The unmissable yellow fantastic plastic fins from the UK are taking the world by storm. But how did the story start and what can they do for you?
The UK’s midlands are hardly the most likely place to manufacture performance windsurfing fins – the K4 factory being pretty much as far from the sea as you can get on this island nation.
MIDDLE ENGLAND
But that geographical location suits founder Steve Thorp (sail number K4 of course!) just fine. Firstly, because he’s born and bred there and this is the heartland of British manufacturing – not to mention the site of his family’s plastics factory – but secondly, because from his base in Leicester, Steve can strike out equidistantly to almost anywhere on the U.K. coastline to score the most appropriate testing conditions.
Which he does, fanatically. In fact ‘Thorpy’ has a massive reputation for the amount of miles he drives to hunt down wind and surf and scream down the speed course.
Some say he might even be subject to a special carbon tax for the colossal amounts of fuel he burns. But that effort is all for your benefit, because these yellow foils are no gimmick.
FLEXIBLE FRIENDS
A lifelong surfer, Thorpy – who happens to be an advanced Fluid Dynamics Engineer – has long enjoyed the memory and flex that surfing fins provide.
So when multifin wave boards first started appearing on the scene a few seasons back, his inquisitive mind and access to top-of-the-line injection moulding equipment and materials got him sucked into a whole new universe of windsurfing fin performance away from the stiff and expensive G10 options that dominated the market.
The benefits are wide-ranging, from superior flex – storing energy and returning it at the right time – grip, drive, angles of attack – not to mention significant weight-savings – cost and durability had his early models fought over as they popped off the production line.
With some of the UK’s and world’s finest sailors clambering to try them and endorsements from greats such as Graham Ezzy, Thorpy has struck a ‘golden’ vein with his breakthrough.
The line now features speed fins, a ‘Bubble’ signature freestyle model and all manner of compatibility with the various SlotBox, US and PowerBox heads, asymmetric models and sets with predetermined toe-in on offer – not mention a whole load more in the pipeline.
Check out K4 at your local store, online from the largest U.K stockist 4boards.co.uk or direct from K4fins.com and know you’re supporting 100% British-made industry!
‘While all the pros (or lucky people) fly out to Cape Town during European winter, back in Lyon, France, we have to work things out and find another way get to sail a bit, despite the cold.
‘And sometimes, it means driving 1000 kms a day, changing spots twice, sailing 6 hours and going back home late at night to go to work the next day…
‘Do you think it’s worth the mileage? Well, we do think it is!
‘This video clip is about one of those day, when you sail to the point of exhaustion and forget you spend 10 hours in your car, because you just love what you do!
‘Can’t wait till the next weekend to do the same!’
As featured in our April 2014 issue, this movie short shows how even big-wave specialist Jason Polakow can get himself ito trouble on the water, this time at heavy-hitting break Backyards, near Sunset Beach on Oahu’s famed North Shore.
After an exciting Tour in 2013 it’s nearly time for the British Wavesailing Association (BWA) Competitors, Crew and Coaches to hit the road once again to start the title race for 2014!
The first 2 legs run seamlessly back to back first at the Northern Tip of Wales at Rhosneigr in Anglesey where you can conveniently get a ferry straight across to Ireland and on to Jamie Knox well known stomping ground in Brandon Bay, County Kerry!
For a great number of years now STENA LINE have been supporting the British Wave Tour with both discounted crossings and top prizes for riders to use their services throughout the year, and they have been instrumental in making the ‘back to back’ Wales & Ireland events possible!
Keep an eye out on stenaline.co.uk for special offers and surf trip deals across the year to get arose and make the most if the great and varied conditions Ireland has to offer!
We will be back in touch shortly to let you know what crossings and special prices are available for the BWA Tour competitors.
If you are not already on this mailing list please email nigel@britishwavesailingassociation.com to get your email address added for all the latest news and updates.
Congratulations to Ross Williams for winning the STENA LINE prize of a return trip to Ireland as the winner of the 2013 Event in Brandon Bay! Keep an eye on Ross as he competes in both waves & slalom this year for GA Sails & Tabou Boards.
BWA Wales is hosted by Funsport Rhosneigr with Support from The Beach Cafe, O’shea Clothing & Wetsuits
Pro Competition – 8th to 11th May
All other fleets – 10th to 11th May
BWA Ireland is Hosted by Spillanes Bar & Restaurant with Jamie Knox Watersports and support from O’shea Clothing & Wetsuits, Kerry Sail Co and Kathleen McCauliffe.
ENES YILMAZER - LIVING THE DREAM - TENERIFE TRAINING
PWA Pro Enes Yilmazer, from Turkey, spent a month training in Tenerife and made this fun clip featuring him sparring – and crashing – with fellow racers such as Jordy Vonk and Maciek Rutkoswki.
We were in Tenerife testing at the same time and you can read all our verdicts on Ene’s Starboard/Severne combo – and more brands’ racing gear – in the May issue.
It’s just not fair. Pros like Victor Fernandez get to travel the world during the off season and train in amazing places – and then return home and score great sessions like these near his VF Windsurf Center in Almerimar, Spain.
When it came to measuring wind, the old boys knew a thing or two.
People of a certain vintage (old) can’t discuss technology without finding themselves with a boot firmly planted in both camps. I had to buy a new headlight recently. Shouldn’t be hard to fit … but it is when your mechanical skills are limited to changing the spark plugs on a Morris Minor.
I googled and, lo and behold, a bloke had posted a video on YouTube. It wasn’t just a generic ‘top ten headlight-fitting tips’ but for reasons best known only to himself, he had taken the time and trouble to assemble a 5 minute step-by-step program specifically on how to change the unit on the passenger side of a 2004 VW Passat Estate – and for no charge I could pluck this information from the ether. It’s beyond amazing.
On the other hand, how long will it be before we’re incapable of doing anything without the aid of a digital device? Just think of how many skills have been gently eroded by technology in our recent lifetime. Some, like long division, I admit we could do without. But what about map reading?
There was a time when I could balance a London A to Z on the steering wheel while negotiating Hyde Park Corner. Now Stephen Fry just tells me where to go. Guitar tuning, handwriting and parallel parking are all going the same way. Yes it’s all fantastically convenient.
People can actually read what you say. The guitar sounds a lot better and you won’t reverse into that knee-high bollard but we’re gradually becoming over-reliant and a bit useless.
Worst of all windsurfers are becoming less and less able to estimate the wind’s strength without resorting to an anemometer or the internet. When I’m down at our beach, someone will ask what the wind is doing. I’ll point to the large wavelets, breaking crests and scattered whitecaps and suggest that according to
“Get a life Nelson” they mutter as they reach for the smartphone, dial into the channel buoy and reveal it’s 18 knots (force 5). Well it may be two miles out to sea, but it isn’t right here and so they go off and under-rig by half a square metre.
I’m a big fan of the Beaufort scale. My dad was in the navy and so I was force fed it from the cradle. Devised by Rear Admiral Sir Francis Beaufort in 1805, it’s elegant, simple and yet astonishingly profound.
It does away with the need for instrumentation, but the reason it survives today is that it approaches the whole subject of wind energy in a very modern way. It isn’t just a quaint old seafarer’s way of describing wind speeds. Wind speeds were only added to the scale much later (e.g., force 4 is 11-16 knots) to satisfy gadget-crazy sailors.
The anemometer is a useful but limited device, simply measuring how fast the air is moving at a particular point in space and time. What really matters to a ship (or a windsurfer) is the total effect of the wind and the sea-state on a whole system and its ability to make way or manoeuvre.
For Sir Francis each step in force marked a point at which something happened to – and had to be done to – the ship, in this case, an English frigate. Force 1 meant barely having steerage. Force 2 saw the sails begin to full. In a force 3 it could sail close-hauled with all 22 sails up.
By force 4 the ship was listing and by force 5 it would heel too far to be a stable fighting-machine and the captain had to think about reefing the sails.
The most interesting aspect of the scale is how it accurately reflects the increase in wind pressure, which is absolutely NOT proportional to the increase in wind speed. As a result, the Beaufort steps remain as relevant to the windsurfer estimating what gear to use and what he might be able to achieve, as they did to the 19th century sea captain.
For example, if you’re striving to plane in a force 2, forget it. You’ll need a 30 sq m sail. But in a force 3 it is possible because a force 3 actually generates 3 times as much pressure as a force 2. And why back in the day did we strive to leap over the ‘force 4 barrier?’
It only represents a 20% increase in wind speed but actually generates over twice as much pressure as a force 3 – enough to transform the old rigs into a bag of creases and completely alter the challenge of sailing the original Windsurfer.
Force 5 is the dream windsurfing wind because it generates twice as much pressure again as a force 4 and so is the point at which pretty much everything planes. Looking to rationalise your sail quiver, it explains why you could happily drop from 8.5 all the way down to 5.7.
FEELING AND WATCHING
In the late 80s a Frenchman called Pascal Maka totally dominated the speed scene. In one interview he was asked to divulge his secret to going fast. “I feel ze wind” he said. “I feel eet in my hair, over my body. I move wiz ze wind – it ees part of me.”
How we took the piss. In retrospect we should have paid more heed. If you close your eyes and just sense the wind on your body you can tell its density, whether it’s dropping and tumbling from the sky (a typical trait of our U.K. easterlies).
Those traits also reveal themselves on the water surface. Yesterday here in Mauritius everyone messed up the sail size because they hadn’t spotted the surface current running at about 4 knots downwind.
That’s half a force gone right there. The chop was also strangely random, often the sign of a flicky, unstable wind – all things which point to a bigger size – which not even the most intelligent device will tell you about.
Elsewhere in this issue I made passing mention of a seafaring tribe who navigated using their testicles. Among the Santa Cruz islands of Melanesia there are 3 distinct swells.
So in tune are they with the ocean that by standing astride the centre line the islanders can detect which swell is running the swell from the motion of the boat and the angle of dangle (even a residual swell beneath wind chop) – and then steer accordingly.
Yes windy meters are a help but eyes, ears and other even more sensitive parts will tell you more…
2013 Champ James Dinsmore won the pros, Nicky Welsh the Ams, Zara Davis the ladies and Nick Cox and Mandy Body won the mens and ladies Masterblaster class.
‘This film is the result of our journey to Brazil in November 2013.
‘We took a 8 day trip up to the north to meet Adrian Beholz and explore the area around Jericoacara and Camocim. During this trip we met great people with whom we spend some time together we would like to share with you.
‘We enabled Tip Jar to support the Project from Paulo.
‘We are having a collection of Windsurfgear in Germany during this spring and summer. after this we will bring the equipment over to Camocim.
‘If you should own old Freetyle and high wind Freeride windsurfing gear for the kids from Camocim please get in touch with us to talk about a possible collection.
‘The Money you donate through the tip jar will be used to cover the shipping cost from Europe to Brasil
Words DANY BRUCH & JOHN CARTER // Photos JOHN CARTER
El “Confital” or its original name, “La Machacona” (the destroyer) is in my opinion, one of the most powerful waves in the Canary Islands. This rare break is predominantly dominated by bodyboarders and the last time I managed to score a windsurf session there was way back in 2002. When the PWA event in Tenerife was done and dusted, the forecast turned on with a solid south swell and, after the devastating disappointment of going out early in the competition, I knew riding this wave could bring me out of the gutter…
(This feature originally appeared in the January/February 2014 issue of Windsurf Magazine. To read more features like this first, Print and Digital subscriptions are available. Prices include delivery globally for 10 x issues a year!)
DB: When a south swells hits Tenerife, many of the top pro bodyboard community, travel from all the islands to surf this insane wave. Located behind the Red Mountain, just a few minutes away from my home town, El Médano. The wave is short, fast and hollow. To put it simply, ‘a perfect ‘A-Frame’ reef break. As perfection is, of course, limited. This wave naturally has a few minor flaws.
The tide has to be the right. Almost high, either going up or down is the only option to sail it. The main peak has got about 30cm of water on high tide and it can suck dry at mid-tide. In that short time, the wave is perfectly sailable, but you really have to watch out for the ‘step’ that starts to appear once the tide is too low. If you get caught out, the step just slows you down and will have you standing still in front of an angry barrel that without doubt will mow you down and destroy everything – hence its name ‘The Destroyer!’
I started surfing La Machacona when I was 15 years old. It was the closest break to my home and in summer time, I never ever went to surf Las Americas or to any other breaks that work in summer with a south swell. Those spots were just super crowded all the time and the waves were never that good really and definitely not worth the hassle.
At La Machacona, it was just a few mates and myself surfing, never more than four surfboards in the water, plus about 10-15 bodyboarders from the town of Médano. It was – and still is – a wave that is locally dominated and the boys that ride it regularly keep it policed so it doesn’t get out of control with crowds.
A week before the PWA event in Tenerife was about to start, the weather maps were calling for a massive south swell. I wasn’t sure it would happen. It looked windy, but normally south swell is not the best swell to have for sailing at the Cabezo beach where we were going to have the competition. The waves come from the wrong direction and mess up the place. So there were some nerves about it and how it would affect the sailing in Médano. Luckily all went smooth, way better than I expected! We had the best conditions of the year that far!
A nuts week of waves and we finished just in time before the big south swell was due to hit the island. This was even better in another aspect. I could finally sail at ‘la Machacona’ again! For the last few years I always wanted to go back there to windsurf it, as I’d only had sailed it once – over 12 years ago. In those past years, we had some south swell with wind, so I could have done it, but it was always before the Pozo event and the last thing I wanted to do is to get hurt some days before the competition after all my preparation and training work. Finally this was my chance!
JC: Dany gave myself and a few other local photographers the heads-up that he was going to try and sail ‘El Confital’ after the competition. I had heard about this place a few times, but catching a south swell in the summer with the right wind is pretty rare. I knew Dany was down and out after not making the finals of the contest and sailing this bone-crunching reef was a chance to redeem himself.
His only concern was the tide and the bodyboarders who were headed to the island for an upcoming contest at the break. The tide we could obviously work around, but dealing with 20 or so pro spongers on one tiny peak was another matter!
DB: It all lined up! On Thursday at high tide, just after the junior competition, I quickly sneaked off to the spot to check it out. It was firing! Not massive, but solid, windy and not too crowded. I had a chat with my mates at the spot and told them what I wanted to do and to my surprise they were ‘keen as’ to see me take on the ‘Destroyer’ – or maybe get destroyed. I didn’t think twice, raced back to the event site to grab my gear, JC and another friend to film and raced back to the spot. It was GAME ON!
Arriving at the La Machacona with my gear, the heads of the bodyboarders started to turn one after the other. “Oii, what are you going to do?” Ignoring stupid comments, I headed over to my allies and started to rig up. Meanwhile I told them that I needed them out there to help me clear the break when I was going for a wave. This was going to be a dangerous session. With so many bodyboarders in the water, someone in the way once I was committed could have lethal consequences.
Once I was on the water it was sick! The wave is so amazingly good for windsurfing. I couldn’t believe that it took me so long to get back here. I guess that session over a decade ago, when I broke every single piece of gear, made me hold back. Unfortunately, I sailed for about an hour and the tide dropped out, making the step come out more and more giving me a few surprises and shock moments, so I decided to quit for the day.
Happy to make the session without any damage, I knew that I had to try to come back the next day, no matter what. I told JC that, at the right tide, I would be sitting there and waiting to go out for another session. This time I was ready to go harder.
JC: When we rocked up at the break, there were 20 bodyboarders sitting in a tight pack right on the peak. In my mind there was no way Dany would be allowed to windsurf and, if he did, surely it was going to be carnage? Somehow he managed to negotiate with a few of the hard-core locals and they gave him the green light to rig up and go for a few waves.
Once he was in position, the pack of bodyboarders all moved out of the way so Dany could line up for a big air. It was really surreal, one minute 20 guys are fighting tooth-and-nail for any wave they could get their hands on and the next they had all moved aside for one lone windsurfer. I’m not sure what sort of cartels Dany’s involved in in Tenerife, but this was water policing like I’d never seen before. (I expect bringing a tourism-generating event to the island helps, Carter. Ed.)
After a few waves the bodyboarders soon lost their patience and for the last part of the session there were plenty of close shaves as everyone battled for the set waves. Dany managed to score a few pretty sick rides but, with the tide dropping out fast, we knew we would have to be on it earlier the next day to catch the primo conditions. Would the bodyboarders move aside in the ocean again? I seriously had my doubts!
DB: Next day well before high tide I grabbed JC and we went to check it was still working. First I went without any gear. I wanted to stay low profile and not annoy any of the local bodyboard mafia. I checked with my friends if it was cool to sneak another session and they were up for it big time!
One of the more intimidating local surfers, luckily a good friend of mine, did have a word in my ear. “Ooiii”” he screamed, “Just to make sure, I never ever want to see any other guy out there on windsurf stuff! Just so that you have that clear in your mind! Already yesterday I saw some guys here watching that looked like ‘wind kooks’ …” I started laughing… “I’ll take care of that!” I said to him … he looked at me and smiled.
Minutes later I was out there. It was way better! The wind was more perfect and the waves were bigger, also being there an hour earlier in relation to the tide gave us a lot more water to play with. It was amazing! I had some great rides, a few sick wipeouts and a few arguments with some of the bodyboarders that were trying to sneak into my waves. I had a few close shaves but survived without breaking any gear. Wow that was fun!
JC: The second day of the swell coincided with the annual PWA Rider & Crew Golf Challenge. Fortunately we had time to squeeze in 9 holes before the tides co-operated although, in hindsight, I wish I’d never bothered after a solid thrashing by PWA Head Judge Duncan Coombs. (Everyone thrashes you at everything Carter. Especially McKercher. Ed.) This time round the swell was more solid but it also looked like the pack of Boogers had grown. Many were covered in tattoos and there was a lot of smoking going on …
Dany was going to have his work cut out to score any waves. The swell was not massive, maybe half-mast to logo-high in the sets, but pretty much every wave that hit the main peak barrelled perfectly as it rattled over the ledge. This is no doubt a heavy set up where one mistake could leave any rider in hospital, which is exactly what happened to Dany right at the end of the session.
DB: The only bad thing of it all was my last wave. I boosted out for an air, lost control and let go of my gear, sending it away from me. On the way down, the nose of the board hit the upper face of the barrel, started to spin full speed and hit me on the neck. It hit me so hard that I got an electric shock over the left half of my body. After getting rinsed, I started to look around quite confused. I felt a bit dizzy.
Minutes later I had a massive lump on my neck up to my head. It really didn’t look or feel that great at all and I was in a lot of pain. So I headed back home, prepared for the event closing ceremony. As soon as it was finished I went straight to hospital to get it checked and scanned.
I had to spend the night there in observation as the injury was really close to my head and could have caused damage that might have developed over night. It was not exactly the way I was planning to celebrate the end and success of a great comp and a sick day on the water. I was so keen to party but ended-up without a drop of alcohol in me!
Even with that injury I’m still hungry to go back and sail The Destroyer next time it’s on!
Check out some more shots from the session on the following pages.
Polish pro Maciek Rutkowski is in the top-20 of three different windsurfing disciplines. But would he rather be right on top in just one?
Take a little sneak peak into his mindset and a bigger insight into his action from a few training sessions for the 2014 season.
Check out the video in high volume and HD. And, as Maciek says, “If you’re bored by all the talk simply fast forward to 1:12, where the real action starts!”
Springtime info on the latest Naish wave and freeride collection. Check out our test pages for reports on Naish products. 9To read these first get yourself a print or digital subscription.)
NAISH 2014 RANGE
SPRING SEASON IS UPON US
Our 2014 windsurfing range blends forward thinking technologies and modern engineering with tradition and heritage. The result is that each of our boards and sails have an appearance and feel that are instantly recognizable and uniquely Naish, where high performance meets outstanding everyday practicality.Combine these qualities with the range of conditions in your area, and you’re destined for a ride you’ll never forget.Visit naishsails.com to expand your quiver today.
WAVE | PERFORMANCE WAVE
The Wave is a highly versatile board shape designed to deliver true surfing performance in essentially any wave condition around the world.
It features added nose length for pop over white water and thinned-out rails for superior grip while bottom turning and smacking the lip. Designed with a fast rocker, wing-pin tail and thruster fin set-up, the Wave delivers quick planing, outstanding board control and incredible rail-to-rail carving.
The Force R1 is a versatile wave sail that is perfect for riders who demand acceleration, power and controlled handling in offshore, sideshore and onshore surf conditions.
It is designed with a stable, locked-in power shape that is defined by twin scrim luff panels, 5 battens and a reduced aspect ratio. This design combination delivers exceptional acceleration, early planing and even pressure to both hands. The Force R1 is the wave sail of choice for Robby Naish.
The Chopper is a revolutionary, ultra-low aspect wave sail for riders who push the limits of surfing and rotational maneuvers. It features a 4 batten, ultra-compact outline that fits one 370 mast in all four sizes.
The Chopper packs more power per square meter than any other sail in the range and offers superb handling to make landing radical aerial maneuvers and wave riding exceptionally easy.
The Vibe is designed for riders looking for an easy handling wave sail with a soft feel, wide wind range and true all-around performance.
It features a new Fusion construction, which makes the Vibe exceptionally lightweight and durable. It is the ideal choice for lighter riders, sideshore surf conditions and bump & jump freeride sailing.
2014 QUATRO FREESTYLE WAVE 105L TEST REVIEW REPORT
2014 SIMMER FREEWAVE 105L TEST REVIEW REPORT
THE LOW-DOWN Unchanged for 2014 the Quatro FSW is the largest of a 4-size range starting at 75 litres. Amongst the narrowest in this selection, it’s a soft-railed rounded pintail with a single-into-double concave undershape and comes supplied with Maui Fin Co. pads, straps and 30-cm. MFC FW pre-preg powerbox single fin.
BRAND CLAIM ‘The all new Freestyle wave line is the perfect choice for sailors looking for top performance in freestyle, wave and freeride conditions. The Freestyle wave line is equipped with the very latest shape concepts, making the boards faster and more fun to ride. A perfect blend of early planing, speed and maneuverability, these new boards can be adapted to a wide variety of conditions. They offer a smooth and comfortable ride that can feel like autopilot for cruising, but still respond to rider input with lightning speed.’ (sic.)
PERFORMANCE This successful model’s remained unchanged for good reason for some time which is a testament to Quatro’s confidence in their products. You can feel the relative narrowness compared to some of the others on offer in this test group, many of which feel larger than their quoted 105 litres off the plane. If you hadn’t had the comparison side-by-side like us you’d think the Quatro feels about … 105! That streamlined feeling sacrifices a little less early–planing power but it’s the ride and control – notably when well powered-up that this model’s all about. A nice wide, surfy stance, cushy pads and snug straps are all helped by the smooth motion through the water, especially over choppier/confused patches of the sailing area. The rounded rails make for super-forgiving turning and that’s where you can feel the DNA of this board, which is unmistakably of the wave-riding variety! Inland sailors shouldn’t be put off with all the surfing-style talk though, as the sailing position, bottom shape and rounded rails cope will cope with short chop on a blown-out day at the lake as well as they will the occasional trip to the coast. And that’s where the true Quatro lineage will surface with what’s a lovely singlefin behavior packed with all the benefits of pop and jumping and cross-shore-drift-coping lift that they still deliver – but all in a more modern, fit-in-the-pocket compact outline. OK so top-end speed isn’t it’s strength and this isn’t the most accomplished freestyler in the crowd either (although none of these boards will restrict your trick-busting capability until you’re at near competition level), but what you have here are nice clean lines and easy-to-sail behavior that should see you, give or take a fin change or two, from change-down use on a pond through to genuine surf at the beach.
THE VERDICT Take the path of least resistance. A smooth ride is often fastest – and he who falls least often wins. OK, so this isn’t a drag-racer’s ideal pick, but the easy-to-control Quatro FSW will iron any water flat and be a well-mannered companion – especially when pretty overpowered – from reservoir to reef. A classic singlefin waveboard with good manners for a wide scope of sailing use.
THE LOW-DOWN Naish term the Starship (replacement to the Koncept) as a ’bump ‘n jump/onshore wave’ board. It’s part of a 3-board range (90/100/115) that, due to the longitudinal graphics, are all deceptively compact and wide-point-forward, despite initially appearing old skool, gunny and ‘stretched. There’s one [visible] wood sandwich construction and they’re all supplied as singlefins with a Powerbox glass foil.
BRAND CLAIM ‘The Starship was designed for early planing, thrilling straight-line speed and easy, yet exciting, maneuverability. It rides super smooth in a wide range of conditions and allows riders the freedom to progress their skill level.’
PERFORMANCE We tested the Starship 90 (Nov/Dec ’13 issue) and declared it as perhaps ’… the most multi-purpose board of all time’ and said ‘If you’re old enough to remember the Sunset Slalom, then this is its modern incarnation – on steroids!’ Yes, you may guess that we really liked it. And the 100 is a very closely related sibling indeed. So, jumping aboard then, the 100 is nearly as nippy as the 90, hitting full steam pretty quickly, where it’s noticeably reactive and responsive to foot-steering and trim and generally very smooth to drive. Again, we also found some good glide through lulls, but it’s the speed that set it apart from its rivals out in Egypt. Some of our team weren’t on the last trip and there was a general little split in opinion amongst us over the flat vs. domed profile styles on offer, but the majority like the flatter-decked, ‘connected’ feeling the Starship offers and the way that stance complements many modern sails. Slightly longer than most in this selection, the Starship flew upwind and has a markedly more slalom-like feel to it than the rest of the group. In the carving department there’s a lot of pleasure on-tap with positive grip and ‘push back’ from any pressure applied. We know the 90 was fun in the surf and, from what we derived in Dahab, the 100 wouldn’t be any different as a viable option for some wavesailing, but once again we’d recommend trying a smaller fin and found ourselves wondering whether next season we’ll see Naish adding some sidebites? The plan-shape isn’t particularly freestyle friendly but, give or take a fin change or two, there’s no reason that this shape would hold you back from any basic sliding moves, not to mention the potential for old skool carving tricks.
THE VERDICT Naish have paved the way in a new trend to shrug off the worn-out ‘freestyle-wave’ moniker and have revived the wonderful wave-slalom category. The Starship 100 is a masterpiece that fuses the ‘glory days’ of fast blasting and hard turning with modern shapes and technology. If you’re not interested in – or can’t do – freestyle, but want to hack around at full tilt, jump, gybe and ride waves, then the Starship is the vessel for you.
2014 JP AUSTRALIA FREESTYLE WAVE 101L PRO EDITION TEST REVIEW REPORT
2014 JP AUSTRALIA FREESTYLE WAVE 101L PRO EDITION TEST REVIEW REPORT
THE LOW-DOWN New for 2014, the Freestyle Wave PRO Edition JP uses S-Glass laminate in the deck, which apparently has a higher elongation characteristic and therefore feels softer than and survives harder landings than the carbon boards they replace. This season the 101 has the same outline, but is 200 grams lighter and supplied with both a (27-cm. G10) centre fin and 2 x 10-cm. thrusters.
BRAND CLAIM “Great all-rounders with a unbelievably wide range of use. Delivering a perfect balance of wave, seriously fast bump & jump and freestyle performance. The four small Pro Editions additionally handle any kind of wave conditions (from side-on to side-off) because of the Thruster setup. Their range of use is as wide open as your ambition and mind.’
PERFORMANCE First up, this was the smallest supplied volume in this group, so it’s worth noting that the JP was packing 5 or so litres less than its competition. That said, this 101 held its own admirably in early planing terms and the heavier testers never felt like they wanted more foam underfoot. The volume distribution is deceptive as, in performance terms, this model felt like a narrower, 95-litre board, yet off the plane, or when getting going, there’s definitely no shortage of float or planing surface.
We all thought it was fast and drivey upwind, which is helped a lot by the deck doming that’s easy to push against and squeak out that extra pace. In terms of speed, everyone noted that the top end was good with a notably smooth, drag-less nature. (We used the thrusters nearly all the time during the test.) The stance is also super comfy with a balanced outline and the snug straps seemingly placed in a sweet spot. The genuine freestylers in the group rated the pop and sliding ability highly (there’s good volume in the tail to push down against) but it was in the turning department that everyone agreed this board’s strengths lie. We all felt it was superb for a variety of carving turns with the medium and lightweights especially noting the grip and surfy feel. Across a range of sea states the JP kept impeccable manners, handling messy water, rolling chop and smooth water without prejudice, always with a lively enough feeling, but an easy enough ride to control when nearer the limit. Make no mistake, this is a total all-rounder – an all-out true bump ‘n jump legend in fact – but if we were really pushed to pigeonhole it, we’d say it’s slightly in the wavier camp overall.
THE VERDICT JP continues to produce the quintessential freestyle wave board. Many claim to make a ‘take-anywhere’ board, but the JPAustralia FSW 101 hits the nail precisely on the head. Although highly recommended for freestyle – and a perfect high-wind freeride option too – this size has a tiny bit more desire towards being in the surf.
