Words Matteo Iachino, Antoine Albeau, Pierre Mortefon, Amado Vrieswijk, Ross Williams, Sebastian Kornum, Maciek Rutkowski, Delphine Cousin, Jenna Gibson, Lena Erdil, Arnon Dagan, Andrea Ferin. //PhotosJohn Carter
When the going gets rough, what do you do with slalom stuff? The 2018 Ulsan PWA World Cup in Jinha Beach, South Korea tested PWA slalom sailors to their limits with high winds and choppy seas. So how do they adjust their tactics and equipment to handle the rough stuff and what did they think of some of the most extreme slalom racing to take place in years. A selection of the world’s best racers share their knowledge and experiences.
MATTEO IACHINO
Korea was proper slalom and very difficult sailing. I have never seen in my career so much chop and turbulence on the water. There was backwash from the island and waves coming from all directions. The first reach we were coming full speed down a battleground. We were getting the swell plus a cross-chop and then randomly a backwash coming the other direction. It was really hard-core. It was windy, but not off the scale. The problem was more the sea state. Some heats were almost normal with the swell and chop, but others had a lot of backwash and very unpredictable conditions. It felt like a huge boat had passed by, sending in weird waves right before we gybed. In the end, it was the same for all the riders so it did not change my tactics. You go for more control in your setup. Some guys, like Julien Quentel, were going for maximum speed and he was full power, but I went for control. He did not look in control to me; I preferred to sail a bit easier and kind of relaxed and comfortable to avoid any crashes. In those conditions it was not just about making it to the first mark in front, it’s never like that when it’s windy. It’s more about staying as comfortable as possible on the board and making it round without crashing. If you are comfortable and you feel secure about your sailing then the race comes to you! If you just go for speed like you would in flat water then it can be tricky because you can lose control and go from first to last.
On the windy day I was on my 7.0m and 107 Isonic. Then I dropped down to the 7.0m and 90 and finally I was on my 6.2m and 90 Isonic. It was proper 6.2/ 90 conditions! We were full power! I was not really ready for that in Korea. I trained the whole winter in Tenerife but it was not so windy! Usually we prepare our small gear for Fuerteventura. I brought the equipment I needed for high wind to Asia but I did not test it. I was ready for light wind conditions, but luckily I also brought my small gear. I always bring everything as I am fighting for the title so I need to be prepared for any conditions. Usually you never even use the 7.0m in Asia, that was until now. I was on my 32cm fin on my small board with the 7.0m and 6.2m. For the 107 board I used a 36.5cm fin. When the wind picked up the sea became a lot more chaotic. The swell and the backwash were the same but the water was even choppier. It was fun for me, I love it, it’s real windsurfing! Every race we competed in Asia this year has been really nice. In Japan we were racing in powered up 8.6m, almost 7.8m conditions and then down to 6.2m and 90 litre board in Korea, which was fun and what people want to see!
ANTOINE ALBEAU
It was super radical because the last time we had wind and conditions like this was when we raced in Pozo! The first reach was pretty tough. That was in the worst part of the swell and we were going flat out. Going back out the reaches were shorter so you could concentrate more. I think it was one of the most radical slalom events we’ve ever had. In the Canaries we have had more wind, but the chop in Korea was different. Nobody was expecting this. A lot of guys did not even bring their small boards or less than 6.4m sails. I always bring all my gear with me, as I know Japan also can have big storms with low-pressure systems and 45 knots. It was fun, but the only problem was the debris in the water that you could not see, or at best, only at the very last minute! The seaweed you could see, but anything below the water, like plastic and wood, was pretty dangerous. You needed to concentrate on the chop, the people around you, the gusts and ten other things. You could be going along well and then suddenly break everything. I was super lucky in the first two rounds, I did not catch anything on my fin. On the last day I caught weed twice and in the first twenty seconds before the start I could not go full speed. Then at the gybe I hit a big black clump of weed and had to jump to try and shake it off. I was already last, so it made no difference! I didn’t want to complain because the first two days I was lucky. Second overall was ok in the end. I would have preferred to win but Matteo sailed very well. I am not sure if he is as fast as last year yet. He was very consistent and he raced well. He did not arrive first at the opening gybe in both finals he won! He managed to overtake the others, so we will see what happens this year!
PIERRE MORTEFON
It was special conditions because I’ve never seen this kind of strong wind before in Korea. On one side it was amazing slalom conditions, hard racing with strong wind, big swell and chop. The races were never over until the finish line. It was really exciting. But on the flip side it was scary because of all the weed and debris in the water that could catapult you at any moment. In one race, ten metres before the finishing line, I was completely slowed down with a big clump of weed on my fin. This is why my feeling is mixed. Some of the races on the strong wind day were the best I have ever done on tour, but it was also dangerous. This year the level is super, super high and from the first heat you have to push full power to advance. It means on the first reach you are maximum speed and there especially it was super wavy, choppy and full of weed but you still have to go! It is a bit like skiing with rocks in the snow or something like that. You could arrive at the mark with good speed but pick up weed coming out of the gybe or just before and that was not easy to deal with. Once you have weed you have to jump to clear it but sometimes you have to jump five or six times to get it off and then you are tired for the actual race. Jumping is a lot of effort. For sure it was the same for everybody, but I don’t like it when it is a lottery when we race. On the positive side it was pretty radical. You could fall on the first reach and still qualify. Every heat was a super close fight. On the windy day I was on my 6.3m and the 99 Falcon and it was just right. For me, I did not need the 5.4m and it was really enjoyable. I was using my Chopper 33cm fin. In the end we had to stop racing because the course was full of debris and the marks kept drifting due to the strong winds.
You needed to have comfortable equipment and the confidence to go fast. This comes from the equipment but also from your skill. I am used to windy conditions from sailing in France. It is not easy for a lot of the guys to find this sort of sea to train in and usually when it is that windy and wild we normally would just go wave sailing!
AMADO VRIESWIJK
The second day was wild and I was fully stacked on 7.0m and my medium board. It was tough sailing and really hard to time anything around the marks. If you were behind in a race you could never give up because there were opportunities to fight back during every race. It was exciting racing and a lot of fun – proper maxed slalom racing. The waves were from all directions and it was super bumpy. On the first reach we were full power holding on and trying to keep control. That is what I love about slalom. Down the swells we were getting even more lift! If your gear is tuned correctly with the perfect fin than that makes life a lot easier. I was on too big gear to be honest. I put the mast track more forward to keep the nose down, a bit less leech in the sail also to keep the nose down and longer harness lines. I was using a 37cm fin, which was pretty big. The fin I was using was very controllable so I felt I could handle the board. After the marks you need more power and if you were beneath someone then the extra power from the big fin helped me get going. I could have gone on my smaller board but at the marks I felt like I needed the bigger board to get me moving. I thought it was better to take the risk and be a bit more overpowered than struggling from time to time.
ROSS WILLIAMS
It was kind of similar to Yaverland on the Isle of Wight on a windy day. I am quite used to strong winds so I did not mind it. I was on my 6.4m and small board when the wind really kicked in on the wilder day. It was actually the best conditions we have ever had in Korea. It was proper sick racing but unfortunately I did not do so well. I had a spin out as was I nursing one of my gybes round the mark. I did not find the weed and debris too bad, but a few guys had problems. Traditionally high wind and seas are my ‘good’ conditions, but I just did not get in the zone. The course was great. The race was never over at the first gybe, we could race right around the course and still fight back. You could attack, overtake and undertake. The course was well set and with more wind we could play around with tactics. Because the water state was rougher, everybody does not race at their top speed like they do in flat water. That allowed for acceleration and skilled sailors to use the waves and swells to make up places.
SEBASTIAN KORNUM
It was radical to sail in those conditions. The first day it was sunny which made it harder as when we were sailing to the beach you could not see anything into the glare, not even the first mark. The weed was not that big of a problem because we had so much power and we were flying pretty high in the water. I think the weed looked worse on the water than it felt on the equipment. It was difficult and a lot of quick decisions had to be taken around the marks, I did not want to do anything too radical and get injured. I know I am not one of the main contenders! The racing was very physical and I think it made everybody very tired. I can’t compete with the likes of Albeau, I am not fast like the big guys. I had some decent starts at the pin end so I could choose the line that I wanted to take. If I start in the middle I feel like I am locked in a position. As I am lighter I use more energy in strong winds, then I get tired and that is when the mistakes start to happen. Albeau was not under the same sort of pressure as me. I watched him in one race when he was ahead of me and he looked relaxed and making the right decisions. I was just hanging on and trying to keep hold of the boom after the gybes!
MACIEK RUTKOWSKI
It was not the windiest but probably the roughest racing I have ever done. Fuerteventura can be very windy but it is still side-offshore. It does not get messy let’s say. It is choppy but organized. Here we were all surprised. We went out to the racecourse and had to perform straight away in hellish conditions. There was swell from every angle and chop from all sides. There were ramps everywhere. The state of the seas was the issue not the wind. For me it was awesome. Once I jumped on my small board, which felt suited to the sea state, as opposed to my medium board that I use in smoother conditions, then I was loving it. I was jumping and really enjoying windsurfing. I jumped over the start boat for fun before one of the races, I was having a blast. It helps your performance when you are having fun and you are relaxed. All I wanted was to make my gear comfortable; if you were relaxed on your gear then you definitely could go fast. I was using my 89 litre slalom board (61cm wide) with a 32cm fin and I was perfect on my 6.2m. It was not crazy Pozo windy, just a very rough sea. You just had to concentrate on staying on top of your board and really finding your line. You had to think about the race in the longer perspective. It was a different type of racing where you did not have to be at the first mark first. In terms of gear setup, long harness lines definitely help in rough seas for control. You can separate yourself from your gear a little bit and if you hit chop it does not throw you off balance.
DELPHINE COUSIN
It was very tough conditions with a lot of swell and chop from all directions. On the windy day I started on a 5.7m and by the afternoon, when it was over 30 knots, I dropped down to 5.0m. I used my 87 Isonic Starboard with a 31cm fin. I was on my smallest setup. Every race was very exciting; no heats were finished until you were over that line. I loved these conditions, strong wind with swell and choppy. It was a great challenge. It was very technical sailing and very exciting. I prefer this to light wind and pumping around the course. Nobody expected these winds and conditions in Korea. We knew there could be some wind here from this direction but not with 5.0m sail and small board! We had a lot of years here with not much wind and many boring days. This made up for it!
JENNA GIBSON
The conditions were really, really difficult. I have never sailed in anything like it. The waves were just all over the place from every direction, they were not in orderly lines just bumps and lumps. It was howling windy, the first day was manageable, but the second day was just a big hectic mess. It was hard to gybe and you could not find any predictable wave to gybe on. On the first day I used my 6.2m and the second day I dropped down to 5.4m. I was really powered up in every race. In the last race I fell in at the last mark because when I took my foot out of the strap my board just flew away. I needed every bit of pressure I could muster just to keep the board flat. I used the 121 and 98 Falcon for all the races. It was really good fun in the end and I was glad we had plenty of racing. It felt amazing to win my first ever round of PWA slalom. I was not expecting that at all. I really felt comfortable on the last reach and managed to just beat Delphine to the line. It shows what is possible when you get it right! After that my racing went downhill a little. I was really tired after the first day. On the second day in the first race I was on 6.2m and that was way too big and killed all my energy for the rest of the day. I felt I lacked the fitness I needed so that is what I am going to work on when I get back home.
LENA ERDIL Having small enough equipment is key to conditions like we had in Korea. I also use longer harness lines, footstraps and mast bases move forwards and legs become shock absorbers. I was on my 5.0 Point7 AC-ONE and 87 litre Starboard Isonic with a 32cm Chopper fin. In flatter water I sometimes use smaller fins, but the 32cm was perfect for the strong wind and choppy conditions. Some carbon fins can be hard to handle, but the choppers are perfect in choppy waters so I was able to get great control with it. When setting up my equipment for these kind of conditions, control equals speed for me. The easier it is for me to control my equipment, the more I can focus on going fast and tactics. I like to play around with my board settings. In Korea I moved my footstraps all the way forwards on one tack and just a little forward on the other, because on one side we were sailing directly against the waves, while coming into the beach we were going with the swell, overtaking it from behind and going down it, so this is what worked best for me. My mastfoot was almost all the way forwards, but when faced with extreme conditions you shouldn’t be scared of extreme equipment setups. This can be very personal and the best way to find out is to play around with your settings. Do a couple of runs, change something and see how this affects your comfort and speed. I didn’t actually change my sail setup for these conditions as I find that each of my sails has a sweet spot in which it performs best, no matter if its windier or less windy. However my high wind sails (5.6 and 5.0) usually get just a touch less downhaul then the other sails.
Tactics wise, in lighter winds and flatter waters my priority while jibing will be to get to the inside at the mark so that I can stay upwind of my opponents and prevent someone from covering me, but this changes when the swell and wind picks up. Reading the swell right is all important, going into the jibe I will try and set myself up in such a way that while coming out of the jibe I can have the swell helping me to accelerate out instead of blocking me. That means I want to finish the jibe riding down the swell. Getting stuck behind the swell or having to jump over a wave right when you come out of the jibe can be fatal! Bending your knees for suspension is always crucial, but in choppy windy conditions it becomes a matter of life and death, so this is my top tip – bend your knees to new extremes to allow you to absorb the chop during your jibes. Sailing position for maximum speed in Korea ended up being the one I could have most control, making my harness lines as long as possible allows me to sit more into my harness and again bending my knees while navigating the chop enables me to keep my board from jumping around. It can be scary to go downwind on a broad reach, but if you set your equipment up in a way that allows you to handle it on a broader downwind angle this can mean a couple of knots more speed.
ARNON DAGAN
It was challenging and fun racing in Korea. If your gear is not tuned for those type of conditions then you can lose straight away. On the first day I lost because the type of equipment needed for that day was not working for me. The second day, when it got wild, my gear clicked. I was fast and went straight to the final. I had a lot of confidence once I found the magic formula. I liked the wild conditions a lot. The extra wind helped me. Personally my 7.0m and medium board don’t work so well for me. My medium board is pretty big. I think it is the only weakness that I have this year. In the PWA you cannot have any weaknesses. I went down to my small board and I was flying. I am light on my feet so I am one of the first to go down to a small board. Other guys were on medium boards and I had the advantage straight away. The comfort makes confidence. I used pretty small fins, even down to a 31 on the second day. Some guys were on 36cm. I can do that because with my height I get a lot of lift. In that chop I was also using longer harness lines just to get in the toilet position! For me, I like 33-34 cm lines.
It was total chaos out there. The conditions were very unusual; you wouldn’t go windsurfing in those seas for fun. There was swell and chop between the waves. We were full power with current and breaking waves. If you were not in control it was a nightmare, but in control you could have the time of your life. Until I had a crash with Taty Frans I was having a blast. It was strong wind and Pierre Mortefon and Pascal Toselli did not roll me, I was in my element. Normally in these conditions these guys overtake me. I was waiting for them to smoke me but it did not happen. It was scary racing. Especially with the weed as well. You just did not know what you were going to hit next. I saw some major crashes. If you made any hesitation you had no chance, so you had to go full power and hope you don’t hit obstacles. It was a bit like Russian roulette. Everybody had trained for this chop so it was no problem. The sailors on tour are the best in the world and they can handle this stuff. This was quite unusual though with all the weed and debris on top. We had to use all of our resources and experience. I did some big jumps just for fun. I did a 6 metre jump on my slalom board, which I have not done for a very long time!
ANDREA FERIN
We never expected these winds for sure. Last year we did not even complete a race! We had big waves and strong wind and we were all on our small equipment. I found it was best to sail clean and keep out of trouble at the marks. Just staying up and not falling down was the key. On my best race I was using my medium board and 7.0m when I scored a second. Later in the day I went to my small board and 7.0m. 6.3m would have been better in some heats but I had no time to change. The wind was strong but gusty, so it was really hard to choose the right size sail. I used a 32 cm fin on the small board and 36 on the medium board. It was amazing to score a second. I know I have the talent but I am always nervous when I race. I am trying to stay calmer when I race this season. I felt I was fast so just tried to take a clean start and use my speed. Now I feel I can challenge in every condition as long as I choose the all-important correct equipment.
