- Features

Build Your Own Snow Windsurfer

Wed, 01 Feb 2012 17:23:00 -0500

Hot Sails Maui Latvian team rider Krish scored some epic autumn sessions on the water but finally the snow has arrived and it is time to try new things. Last week the picture of Krish snow surfing was the most talked about image on our Facebook page so we asked him to write a post about converting a snowboard.

"When wintertime has come, we have to think about different expressions of windsurfing. And one of them is snowsurf (so we call it here in Latvia). Actually it’s possible to do a lot of crazy things with it, mostly fteestyle. It’s also possible to build a kicker and jump. Forward loop is the first one which we have tried, but there is a thought also about Pushloop!

Now I will try to describe how to attach windsurfing sail to snowboard without damaging the board. I made a drawing with the main measurements."

-----CLICK HERE to read and see photos of how to do it!-----

Dunkerbeck, Voget & Swift at Dakar Rally

Wed, 18 Jan 2012 11:39:00 -0500

Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles sends windsurfing professionals sand-boarding in the desert in the new Crafter 4MOTION with four-wheel drive from Achleitner.

While Dakar Rally competitors just put the first half of the route behind them and recovered at the bivouac in Copiapo/Chile on their rest day, Björn Dunkerbeck, Robby Swift and Klaas Voget faced a completely different challenge: sand-boarding in the Atacama desert to put the Crafter 4MOTION to an acid test on behalf of Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles.

The three of them met at 5.30 in the morning to depart for Medanoso, the highest sand dune in South America. They got to the base of the 800 metres high dune just in time for sunrise and the fun was about to start. First, the professional sand-boards specially crafted in South Africa had to be waxed and polished in the desert sand, before marching uphill. Why marching? Didn't the Volkswagen team tell them to put the Crafter to an acid test? So why walk when you can drive? At least as far as it is possible. After all, they're all coming down and the worst that can happen is getting stuck. The Crafter 4MOTION performed superbly on the way to the crest, also considering it had to carry the entire equipment of the three windsurfing professionals. Good for the boys, who were saved a long stretch of the exhausting climb and were able to concentrate all their energy on sand-boarding.

Watched by a desert fox the three professionals drew their lines in the sand and boarded down to the foot of the dune. After a short break they carried on to the Dakar Rally bivouac for a quick meet 'n' greet with Rudolf Schenker (Scorpions), Dariusz 'Tiger' Michalczewski (former boxing world champion) and Jacky Ickx (Formula 1 legend), who had dropped in. Schenker's spontaneous gig really livened up the atmosphere in the bivouac – and even made the 'Tiger' roar.

Part two of the trip obviously led into the water – Chile is, after all, a second home to Robby and Klaas, who had their dream houses built here. Klaas Voget remarked, "There are thousands of fantastic surfing and windsurfing spots along the Chilean coast, albeit extremely difficult to get to them. The Crafter 4MOTION really comes very handy here and what is more, it provides room for all our stuff, and there are three of us".

Unfortunately, the wind was a spoilsport and so all the windsurfing equipment went back into the Crafter unused.Still the three professionals made the most of their lightning visit to the beach. They got out their sand-boards, found a small dune and had some idyllic photos taken of jumps in the sunset. Klaas, an experienced snowboarder, impressed his audience with his stylish tailgrabs.
Robby, the only goofyfoot (right foot in front) among them, daringly tried to be regular so that he could also grin into the camera rather than presenting his behind to the photographer. The odd crash landing was marked by cheers. Dunki, for his part, impressed the cameramen with his efficiency, "I'll give you one more jump. Don't cock it up. Focus on the pebble over there." Sure as day follows night, where other guys need ten attempts, Dunkerbeck delivers first time, or does he? But then Björn would not be world champion 41 times over if he didn't possess the gift of perfect concentration.

Parenthood meets Windsurfing

Mon, 26 Sep 2011 19:21:00 -0400

Check out this awesome feature story and interview by Mike "Fish" Fischer about mixing parenthood and windsurfing. He interviews Francsico Goya, Jason Diffin, Bill Bell and shares his own experiences.

CLICK HERE to find the story... or HERE to download a PDF version

2011 AWSI Windsurfer of the Year... voting closed!

Sun, 17 Jul 2011 14:30:00 -0400

Voting is closed... stay tuned for final results!

Vote Scott McKercher: AWSI windsurfer of the year

Fri, 01 Jul 2011 00:13:00 -0400

'LIKE' to vote for Scott McKercher

KA-181
Country: Australia
Sponsors: Starboard, Severne, Flying Objects

2010-2011 Accomplishments:

a force in the promotion of standup paddleboard windsurfing
standout waveboard designer for Starboard

Scotty McKercher is a leading force in helping to bring windsurfing back to the masses by showing how much fun it can be to stick a sail on one.

Vote Keith Teboul: AWSI windsurfer of the year

Fri, 01 Jul 2011 00:12:00 -0400

'LIKE' to vote for KEITH TEBOUL

Country: USA
Sponsors: Quatro International, Goya, MFC

2010-2011 Accomplishments:

founding member of Team +H2O that is actively working on clean water initiatives on Maui and around the world
his design work on waveboards has been incredible
unrivaled soul surfer/windsurfer

Not only does Keith Teboul deserve to be recognized for his groundbreaking waveboard shapes but as a founding member of Team +H2O, along with Jake Miller, Pascal Bronnimann and Levi Siver, he is working hard to give back to environmental causes that involve water issues around the globe. CLICK HERE for more information on +H2O.

Vote Antoine Albeau: AWSI windsurfer of the year

Fri, 01 Jul 2011 00:11:00 -0400

'LIKE' to vote for ANTOINE ALBEAU

F-192
Country: France
Sponsors: Neil Pryde, JP-Australia, Quiksilver, Deboichet, Ford Lease, Orangina, Garmin

2010-11 Accomplishments:

Overall 2010 PWA Slalom champion (his 5th year in a row)
1st at 2011 Catalunya Costa Brava Spain World Cup PWA Slalom event
2nd at 2011 PWA Vietnam Slalom
2nd at 2011 PWA Korea Slalom World Cup
3rd at 2011 PWA Aruba Hi Winds Grand Slam Pro-Am

Antoine Albeau has dominated the PWA Slalom Tour winning the overall title in each of the last five years. Not only is he fast in slalom, formula and speed sailing but he has been known to show up and place respectably at the odd PWA wave event as well.

Vote Sam Bittner: AWSI windsurfer of the year

Fri, 01 Jul 2011 00:10:00 -0400

'LIKE' to vote for SAM BITTNER

Country: USA
Sponsors: Naish, Dakine

2010-2011 Accomplishments:

creator and organizer of the five-stop 2011 American Windsurfing Tour (AWT)
creator and organizer of 2010 Pistol River Wave Bash
currently ranked 3rd overall in AWT Women's standings

Sam Bittner has brought wavesailing competition back to North America by creating and running the American Windsurfing Tour. She started the tour with one event last year in Pistol River and it has been growing ever since. The AWT has received mainstream attention with coverage on the ABC television network and a cover story on the Santa Cruz Sentinel. In 2011 she has been able to compete on the tour and is currently ranked 3rd in the overall women's standings. Way to go Happy Sam!

Vote Levi Siver: AWSI windsurfer of the year

Fri, 01 Jul 2011 00:09:00 -0400

'LIKE' to vote for LEVI SIVER

USA-0
Country: USA
Sponsors: Goya, Quatro, Oxbow, Red Bull, Dakine, MFC

2010-2011 Accomplishments:

1st at 2010 Ho'okipa Jump Off demonstration event with a Back Loop of 52' 7"
starred in 2010 release of the feature film The Windsurfing Movie 2
starred in 2011 release of the feature film Oxbow Walls of Perception
founding member of Team +H2O that is actively working on clean water initiatives on Maui and around the world

When it comes to wavesailing no one gets more tweaked in their style then Levi Siver. His aerials are mind blowing and will wear out the pause button on your TV's remote control from watching one of his feature films from the past year. Plus he joined Jake Miller, Pascal Bronnimann and Keith Teboul in starting +H2O, which is a team of watermen looking to promote and work on clean water projects around the world.

Vote Victor Fernandez: AWSI windsurfer of the year

Fri, 01 Jul 2011 00:08:00 -0400

'LIKE' to vote for VICTOR FERNANDEZ

E-42
Country: Spain
Sponsors: Fanatic, North, Quiksilver, MFC

2010-2011 Accomplishments:

2010 PWA Wave World Champion
1st at 2010 PWA Gran Canaria Grand Prix in Waves
2nd at 2010 PWA Denmark World Cup in Waves
starring in the soon to be released feature film Minds Wide Open
2011 nominee for Laureus World Sports Award (against Kelly Slater, Shaun White and others)

What a year for Victor Fernandez! Not only did he finally win the PWA World Wave Crown but he was nominated for the coveted Laureus World Sports Award in the action sports category. Watch for Victor soon in his starring role in Andre Paskowski's soon to be released feature film called Minds Wide Open.

Vote Ingrid Larouche: AWSI windsurfer of the year

Fri, 01 Jul 2011 00:07:00 -0400

'LIKE' to vote for INGRID LAROUCHE

Country: US (originally from Canada)
Sponsors: MauiSails, Tabou, Dakine

2010-2011 Accomplishments:

currently 1st in overall American Windsurfing Tour standing in both Women and Amateur divisions
1st at 2011 AWT Pistol River Wave Bash for women
1st at 2011 AWT Santa Cruz Classic for women
3rd at 2011 AWT Pistol River Wave Bash for amateurs
2nd at 2011 AWT Santa Cruz Classic for amateurs
1st at 2011 Lord of the Wind in Women's Freestyle, Slalom and Course Racing
1st at 2010 Pistol River Wave Bash for women
1st at 2010 US Nationals in Slalom
2nd at 2010 US Nationals in Freestyle
1st at Rio Vista Dirty Water Classic in Freestyle

Ingrid Larouche's hard work on the water in the Gorge and Maui over the past year has paid off as she has become the most decorated woman in North American windsurfing. She has proven she can do every discipline at the highest level and is always a standout wherever she sails. CLICK HERE to read a recent interview with Larouche on the Nalu Wahine Blog.

Vote Kiri Thode: AWSI windsurfer of the year

Fri, 01 Jul 2011 00:06:00 -0400

'LIKE' to vote for KIRI THODE

NB-61
Country: Bonaire
Sponsors: Starboard, Gaastra, Choco Fins, Tur Tur by Bogoro

2010-2011 Accomplishments:

1st place at 2011 Vietnam PWA Freestyle
1st place at 2011 Bonaire PWA Freestyle
2nd place at 2011 PWA Austria Surf World Cup
2nd place at 2011 Aruba PWA Freestyle
Overall 3rd place in 2010 PWA Freestyle tour

At age 21 Kiri Thode has already been a force on the PWA freestyle tour for a number of years now. He has innovated many new moves and is simply sick to watch on the water.

Vote Kevin Pritchard: AWSI windsurfer of the year

Fri, 01 Jul 2011 00:05:00 -0400

'LIKE' to vote for KEVIN PRITCHARD

US-3
Country: USA
Sponsors: Starboard, Ezzy, Dakine, Camaro Wetsuits, MFC

2010-2011 Accomplishments:

1st at the 2011 Lord of the Wind Showdown between windsurfers and kiteboarders
1st at both the 2011 Lord of the Wind Windsurfing Slalom and Course Racing events
1st at 2010 Pistol River Wave Bash
2nd at 2011 AWT Santa Cruz Classic
currently 2nd overall on the American Windsurfing Tour
6th overall in 2010 PWA Slalom World Tour

Kevin Pritchard has charged fully into the American Windsurfing Tour (AWT) this year not only on the competition side but as the tour's official videographer. But maybe one of the biggest stories about KP this year was his domination of the kiteboarders in a head-to-head long distance Lord of the Wind Showdown race held in Los Barriles, Baja, Mexico. Just before the race Pritchard offered to split the large cash purse with the top kiteboarder but they simply laughed him off being confident that a windsurfer didn't stand a chance in the upwind-downwind race. Well, Pritchard won and laughed his way to the bank with his new BIG check! CLICK HERE to check out the Pritchard blog.

Vote Sarah-Quita: AWSI windsurfer of the year

Fri, 01 Jul 2011 00:04:00 -0400

'LIKE' to vote for SARAH-QUITA OFFRINGA

ARU-91
Country: Aruba
Sponsors: Starboard, Gaastra, Bula-surf shop, Mystic

2010-2011 Accomplishments:

1st overall 2010 PWA World Champion for Women's Freestyle (her third year in a row)
currently ranked 1st overall in 2011 PWA Women's Freestyle and Slalom tours
1st in 2011 PWA Vietnam Slalom for women
1st in 2011 PWA Aruba Hi Winds Grand Slam Pro-Am in Women's Freestyle and Slalom
1st in 2011 PWA Bonaire Women's Freestyle

At only age 20 Sarah-Quita Offringa has already dominated women's freestyle for the past three years. This year she is coming into her own in slalom winning two of the first three events against a tough field of ladies.

Vote Phil Soltysiak: AWSI windsurfer of the year

Fri, 01 Jul 2011 00:03:00 -0400

'LIKE' to vote for Phil Soltysiak

CAN-9
Country: Canada
Sponsors: Starboard, Sailworks, Dakine, Prolimit, Streamlined

2010-2011 Accomplishments:

top ranked North American freestyler
6th overall in 2010 PWA Freestyle tour rankings
4th at 2010 PWA Lanzarote freestyle
6th at 2011 PWA Vietnam freestyle
6th at 2011 PWA Austria Surf World Cup

Phil Soltysiak's hard work and constant training has paid off on the PWA World Freestyle Tour with an consistently strong showing providing a excellent outlet for North American's to cheer for! When not on the tour he can sometimes be found either in the Gorge working with Sailworks' designer Bruce Peterson on the Revolution wave/freestle sail or at home near Toronto putting on freestyle clinics and fun competitions. Check out his new website by CLICKING HERE.

Vote Nathan Mershon: AWSI windsurfer of the year

Fri, 01 Jul 2011 00:02:00 -0400

'LIKE' to vote for Nathan Mershon

Country: USA
Sponsors: Naish, Dakine

2010-2011 Accomplishments:

current overall leader in the 2011 American Windsurfing Tour
1st place at AWT Pistol River Wave Bash
1st place at AWT Santa Cruz Classic

Outside of the Gorge and Maui windsurfers may not be too familiar with the name Nathan Mershon, but he has been ripping for a long time. With the start of the AWT he now has some venues to show he can compete with and beat anyone in the world. With Mershon winning the first two AWT event this year all the other pros now have their work cut out in order to catch up with him in the Expert division.

(Nathan talks about his AWT Santa Cruz win at the 2:00 mark of the video below...)

Tatiana and Shawna: Joining Forces

Thu, 26 May 2011 17:12:00 -0400

Tatiana Howard and Shawna Cropas are joining forces where the Butterfly Effect meets Aloha Clinics in Maui and Fiji. The two women have each worked and played on Maui for years, and this year are partnering to create weeks of coaching followed by the celebratory Butterfly Effect. Check out their clinics online here: www.betheeffect.com.

Tell us about how you two met and why you decided to join forces:

Shawna Cropas: I was running Aloha Windsurfing Clinics with Matt where all levels of sailors and sexes were invited to take part. I had a few women on my clinics who mentioned they would enjoy a women's only weeklong clinic. So I put one together and thought it would be great if Tatiana joined us as a fellow instructor as she had been doing so many great things with women via the Butterfly Effect. It was a natural choice as we'd casually toyed with the idea over the last year on the beach already. It was just a matter of putting it into action.

Tatiana Howard: We were both always at Ho'okipa surfing, windsurfing, or just enjoy the ocean. I knew Shawna had a cool thing going with the Aloha Clinics getting people stoked on the water, and I had The Butterfly Effect going doing the same thing. We both discussed it would be fun to collaborate with each other and provide a new experience for water women worldwide!

Why did you choose Fiji for your destination clinic?

TH: I went to Fiji last year and had an amazing time. I came back explaining to Shawna about Fiji being an ideal location for a clinic and she was up for collaborating to provide a great instructional week for women in Fiji. Safari Lodge is a tiny island off the northern tip of the main island and offers steady winds, sandy bottom, a variety of rigged equipment right off the beach, beauty everywhere, and an overall humble feeling.

The Butterfly Effect and the Aloha Clinics both stress camaraderie and the social side of windsurfing. Why do you focus there?

TH: Because it is fun! I got into windsurfing because of friends and having a good time at the beach. It is nice to opportunity to share this fun factor of windsurfing with others and not worry about level, but just to get out there and enjoy!

SC: I think it's great to have the competitive side to windsurfing and event centered around who's the best. It pushes everyone's levels up......... But it may also leave a big percent of people behind. Not everyone wants to risk life and limb to be the best. This example is best showed by the Butterfly Effect itself. It's a downwinder for women to either sail, sup or kite together downwind: a non-competitive fun event with a huge social scene surrounding it. Hundreds of women show up. So it shows they want to be a part of the fun, an adventure, an event, and a lively social scene.... Yet when we run windsurfing competitions you're lucky if 6 girls show up to compete. The numbers speak for themselves. I personally love seeing woman on the water being active and being a part of the fun.

You’re both very skilled windsurfers- why are you focusing on the teaching and clinic side of windsurfing instead of competing? Do either of you have plans to compete? Why or why not?

SC: I used to compete when I lived in Europe. It was a fun way to be a part of everything but I never took it too seriously. I like things that inspire me to do personally better or enjoy the moment. Usually those moments derive from fantastic action photos of other female sailors, a positive conversation with a fellow athlete, a laugh on the water or an encouraging whoop whoop. It's not to say I wouldn't compete for the fun of it should a competition cross my radar, it's just not on the top of my priority list.

TH: I started The Butterfly Effect in 2007 because there wasn't too much happening event wise on Maui, especially for the women. I did the PWA and liked being a part of an event, but since I was creating the event I decided to make it a little different. I dreamed up my ideal event and it turned out to be non-competitive, free, for fun and with all water girls! I still like to compete once in a while and think it is beautiful to see advance sailors come out and perform in a contest!

If you were given a job to double the number of women who windsurf (and had an endless amount of money to do so), what would you do? Where would you focus your energy?

TH: I would sign them up at the Aloha Windsurfing meets Butterfly Effect clinic weeks, and have them start learning at great beginning locations like Maui and Fiji.. and Shawna recommends Greece too! I think it is important to start learning the sport in a comfortable, easy area, with good instructors to make it the best experience. Once they got it down they can join for downwinders around the globe with The Butterfly Effect and give back to local communities they visit at the same time!

SC: I spend my money on events like the Vass Class. It's a weeklong event in Greece for the whole family with fun competitions, windsurfing instruction for all levels of sailors, crazy social night out where they dress up in something wild every night including a tux and gown night. There's something going on for everyone and it's a week of wild windsurfing antics and social delights. There was a jump contest here this summer with the best photograph winning (everyone had a chance to vote on the pics). I thought that was a new fun way to run an event. People came dressed up in a sorts of silly gear. Maybe some workshops on how to compete and guest instructors to teach all different levels of sailor something new. Keep it light, keep it fun kind of thing.

Tatiana, you’re just coming off the first ever snow Butterfly Effect in Switzerland. How was it?

TH: It was amazing! We had 40 women come for the event from several different countries. We had skiing, snowboarding, and telemarking clinics in the morning of slope, park, or pipe, and then a down-"hill" (instead of downwind) run. All the girls were stoked and haven't seen a event like this one in the snow, so it was great. We had leis from Hawaii and did a yoga/warm up stretch on the mountain in snowboard boots too! It was amazing to see everyone improve their sport throughout the day, meet friends from around the world, and have so much fun on the mountain.

Inside Issue 30.1

Tue, 15 Feb 2011 11:17:00 -0500

THE EVENT ISSUE...

For our 30th anniversary issue we're paying homage to all types of windsurfing events. Here are some of the events we cover in the issue:

Pro Windsurfing Fantasy Pool... a contest to win your choice of 2011 board from Starboard—CLICK TO ENTER
US Windsurfing Nationals in San Francisco
King of the Hook lightwind freestyle contest in Hood River, OR
PWA world windsurfing tour
Rio Vista Dirty Water Classic... an unoffical spontaneous freestyle contest
Lord of the Wind Showdown in Los Barriles, Baja
Techno 293 racing at the Singapore Youth Olypic Games
the upcoming American Windsurfing Tour
Florida Wave Challenge
Hatteras Wave Jam
HIHO racing
Cowes Week in the UK

Windsurfer Rescues Turtle in Corpus Christi

Tue, 15 Feb 2011 09:18:00 -0500

Chip Ducrest, the Corpus Christi Windsurfing Association commodore, writes about coming across this turtle in the intercostal waterway...

Yesterday, while windsurfing at Bird Island, I came across one of the many stunned Green Sea Turtles affected by the cold. Don [Jackson] gave me a heads up to be on the lookout, so I took extra line with me and stuffed it in my wetsuit. It was blowing around 14-18 knots from the south, under a beautiful blue sky. The sailing wasn't so great, but it was good to be back out on the water.

Sure enough, after about 30 minutes of up and down sailing, I ran across this guy in the Intercoastal Canal. Why couldn't he have been in shallower water?!? He had a bit of life left in him and tried to dive down, but would immediately pop back up. I jumped in the bitterly cold Intercoastal waterway to grab him and place the turtle on top of my board. The lines came in handy as he immediately wasn't comfortable on his first windsurfer and tried to hop off. I ended up securing him to the footstraps (I should have tried putting his fins in the footstraps) and off we went for the mile long shlog back to shore. It took a while and alot of my energy was drained sailing back, but it was well worth the effort. We had a welcoming crowd gather around once ashore. The guys at Worldwinds were quick to call the NPS, who arrived within a few minutes to take "Chipper" to the sea turtle recovery center. One of the NPS volunteers noted that most of the turtles rescued have come in with eyes closed and less vitality, so I'm hopeful this one will make a quick recovery and get back to the gulf waters.—Chip Ducrest

What does the future hold for Graham Ezzy?

Wed, 02 Feb 2011 13:31:00 -0500

First of all tells us what you have been up to? I have heard that you have been to Japan, what were you doing there?
Other than school, I’ve been doing a lot of filming. I was with umi on Maui in November, and I just got back from another trip with umi to Japan. We were filming for a webclip.

How were the conditions?
The conditions in Japan were crazy. The wind was strong enough for me to be on a 4.0 and the waves were all over the place, but the temperature was the most intense part; it was less than 3 degrees C. On one day it was even snowing! I didn’t have boots or gloves, so my feet and hands went numb. But all in all, it was really fun riding. We got some fun culture/lifestyle shots too.

What else have you been up to?
I’m in my final semester at Princeton where I’m studying English Literature. I graduate in May, but before then, I have a ton of work plus a thesis to complete. So, it will be pretty hectic until then!

How is school going for you?
School is going well. I love to be in the middle of so many different ideas. And everyone is really motivated and intellectually interesting. I love the rigor of the thinking too. But that said, I’m ready to be done and dedicate myself full time to windsurfing.

How is it to balance school and windsurfing?
Ah, the balance! That is tricky. Basically I’m always at risk of falling behind in either school or windsurfing. So, my life becomes a mad juggling act of trying to do both. I’ll go to Maui to windsurf for two weeks, and then I have to work like crazy to catch up.

Are you ready to be done?
Yes!

What are your plans after graduating?
I will be a full time windsurfing pro. I’ve never in my life dedicated an extended period of time to windsurfing, so this will be the first time that I can train like a real athlete and hopefully realize my potential. Also, I will work on my writing while traveling for windsurfing.

Are you going to fully focus on the tour or what do you want to do?
I am going to do the full American Wave Tour. The spots focus on waveriding rather than freestyle+jumping, and that is more my kind of riding. I’m excited to sail in contests closer to home. I hope that this new tour will inspire more Americans to get involved with windsurfing.

Do you want to start working with your Dads company?
Yes. I want to help grow my dad’s legacy by working with Ezzy Sails.

Do you enjoy developing sails?
I enjoy knowing about how my equipment works and how to make it better, so I always get my dad to explain how a sail functions. And I test them too. Basically, I just love windsurfing.

Tiesda You's iSonic Sketches... a designer's view

Mon, 06 Dec 2010 05:15:00 -0500

Before the year's development begins, Starboards design team discusses the different concepts to build and test. Tiesda You illustrates the theory behind some of the design concepts that were tested successfully and then carried over into the 2011 range of iSonics.

CLICK HERE to find out more about Tiesda You's work and the 2011 Starboard iSonic range!

New Bryan Metcalf-Perez Video!

Mon, 25 Oct 2010 11:28:00 -0400

Cold Water Productions presents Bryan Metcalf-Perez (Part 1).

Check out Delta sailor Jordan Reid's cool videos...

Sat, 16 Oct 2010 10:42:00 -0400

We knew Jordan Reid is a killer freestyler and slalom sailor...

but who knew he could do this on a BIKE (with his buddy Scott Menger)?...

Do you agree with this study?

Tue, 21 Sep 2010 10:59:00 -0400

According to Peter Francis Wilinson's thesis for his Master of PHilosophy in Visual and Material Culture at Massey University (Wellington, New Zealand),

"Windsurfing involves a great deal of commitment. Core members arrange their work, their domestic lives, and even where they live in order to be on the water when the conditions are right. This means that core members are not able to pursue economic advancement to the degree dictated by the dominant consumerist culture. My research is designed to answer a number of questions raised by this relationship between subcultural participation and consumerist society. In subscribing to a style of life that requires people to compromise their economic potential, are participants expressing resistance to the dominant cultural values of consumerism, which prizes economic success, particularly expressed as consumption, above all else? How is this resistance consistent with the consumption required to take part? Finally, how does the visual culture of the subcultural advertising mediate this apparent paradox? These questions are explored in this thesis."

The study is titled "Who Needs Money When You Can Go Windsurfing: The Paradox of Resisting Consumerism Through Consumption in a Lifestyle Sport Subculture.' You can download and read the entire work from SURFERtoday.com by CLICKING HERE!

Do you think that Peter Francis Wilkinson has proved academically that "no one needs money when you can go windsurfing?"

VIDEO: Sam Neal visits the Gorge

Wed, 15 Sep 2010 22:40:00 -0400

Enjoy this Cold Water Productions video of the UK's Sam Neal freestyling in the Columbia River Gorge:

CLICK HERE to enjoy more videos from Cold Water Productions!

A Double Feature from KP!

Sat, 28 Aug 2010 12:40:00 -0400

Starring Enes Yilmazer...

Starring Philip Koster...

Learn a Spock in 10-days!

Mon, 23 Aug 2010 10:15:00 -0400

Jan Nilsen showed up to Sherman Island earlier this month with the goal of landing a Vulcan in 7 days or less. If you don't windsurf, this is a very ambitious and lofty goal for sailors at any level of the sport and is usually not met. The Vulcan is one of the most difficult moves in the sport to learn and can take people years before they make one.

So when this Colorado native showed up, his smallest sail being a 5.2 (that's most guys big sail here) and no prior attempts, we thought it would be a long shot. However Jan was committed to his goal, he had the right board and fin for the task and once on the water I don't think I saw the guy jibe once. Every single run he went for it, over and over again.

Not only did Jan meet his goal, but he exceeded it taking things one step further my landing a Spock. I had the chance to ask Jan a few questions, and here is what he said:

Chachi : How long have you been windsurfing?
Jan : Maybe 10 years, but very sporadic.

Chachi: Did you have your freestyle board before you decided to learn the Vulcan or did you buy it after you set your goal?
Jan: I got my freestyle board in the fall of last year and wanted it because of the planing capabilities and I figured it would help me do slide moves one day.

Chach i:Tell me a bit about your background as a skier?
Jan: I skied since I was little, gates first then mogul/aerials professionally on/off for 10 years.

Chachi: How many days did it take you to land it? How did this all go down?
Jan : I had just taken a 9 day personal training class in San Diego and I was ready to have some fun. I was on a mission to land or at least get close to landing a Vulcan and I had a week to do it, all I needed was some place windy. So I drove north to Rio Vista; cool place but where's the flat water? Conditions looked a bit intimidating. Anyway, I rigged and reminded my self to "cowboy up cream puff!"
     Day 1 was spent looking and feeling like a cat out the window. I kept chucking airs (probably got about 30 tries in the first day) and at the end of the day I actually started to get around past 1/4 turn digging my rails in, to sliding a little. That was enough information and attempts for one day.
     Day 2 the first thing I wanted to work on was the timing on the takeoff. I remember from my mogul skiing days it's all in the takeoff if you wanna fly straight and land straight. I got super cognitive in my takeoff attempts, to make sure I would not program in a faulty motor engram. This took all day, and at the end of day 2 I felt the timing was getting there. The difference this made was huge, it meant that almost every time I jumped, I now made it past the point of digging the rail in, whip lashing, ankle twisting, to a very nice slide and soft fall. Probably had another 30 tries total day 2.
     Day 3 I was starting to feel the abuse from previous days carnage. I decided to sail around less to conserve energy, and only go far enough out to have enough speed to do the next vulcan attempt. The timing was there, but I knew I needed more speed. What do you know? you go twice as fast, you only have to pop half as hard. It now started to feel really good in my takeoffs but planing backwards in landing was not. Had a total of 25-30 reps on day 3.
     Day 4 started with my mind wanting to do more vulcan attempts, but my body thought otherwise, mind over matter right? I'm back in the water stiff as hell, forcing out some reps. Took half a day just to get warmed up. Started thinking about, for the first time, what the sail and hands were doing? This messed with the timing of the takeoff, but at the end of the day I was getting very close to landing my first vulcan.
     Day 5 second attempt, I did it, I landed the vulcan, celebrated for ONE minute, ( this is how my mind works, go figure) got greedy and down on my self for not landing another one until the next day. Totally ignoring the fact of the accomplishment I came for was now in the bag!
     Day 6 a much needed rest day for lack of wind. I wanted more, shuffled my schedule around so I could stay another 3-5 days.
     Day 7-9 I was trying to get some consistency with my vulcan and also started to try them going on port. This was almost like starting completely over again. Cognitive motor programing, but also couldn't help my self for trying spocks on my good side.
     Day 10 I landed my first spock, tried the rest of the day to repeat but I couldn't.
     Day 11 I was overpowered on my 5.2, tried a few tricks but realized just sailing around enjoying my self was good enough today as I only had the morning session before I had to pack up and leave to go back to Colorado. What an adventure it had been!

Chachi: Anything else you want to add?
Jan : I'll be the first one to admit it's easy to get caught up in making that vulcan or next move yesterday, at 46 feeding a pathological ego is still fun, but I also realize every day is Sunday and the wind and the waves are my church!

Chachi: Thanks Jan! We're looking forward to seeing you out there again, maybe another two weeks and you'll go pro!

Photos By Brendon Baird Quinn aka "The Wind Gypsy"

Matt Pritchard Interviews Finian Maynard

Mon, 09 Aug 2010 10:40:00 -0400

One of the fastest men on the windsurfing planet, Finian Maynard put the pedal to the medal nearly claiming victory at the 25th year anniversary event in Fuerteventura! One of the most intense battlegrounds on the PWA tour, Finian knows the game and played it well. Matt Pritchard got a chance to ask a few questions and see what he had to say about his recent success...

Matt Pritchard: Finian, Congrats on a solid 2nd place result- I know it is tough out there; give me a rundown of what has been going on for you this season.

Finian Maynard: Fuerte was a great result, I am super happy to finish second with a chance for the win on the last day. I thought I sailed very mistake free and tried to be consistent on the race course and this plan seemed to work quite well. The beginning of the season was hard with a knee injury just before Korea and getting used to my new Vapor sails so I have been playing catch up a lot but I think I am race ready now.

How about your size? You have been one of the biggest guys on tour- probably a reason why you are one of the fastest guys out there.... What are you dims right now and have they changed for you in the last year?

I think I am still the same height…..190cm and my weight right now is 111kg. I think that this helps me in powered conditions when one needs to sheet on harder but I feel I am competitive in the light wind as well as growing up in the BVI was all about 10-15 knots of wind.

With the 6/3 rules, do you think this is an advantage to you or not? If not, why would it favor one competitor over another?

I like the 6/3, we can race anywhere, anytime and in any condition, so for the event organizers this makes for a better show and we can also race on the equipment we want in any specific wind. With the 4/2 rule, one could get caught out from time to time on the wrong stuff.

MP: What size sail have you been using most on tour this year? Do you have a favorite size and why?

I like my 7.6 the most. It feels stable and quick but unfortunately I have only raced it in one event. Otherwise, I have been on my 10.0 most of the year.

How involved are you with your team mates Ross and Kevin? Do you guys talk strategy on the race course or is it every man for himself out there?

To be fair, it is mainly every man for himself on the race course, every sailor on the water is a competitor. However, we do talk about how the sails are feeling when we are on the beach.

How about the Terminator- Dunks is making a pretty serious effort to win back a world title! What are your thoughts about that and what do you think motivates him to keep pushing so hard?

Bjorn has endless energy and desire for racing. It is embedded in his blood. I think that his sponsors are pushing hard and I believe he wants one more PWA title in the modern era before he retires.

You have been on tour for many years- I would say you are due for a Slalom title one of these days- What will it take for you? I know that is a tricky question but you have always been close but not quite- what gives?

My desire for the title is stronger than ever. I will do my very best to achieve that goal.

With 2 more events to go- one in Turkey and Sylt, what is your strategy for the rest of the season?

I am fighting with many guys for 3rd overall this year. I have no strategy, just to try and race well and see what happens.

Well that all sounds pretty good- thanks for your time and good luck in the next event! We will be watching ...

Thanks a lot, I hope the wind gods are good to us and we get more high quality racing like Fuerteventura.

Gorge Cup Slalom Video!

Sat, 07 Aug 2010 13:34:00 -0400

Check out this awesome video of the downwind slalom action last Sunday posted by Jay Salzman:

Watch the 'Children of the Wind' Trailer

Fri, 30 Jul 2010 11:40:00 -0400

Children of the Wind tells the story of young kids from the island of Bonaire who journey from humble beginnings to international fame in the sport of windsurfing, transforming not only their island but the face of the sport worldwide. Here is the new trailer for the film. Thanks again to everyone in Bonaire for a great shoot - and good luck to the guys this week in Fuerteventura! Featuring music by Dutch caribbean/rock band Intwine and local Bonairean band Rincon Boyz. Translations by Gunther Romer.

For more info on the film visit: childrenofthewindmovie.com/

For updates & photos check our blog:
childrenofthewindmovie.com/blog

Join us on facebook:
facebook.com/group.php?gid=284119674924&ref=ts

© Seek Films in association with Ringo Films

Kiri Thode and Davy Scheffers VIDEO

Fri, 23 Jul 2010 11:34:00 -0400

Kiri and Davy at Brouwersdam on July 15th. This video is by Pim Borgt and is posted on windsurfmoves.com!

Does this guy have too much time on his hands?

Wed, 14 Jul 2010 12:08:00 -0400

I've never seen music and windsurfing mixed in a way like this...(thanks to Patrick Bergeron's facebook page for bringing this to our attention):

WIN a Windsport Beanie...Caption Contest!

Tue, 06 Jul 2010 11:51:00 -0400

After finishing a career best 4th at the PWA Freestyle World Cup in Lanzarote Phil Soltysiak (Starboard, Sailworks, Dakine) sent me the following photos of his new digs in Fuerteventura. I'm turning them into a photo contest in which you can win a Windsport Beanie (see right)!

To WIN, simply write a caption for each photo (must caption all three) in the order they appear below in the comments box below and we'll contact you if your picked as one of the 3 winners! Captions will be judged on creativity and how much they make us LAUGH!

PHOTO #1:

PHOTO #2:

PHOTO #3:

New EpicSessions/ShadowBox Jump Off Video

Thu, 01 Jul 2010 07:27:00 -0400

Go to the Epic Sessions Blog for more info!

Bernd Roediger's Wave Bash Story - Part 2

Wed, 30 Jun 2010 10:51:00 -0400

The next day I woke up as groggy as ever. "Something about this climate makes me soooo tired,” I thought to myself. Today was competition day but I felt very relaxed. Half of me said it was a good thing that it meant I felt prepared and ready. But the other half of me wondered if I had my head in the game.

We got to the beach early and rigged up. After the skippers meeting they gave us some time to practice. My sailing felt better than before but I didn't feel completely on. The Juniors were being run first today so I got down to the beach to get ready for the start. I should have been preparing myself mentally for the contest but I was having a hard time focusing. Luckily I was hyped up with the excitement of the contest that I made it through the first round! I pulled a forward right off the bat and then followed up with an air. But as the day wore on I felt my focus needed more focus! After the Junior heat I sailed in the Expert. That was when I started making mistakes.

Throughout the rest of the day I would make little goof-ups in my heats. Sometimes I wouldn't start my watch on time and other times I would follow other people out into the water and be too early on my start. I was getting sloppy. In the Expert division I got knocked out even before the quarter finals! I needed to pull myself together, but before I knew it I was in the Junior finals.

It was a heat between Jake Golm, Morgan Noireaux, Zane Shnauzer, and I. I went out and pulled a decent forward but the wind was light and I soon ended up too far downwind and out of the competition zone. I then spent the better part of the heat making my way upwind. I made one jump and two waves, the required amount for the contest, but I felt like I didn't sail my best.

Later that night the judges announced that Zane had won. Needless to say I was upset. Not with Zane or the judges, not with anyone but me. It was my fault for being so unprepared mentally. I knew my skill was there but I didn't have my head in the game. Luckily the contest was a double elimination so there was still a chance for me to win, but before that I would have to get my head in the right place.

The next day we woke up as early as ever. I couldn't forget what I was doing this time, I was too angry. When we got down to the beach I tried my best to stay focused but I couldn't help but think that I had done something wrong yesterday. I felt like if I could find out what I did wrong I could do things differently and win. But that only made things worse.

I got second in the Juniors so I only had to sail until the semi-finals but in the Expert I had to sail in the second bracket. And before I knew it, it was my turn to sail. Still trying to figure out what I did wrong I sailed an awful two heats. I would hit a wave once or twice and then go upwind afraid to get too far down the beach. Then when I jumped I played things safe, trying to land simple things rather than going for big contest winner jumps. I skated by for two heats but then I was in a heat with a lot of tough sailors and I knew it was now or never to get my head on straight.

My Dad walked up next to me and asked what was wrong. "I have no idea" I said "that's the problem". "You want to know what you did wrong yesterday?" he said. I perked up. "What?" "Nothing" he replied. He saw that I looked completely confused so he explained that all I needed to do was focus on what I wanted and sail like I do all the time. That way I would be proud of what I did, regardless of what place I got. That made sense to me but I needed to really believe it and it wasn't until the last moment that I did.

I sat on the cold, wet, beach. The wind was blowing sand in my face but I didn't care, I was already sandy. My heat was up next so I sat and prepared. I prepared my mind to win. Then the first horn blew and I walked my gear up. Everyone ran to the water and sailed out but I stayed on the beach. I would go out at the start of the heat. My face was expressionless but I was screaming on the inside. This time, right here today, I knew exactly where I was. I was in a windsurfing contest just before my heat. And I knew exactly what I was doing here. Preparing to win. It was time that I got my head out of my butt and got myself together. Just then the horn blew… it was now or never.

I went out and felt all the anger inside me focus into what I needed to do. I went out and hit the biggest ramp I could find with the most speed I could muster! I paused on the jump enough to take one; stormy calm, breath and then I went into the biggest delayed forward I've ever done.

From that point the heats went great. I made it all the way to the quarter finals and then got beat out by Tyson Poor. But then there were the Junior semi-finals.

In this heat I was competing against Morgan Noireaux. He was a fierce competitor who has back loops completely mastered! But I pulled another giant forward and a grubby on the wave, which drew applause (at least that's what my Dad told me). So I managed to beat Morgan and now I would face Zane.

During the first round I was able to stick to the game plan. I pulled another nice forward and an off-the-lip. After that I followed up with catching a freak mast-high set and rode it all the way down the beach for an epic score! After the heat was over I congratulated Zane and the judges came out with the results. I had won the final!

Woo-hoo! I won, yeah! Not. It turns out that in the double elimination the looser has to beat the single elimination winner twice! So I had one more heat to run!

I ran another solid heat packed with good turns and jumps! I pulled another grubby on the wave into a sick top turn! I figured I had the contest won! But Zane managed to beat me! Still, I couldn't help but feeling great about what I did! It must of confused Zane to see how happy I was even though I lost. But the reality was that I sailed completely focused and on top of my game, because of that I had no regrets.

The next day I had an awesome stand-up session and then watched the heated battle between Francisco Goya and Kevin Pritchard! That night they held the awards ceremony and when they called the Juniors up my Dad said that I looked like I was kneeling on the floor! "It only makes sense since you're two years younger than they are!" He said. I told him I felt like I was back in the Redwood Forest! But regardless of the fact that I was the youngest and smallest out of the podium finishers I could take a nap on the plane back home, wake up, and not only remember; but also be proud of where I had been and what I had done.

P.S. Next time I'm bringing booties, headgear, gloves, and a whale blubber wetsuit!

Bernd Roediger reports from Pistol River: Part 1

Sat, 26 Jun 2010 14:00:00 -0400

I woke up from a short nap I had taken on the airplane. It must have been a good nap because for the life of me I couldn't remember where I was going or what I was doing. I looked at my Dad sitting next to me… he was also asleep. Then, after a moment, I realized I was on a plane to Portland, Oregon for a windsurfing contest at Pistol River. Besides the fact that it was on the west coast and next to a river (I know I'm a genius) I had no idea what it would be like. I had two pictures in my mind. A flat, windless coast where people where putting around on huge boards trying to ride two inch waves. And the second was the ocean's fury bunched up into one set. The second picture was probably all of the "Deadliest Catch" episodes I had been watching the night before bunched up into one terrifying Jaws-on-drugs beach-break. Just then the pilot announced that we were just thirty minutes from landing. I opened up my window and looked down just in time to see the coast, from up in the air it looked a lot like the second image and with that pleasant thought I closed my window and got ready to land.

After fitting our four gear bags onto our Ford Explorer we hit the road at around 10:30 P.M. and began to drive. So we drove and drove and drove, and at 6 A.M. we pulled up to Gold Beach in Curry County. We were here! So we stumbled into a motel and slept until noon.

I woke up and again had that strange dream-like feeling. I found it hard to focus on what I was doing. After finally feeling refreshed and ready, we went to the event site: Pistol River. The road over there was lined with pine trees so I was always trying to look between them to see the waves. I kept expecting the one massive set breaking onto a towering monolith but I never found it. Then we got out of the forest and onto the coast. What I saw totally surprised me! I didn't see massive beach break but it wasn't a tiny pigmy break either. What I saw was a head to logo high beach break that looked epic for jumping and riding! It's always cool to go to a completely unknown place and not have a clue what you're going to find, then when you get there you're pleasantly surprised with epic conditions!

We quickly jumped out of the car and ran to the beach! The wind was howling and the waves thrashed around wildly. I looked up and down the beach, it seemed to go on forever. Monoliths lined the coast as far as I could see and dunes separated the forest from the beach. "It's so beautiful", I thought sheepishly. Then before I knew it, my Dad was down at the ocean getting ready to dip his toe in the water. After a second I heard him hooting and hollering around on the beach. "Stick your toe in the water!" he told me. I did so and immediately felt the shock of the cold water!

After we got over the cold I rigged up and prepared to go out. That's when Ingrid Larouche, a Hookipa and Gorge sailor, came over and asked me if I had any booties. "Booties?" I asked, "Why would I need booties?" But I knew she was right, the water was so cold and all I had was a 4/3 wetsuit! She was nice enough to lend me a pair and with that I took off down the beach. On my first run out I dunked my head on a Forward Loop! I felt the immediate shock of the cold water and almost instantly got an ice-cream headache! At first I couldn't shake the cold and it messed with my sailing completely. But by the end of the day I was able to get a few forwards and back loops in. Still I wondered if I could perform well in the contest.

The next morning I woke up and for a second thought I was in Maui, but then I remembered I was at Gold Beach, Oregon. "It should be Cold Beach," I joked to myself. We drove down to the beach and saw that there was no wind so we decided to bring out the stand-up boards. My Dad didn't have any booties so I decided not to wear mine to make him feel better! His reaction was similar to mine: shock and then terror! Despite the cold, the waves were really fun and when I got too cold I would come in and warm up. When I did, someone from the beach would talk to me about paddling, since most of them were new to it. It was cool to see how many people were interested in it. I would have let someone try, but not many people can stand on my board!

When the wind started to pick up we headed in and ate lunch at Dairy Queen (by the way, what is Braizer food?). After that we went back to the beach but saw that the wind was too windy for stand-up but too light for windsurfing. After a moment of thinking we decided to go to the Redwood forest in California and man was that a good decision!

As soon as we entered California we saw Redwoods! They were growing right next to the road, most of them weren't that big but the ones in the park were a different story. As soon as we entered the park we spotted, well it wasn't that hard to spot, a giant tree. I mean this thing was GIGANTIC. Farther down the road there was a fallen tree that was rotting from the inside! I climbed up the hill it was sitting on and descended back down inside it until the end where I couldn't get down because the tree was so thick that if I jumped I would probably break my legs! My Dad and I got inside a tree that was standing up while rotting and we could see the sunlight from the open top! But the best part was the river.

As we left the park we found a large, slow moving river. The road followed it a little longer until it stopped by a place where divers and swimmers could pull off and get to the river. We walked down with our boards and paddled up the river. I should tell you, in case you didn't know, that this was inside of the Redwood forest so we could see entire mountains covered with greenery from our boards. The river itself ran through marble rock with little sandy beaches to sit and rest at dotting the shoreline! After a while my Dad broke the awed silence and said "I hear rapids."

Now at this point I'm so hyped from the giant trees and the awesome river that there was no way I wasn't going down this rapid! So when my Dad spoke up we made a beeline up the river for the whitewater. When we got to it I paddled up through an eddy and started down the rapid without a second thought. It wasn't until I was on top of the rapid that I had my doubts.

As I paddled up to the rapid I started thinking about the fact that I had no idea what I was doing! I also had a leash on so that I wouldn't lose my board; but if it got caught on a rock, which it had done once before, I would drown if I couldn't unstrap it. All of this went through my mind when I was on the verge of the rapid and as I went down I immediately fell and was pinned under the water. Then I came up for only a second but it was just enough time for me to catch my breath, then I went back down again and kicked and paddled to the surface. After a few moments I came up again and hurdled onto my board! I wasn't going to do that again!

NEXT (IN A FEW DAYS) YOU'LL HEAR WHAT WENT DOWN AT THE CONTEST IN PART 2 OF BERND ROEDIGER'S FEATURE STORY!

Video of Pistol Final: Pritchard vs. Goya

Wed, 23 Jun 2010 13:22:00 -0400

The last day of the Pistol River Wave Bash. Goya vrs Pritchard in a heated battle. Great event. Thanks to all of the sponsors and volunteers!—Kevin Pritchard

Insane Action from Pistol River... including Robby Naish

Sun, 20 Jun 2010 10:45:00 -0400

The Pistol River Wave Bash went off this week. Great Conditions, lots of fun had by all. A world class spot with a great team of people running the event. A big thanks to all involved.

Video from Pistol River Day 2

Sat, 19 Jun 2010 21:49:00 -0400

More action from the Pistol River Wave Bash!

Pistol River Wave Bash Day 1 VIDEO

Sat, 19 Jun 2010 10:43:00 -0400

Day one goes off! Mens Womens and Juniors all going off in epic conditions.

Aeron V-Grip Boom Tested

Thu, 10 Jun 2010 15:04:00 -0400

Mike "Fish" Fischer is an active blogger and Windsport contributor that purchased a couple of Aeron V-Grip booms and here is his review. For more check out his blog page known as "Fish's Windsurf Journal."

Just had two weeks in Hatteras with lots of winds using a couple of new 140-190 Aeron V-Grip continuous alloy booms.

The summary: I like them.

It is quite simple: if you have never been a fan on splashing out $500+ on carbon but have been tempted by the V-grip's extra inherent stiffness, these might be for you. I've always ridden alloy (aluminum) booms and have maybe, at most, bent or broken one on average every couple of years. I'm 165-175 lbs and I play fairly hard on the gear... land on them, loop them, etc...

What about the V-Grip shape? Well, I found it neither irritating, nor beneficial in terms of hand/forearm stress/strain and palm and finger blistering (something us less-frequent sailors have to deal with when we go on intensive windsurf holidays). I would not say I rate the v-grip cross-sectional shape any better or worse over plain round (i.e. it's pretty neutral).

What about stiffness? They are definitely stiff. Not sure how they compare to carbon, but if all you have ridden prior to these is typical two-piece arm alloy booms, then stepping to continuous (one-piece tube) V-grip shape is definitely a large improvement.
From what I can tell, by feel only (not having weighed them), they seem a touch heavier than most other standard booms out there. This is to be expected as there is some additional material in the tube cross-section, so the stiffness may come at a small price. BUT, the weight never bothered me at all (if indeed they are really any heavier) as stiffness is the critical atribute of any good boom. Maybe one day I can actually weigh them side by side with others to do a factual comparison.

Oh, did I mention the boom head? I really like it! Since switching to RDMs nearly seven-years-ago now, a problem has always been the need for a shim. I did ride a couple of older booms without shims and crushed two RDMs trying to get them to grip enough without dropping while riding. So, since then, I have always used shims in fear of repeating the same mistake. But, the Aeron's have such an excellent RDM adaptor included in the boom head, that there is no more need for after-market shims! YEAH!

In the end, yes, I definitely like them and look forward to putting on lots of mileage.

We Interview Corpus Christi's Enes Yilmazer

Wed, 19 May 2010 09:26:00 -0400

How is the racing in Korea going and what gear are you using?

Its been great here. I'm currently 12th overall and it looks like I'll be able to finish around there. So far my worst result is 18.5 without discard, so even though we have more races, I'm still in really good position. My sails are NeilPryde and there range is really big. Here in Korea the gusts can be so brutal and you need a sails that can handle it, and my NeilPryde does a great job with the high range ability. My gear is 2010 JP Slalom 76 and 65. I used the 76 with an 8.6-metre and 46 cm fin and 7.8-metre with 44 cm fin. On the 65 I put 7.8-metre with 40 cm fin and so far it looks like I have no problem with speed. I think with the 8.6 gear I'm going really fast... and maybe I'll try to push my chances of top three on the losers final or even maybe the final.

What is it like to travel all the way to Korea to race?

Its a really hard and tiring process coming from Corpus Christi to Korea. After I packed two board bags, three sail bags and one gear bag, I drove 8 hours to Dallas airport first. Then, after five hours of waiting, I flew straight from Dallas to Seoul, Korea. Its a 16 hour flight, then once there, I take a bus and went to a domestic airport to fly to Ulsan. I wanna say it takes at least two days to get here but you know, its worth it! Thats our passion and thats what we love.

How is the food in Korea (compared to Texas)?

Man, I'm a big fan of Texas food. Steaks, corn, bbq and etc. is all my favorite, but here its all about rice and fish. I don't wanna say its really bad but I would definitely prefer Texas food without a doubt. Plates are small, rice every day and they are not really fan of meat, which I love.

Describe your best race so far?

I think my best race is the second semi final that makes you qualify for top 16. I had a really bad start. Maybe I started 6th or 7th but I went a bit upwind and got clear wind on the first reach. I managed to pass two people on the first reach but the problem was I was way to the outside to make a good jibe. All the 5th, 6th and 7th guys got inside of me on the jibe. But it was the turning point of the race there, which was a big jibe and then I got planing earlier and started to go upwind. Since all the other racers made tight jibes, they all slowed down and stopped planing (compared to me). I came out with full speed and on the second reach I passed all of them, including Ross Williams, and got to the 4th position. Ross was right behind me the whole race. I could hear his board all the time! I held my 4th position all the race and on the last jibe, because of rough wind and choppy conditions, Ross and I fell down at the same time on the jibe. We got up at the same time so it was almost a photo finish... but lucky I managed to finish 4th and go to the next round.

What are your goals for this season?

Definitely top 15 on PWA. I want all my result around the top 15 or close to that. Hopefully I can win all the National events and get on some formula events in the US... we'll see what happens!

Watch Part One of a series of classic Kauli footage

Mon, 17 May 2010 11:07:00 -0400

It has taken us some time, more than we expected, but with a title referring to a soap opera we could have known there’d be some drama involved… Blood, sweat, tears and pride: we present you Kauli Seadi in Novela das 8.

We kick-off the series with Maui, the place Kauli describes as his ‘school of life’: ‘Maui is definitely one of the Mecca’s of windsurfing. It’s the place where all pro sailors meet to do photo shoots and train, and I was super happy to be able to go there in 1999 for the first time and sail the famous Hawaiian waves over the corals and caves! My first years I was staying there for over four months at a time to practice, and it helped me a lot because the level of the other sailors was pushing me so much. Maui was my school of life, it was where I learnt to really live on my own, do the things that I never do at home, stuff like cooking, shop for food, clean the house, wash my clothes… So much work man! Luckily I had 30 t-shirts so I could do the washing only once a month haha. I haven’t told this to anyone before, but I learnt to make pasta in Maui. It was what me and Charles Boggis ate every day for four months, pasta with Prego sauce, the only recipe we knew!’

Click here to watch EPISODE ONE!

NeilPryde Sail Designer Robert Stroj explains...

Thu, 13 May 2010 08:47:00 -0400

Here is a little interview with Robert Stroj explaining who on Neil Pryde's incredible racing team will be rocking the latest and greatest sail designs... and why!

Some of the top NeilPryde Team Riders will be racing on the EVOIII this season. Why?
Robert Stroj: As with any very new development it’s always a challenge to get all the little details 100% right and it took a longer time to finalize the design than was originally planned. We wanted to make sure that there was plenty of testing before the sail gets introduced to the market.
          For those reasons we decided to have only our international team register and use the new RS:RACING EVOIII sails during the 2010 racing season so that we can introduce fully tested sails to the market later this year.

Will there be a difference in the EVOIII sails introduced to the market later in the year from the ones the Team Riders are using now?
The sails introduced to the market will be the same designs as used by the team during the season, but will be introduced in new colors and different graphics.
          This is a very similar concept to the current EVOII Limited Edition sails which are exactly the same designs as the regular 2009 EVOII sails, just with new graphics and colors.

What is new with this sail design?
With this sail we introduce the Integrated Compact Clew where, in comparison to the current Dynamic Compact Clew, we have eliminated the cutout at the clew and connected the foot area with the leech by closing the sail behind the boom end.
    I have been thinking about this clew concept since my time at ART. After the introduction of the Compact Clew that came out on the RS5 at the end of 2004 I was hoping to be able to take this concept one step further and use all the advantages of the Compact Clew without having to compromise the outline of the sail.

How does it work and what are the advantages?
The real advantage of this concept is that there is a tension connection between the foot edge and lower leech. This helps to keep the foot of the sail from blowing out in gusts and also makes the whole leech twist, harmonically, getting even more out of the advantages already associated with the regular Compact Clew.
          In addition, there is the benefit of a cleaner sail outline, when compared to the Dynamic Compact Clew, and therefore better aerodynamics as it is not necessary to have a clew cutout.
          In comparison to regular sails with a clew on the back edge of the profile the EVOIII has all the benefits common with the Dynamic Compact Clew: improved lower leech twist and much reduced draft movement due to the lower leech ability to create reflex behind the boom which releases excessive power and effectively locks the draft forward.
          After long development (since May 2009) we ended up designing a very simple and precise sliding rail system for sail closure behind the boom. It works similar to a zip but is much stronger and incorporates a batten to support this area as well as evenly distributing the high load coming from the clew grommet.
          With this system being very new we decided, like previously mentioned, to ensure it is fully tested prior to introducing new sails to the market.

Freestyle in Brazil from Morlima TV

Tue, 11 May 2010 10:05:00 -0400

Here is a worthwile watching freestyle session by some pros in Brazil... courtesy of TV Morlima!

Davy Sheffers' Bonaire VIDEO

Mon, 10 May 2010 18:41:00 -0400

Winter 2010 on Bonaire had some good wind and a lot of fun training. Thanks to the bonaire guys for helping me and giving me tips on everything. And a huge thanks to Alex Tetsis and Hylke Bakker for filming. You can find more on davy-h311.nl. In the video I'm using the Tabou Twister 90 with a 12 cm fin. The sails are Gaastra Echo Le 4.8 and 5.2 from 2009 and 2010. Hope you will like the movie! —Davy Sheffers H-311

An Insiders look at the PWA

Mon, 10 May 2010 08:18:00 -0400

I just came back from the Worldcup in Podersdorf. I decided to stay one day longer because after competition it was still windy... good for a sweet freestyle session on my JP Freestyle 98 and my Neilpryde Firefly 5.3.

An inside view of the PWA:
The competition setup was 7 minute heats with 3 minutes transition time. The Freestyle competition format was for 6 moves on both tacks with only the best 3 tricks counting for the overall score.

My first heat (nr 3A) was against French rider Julian Mas (F-7). The wind was quite light so I decided to start off with fast powerfull moves instead of waiting for the right gust of wind. This would give me the benefit of having some extra time in case the wind would drop even more during the heat. I sailed a solid heat and advenced to the next round!

My second heat (heat nr 11B) was against another French rider Leo Ray (F-200). Fortunately this time the wind increased a little, so I could go for some more power moves like Shovit-spocks, no-handed flaka's and Ponches. But after one minute the wind shifted a litle and dropped off quit a lot. But Leo Ray was still planing and throwing moves. Just before the end of the heat I was still missing one move on starboard tack, so I decided to take a little risk and made a really long stalled Chachoo in front of the judges. After landing the move the red flag went up and I had good feeling about my score.

Now I moved further in the elimination ladder to another heat (nr. 18A). My next opponent was Aruban rider Quincy Offringa (Aru-10). As I always train with Quincy in Aruba at the Fishermans Huts I knew this was going to be an interesting heat. Normally, we always sail together and push each on the water, so I was ready for more action. A few minutes before the start of the heat, the sometimes gusty wind increased more so I could sail powerdup with my Neilpryde Firefly 5.7 and my JP Freestyle 107 pro. I started my heat with a Ponch into flaka, a Shovit-Spock followed by an Airflaka, then a switch flaka over the other tack and a Bob one-handed handed over the starboard tack. Now I only had to land a few more moves on port... with a Bob one-handed, Shaka and Switch Chachoo. After finishing all my moves I was quite happy with my heat and I advanced again to the next round.

It was Heat nr. 21B and this was gonna be a really tough heat against "Vice Worldchampion" Kiri Thode (NB-61 ). Beating this rider in these kind of conditions you'd need a really good heat!! I knew I would have to take a some risk to be able to beat him. Kiri was sailing an amazingly good heat and I didn't sail such a good one ( as I did in my previous heat). In the end, the judges announced that Kiri advanced to semi-final and he deserved it.

Heat nr 21B. was for me the last heat of this Worldcup, which positioned me in 5th. place!

*Final top 5 ranking Worldcup Podersdorf:
1. Taty Frans NB-9 (Bonaire)
2. Steven van Broeckhoven B-72 (Belgium)
3. Gollito Estredo V-01 (Venezula )
4. Kiri Thode NB-61 (Bonaire )
5. Maarten van Ochten H-73 (Netherlands)

After the Competition:
After that we drove back home (with Steven van Broeckhoven and Davy Schreffers) and it was a huge traffic jam. After arriving late the next night, I planned going straight to a test/promo-event from JP and Neilpryde at the Brouwersdam. Unfortunately there was not to much wind but a good atmosphere and enough visitors. I helped answer their questions and worked to promote the new 2010 gear.

Now back home I hope to train as much as I can on flat water and in the waves. Which helps me improving the big jumps for competitions like PWA Lanzarote and PWA Fuerteventura in the Canary Islands.

(PWA/Carter photos)

What's up with Andre Paskowski?

Fri, 07 May 2010 15:34:00 -0400

After having a great time training this winter in Brazil, CapeTown, Venezuela and Maui the Season is now underway full force.

Podersdorf Update:
The first event this year was Podersdorf. After waiting almost one week for wind we finally got a result on the last day. Conditions were not easy but it was the same for everybody. I used my Duke 5.9 and Skate 100 as it was quite gusty/light and I did not want to risk using a smaller sail even if it helps with all the new moves. In the End I finished 5th, which is a good base for PWA and EFPT as the event counts for both rankings.

The Posada Windjeri Europe Trip:
We started last week in Munich and this year both Edvan and Chico Bento (pictured left) are on board. First, we'll go by car all around Europe to participate in all EFPT Events, and then fly to the Canary Islands to participate in both Freestyle World
Cups held there. The start in Podersdorf was a success. Chico and Edvan both finished 9th. My job again is it to control all organisation, drive the car and improve their skills on and off the water.

Four Dimensions news:
Four Dimensions is still creating some waves. The screening in Munich was sold-out and now we've got an invitation from the famous Defi Wind in France. If you have time - join them and watch the movie together with 1,000 other windsurfing fans on the super-big screen. Victor Fernandez will be there and surely will sign some posters and DVDs.

Animal:
This year I'm wearing some new cool clothes courtesy of Animal!

(PWA/Carter photos)

Exclusive: We ask... Taty Frans?

Thu, 06 May 2010 18:03:00 -0400

We contact Taty Frans fresh off his PWA freestyle win in Austria to find out how he is feeling...

Who were you competing against in your best heat and what hard moves did you land?

Well, all my 3 heats to winning this event were hard. It started first with Tonky... then Kiri... then in the final Steven. I know that all three of these guys are good in these conditions, and having Steven winning the whole European Tour in light conditions I expected good things from him (and also from Tonky).

How does it feel to win two PWA contests in a row?

Truth is I didn't expect this. I mean winning Austria and also winning Sylt helps with the feeling of motivation to keep training harder to win. I just feel good and I am happy about all this.

How was the wind? What sail and board did you use?

The wind was at times perfect for 5.2, but I stayed on my 5.6 MauiSail Loco sail in all the heats. And I was using the 2010 Flare wood carbon 98. My perfect choice for gear!

What is next on your schedule? Where are you headed and what are you going to do?

Well I'm off to Bonaire now to train and I'm planing to head to Aruba in a weeks time for a few more days of training. I also may be going to El Yaque, Margarita for the Wild Winds event. But my main goal is to train more in Bonaire and wait for the Lanzarote and Fuerteventura events.

(PWA/Carter photos)

An insiders look at a PWA comp... almost live

Sat, 01 May 2010 17:01:00 -0400

Day 1:
Registration started for the PWA Worldcup season 2010 at 10 am. After receiving all the event stickers and lycras it was time for a little interview and few photos. After all the participators had registered we had a big welcome meeting from the organizers and whole EFPT/PWA crew regarding the information for the upcoming days. As planned, we were suppose to start with the competition at 12:30, unfortunately the wind was to light. After having waited until 7:30 pm we where released for this day.

Overall impression: The event organisers did a really good job with the size of the event. To describe the whole scene in one word... "HUGE". Besides the windsurfing competition and booths from all kinds of windsurf and watersport related brands, there's also a lot partying going on in 7 different areas. This will also give you kind of idea how many visitors they are expecting... thousands (over 5,000).

The weather: The forecast for now doesn't look to promising. Warm and not to much wind for upcoming days. But according to the locals here, the wind can be quite surprising in this area even when there's a really bad forecast. Let's hope for the best!

Riders presentation/VIP: Around 10:00 am we had the riders presentation and this was mainly about introducing all the the riders to the audience. There we got a special VIP area and some extra tickets so we could let some special people in.

Day 2:
After the announcement that the chances where really slim of having any wind today, it was super windy from 6:00 until 8:00 in the morning. The wind literally woke me up. After having the skippersmeeting at 9 the wind already decreased. At 9:30 heat nr.1 was ready to go, but now the conditions became even worse. After waiting... resailing the heat 2 times... there was not enough to finish the heat. So the PWA crew decided to prospone the competition every 15 minutes hoping the wind increases. Unfortunately it didn't pick up enough for the running of a proper competition! Tomorrow the skippersmeeting will be at 6 am and first possible start will be at 6:15. I'll have to be an early bird again, because I'll be riding my first heat in heat nr. 3a.

Austrian TV "hottest rider contest": Today there was a contest organised by ATV looking for man and riders rating. The whole idea was a model working for ATV had to check out our butt, chest and upper body. Highest score rating was 5 points. I scored 2 x 5 and 4+ finishing 2nd overall. Really stoked... hahha.