no. 46. February 2009
Maui, Hawaiian Islands
it’s gonna be a big year for the MauiSails team I feel like my brain has been stretched into a pizza and thrown into the oven. The month of February was one of the biggest personal challenges in my life. I had days where I honestly was on the brink of tears as the pressure and challenges of hands on organization were getting the better of me. But in typical Capverdian fashion there was always someone at the perfect moment who extended a hand and pulled me up. I was able to guide the event into a decent enough state to host the PWA and the world’s best. Being blessed to be in the world’s best wavesailing spot covers a multitude of organizational sins and people turn a blind eye to some of our errors and failures due to the six foot surf pumping down the line. The pinnacle of ‘organizer meets windsurfer’ came when I was in the PWA office on first day of competition trying to organize the printer that was supposed to be organized already by somebody else. I happened to hear over the radio that heat ten had started. I didn’t even know what heat I was in and ran to the scoreboard by the beach and glanced up to see the name Angulo written in heat ten. It was a stacked heat with Francisco Goya, Mussolini, and Ross Williams. I scrambled into a jersey and harness and blazed out five minutes late and fell on my first wave. I managed to calm myself, win the heat and go on to win the event. Now I’m pulling my brain out of the oven, having some much needed family time and getting my focus on the slalom and upcoming travels through the rest of the year. A big Thanks for everyone’s support and I would especially like to thank MauiSails for the works and input they allowed from my side into the Legends. We are now reaping the rewarsd of last season’s hard work on the sails. They are definitely the best thing I’ve ever sailed on and my windsurfing is completely revitalized. The Viagra of windsurfing! Aloha Josh Angulo CV-1 PS. Just got off the water on the new TR-5 8.4.... it’s gonna be a big year for the MauiSails team!
www.mauisails.com | 0
Maui Monthly | Our Experience Your Reward no. 46. February 2009
from one side of the world to another
Maui, Hawaiian Islands
regulations there - standard procedure - and so arrived in Holland to visit Herman, the national MauiSails distributor and checked out his new showroom.
Early in the past month I have been at my home in Margaret River and wave sailing at Mainbreak over mast high during the Margaret River Wave Classic on the first weekend. There was only thirty competitors or so, but it was a fun event. I sailed against local Simon Peters in the final and won, before taking off the next day from Perth to Amsterdam. Driving up to the airport I nearly missed my flight, because there was a bushfire and traffic was stuck while being diverted to another highway taking a big detour.
The wind and waves have been amazing in the weeks on Cape Verde and more over, the Legend was working extremely well in the hardcore Punta Preta conditions. I wish I had brought a spare 5.7 though which ended up being the sail most liked out there, as I went on the rocks full on and wrote the sail off by ripping the mast sleeve. The 6.1 Legend might also be an awesome wave sail to use out there, another sail that belongs in a heavy sailor’s quiver.
I would have missed my connection flight to Lissabon and Sal as well but just made the check-in. My gear got on after some sweet talking and repacking due to the strict baggage
Congratulations to Josh, with all his efforts to put up the event and winning, many thought he already had the single elimination in the bag, so he deserved to come back in the double. What a great event though. I was happy with my sailing and despite a disappointing result, I still had a great time. Coming back to Holland, after a cold winter here the windsurf season seems to slowly start taking off now, people are amping to go sailing again with rising temperatures of 710*C. All the best, Peter Volwater NED-24
www.mauisails.com | 0
Maui Monthly | Our Experience Your Reward no. 46. February 2009
Traning on Cabo Verde, Sal I had the best wave sailing session this month in Cabo Verde !!! I spent two weeks there with my brother, uncle, and friends.This place is amazing. Sun,wind,waves everyday !!! We went to three diferent spots for wavesailing and they are all very good. When the waves were small I was going to Josh’s Club and there was perfect for slalom and freeride. Flat water in the inside and outside big swells. After Cabo Verde I came back to Fortaleza to get ready for Maui. First I will stop in Florida for the Calema Midwinters, my first race of the year and very good to test the new racing machine, the TR-5. I’m looking foward to arrive in Maui again !!! See you on the other, Gabriel Browne BRA-50
Maui, Hawaiian Islands
February like January - windy February for me was similar to January, still in windy Maui and sailing a lot. I am still on my regular training program of gym and sailing and i can feel the results on the water already. I got used to the TR5s pretty fast so everything feels almost ready to go racing now. I have a big Formula event coming up, so I spent quite a lot of time tuning my big formula sails that i received in the XT version. It was a surprise for me the first time I went out with the 10 XT, everything felt so smooth and soft. This material not only is lighter but it gives you such a soft and nice trim on the water..it’s unreal! So basically these last days I am making sure I sail a lot on the Formula stuff but still put some slalom inn on the windy days. Best regards, Gonzalo Costa Hoevel ARG-3 www.mauisails.com | 0
Maui Monthly | Our Experience Your Reward no. 46. February 2009
Maui, Hawaiian Islands
All about waves Well, February has been all about waves. A highlight has been seeing Josh and Peter rip it up in the Cabo Verde contest. Congratulations to Josh for pulling off a massive victory in the competition. The wave there just looks sick. I might have to pay a visit one of these days. We continue to work on the 2010 wave sails and have found some subtle shaping adjustments that will make them better than ever. It’s interesting how often some of the shaping ideas that we develop in the race sails end up applying themselves very well to the wave sails. I feel fortunate to work for a company that has such a dedication to top level performance in both disciplines, as it gives us a distinct advantage over many other brands. We just received another round of wave sail samples and have been busy putting them to the test on the North shore. Towards the end of the month, Maui finally started to deliver with strong trades and solid north swell. After laying down some hard turns on clean wave faces, hearing that “hissing” sound off the rail, I could really tell that the sail was doing its job well. The 2010 Legends promise to feel lighter and slipperier than ever on the wave, while maintaining good power to get you out and catching as many as possible. Aloha, Artur Szpunar
Short but good month February is a short month and has been packed with good things going on, despite our uncharacteristicly cold weather here in Hawaii. 18C sometimes.... brrrrrrrr. With TR-5 production finished, we took delivery of our U.S. supply and had a couple of days of off-loading and packing and shipping to make the Calema Mid-winters deliveries so there will be some happy guys in Florida. Design and development of 2010 wave and freestyle ranges is proceeding nicely and some new ideas for subtle shaping adjustments keep adding to the nice feel we’ve been getting and are beginning to hear about now regarding the 2009 versions. We are waiting for the latest issue of Surf Magazine in Germany so we can see what is supposed to be a very positive review on the Legend and Global, which could help us to find more happy users in Europe. The major focus this month has been work testing slalom and FW with Gonzalo Costa Hoevel. I’ve been doing some photography and lots of measuring and analyzing, and Gonzo is getting a real good handle on how his new boards and fins match with the sails. Similar reports from Cabo Verde and Josh suggest that we have added some performance for this racing season. March will see the return of the whole team so we can get out marks and do group sessions for real training. Next comes the real racing and the true test. Aloha, Barry Spanier
Phil’s birthday Month Another year goes by and one more number up on my age. Well it doesn’t mean anything when I’m feeling so good. Everyday is a blessing, no only because of my health and I’m living on Maui, but also because of the great people we have at MauiSails, all our customers, importers, dealers and supporters. It’s very satisfying sitting here after 4 years and having the business do so well, especially in such a bad economy. We recently unpacked a container of sails, booms and masts, this is a first for us on Maui and it shows that we have come a long way. We spent 3 days shipping gear out all over the place and then watching all the local boys on the TR5’s just loving them. It’s been busy with Gonzalo here on Maui training. We have been sailing formula quite a bit getting him tuned up for the Midwinters and also testing his boards and fins. We have had some good sessions on the TR5’s and they are feeling really good. It’s been one of the windiest Februaries I can remember, the past week it’s been up to 35 knots and not less than 20 during the day. On a personal note, for my birthday weekend I headed over to the Big Island of Hawaii to get in some training on the open roads and I completed my third triathlon on the big Island, it was only a sprint distance, but I got 11th place and had a really good race. All the best, Phil McGain www.mauisails.com | 0