult, so big thanks to Ian Butt for getting down early to catch this aerial at Gwithian!

BRITTANY

Leon Jamaer – “We were on a road trip through Europe and with the Atlantic on the boil we decided to go to Brittany, a region which neither my brother Leif or I were particularly familiar with. The forecast promised a massive low pressure area with a lot of wind and a lot of swell, but for windsurfing in Brittany, a third factor has to be right, the tide. The range of high and low water is on average five to eight metres and plays a big factor on whether a spot is on or not.

Prior to coming, we’d studied ‘The Kite and Windsurfing Guide Europe’, and spoke to two French people we’d met in Ireland last year. Three spots stood out, the ever-popular Le Dossen, Île aux Vaches (made famous by Thomas Traversa’s numerous missions) and Mélédan, a mysto big wave spot at Île Vierge, home to the tallest stone lighthouse in Europe, but nobody seemed to really know whether you could windsurf the wave there or not. We had a few good days in Le Dossen. The large sandy bay works with southwest winds, almost all wave sizes and even different tides. Depending on the tide, different banks work sometimes better, sometimes worse. There can be a lot of windsurfers here, but they are spread across the bay, so you have plenty of space. We meet Adrien, one of the people we had met in Ireland. On his van are the words, “Rendez nous la mer”, meaning, “Give us back the sea”. In the spring lockdown, practicing watersports was a punishable offense. Adrien is all the happier now that the first autumn storms are approaching and you can move freely again. Many French come to the coast and enjoy being outside and in the fresh air despite the autumnal weather.

The wind is turning northwest and we drive towards Audierne in the evening to get on the water at Île aux Vaches; the island of the cows has long since ceased to be a secret spot. We want to be on the water before the spot gets too crowded and we get up about an hour before sunrise. While the coffee is still brewing, a long haired skinny guy and his buddy rig their sails in the dark. It’s Thomas Traversa and he explains to me he only has about an hour, then he has to go back to check out of the holiday home he’s rented and pick up his family, so he has no time to see if there is enough wind or not, he’s just going no matter what! When Leif and I arrive at the break, Thomas has already ridden up to a dozen mast-high waves. The sun rises, Thomas disappears, and the ocean is suddenly flat again. Luck or expert knowledge – probably both.

Shortly before the end of the trip, the long-awaited giant swell from hurricane Epsilon arrives and brings Mélédan to life, somewhere my brothers and I have wanted to surf for ages. It looks a tricky spot to sail, but Leif and I try our luck. After our session, we still don’t feel like we really know the wave, the mystical character of this stretch of coast remains.”

The post HURRICANE SEASON: CHASING EPSILON appeared first on Windsurf Magazine.

Do you know where the draft is on your wave sail, you should do, say the Duotone team and they have given the matter considerable attention in their new 2021 Super Hero and Super Star sails. Read on as they explain why they view it as a very important buying factor when deciding on your new wave sail, if not the most important one.

PHOTOS  JOHN CARTER // FISH BOWL DIARIES

WORDS  RAOUL JOA // KAI HOPF // ADAM LEWIS & NIK BAKER.

This feature was published in our 2021 January / February edition. To read more features like this first, Print and Digital subscriptions are available. Prices include delivery globally for 10 x issues a year!

RAOUL JOA (DUOTONE LINE & PRODUCT MANAGER)

“When building up your personal sail quiver, you should try to combine sails that have a similar feel and behaviour, even if they are from different brands. The one decisive factor defining how similar or different one sail feels/behaves to another is the position of the draft, in both levels, vertical (high or low) and horizontal (forward or back). I think that the horizontal draft position is forward oriented on nearly every freeride and slalom sail these days, so the biggest difference in feel you can find is with wave sails, as basically there are 2 different kinds of wave sails in terms of draft position.

DRAFT CENTRED

The first kind is draft centred (a balanced pull on both hands) and draft low (to keep the sail controllable). These draft centred and draft low sails are the ideal companion for multi-fin boards, since the balanced pull on both hands makes them super neutral in your hands and they shine especially in real down-the-line conditions. On the other hand they feel very different to modern freeride and slalom sails (which are very forward pulling). So if you are using such draft centre/draft back/draft low wave sails only very occasionally as your high wind flat water sails, you might be better off with the second type of wave sails.

DRAFT FORWARD

The second type of wave sail is draft forward and up (to still generate enough low-end power). These sails work on both single and multi-fin boards. With the forward pulling feeling they are more exciting/direct to sail and have a very similar feeling to modern freeride and slalom sails. In addition they are the ideal choice for side-onshore jumping conditions, as the higher and off-centre oriented draft helps/accelerates rotations in the air (especially forward/backward loops).

So if you are looking for a direct feeling wave sail, especially for jumping, or you need a smaller sail to compliment your freeride or slalom sails, try to get draft forward/up wave sails. In our range, this is the Duotone SUPER STAR.

SUPER STAR

The brand new SUPER STAR replaces the SUPER SESSION and with 4 battens (except for size 6.2) it’s more sporty and modern. It is designed for waves, but due to its forward oriented profile position it has a very wide performance range up to freewave jumping conditions. This makes it suitable not only for the perfect days in classic down-the-line conditions, but also for the many sessions in gusty, sometimes underpowered onshore conditions.

SUPER HERO

If you are looking for a wave sail which is super neutral for down-the-line riding and very forgiving in nuking gusty conditions, try to get the draft centred/draft low type of wave sails, which in the Duotone range is the SUPER HERO. The SUPER HERO is made to perform optimally in all wave conditions around the globe and any rider weight. It’s the personal favourite of PWA wave triple world champion Victor Fernandez, and thanks to the absolutely neutral and perfectly balanced draft position, it remains stable and highly controlled in every situation. The SUPER HERO feels like a three-batten design combined with the stability of a five-batten one.

DIFFERENT DRAFTS

Both the SUPER STAR and SUPER HERO are pure world cup wave sails. This means they work in any kind of conditions, from down-the-line to onshore. Also, draft stability or planing, is pretty much the same on both sails. So that’s not the difference between these sails, they both work equally well. The difference is how they feel in your hands. And that arises because both sails have a very different draft position. The SUPER STAR has a draft position that is further forward and higher, around head to shoulder high. The SUPER HERO on the other hand, has the draft lower, belly to breast high and further back. This means you have the pull on both hands. Whereas on the SUPER STAR, the pull is much more on the front hand, rather than on the back hand. This translates on the water into the following differences. With a draft forward and up like the SUPER STAR, these kind of sails have an extreme and instant on and off. They basically know only two positions, full power or zero power. So there is nothing between, as soon as you slightly sheet out, the power is gone, completely off. As soon as you slightly sheet in, the power is there, full power. That’s the biggest difference. This also makes this sail, much more direct, much more agile in your hands, but also more nervous, especially in super overpowered gusty nuking conditions, like when using 3.4 and 3.7 sail sizes. Nervous is also a positive though, because they’re much more reactive on a wave, so good for super short, slashy turns. On a sail with a draft that is between your hands, like the SUPER HERO, you can gradually adjust the power. So as soon as you realize you need a bit more power to stay on a wave, you slightly sheet in, and you gradually get more power. It is more a ‘surfy’ style, where you can really adjust your turns.

Another difference between both sails is with the draft position forward the sail feels more direct and more ‘sporty’ in your hands. And with the draft being more up, the sail feels lighter in your hands, as it lifts the board. Forward rotations are easier to initiate if you have a higher draft position, especially in mushy conditions. With a lower draft on the other hand, like on the SUPER HERO, it helps to grip the rail into the water, so it’s much better for a surfing style and for multi-fin boards.

In summary, I advise to avoid combining draft forward/up sails with draft centered/low sails in your quiver as these feel and behave extremely differently.”

KAI HOPF (CHIEF SAIL DESIGNER)

“To be clear we are discussing wave / manoeuvre sails only here. However, looking at a sail isolated from masts, boards and fins is not really possible. Over time we have gone from low volume boards with a stiff, long mast and a very powered, unstable sail, to a high volume board with a soft short mast and medium powered sail. In the past board volumes commonly used were at least 10 litres (sometimes 20 litres or more) below your weight in kilogrammes. At the moment, I recommend people to buy a wave board of their bodyweight in kilogrammes +10 litres. So if you weigh 85 kg, this makes for a 95-litre board.

The current sail rigging style was very much set by Victor Fernandez who has for quite some time been using bigger boards and smaller, fuller sails, that are tighter in the leech and making up for that with a slightly bigger volume board.

What is the benefit of this style of sailing?
1. Less physical – needing less power in the rig to move and plane means less fatigue and more hours on the water.
2. More control – by being able to use the less powerful rig, you can focus on surfing the board with precision.
3. More range – if you only need to be just powered to plane you have much more room left until you are overpowered.

SUPER HERO vs SUPER STAR

Now getting into the details of our current wave sails – SUPER HERO vs SUPER STAR. The SUPER HERO is the ultimate control sail and has been designed to have control both on the wave and in the air. This is the sail you use when you want to focus on your sailing and want to forget about your equipment. Through its large separation between foot batten and batten above the boom, it inflates gradually and softly. The centre of effort is relatively low and centred, eliminating any sort of over the top pitching.

The SUPER STAR is the ultimate all-rounder and has been designed to get ultimate air time and power in your turns. This is the sail if you want to go that extra bit higher, or you want to get that extra spray out of your turn. With its evenly spaced battens and more forward and up centre of effort, power comes on and off fast. The higher centre of effort generates more lift and allows you to use that leverage in both turns and jumps.”

NIK BAKER

“ The SUPER STAR lifts the front of the board up, which is something I’m always trying to do. I’m always trying to get my board to feel loose and lively, so that I can turn on the smaller mushy waves that we get around Europe. With the SUPER STAR I can get that more vertical turn and snap, yet I don’t need to drive so much. I’ve really enjoyed having that snappy feel, but at the same time for jumping it gives some extra lift too on small waves.”

ADAM LEWIS

“Personally I think the draft forward or back is a bit of a personal feeling thing and there isn’t a right or wrong answer. For myself, I think bizarrely it almost manifests itself the most in how the board feels and planes over the water as much as how the sail feels. The more forward pulling sails help to keep the board a little more lively and free feeling, whereas the further back draft tends to offer more back hand grunt, but also keeps the board a little lower in the water giving a more controlled feel. So for myself using the SUPER STAR more often I really like that the board feels ‘free-er’ over the water. I can drive enough of the board’s rail into the water without the sail, so the free feeling helps me to also get away with higher rockered boards for jumping or to come more vertically towards the wave, where the more on-off power delivery is really helpful too.

The SUPER STAR generates a lot of lift, so it pulls the board almost out of the water, which is useful for somewhere that has a lot of current for early planing and getting out. I’d say also the SUPER STAR lends itself slightly more to a thruster to turn, in that you’re coming down, and going straight back up a little bit more. The SUPER HERO is more suited to a quad, as you’re doing a more drawn out, carvier turn. The greater ‘downforce’ of a SUPER HERO helps keep the rail in the wave during a carve, and that again suits a quad. With a thruster you’re coming a little bit more vertical and you’re kind of snapping off the top and that really suits the SUPER STAR.”

The post DUOTONE WAVE DESIGNS: DRAFT MATTERS appeared first on Windsurf Magazine.

After a successful 2020 event in late October last year, a fleet of 38 women and 69 men for a total of 107 windsurfers gathered on Lake Garda for the 2021 iQFOiL International Games hosted by Univela Sailing in Campione del Garda. 20 nations are represented here despite international travel restrictions.

Photos: Martina Orsini.

iQFOiL INTERNATIONAL GAMES 2021: DAY ONE EVENT REPORT
Racing on Day One started around noon as the typical local thermic breeze from the South filled in to reach about 12-15 knots. The firsts to hit the water were the men with three flawless slalom races, followed by the women who had to face a major wind drop and could only finish two races.

The provisional ranking at the end of Day One is a French affair, they occupy all top three spots in the Men. Nicholas Goyard, followed by Clement Burgeois and Adrien Mestre.

The defending champion Sebastian Koerdel (GER) closed the day in fifth position with a win in the last race and a ‘dive’ in the first one.

“We had some strong wind slalom races today, and I have to admit I was a bit rusty, and in the first race I fell into the water and had to swim a bit, but then the next two races were better with a 5 and 1, so overall not a dominant performance but I am getting there. The last race was a win and I plan on continuing like that” said the German 2020 iQFOiL International Games winner, Sebastian Koerdel.

Two French sailors featured in the top three also in the Women fleet, outstripped by one of the only female British competitor here, Islay Watson. Delphine Cousin capped the day in second place and fellow countrywoman Lucie Belbeoch in third.

Among the athletes coming from far away Sarah Quita Offringa, from Aruba, today tasted the still winterish cold water and cool breeze.. “It was the first day of the event and we had two good windy slaloms, I thought it was cool to start in the line with 20 women and it was exhilarating, I didn’t do too great but it was definitely a good learning experience. One of the biggest challenges was the temperature for me, I’m from the Caribbean and in Aruba when the sun is shining is 30 degrees, and I went out at first in my sleeveless wetsuit, then went back inside and wore the thick one, but no more races for the day.”

Tomorrow’s conditions won’t be as sunny with potential rain in the afternoon, and the Race Committee opted for a morning start, with the ladies going out first at 10 am and the boys following them at 10,30.

More info and results here:

https://iqfoilclass.org/ig2021ita/

The post iQFOiL INTERNATIONAL GAMES 2021, LAKE GARDA, ITALY appeared first on Windsurf Magazine.

There was less wind on day two of the IQFoil International games but as usual some amazing images and great racing went down, here is the event organizers report:

“It was a glorious morning at Univela Sailing on Lake Garda, and everything seemed perfect for the scheduled 10am start. Unfortunately, just as the weather forecast said last night, big dark clouds lurked from the mountains surrounding the Campione racecourse blocking the south wind from coming in strong as usual.

Nonetheless the 107 sailors enjoyed some light wind slalom races. The women fleet caught up with the men’s and actually topped them, they have now five in the bag, while the men – who joined the ladies on the water later in the afternoon – could only finish one for a total four slalom races.

The top three girls are the same as yesterday, but the positions got shuffled. Lucie Belbeoch (FRA) is now leading and Islay Watson (GBR) went down to second, with Delphine Cousin (FRA) in third. In the men’s ranking Nicolas Goyard (FRA) continued with yet another bullet to add to the previous three.

In the all-French provisional podium, Adrien Mestre is second and Clement Bourgeois is third. 2020 iQFOiL International Games winner, Sebastian Koerdel (GER) is climbing his way up and went from fifth last night to fourth today.

The final ranking on Saturday night will crown both the overall winners and the U21 for both and Women and Men fleet. On the beautiful Univela lawn there are plenty of young sailors coming from all over the world and for many of them this is either the first time they compete in the foiling windsurfing class, Olympic in Marseille in 2024, or the first time they sail on Lake Garda, considered by many the Mecca of sailing – at least in Europe.

Giovanna Prada, 19 years old, is from Brazil and she is the daughter of Bruno Prada, double Olympic medalist in the Star Class with Robert Scheidt, and five time Star World Champion. The five circles run in the family traits, and she shares her father’s dreams, enthusiasm and, hopefully, talent and destiny. “It is my first time sailing on lake Garda, it was a really atypical day, with a new course for me, I normally race ‘course’ in Brazil, but I’ve enjoyed it a lot, even though the light wind made it a little more difficult going downwind.

Racing on a big fleet is challenging for me, especially at the start with many girls all very close together, and the foiling board is more difficult to manage because it’s really fast and it forces you to think about the situation in advance. I dream of going to the Olympics and I am going to do my best to be in Marseille”.

Tomorrow the Race Committee priority will be to get some racecourse in, if the conditions allow it. The first signal will be at 8 am for both Men and Women, to race with the morning wind from the North”.

The post LIGHT WIND ON DAY TWO OF iQFOiL INTERNATIONAL GAMES 2021 appeared first on Windsurf Magazine.

iQFOiL INTERNATIONAL GAMES IT’S COURSE RACE DAY

Here is the official event report:

“Early morning start at the iQFOiL International Games in Univela Sailing to take advantage of the strong morning breeze from the North, called the Peler. At 8am both fleets were on the racecourse and the Men crossed the first starting line of the first ‘course’ race just a few minutes past eight. The Women then followed and thanks to the beautiful conditions, the Race Committee managed to finish five course races for both Men and Women.
 
The 69 boys proved to be fearless on the starting lines, going off super-fast, super-close, with part of them opting for a port start. It was a very tactical day, hard to pick the right side reaching upwind as well as going downwind. Sebastian Koerdel (GER) and Nicholas Goyard (FRA) won two race each and were runner-up once, while Huig-Jan Tak (NED) won one race. Koerdel climbed up to third spot overall, Huig-Jan Tak rose to second thanks to the Course race and Nicholas extended his already tremendous margin over the fleet.

Today’s provisional podium includes the same three sailors on the 2020 iQFOiL International Games final podium, but the 2021 event won’t be over until Saturday’s knock-out medal races.
 
“It was quite windy and quite tricky, the fleet is fast with many sailors on the left and many others on the right and you can’t really understand what is the best side, and then you have to manage the other competitors, it’s tricky, but I am happy I got some wins!” commented Nicholas Goyard.
 
The girls also had some adrenalin-fueled starts, 38 girls launching at full speed from the committee boat and the pin aiming for the upwind mark on flying windsurfers. Lucie Belbeoch (FRA) won four of the five races and Emily Hall (GBR) won the other one. Lucie boosted her lead in the overall ranking, Islay Watson (GBR) is second and Delphine Cousin (FRA) third.
 
“It was good to have some Course races today, I am happy I won most of them, I like all formats and it would be perfect if we could manage to have all of the formats of the class this week” said Lucie Belbeoch on the water.
 
The Race Committee attempted some more slalom racing in the afternoon, but the South wind never really built up and the fleets went back in.
 
The plan tomorrow is for a morning session with the third format of iQFOiL Class, the Marathon. Six miles upwind and six miles downwind of pure speed on the Olympic foiling boards. A race some of the younger sailors here have never experienced and are very keen to try”.

The post iQFOiL INTERNATIONAL GAMES IT’S COURSE RACE DAY appeared first on Windsurf Magazine.

Summertime…and Easy Living at Club Vass!

At Club Vass we pull out all the stops to ensure your windsurfing holiday goes super smoothly. The wind comes to you in Vass; it’s all conditions in one day, with light on-shore mornings, perfect for those keen to get on board and howling strong cross-shore in the afternoons for the converted. Our huge choice of brand new 2021 gear from the best brands in the business is rigged and ready on the beach and our top team of instructors will help you progress, whatever your level. With un-rivalled Kids Clubs and ProKids windsurfing programs plus MTBs, SUPs & yoga/Pilates the whole family will be more than happy. We’ve more than risen to the current travel challenges, as we proved last summer, and we’re doing everything to make your holiday hassle-free. It’s time to escape to Club Vass, the wind is already kicking in and we’re open from the end of May.  0844 4630191    clubvass.com

The post SUMMERTIME…AND EASY LIVING AT CLUB VASS appeared first on Windsurf Magazine.

LUCIE BELBEOCH (FRA) AND NICOLAS GOYARD (FRA) TAKE VICTORY  AT THE 2021 iQFOiL INTERNATIONAL GAMES!

---

The French took the victories at the 2021 IQFOil International games but there were some incredible performances from the British contingent also with Islay Watson taking second spot on the podium in the women’s event and Matthew Barton third in the men’s. The official event report is below:

“They came, they saw and they conquered. The French squadron was the largest national group at Univela Sailing for the 2021 iQFOiL International Games and the one featuring some of the strongest athletes. Among them, Lucie Belbeoch and Nicolas Goyard who have been leading their respective ranking for most of the week and sailed flawlessly in every one of the three formats of the iQFOiL Class, Course, Slalom and Marathon.

The rest of the podium for the Women is composed by Islay Watson (GBR) second and Delphine Cousin (FRA) third, while in the Men’s the second is Huig-Jan Tak (NED) and the third Matthew Barton (GBR).

The revolutionary format always ends with a spectacular day of three Medal Races for the best twelve athletes of each fleet. Today, after a very short postponement ashore, the North wind built to 10-12 knots and allowed very fast and exciting quarters, semis and finals for both the Women and Men. Many French flags on the Men quarter final starting line: Ethan Westera (ARU), Elia Colombo (SUI), Alexandre Cousin (FRA), Oel Pouliquen (FRA), Nicolò Renna (ITA), Mathurin Jolivet (FRA), Max Castelein (NED) and Matthew Barton (GBR).

Only four moved forward, Max Castelein, Mathurin Jolivet, Nicolò Renna and Matthew Barton, to join last night’s third and fourth in the semi, Clement Bourgeois (FRA) and 2020 winner Sebastian Koerdel (GER). The latter won the race and with Matthew Barton acceded to the final to meet yesterday’s first and second, respectively Nicolas Goyard and Huig-Jan Tak, who eventually confirmed their position welcoming Matthew Barton on the third step of the podium.

The girls in the quarter final were Marion Mortefon (FRA), Sara Wennekes (NED), Maja Natalia Dziamowska (POL), Daniela Peleg (ISR), Lena Erdil (GER), Manon Pianazza (FRA), Maya Morris (ISR) and Delphine Cousin (FRA). The last four were the fastest and went through to the semi to meet Lola Sorin (FRA) and  Mariana Aguillar Chavez Peon (MEX). The French sailors, Lola Sorin and Delphine Cousin conquered the two available tickets to the semi, joining their countrywoman Lucie Belbeoch and British Islay Watson.

Just like in the Men’s fleet, Lucie and Islay defended their positions, respectively first and second, with Delphine Cousin winning bronze.

To cap the day and the perfect week organized by Univela Sailing and Società Canottieri Garda e Salò with the patronage of Regione Lombardia, the rest of the sailors went out for a racing session with some slaloms in the early afternoon. This shaped the ranking from the 13^th to the bottom and the podiums of the U21 athletes.

The flourishing Olympic iQFOiL Class squadron will now head into some training before the World Championship in Silvaplana, Switzerland, from 16 to 22 of August”.

TOP 12 MEN
1^st FRA465 Nicolas Goyard
2^nd NED465 Huig-Jan Tak
3^rd GBR983 Matthew Barton
4^th GER220 Sebastian Koerdel
5^th FRA53 Clement Bourgeois
6^th NED36 Max Castelein U21
7^th FRA9 Mathurin Jolivet
8th ITA150 Nicolo Renna U21
9th FRA10 Oel Pouliquen
10th FRA752 Alexandre Cousin
11th SUI63 Elia Colombo
12^th ARU4 Ethan Westera

TOP 12 WOMEN
1^st FRA18 Lucie Belbeoch
2^nd GBR529 Islay Watson
3rd FRA775 Delphine Cousin
4th FRA31 Lola Sorin U21
5^th ISR7 Maya Morris
6th FRA712 Manon Pianazza U21
7^th GER33 Lena Erdil
8^th MEX28 Mariana Aguilar Chavez Peon
9^th ISR2 Daniela Peleg U21
10^th POL7 Maja Natalia Dziarnowska
11^th NED33 Sara Wennekes
12^th FRA118 Marion Mortefon

U21 MEN
1^st NED36 Max Castelein
2^nd ITA150 Nicolo Renna
3^rd FRA16 Yun Pouliquen
4^th FRA628 Louis Pignolet
5^th NED17 Joost Vink

U21 WOMEN
1^st FRA31 Lola Sorin
2^nd FRA712 Manon Pianazza
3^rd ISR2 Daniela Peleg
4^th NOR29 Helle Oppedal
5^th FRA11 Marion Couturier

The post BELBEOCH (FRA) AND GOYARD (FRA) TAKE VICTORY AT THE 2021 iQFOiL GAMES! appeared first on Windsurf Magazine.

Kevin Pritchard heads on an adventure to Baja and scored some awesome sessions in this humorous V-log! Worth a watch for his foil antics and Pritch style wit and banter.

“Pritchdog takes you on an adventure throughout his Baja Board adventure! Down a 3 hour dirt road to the ends of the earth to score epic perfection. I made a 6’8” twin fin, foil board, and take it down to one of my favorite waves in the world! I always like watching surfers do crazy stuff on different boards and for the most part windsurfers just keep trying the same thing over and over again. Why not go out on a limb and try something new. Lucky Goya Windsurfing was able to produce a cool custom board to have some fun on!”

The post PRITCHDOG’S FIRST V-LOG! appeared first on Windsurf Magazine.

Federico Morisio managed to make it to Maui after 18 months away despite some difficult travel restrictions. Check out his latest VLOG of all the action.

“After 3 months in Chile I decided to go “all-in” and I ventured in a pretty complicated trip all the way to Hawaii: 48 hours travelling, 2 covid tests and lots of documentation. Being back in Maui after 1.5 years felt incredible and I’m so happy that I can continue my training in one of the most challenging spots in the world windsurfing with some of the best riders on the planet! In the video I share many insights about the Maui lifestyle, the training on the island and also the ups and downs that I’m going through. I hope you enjoy it, good times ahead!”

The post BACK TO MAUI: FEDERICO MORISIO appeared first on Windsurf Magazine.

From humble beginnings in the late 80s, to one of the major windsurfing and watersport companies of today, John Carter learns about the history and rise of RRD from its founder Roberto Ricci.

This feature was first published in our January / February 2021 issue! To read more features like this first, Print and Digital subscriptions are available. Prices include delivery globally for 10 x issues a year!

BACKGROUND

John Carter – “Roberto Ricci has built his windsurf, fashion and watersports collections with a passion and quest for quality, elegant designs and the classic style you would expect of a brand with Italian heritage. It started back in 1989, when Roberto Ricci registered his own windsurfing brand, Roberto Ricci Designs, or RRD for short, which was largely influenced by his roots from Tuscany, Italy and his trips to Maui, Hawaii where the windsurf scene was exploding at the time.

Back in the early nineties, Roberto was competing on the PWA world tour but also took a keen interest in designing his own boards, hence the birth of the brand. ‘Year zero’ was 1994, when the first board collection was born and at the same time he launched his RRD fashion brand which turned up a notch in 1995 when he joined forces with Roberto Bardini, with a mission to design board shorts and t-shirts for those sharing a passion for watersports. After 26 years in the business, the credentials of RRD as an all-round watersports brand have been truly established. The 2021 stylish orange collection has certainly remained true to the identity of RRD with its ‘made in Italy’ philosophy and fuelled by the company’s continuous commitment to research and development. Rather than sitting back and letting others take over many of the roles within RRD, Roberto Ricci still plays a very hands-on approach to his collections, meticulously checking every detail of design and style before products are launched on to the market. This year’s RRD slogan is “It’s all ride!” which comes from the companies desire to make products that are both fashionable and functional to all watersports enthusiasts. RRD is all about that genuine Italian style and for Roberto, RRD is very much his passion as well as his business. I caught up with Roberto to hear a little more about how he has shaped the brand and his plans for the future.”

BEGINNINGS

Roberto Ricci – “First of all, I am very honoured to be part of the 400th edition of Windsurf, it is a privilege to be a part of this super important issue. I was obsessed with the ocean from the age of 7. I was fascinated by two divers, Jaques Mayol and Enzo Maiorca, who were pushing the boundaries at the time. I dreamed about diving and ocean life in general. I even used to hold my breath before classes at school. I bought my first windsurf board in 1981, I was 17. Windsurfing was the cool sport at the time. There was a windsurf school next to the pool in Tuscany where I worked. I got the idea in my head that when it was windy I could windsurf and when it was flat, I could go diving. I got hooked on windsurfing. It blew my mind. I was able to be independent on the water and see the ocean from different angles. I could explore and discover and my mind started to take off. My windsurfer was like my own little boat I could explore with.

I ended up working in a windsurf shop doing repairs. My father was a car body repairer and he taught me how to use resin and I could capitaliseon his expertise. I was young, full of motivation and started racing on the Italian circuit. I met a guy who had a beautiful custom board and soon was interested in making my own boards. I bumped into Paolo Cecchetti, who was one of the founders of Drops boards along with Mario Vinti and Fabrizio Marascia. I personally started shaping my own boards around 1984 at home in Tuscany. We learned the trade using Clark foam blanks, starting out by cutting our templates with paper, then modifying them into wood. We sawed the blanks with a hacksaw and then used a planer and sandpaper; it was all crafted with our own hands! We really made our own custom boards. It was a craft at the time. I was around twenty and the world was opening up in front of me.

MAUI

The first time I saved up any money I headed straight to Maui and that changed my life! I remember my friend Massimo, when we arrived in Maui, he held up the whole Aloha Airlines plane full of passengers while he got down on his knees and kissed the ground like the Pope! “Roberto, we have arrived in the promised land!” he said. That was the beginning of my Maui experience. Maui was the mecca of windsurfing and I was going twice a year in the spring and autumn.

It was six months Maui and six months the rest of the world. I was sustaining my living through shaping boards. I wanted to travel, develop my own boards and do my own thing, so I quit Drops and started going it alone. Cesare Cantagalli was a good friend at the time and was a big influence and help. Doug Hunt rented me a space in the Cannery in Maui and I was really into learning how to shape boards to suit Cesare’s style. At the same time, I was windsurfing professionally myself. I qualified through the PBA racing trials in Maui in 1987. I was never the best racer, but I was part of it, and learning all the tricks of the trade with the top sailors in the world. This is how I learned to improve the designs for my boards. The world cup was my university! I quit my real studies at home in Italy because I preferred my university on the beach. My real desk is a beach desk! It was a natural spontaneous choice which helped me get to where I am today!

The year I really started the brand was 1989. I felt like I had to go my own way. I started out calling it H2O designs. My friend Mickey Eskimo eventually persuaded me to change the name to RRD. He liked the way my name sounded and from that point on I my life was all about the ‘R’s and the ‘D’s. My name was to become my trademark. I was not really sure about using my own name, but my friends persuaded me. At that time anything was possible. I really started to think about the future of my own brand. My passion would be my job. It was a dream come true. That is still what I am doing today. Designing something, go test it, improve it! That is my ticket. I love my job. I am very happy that I decided to choose my life path this way.

1993 MILESTONE MOMENT

In 1993 there was a huge fire in my factory in Italy. I was making boards for guys like Brian Talma and Robby Seeger. I remember it was the 13th of December 1993. I was out to dinner and one of the ovens that was curing my boards caught fire and set light to the factory. It was a nightmare, but in the end, it somehow turned into a positive event. I had nothing, no insurance and the equivalent of about €2000 in the bank. It made me take the whole company a lot more seriously. I had to stop being a beach bum and make it happen. I felt that there was something special to be done in the world of windsurfing and I wanted to make the best possible boards in production. I put together all my experience and this was a milestone moment when I decided to be more serious about my company RRD.

ANDERS BRINGDAL 

Right after the fire, I had a phone call from a friend, Manu Bertin, who also was the trainer of Anders Bringdal, one of the best racers in the world at the time. Out of the ashes, I could still smell the smoke of the burnt factory, but I had this opportunity to shape for a world-class rider. I made my first set of boards for him for the world cup in Almanarre, France. I made him custom boards as he was racing for Copello at the time. We really got into a good relationship and at the end of the year I told Anders that this was the time for me to start making production boards. It was the time to do it. I told Anders I would sponsor him and promised to give him all the money I could possibly borrow from the bank. I said let’s go for it. I signed a three-year deal with Anders for the first time. He went off to New Caledonia to race with one of my boards. I had made something different, a crazy 3.0m long raceboard with a daggerboard in the middle. It was a design that my father helped me develop. We won the event! RRD was on the cover of all the magazines. It was the first event, the first time I sponsored a rider and RRD had risen out of the dust into the stars! You can imagine there was a lot of hype. It was a huge breakthough. We came from out of the blue and it was straight
in your face. That is how we started off; it was really a great milestone moment.

FIRST COLLECTION

From there, I stepped things up and made our first line of windsurfing boards. I presented that collection at the Munich ISPO in 1994; it was a range of four boards. It was the RRD year zero collection. That is pretty much how it all started off. We slowly started finding distributors around the world and then basically started the foundations of the company. Of course, in the beginning you have a lot of passion and enthusiasm for your company, as I still am honestly. But at that time the energy was huge. Anything was possible. It is a beautiful thing when a new idea starts to happen. I felt like I was surrounded by a magic gold aura at the time.

It was a very positive vibe. The next rider I sponsored was Finian Maynard. I loved his approach of being technical, talented and crazy at coming up with ideas. I also sponsored Josh Angulo who was an inspirational wave rider at the time and still is. It was myself, Anders, Josh and Finian, and we all had a desire to express ourselves through the brand. After that other riders came along. Our board designs, graphics and colours were very unique; we brought custom boards to the public. The next step was to move to Cobra. The current CTO of Cobra, my friend Olivier Schnerb, called me and invited me to see Cobra and its potential for custom/production boards. I was also good friends with Svein Rasmussen at the time and still am. Svein told me that things were happening in the Far East and that I needed to check it out. He stayed in Bangkok and of course started Starboard and did his own thing. He was one of the guys that pushed me to see the potential of Cobra. That is how RRD started to grow.

FASHION

RRD was always associated with fashion. My mum had a shirt factory next to my father’s car repair workshop. As soon as I started to make boards, I already had a complementary collection of clothing next to it. I figured, if people want to buy a custom board then they would be proud to buy a board short or t-shirt from the same brand. The first line of boards had three t-shirts and two pairs of board shorts. We are a company that engages with our market both in fashion and in watersports. Fashion greatly surpassed the equipment business about six years ago, and now is the biggest part of RRD. We are still growing consistently. We started off as beachwear and then it was my dream to have a winter collection. My heart and soul are in the ocean, so I didn’t want to do snowboard mountain wear, I don’t belong to the mountains. We first of all started branching out into wetsuits, which turned out to be the missing link with our fashion brand around six years ago. We had the idea to use neoprene in winter jackets. That was a big tipping point. We presented our collection at a large fashion show in Florence at the biggest fashion exhibition in Europe and it was a huge success. We are now quite an important fashion company in the real fashion world in Italy and we are slowly expanding around the world. We don’t only produce beachwear, but have also entered into luxury outerwear. Our outerwear has the background of a sports company that interprets classic cuts with a sporty and modern approach.

ON TOP

I am still the CEO of Ricci International and personally take care of every single product that goes out the door of the watersports company. Every item has been tested or completely supervised from A-Z by me. I manage the company every single day and my heart and soul is still into board making. Of course, I am also very busy doing the fashion side of the business, but luckily, I have incredibly good partners who help with this. That is how I developed the fashion side of the company. It is a great complimentary work and the two sides of the companies go well together.RRD

WATERSPORTS

We also have developed the brand into other watersports, which was a natural evolution. When kitesurfing came along that also blew my mind. I started kitesurfing in 1996 and also made a collection of boards in 1997, as well as our first collection of kites in 1999. We were the third brand worldwide to make inflatable kites. SUP was also a natural progression. SUP is a bicycle for the water, the gondola of the ocean. Mickey Eskimo helped me see the light with the idea that SUP could be a big thing. I jumped into the SUP market and our first collection was also highly successful. Again, this was an organic spontaneous development. I also saw SUP as a way to help people get into other watersports, so in my mind was the idea that if people would take up SUP, maybe a few per cent would take up windsurfing or kitesurfing.

I want to express my personality through all of my products, and that is why everything is under the umbrella of the name RRD. We approach
watersports with a very open mind. We have so much soul in the brand already. We have amazing designs, classic style, awesome performance and we are not just about windsurfing or kitesurfing alone. This is my way of looking at things, my message, my story. I want to tell my story to the people and what is behind this little 7-year-old kid that dreamed about Jaques Mayol diving underwater. That is why I keep doing everything in RRD under one umbrella.

SAILS

We started making sails around 2003. At that time, I was working with Tomas Persson from Simmer Style, who also helped us with our first kites in 1999. I started with just sails for entry level clients to go together with the Evolution boards. After that we designed the first Vogue wave sail. It was a very colourful sail with a huge screen print on top. It was vastly different at the time. When John Skye came along that was the big game changer. He was a team rider for RRD for many years. Apart from his phenomenal skills on a windsurfer, he was exceptionally good at giving feedback about our products. I loved his approach to designs and we work together very well, sharing the same visions. Anything is possible. We work hard, we are open-minded and we are very determined and what I respect most is the humble approach of John to his work. John is now our product manager and designer for all the windsurfing hardware and sails. I admire how he works. He was an amazing sailor and now he is a respected designer by everybody in the business. He knows what he is talking about. I am happy to have had him as a team rider and now as head of design and products. The growth of the sails has been particularly good over the past five or six years, largely thanks to teamwork with all the riders and the work of John Skye.FOILING
Foiling has changed the way many people think about riding the ocean.

Foiling gives us a completely different perspective on our riding. Now we have wings! Now our boards can lift out of the water and we have that crazy beautiful feeling of being on a magic carpet out of the water. The fact that you can apply foiling to virtually every watersports discipline is also amazing. It is like a new undiscovered world evolving. Who knows where we will be in ten years’ time? Foiling brings all the watersports together under the same roof. With one foil you can do it all, from our universal foil range you can learn on it how to windsurf, kite, SUP and surf. The same wing, same fuselage and same mast. We have a huge collection of foil toys coming out in 2021. I am fully hooked on it and so are all of my team. Everybody in the company is foiling, foiling, foiling! We don’t have much wind in Tuscany, but we can foil every day! It is simply crazy how good it is. I feel like a little kid again. I think foiling is the best thing that could happen to watersports.

ORANGE

We are not just about one colour. It is about the colour of the sparkle, the colour of the idea, the colour of the passion. We use white, we use grey, we use black, which are all neutral colours and then we use orange as the bright light. That is our standout colour between the neutral colours, it gives us a real brand identity. We are using these specific colours as a choice because I hate to see parts of a board which fade in the sun. That is why our EVA deck pads are mostly white, grey or black. They are the only colours that do not fade in the sun. Those three colours are the base of our boards. Remember all windsurfing products are out there in the sun. The fourth colour, the orange, gives us some light to go with those neutral colours. It is a great complimentary sparkle and you can use different amounts to make any board or sail very interesting. Orange is perfect and has a little bit of fluorescent and can make any of our products look interesting. You may not like it, but a lot of people love it! I think it is a good choice.

THE FUTURE

We are in a good place with RRD. There are a lot of great watersports brands out there, but there are still possibilities for a small brand like mine to grow to a larger scale by keeping its roots deep inside the artisanal way we produce our products. We still have every single prototype coming out of our own factory, be it foils, boards or kites. Every product comes out of our design centre, aside from wetsuits and harnesses. Everything else is designed in-house, which gives us an edge. It also gives us trust and credibility in the market. This is where we can make those little details in every product extra special and I can keep an eye on every detail.

I would like to do this job for the next thirty years or as long as I am alive. I love working in my company and making these products come to the market and the people. It is such a great satisfaction. It would be great to make money and sell the brand to potential investors, but in the end, what would I do. I have my passion already. I foil, kite and windsurf as part of my job and my life. Just like Svein and Robby, it is our heart and soul. We all still do the sports. What really drives the industry forward is the passion and the heart and soul that goes into it. Thanks to social media you can really see which companies have the passion and what they are really about. If you are credible, passionate and true to your heart, then you can never go wrong. I think the image and future of RRD is very bright. Combining watersports with fashion gives us huge possibilities. We are proud to bringthe ocean to the fashion world. The potential of RRD is huge.

My heart and soul are in watersports. What else can I do? The other day I was trying new Firemoves with our marketing manager Matteo out there on the water. I had been foiling all week. But foiling does not give you that feeling when you are fully powered up on your 6.7m! It was balls to the wall twenty knots and we were having a blast. We were flying at 30 knots of speed across the water, downwind reaching. What a pleasure it was! Every particle of my body was just happy! Windsurfing is the mother of all watersports for me. My passion started with windsurfing and I still love it. Windsurfing is the best. I really love it!

THE RRD FAMILY

Today we are a big family. We are 65 people around the world living out of RRD between clothing and equipment. The team riders, managers and special contractors, I call them a big family because any time I have the possibility I will sit down and speak to each one of them. Anyone can sit at my table for dinner. When we meet for business meetings, I always want them to be a part of my dream. I have the desire to express myself. RRD is a company that allows you to express yourself. That is something that I never get tired of. It is not a company where you just come in and get your salary. Of course, we all get paid, we have to make a living. If you are keen to express yourself, passionate and talented about what you want to do, we can find spacefor your passion in the RRD company. The company was invented and created with passion. So, it is best driven along with more passion. I tell everybody in the company, bring your ideas, try to dream big, go forward and don’t limit yourself. Not everybody is creative, but if you have ‘the sparkle’, then you can express yourself in RRD. This is why I call it the RRD family! We are put together with one thing… heart! The difference between a company and a family is that you run a company with your head but you can never make a family without your heart. I just hope that maybe a new kid that reads this interview will be attracted to the water. That is what it is all about. That is my ultimate goal. To bring more people to the water and to help them discover the beauty of the ocean.”

The post THE HISTORY OF RRD appeared first on Windsurf Magazine.

French all rounder Arthur Arutkin braves the elements at his home spot of Wissant in France for this crazy 60 knot session!

The post ARTHUR ARUTKIN: WISSANT 60 KNOT SESSION! appeared first on Windsurf Magazine.

Wow…Check out this action from a mental day in Pozo from 14 year old Carlos Kiefer! This kid is totally ripping, imagine when he gets a bit older!

He says “Finally over 40knots and nice waves. I was using my strong wind equipment 2.8m Duotone NOW sail and Fanatic Ultra Grip XS 60liter with twin fin setup”.

The post HARDCORE KIDS!: CARLOS KIEFER appeared first on Windsurf Magazine.

Nico Prien is down in Tarifa training hard and putting a lot of effort into his videos! Check out how he keeps up his energy levels!

The post 6.6M FULLY POWERED TRAINING: NICO PRIEN appeared first on Windsurf Magazine.