Windsport Vol.28-1 No.119 by Pete DeKay

INSIDE:

KEVIN PRITCHARD :: ROB WARWICK :: LAURE TREBOUX :: ANDY BRANDT NORTH AMERICA’S WINDSURFING MAGAZINE

E '09 D I U G ' S BUYER

P U G RI E D I R AND PRO A E K I L CLASH OF THE TITANS NAISH VS. DUNKERBECK

RIDE GUIDE: PUNTA SAN CARLOS

BUYERS' GUIDE 2009

WINDSPORT.COM $5.99 US

DISPLAY UNTIL MAY 31, 2009

HOOK IN AND HOLD ON RACING THROUGH THE BVI

The Olympic ďŹ&#x201A;eet. Schlosser photo

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olymPiC eXPerienCe i am not a fanatic of rS:X racing, but the idea of traveling to a new exotic place to experience the Olympics made deciding to go to Beijing easy. During much of the year i travel to different PWA events, meeting a lot of pro windsurfers from around the world, but rS:X windsurfers competing for Olympic gold are different. These men and women are professional even beyond that of the typical PWA pro. For example, the representative of my country, Julien Bontemps of France, didn’t party or drink alcohol for two years prior to the Games, but focused solely on his training (his only job) and eating healthy. He did all this for just 11 races in China, and it paid off with an Olympic silver medal. it’s extraordinary. i appreciated this opportunity to discover a new breed of windsurfers. —Julian Schlosser

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featUres 48 the toWnshiP KiDs

Windsurﬁng can put a smile on your face no matter where you’re from or how bad you have it.

54 hooK in anD holD on

Cliff Hauser takes you on a racing adventure through the British Virgin Islands.

60 Clash of the titans John Carter arranges a meeting between the two most inﬂuential windsurfers of all time.

68 eXPosure

This is a photo-heavy issue. Check out these 12 action-packed pages.

80 buyers’ GuiDe 2009

A look at where boards, sails, masts, booms and bases are heading this year and beyond.

ON THE COVER

Rider: boujmaa Guilloul Photographer: John Carter Boujmaa turned up at the beach not knowing that he was supposed to be sailing, so i had to lend him my shorts for the photo session. This shot was taken on Maui at Spreckelsville with a mast-mounted camera triggered by a remote unit from the beach.

contents two Volume 28, issue 1, number 119

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Who has right-of-way? Carter photo

Clash of the Titans

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contents two Volume 28, Issue 1, Number 119

Upfront 06 Forecast: An olympic experience 14 Launch: A Mistral Energy versus a toaster 16 Balance Point: Win a Dakine T4 harness 19 In the Wind: A beach-bum’s guide

Departments 36 Radar The Gorge’s Bryan Metcalf-Perez 38 In the Lab Making fins with Pio Marasco 40 Quiver Baptiste Gossein’s Teahupoo gear 42 Guru How to survive on a sinker 44 Move of the Issue John Skye’s Push Loop back on the wave in Pozo 46 Ride Guide: Punta San Carlos Any wavesailor will have fun at this Baja locale 96 Getting Real Windsurfing chef Jacques Pauvert 98 Close Out Why Whit should have won Read my five Top 5 (page 30). Staub photo

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Volume 28 | Issue 1 | number 119

EDITOR

Senior EDITOR

Art DIRECTOR

Group editorial manager

Copy Editor

• ABK Boardsports Instructional Tips • Exclusive Feature Stories and Videos 12

• International Travel Guides

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• Archived Gear reviews

Steve Jarrett Pete DeKay // pdk@sbcmedia.com John Bryja Dan Parsons Luke Fox Stephanie Lake

Contributing Writers Ian Brown, Graham Ezzy, Peter Garzke, Erin Gates, Mitch Gingrich, Richard Hallman, Cliff Hauser, Andre Paskowski, Bruce Peterson, Julian Schlosser, Phil Soltysiak, Benjamin Thouard, Rob Warwick Contributing Photogs John Carter, Stefan Csaky, Margaret Engstrom, Andrea Franova, Richard Hallman, Jerome Houyvet, Maxime Houyvet, Clark Merritt, Charles Oreve, Julian Schlosser, John Slater, Taylor Seidler, Sebastien Staub, Benjamin Thouard, Ryan Toaspern, Steve Wilkings Maui Correspondent Patrick Bergeron

World Cup Correspondent

instrucional editor

Test Editor

Director of production and design

John Carter Andy Brandt Derek Rijff Evan Sue-Ping

production manager Michael Moore x243 Production DESIGN Stevie Shipman Mike Fraser

Circulation and PROMOTIONS Manager

Mike Hartman

Circulation AND Christina Raymond x252 PROMOTIONS coordinator

Advertising Sales Rick Bruner AND PROMOTIONS 509.493.4930

Circulation assistant

Advertising Director

Advertising Sales

wind sport.com • Latest Equipment tests

Publisher

Ilissa Maiatico

Matt Aiken x223 Jamie Reekie x230

Events

Controller

Bill Jones, Peter Jones, Todd Elsley Brian Jarrett

OFFICE MANAGER

Adam Jacobs

On occasion, our subscription list is made available to organizations whose product or service might interest you. If you would prefer not to receive such information, please write to us at the address below. Windsport magazine is an independent publication published four times a year —Buyers’ Guide, Spring , Summer and Fall—by SBC Media Inc., 2255B Queen St. E., Suite 3266, Toronto, ON, M4E 1G3 Phone: (416) 406-2400 • Fax: (416) 406-0656 E-mail: info@windsport.com • Website: www.windsport.com

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Attention postmaster: Send post office returns, change of address and subscription orders to Windsport, 2255B Queen St. E., Suite 3266, Toronto, ON, M4E 1G3. Publications, mail registration #40036843. Indexed in the Canadian Periodical Index ISSN 0826-5003

Printed in Canada

launch

Sunbeam Toaster vs. Mistral Energy by Pete DeKay I love my dad. He is a great guy who has always worked hard to provide for our family. I have a ton of great memories growing up and would have to rack my brain to come up with anything bad at all. But one trait that does stand out is his stubbornness. Let me give you three examples. First, he loves to golf with balls that he finds in the woods during the round. He is the guy off tromping through the woods looking for hidden gems, even though his own ball is sitting just a few feet off the fairway in the rough—and he knows it. I have given him brand-new golf balls for Father’s Day, but they stay in their box while the cracked, yellowing Titleist #3 gets teed up every time. And I do notice he is golfing less and less as the years go by. Second, he has refused, until very recently (and I will come back to this), to retire an old two-piece pool cue that has become warped from staying screwed together too long in the basement. A couple years ago I gave him a replacement one-piece cue for Christmas, but he was persistent about keeping his old bent stick, and quite unsuccessfully in the win department, I might add. Third, there is our old toaster. This circa 1962 shiny silver Sunbeam two-slice antique resembles more of a fire hazard than something depended on every morning to start your day. Over the years I have given him countless replacements with mind-blowing upgrades, like four-slice capability, a wide slot for bagels and even a defrost setting. But for some reason, after just a few short months, the good-old Sunbeam is back on the counter while the new Toast-O-Matic joins the pile in the crawlspace. Like my dad, most dedicated windsurfers are stubborn. And we should be. When you find something you like, you want to stick with it no matter what. However, this stubbornness can be a bad thing, leading to less fun on the water and greater frustration. What kind of stubbornness shows through in your windsurfing habits?

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Fraser photo

Do you exhibit my dad’s refusal to upgrade to new golf balls? A ball may be a small item, but it is half the equipment equation in golf. Just as a golfing store will tell you that the technological advancements in a new ball will make all the difference in your game, a windsurfing shop manager will promote the benefits of new gear—and I agree that he or she should. That heavy, brightly coloured Bic E-Rock may have been a stellar board in its day, but I could name countless replacements that are better in every way and will allow you to improve faster and have far more fun. My dad started using that one-piece nonwarped pool cue I gave him and immediately began beating me at least half the time. The new replacement made his game better, more enjoyable and now he challenges me to play every time I visit. Unfortunately for me, he loves to gloat.

I will admit that upgrading is not for everyone. Our old 1962 Sunbeam toaster has earned its place on the counter by consistently producing golden-brown slices of goodness for almost 50 years. Besides, it has never frustrated my mom and dad, who really only need one slice each. They don’t eat bagels and why would a toaster need a defrost setting? Similarly, I have a friend who to this day rips it up on an early-’90s Mistral Energy and refuses to try anything else. Friends and I have tried to convince him to demo our latest and greatest boards, but he always goes back to his old trustworthy Energy. I’m OK with it because regardless of whether his session is good or bad, I’ve never seen him come off the water with anything but the biggest smile on his face. Isn’t that what it’s really all about?

balance point angulo’S SeParaTion anXieTy i remember this exact moment very well, because i have had rigs separate before, but not often mid-Goiter. i remember that i was racing down the line to hit a little end bowl at Ho’okipa. Timing at Ho’okipa can get tricky because the wave can be messy and broken up a lot of the time. i

bottom-turned into the end section and realized i was way late. i just plowed through anyway; i didn’t have much choice by that point. The impact on the lower portion of sail hitting the breaking lip ripped my universal to the back of the box, tearing it out altogether. As the rig released,

the metal plate and screw under the universal joint ripped into my left ankle. Then i completely exploded, but i’m not really sure of what happened. Anyone who has seen me sail for any length of time knows that much of my session is spent swimming after my stuff or collecting all the pieces of gear in

order to try a manoeuvre again. you can’t be afraid to take your lickings. you don’t have to get pounded all day, but just remember that every great trick you see today started as an embarrassing head-over-heels donkey move. —Mark Angulo, Maui

Mark Angulo’s sail-off Goiter. J. Houyvet photo

WrIte anD WIn Send your harsh criticisms, kiss-ass compliments or unbelieveable stories to letters@windsport.com for a chance to win a brand-new Dakine T4 waist harness. For example, Mark Angulo sent in a recount of a horrific crash (pictured) but since he already has a Dakine T4 he isn’t eligible to win. The Dakine T4 offers more support and comfort than any previous model. A new three-part outer design provides greater ﬂexibility, while an internal ledge improves back support. More comfort and zero back pain. This can all be yours.

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ITW ISSUE 119

GEAR, ADVICE & ENTERTAINMENT

PEER PRESSURE:

Kevin Pritchard gets grilled by 13 of his fellow pros

THE SKINNY:

Graham Ezzy keeps his cool in Bulgaria

HIGH FIVE:

Laure Treboux’s Top 5 bands, books, websites, movies and TV shows

INSPIRATION:

An amazing summer for kids at a windsurfing camp

IN THE WIND

SWELL RIDES SAVE YOURSELF WELLNESS MACGYVER SHOP GROM PRO TIPS HOW TO

Going to the beach. Oreve photo

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Peer Pressure kevin Pritchard WORDS BY PHIL SOLTYSIAk PHOTOS BY JOHN CARTER

Kevin Pritchard may be the most dominant U.S. windsurfer of the last 10 years, but letâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s see how he does when grilled with questions by his PWA, Maui and California peers.

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Laying it down.

MaTT oN Kev: top  cAreer moments 5. Competing at the 2007 Cabo Verde PWA event where they experienced some of the most epic wavesailing conditions of all time. He finished third and had arguably the biggest aerial off-the-lip ever landed.

4. Winning the formula TYSoN Poor: Besides moving to Maui, how can a U.s. sailor get recognized? That’s a tough one. Just get out there and work with all of the photographers. Try and do some interesting trips or go where no one else has gone before and get some shots. Do some contests and win. Then hit the international scene and win. YolI De BreNDT: did competition with your brother [Matt Pritchard] help you to become one of the best windsurfers in the world? Yeah, having a brother who rips was a huge help. Whatever he could do, I wanted to do better. So we just pushed each other along the way. We kept getting better until we were the best. It was great. TINe SlaBe: did you miss not having your brother around at competitions last year? Yeah, for sure. We had a great setup for touring and it was really fun to hang out with my bro at the comps. GraHaM eZZY: Most new-school sailors don’t stand out in down-the-line conditions like at ho’okipa. What are your thoughts when you watch them compete against the old-school crew? I think it’s hard for the young guys to get the experience in good down-the-line conditions. Let’s face it, there are not too many places in the world with great down-the-line conditions. We need more contests at down-the-line places so there is more of an emphasis on it. MaarTeN vaN oCHTeN: how many wetsuits did you pack for sylt? I think it was three... not enough. fraNCISCo GoYa: Can you suggest any possible new competition formats? I would like to see a made-for-TV format at Ho’okipa. kind of like the freestyle motocross where the guy gets to do one jump at a time and everyone is focused on him, with the judges scoring his best jump.

JuNKo NaGoSHI: if you had to choose only one windsurfing discipline, which one would you pick? I like wavesailing the best. It is the most fun and you never get too good at it. There is always something to learn. eGor PoPreTINSKIY: You’ve already been the best windsurfer in the world and have a lot of experience. What do you want to say to the young generation of pro sailors? I try and teach as many people as I can. I have a website up, pritchardwindsurfing.com, that has some video tips that my brother and I made. GreG THoMaS: What is the secret to staying in the top 5 year after year? Time on the water. I love to go windsurfing and have fun—and that is the ticket. Just get out on the water and the rest just comes to you. wYaTT MIller: do you actually live off the money windsurfing has brought you? I have been very fortunate to make a great living off of windsurfing. I have been living off the sport I love for the past 15 years. TaTIaNa HowarD: You taught me how to Forward Loop. What’s the secret to a Wave 360? Wherever your head goes, the rest will follow. Look where you want to go and just go for it.

World Championships at Sylt, Germany in 2001. It was a combined event with the PWA so all the big hitters were there. Brands offered huge bonuses for winning and Kev did it on the last day.

3. Beating Bjorn Dunkerbeck in 2000 for PWA Overall World Title. Bjorn had dominated for the previous 12 years, and finally, after a lot of hard work, Kev took him down. I had a broken ankle and watched from the beach. 2. In 1995, right out of high school, Kev joined me to train on Maui. After nearly beating Anders Bringdal in Texas he hit the tour full time, grabbing everyone’s attention and the PWA rookie of the Year award.

1. Beating Mark Angulo at the Maui O’Neill Classic as a sophomore in high school. Kev came to Maui on his spring break trip to hang with me and surprised everyone at the event, which was a big PWA stop at that time.

JaKe MIller: if you had to leave Maui and live somewhere else, where would it be? For sailing, it would be Cabo Verde. That place is unreal. For living, it would be Santa Barbara, where you can windsurf, surf, bike and even snowboard. It has it all. wHIT Poor: What is your favourite spot to sail in California? There are some great spots. If you get CStreet in Ventura on a good day, it has really fun long waves. I remember one spring day that was so good.

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Save Yourself: Avoiding mast foot mishaps by Patrick Bergeron One of the most common and avoidable areas of gear failure is the mast foot. Keep the following in mind for less time swimming with your gear.

1. Before sailing, always bend

the universal joint/tendon in the mast foot to see if any cracks are visible. If so, then replace it..

Not just for soccer moms anymore. Hallman photo

Swell Rides

2. Rest the bottom of your sail

on a Wai Wai Pad (a.k.a. Volcano Pad) when sailing in with a broken universal tendon.

Rob Warwick’s Chevy Astro

My ’96 Chevy Astro minivan is the perfect compromise of space and efficiency. Not only does it blend in with the hottie soccer moms, but its size keeps me parking in compact spaces, fitting in the McDonald’s drive-thru and saving some bucks on gas. But don’t let its cute little exterior fool you. My customized interior ceiling-rack allows for a ton of free floor space along with three Mistral boards, seven North sails and all the fixings permanently living inside. Plus, there’s still room for three additional sailors and their toys for car-pooling to the Gorge’s eastern sites, like the Wall or Arlington. Living in a van is like driving your portable campsite from one wind destination to the next. Everywhere you stop you have food, water, beer and a bed at your fingertips, not to mention all your toys and a clean change of clothes for a night on the town. The camaraderie between fellow van dwellers is unmistakable. From trading coordinates for the latest secret sleeping spots to admiring each other’s gear organization to being the first ones at the beach, there’s a special bond between eternal campers. If you’ve never done it, you don’t know what you’re missing. And although I’ve recently traded up to a small place in downtown Hood River, Oregon, I can still be found catching some Z’s or making coffee between sessions in my baby-blue van.

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3. Always rig so excess downhaul

line is available and accessible. If the tendon breaks use it to secure the sail to the board/base plate. M. Houyvet photos

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Wellness

energy drinks or h2o

Fraser photo

WORDS BY DR. IAN BROWN (docbrown.ca) Energy drinks are popping up in grocery stores claiming athletic prowess enhancement for individuals brave and rich enough to pay for them. But do they work better than good old water? Sports drinks have a plethora of ingredients. Sugars are added just for taste and disguised as sucrose, glucose, high-fructose corn syrup, etc. Stay away from artificially manufactured ingredients like added colour and aspartame. Better drinks use natural ingredients like beta-carotein and vegetable juices for colour. Some drinks contain vitamins to help you perform. The B vitamins provide energy and have antioxidant properties that protect us from harmful reactive oxygen species. Botanicals extracts such as ginkgo biloba leaf, ginseng, guarana seed, and yerba mate are added to provide energy. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a fact that dehydration

decreases exercise performance. Adequate fluid before, during and after exercise is essential for not only health but for optimal performance. Beverages containing carbohydrates in concentrations of four to eight per cent are recommended for activities lasting longer than one hour. Recent evidence also supports the addition of protein to carbohydrate-electrolyte sports beverages for better endurance and recovery. Athletes should always drink enough to balance their fluid losses. Two hours before exercise 400 to 600 ml (14 to 22 oz) of fluid should be consumed, and during exercise 150 to 350 ml (six to 12 oz) every 15 to 20 minutes depending on tolerance. After exercise drink adequate fluids to replace sweat losses. Drink at least 450 to 675 ml (16 to 24 oz) of fluid for every pound of body weight lost during exercise. Enjoy your beverage of choice.

Amount of students in a Wake forest university study that mix alcohol with energy drinks. Windsport extrapolates that all have fun before blacking out, missing their exams and being forced into van life in Cape Hatteras. 24

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The Skinny

Words by Graham Ezzy | Illustration by Don Jackson

windsurfing in bulgaria “Windsurfing in Bulgaria? You’ve got to be crazy! Do they have more than alcohol, prostitutes, and grey buildings?” Immediately after the PWA World Cup in the Canary Islands last summer, my at-the-time girlfriend and I decide to take a short vacation to Eastern Europe. Walking down an extremely over-crowded Black Sea beach in Nessebur, Bulgaria, I see a wood shack with windsurfing gear out front. There is no wind and the water is perfectly glassy, yet a few people are going back and forth on massive Olympic-style gear. I’m suddenly hit with an overwhelming

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desire to go windsurfing. I walk over to the shop manager, a typical Bulgarian man (pot-bellied and covered in moss-like black hair), and I have my Bulgarian girlfriend ask if I can use one of the rigs. In a thick accent, the hairy man, Lozan, answers, “Sorry… must have five lessons before use these boards.” He holds up his hand with his fingers spread as if showing me exactly what he means by “five.” I tell her to tell him that I know how to windsurf and that I’m actually pretty good at it (I am, I swear). He still isn’t convinced. Fortunately the conversation shifts to English and I explain that I am from Hawaii.

Smiling, he replies with something resembling a shaka hand gesture and an accented “aloha.” The conversation has turned in my favour. Lozan tells me, “You have it easy. Hawaii! Here in Bulgaria is much more hard. If you can windsurf here, you can windsurf anywhere in the world.” I smile and nod my head (obsequiously rather than agreeing), not sure if the words I’m hearing are really the ones he is saying. He finally says, “Yes, take one of the boards.” I walk to the rigs to choose which one I’ll take. At that point, I realize that though the sails are relatively recent (within the

last five years) the boards are only one evolutionary step above the stock windsurfer. At roughly 14-feet long, the relatively narrow boards have absolutely no traction (neither non-skid nor wax). There is not enough wind to waterstart so I carefully crawl up onto the board, uphaul the sail, and manage to head out to sea. I sail back and forth a few times and do some shaky tacks (it’s hard with no wind). I suddenly realize Lozan is not getting a good picture of my professional windsurfing skills. To prove to him and the beach that I am a certified pro windsurfer, I decide to go for the only trick I figure I can manage on this no-wind balance beam: a Heli Tack. Coming close to the beach so that everyone can see, I steer the board upwind and throw the sail into the wind. Carefully balancing on the slippery board, I manage to complete the move. I am so proud of myself. I go back in to the beach and ask my girlfriend whether she saw my Heli Tack. “Oh. That was supposed to be a trick? We thought you just got confused about which direction the wind was blowing,” she replies. I am humbled. Or at least I am when the local hot shot comes up to me and says something that translates to, “You’re not a bad windsurfer. You should keep it up.” At this point, I really want to tell him that the week before I was doing 50-foot, one-handed Back Loops in Pozo, but then I realize that he probably is not familiar with Back Loops and that he is right—I really did suck in these conditions. Walking back past the bodies on the beach (a combination of fat women, Borat-like men, and hot girls), I realize that windsurfing, no matter where I am, always humbles me. Whether on the waves at Ho’okipa or at a windless day on the Black Sea in Bulgaria, I realize there is always more to learn. Once you start windsurfing, there is no end.

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MacGyver

Five-Minute Sail Repair

words by Derek Rijff No matter how careful you are with your rig eventually you’ll find yourself with a hole in your sail. If it’s a small hole from an unplanned encounter with your shoulder, harness, fin or dog, this five-minute repair will get you back on the water without any worry that the damage will spread into something really expensive.

1. Clean and dry the repair

area. Windex or acetone are best but fresh water will suffice in a pinch. Cut a piece of sail repair tape (or a sticker) for each side of the sail that is at least an inch bigger than the damaged area.

2. Use scissors to “round”

the corners and remove any edges that have become stretched during preparation. This ensures a tight seal around the entire patch. Corners or small folds will allow water to creep in.

Fraser photos

3. Working on a flat surface,

like the bottom of your board, apply the patch trying your best to avoid trapping air bubbles underneath it. Massage the tape on from the tear outward using your finger-tips.

4. Flip the sail over and fill in the damaged area with some sort of adhesive, like Crazy Glue. If time permits, wait for the glue to become tacky and patch over the glued side with the second piece of tape. Get on it and go ride.

vocab

Furry [fur-ee]

Strong, gusty wind blowing spray over the water.

Bruce Peterson is rigging down to his 9.1 m2 Sailworks NX for this race because it’s getting a little furry out. Origin: Pacific Northwest racers. 28

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High Five

A stylish one-handed E-slider. Staub photo

Laure Trebouxâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S Five TOP 5

Bands? Looptroop The Roots Orishas Alborosie Pink

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Books? For the Love State of Fear Timeline Touching the Void The Da Vinci Code

Movies? 16 Blocks Madagascar Lords of Dogtown Quiksilver: Young Guns 2 Picture This

Websites? seabreeze.com.au windguru.cz fanatic.com north-windsurf.com chiemsee.com

TV shows? South Park CSI Top Gear The Simpsons Two and a Half Men

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Shop Grom 2nd Wind sPort’s alex nielsen According to Pepi Gerald, owner of 2nd Wind Sports in the Gorge, “It’s fun to watch customers’ jaws drop upon hearing the detailed and bang-on analysis about fin design that comes from the mouth of resident shop grom Alex Nielsen. This young ripper has been sponsored by the shop for the past two years and truly represents the positive state of windsurfing in years to come.” age: 17 | home: Hood River | Work: 2nd Wind Sports | Boss: Pepi Gerald | sponsors: Dakine, Sailworks, G Sport fins, Pro Motion Wetsuits, Dairy Queen | specialty: Slalom racing | Best board: 90-litre slalom | Proudest moment: Winning the Gorge Cup junior division for the first time (plus, my dad, Derek Nielsen, won a Cup that year, too) | Favourite launch: Doug’s Beach | other sports: Snowboarding and soccer | Best band: Led Zeppelin | Food choice: Burritos | Gaming console: Wii for sure… Wii tennis rules | Website: facebook.com | Favourite movie: The Rocky series | Best actor: Chris Rock | tv show: I only watch sports | heroes: Bruce Peterson, Dale Cook, Robby Naish, Bjorn Dunkerbeck, Antoine Albeau, and my dad for always sailing with me and helping me improve | When will you out-windsurf your dad? I already beat him two summers ago. It was really light wind.

Alex at work. Hallman photo

Pro TIPS: sAilworks’ bruce peterson’s rigging pet peeves On any popular windsurfing beach you can easily observe some or all of the following common rigging errors on sails.

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1. not enough down-

haul. The result is a loss of draft stability (creating handling problems) and sail twist (creating a high centre of effort), both of which will limit the useable wind range of the sail.

2. too much down-

haul. As sure as the wind won’t blow on your day off, telling people that they need more downhaul will always lead to zealous overdownhauling, killing low-end power and responsiveness.

3. outhauling when

over-powered. The outhaul is a good controller of foil depth, but its use is predicated on having sufficient downhaul tension first. When over-powered, first check the downhaul setting (see #1).

4. insuﬃcient batten tension. Battens are literally the ribs of the sail supporting its aerodynamic profile. When the battens are too loose, critical sail shape is lost in the forward third of the sail.

5. Using base and

headcap extension. use either base extension or headcap extension, but never both. using both extension adjustments artificially raises the mast, increasing the swing weight of the rig.

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How To:

sAil under A helicopter BY ANDre PASKOWSKI Nothing generates more excitement on the water than when a helicopter shows up during your windsurfing session. Here are some tips to avoid looking like a total kook whether you’re the star of the shoot or just trying to sneak into the back of a pro’s shot.

1. A heli-shoot is very expensive, so if Kids from the Hook. Peterson photo

Inspiration

BY ERIN GATES

hook your kids on Windsurfing today Every day parents are signing their kids up for lessons and camps so their kids will gain skills and share in their own particular passions. All-day ski lessons so Mom can have a day to ski black diamonds. Art camp so Dad can have some peace and quiet. And, luckily, windsurf lessons so Mom and Dad can rip around the Gorge, Maui, Florida, California, or wherever a windsurf school is located. Don’t worry, any guilt you might feel dropping your kids off will fade quickly, not only because of your session on the water but also because of the huge smiles that will greet you upon your return. I should know. Growing up in the Gorge and being the daughter of an avid windsurfer and owner of Big Winds, I was exposed to the sport at a very young age. I remember spending afternoons playing house in the Big Winds storage loft amid the stockpile of boards and sails. I remember cheering for my dad at the pro-am races and being shocked when my school friends had never heard of Robby Naish. But most of all, I remember my time on the water. My sister Jodie, our friend kate and I were guinea pigs for the first rounds of Big Winds kids Camps and loved every minute of it. We happily headed down to the Hook, a beginner windsurfer’s paradise, complete with a rocky

i remember being shocked thAt mY friends At school hAd never heArd of robbY nAish 34

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shore, a bona fide island, which we rarely visited, and a peninsula, which we referred to as “The Island” and visited often. One of the Hook’s best features is that you feel as though you are in the real river, even though you’re in a protected, mostly shallow pond. There is no way you can drift into the Columbia River (although drifting into the weeds at the east end of the pond is common practice). The pond is just far enough across to make a kid feel proud to approach the opposite shore, but not far enough that your instructor can’t watch your every move. We learned many important skills during our summers at the Hook: jibing on a big, plastic board named the “Teen Slalom”; beachstarting in knee-deep water; how to pee in your wetsuit to keep warm; and that Ho-Ho’s and Nutter Butters are not technically healthy snacks. When my friends and I learned the sport, kids’ gear generally consisted of either battenless triangle sails with super-flimsy booms and heavy masts or adult gear altered to be kid-sized. kids today are lucky. Today, kids get to learn on lightweight, durable rigs that look just as cool as Mom and Dad’s. Boards have never been more stable or easier to manoeuvre for pint-sized sailors. What better way for kids to spend a few days—or an entire summer—than learning balance, coordination and an appreciation for wind and water through windsurfing? So, parents, go for it. Sign your kids up for lessons or a windsurf camp. Trust me, they will thank you for it. And before you know it, they’ll be jibing circles around you… or at least ripping next to you on the water. I’ll have to settle for the latter, but I’m Ok with that.

possible make a detailed plan with the photographer before hand. If you are crashing a shoot be mindful that this is costing someone mucho pesos.

2. Obviously, the lower the chopper gets to the water (for better close-up action) the greater havoc it will play on your sailing. keep this in mind when choosing your move or positioning yourself for a shot. 3. On your approach you will notice the wind becomes gusty (or holey). The wind from the rotors will inconsistently disrupt Mother Nature whether the helicopter is on the move or hovering. 4. There is absolutely no wind in the

zone underneath the chopper. use your board’s speed to throw your trick and pray that the photographer gets the perfect close-up frame, making you look like you nailed it.

5. Beware of passing underneath the chopper from front to back. Just past the tail you’ll get hit by the strongest gust you’ve ever felt that is guaranteed to rip the sail out of your hands.

J. Houyvet photo

radar

Bryan MetcalfPerez words and photo by Richard Hallman The first time I saw Brian Metcalf-Perez was through the lens of my camera in the middle of the Columbia River. He launched into a really big floating jump, and when he landed I pulled my camera from my face and said to myself, Who is that? That was two years ago, and since then I have captured his quiet quest to charge like no other. He has a drive and style unmatched, and he seems to turn the volume up as the conditions get crazier.

Age: 21 | Specialty: Freestyle | Home: Santa Fe, New Mexico | Heroes: Dad, Dale Cook, Rob Warwick, Wyatt Miller, Tyson and Whit Poor | Sponsors: Tabou, Dakine, Windwing, Promotion, Chinook

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quiver

Baptiste Gossein’s

Kazuma 6’6” surfboard A fast gun-style board is needed as you’re in the barrel right after taking off.

Teahupoo Gear

words and photo by Benjamin Thouard The powerful wave breaks on an almost-dry sharp reef about 300 metres offshore of a tiny Tahitian island. It is fast and hollow and you must take off really deep while the shoulder is sucking and turning a full 50 metres in front of you. Baptiste Gossein has built confidence in this place where you can quickly get called back to reality if you fall. Here is the gear he rides at Teahupoo.

Oxbow life jacket It helps me to pop up as soon as possible and also provides some protection from the reef.

Neil Pryde Combat 4.5 m2 The wave is so powerful that you never need a big sail. I cruise the lineup until the set comes and then take off just before the barrel.

Yamaha Waverunner A Jet Ski is the perfect toy to cross the shallow lagoon and reach the offshore reef.

JP-Australia Pro Wave board A custom 7’6” twin-fin that is fast and will turn quickly is needed for Teahupoo.

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in the lab

Checking out his work.

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in the lab

Maui Fin Company's

pio marasco

Italian-born windsurfer Pio Marasco moved to Maui in 1989 to become a better wavesailor. Not only is he now a Ho’okipa standout, but since he has been at the helm of Maui Fin Company, he has taken its designs to the next level: winning all over the world. How has modern fin design been affected by board or sail design? We both are affected by each other’s evolutions in shapes, designs, profiles, rocker line, etcetera. In the past, wave fins have needed to be more flexible because the boards were slower and easy to turn and manoeuvre at low speeds. Today, speed is more of a factor in wavesailing so fins cannot be as soft or else spinout will become your best friend. Over the past 18 years I have tried so many fin and board combinations, and I understand that on-water testing is the only way to get good results in your development. Working with Quatro, RRD and Goya boards allows me to collaborate with the best and the most innovative brands on the market. And the R and D is a lot of fun. How do people know if they are on the wrong fin? If it’s not a MFC, then there is something wrong [laughs]. If your board is lifting uncontrollably out of the water at high speeds, it means your fin is too big. If you cannot turn easily, then maybe try a smaller fin, but you will lose some of your top speed potential and early planing. There are so many different problems and solutions. Just e-mail me at info@mauifin.com and I’ll try to help.

words by Derek Rijff photo by Jerome Houyvet

The MFC Freestyle Pro has allowed tricksters to put away their grinders and hack saws. How did this successful concept evolve? In 1999, with the help of Josh Stone, the Style Master fin was born. You may not remember it, but it was 20 centimetres tall and very short and wide. The three sizes (small, medium and large) were measured according to each fins surface area rather than length. They were amazingly successful. At the World Cup in Austria people looked at Josh and I as if we were crazy, but the fin worked. It planed quickly, was fast enough and easy to slide for making all the new freestyle moves of the time. Since then the boards and moves have changed so much that we have needed to work on the shape. This season we came up with a 14 centimetre fin for Gollito, the current freestyle world champion.

Which pros on your large team of riders give the best feedback? Everyone on the team gives feedback and it’s amazing to work with all these people. But there are incredibly talented sailors who are not great testers, and also the opposite, so having this big family makes the work very interesting. Everyone around MFC agrees that Francisco Goya, the mad scientist, gives incredibly precise and super-accurate feedback. He is such an efficient sailor that he feels things that most others don’t. Then there is Keith Teboul with his surfing style and twin fin innovations, top PWA wavesailors Kauli Seadi and Victor Fernandez, champion freestylers Gollito [Estredo] and Ricardo Campello, and racers Micah Buzianis and Gonzalo Costa Hoevel. These are just a few of the great names we work with.

Is an Ultra Lite (UL) version of the Freestyle Pro really necessary? This is the lightest fin on the market today. We made a limited-edition fin, building only 300 in this composite material. Board manufacturers work so hard to make the freestyle boards super light. For example, they’ll use lighter pads or different screws just to shave 100 grams off the final weight. But then they supply the board with a heavy 450-gram G-10 fin... it makes no sense. Our composite production fin weighs just 225 grams and the new UL an amazing 100 grams. It can make a difference especially for the top freestylers who have to lift the tail out of the water at low speed to complete today’s complicated double moves.

How long should a fin last? Fins do wear over time with usage. If you have a fin for two years and you use it 20 times, it should still be in fine shape. But, in general, certain materials tend to get softer more quickly, like G10, for example. Composite materials last longer, for sure. A protective fin bag will definitely help to protect your fin from transportation dings. How often do you get to windsurf? I normally try to almost every day. But I have been out of the water for a long time with a knee injury. I hope to be back on the water soon trying new moves, testing new fins and sailing with my friends.

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guru

Surviving a Sinker: Shortboard Uphauling Words and photos By Andy Brandt Afraid to take out the small board just in case the wind dies? The thought of a swim home can make you take the “cheater litre” or even the “cheater meter” bigger when it comes to your gear selection. It is possible to uphaul any board you sail, even one that sinks up to your waist underwater. Now, with a little practice, you can return from your session still smiling on the smallest of boards. Paul Imperato, an amazing professional instructor from back in the day, first showed me that the secret to uphauling a sinker is to point the board into the wind. This technique eliminates the most common problems, like falling over backwards due to lack of balance or rushing to grab the sail only to get launched forward due to the board’s nose being stuck underwater. First, swim the board upwind of the sail and climb onboard with your feet straddling the mast. Use the uphaul for support and keep your feet slightly wider than shoulder width apart so weight can be fully shifted to either end of the board. Next, use the uphaul to pull the mast over the clew. This will submerge the clew, making you feel more stable (photo 1). As you uphaul, lean the sail towards the back of the board to turn upwind into any chop or waves. Since a board is longer than it is wide, hitting the waves lengthwise is more stable. With the sail half submerged (clew is still in the water) and the board pointing almost straight into the wind, release the back hand from the uphaul and swing it behind you and to windward (photo 2). Use the front hand to swing the sail out of the water toward the board’s nose (photos 3 and 4). This motion is like a smooth tennis swing, where your body rotates to help yank the sail parallel to the board and across your face. Power for this swinging motion (a.k.a. the tennis save) starts from the lower body and flows up to your shoulders. Keep your hip in over your feet to generate maximum power during this rotational swing. At the same time, opening your stance by pointing your front foot towards the nose of the board will both improve your balance and facilitate your weight-shifting ability. Once the sail is clear of the water and balanced over the board, it is a must to put your back hand on the boom first before the front one (photo 5). Do not employ a crossover technique when uphauling a shortboard. When the back hand makes contact, the mast moves to leeward, giving you space to grab with the front hand before depowering. Try to keep your hands equal distance from the sail’s balance point (centre of effort). Proper hand positioning will keep the sail light and balanced. Immediately sheet out and relax in the luffing position (photo 6). Finally, shift your weight to the back foot and lean the sail forward to bear off the wind and sail away. Do not power up the sail by sheeting in if the board’s nose is still submerged or else you will get launched forward. Shifting your weight over the back foot first will bring the nose to the surface, allowing you to power up the rig and sail away.

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guru

WhY UphaUling iSnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t appalling Learning to waterstart is no reason to trash your uphaul rope. Here are a few reasons to keep it on your rig.

CALLING ALL WAVESAILORS are you an aspiring wavesailor? Uphauling is a must as small boards are slashier and the waves are cleaner when the wind is light. EASY UPHAULING Waterstarting a big sail requires far more work than uphauling. Get an Easy-Uphaul for that big rig and stop wasting time swimming with gear. SUNK AND STABLE Believe it or not but in chop or waves a totally submerged board is more stable to stand on and uphaul than one on the surface. SUPER-COMFY GRIP Modern uphauls are easier on the hands than ever. dakineâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s power Uphaul (pictured) incorporates EVa grip pads. WEATHER THE STORM In the case of an unexpected storm, attaching a free-rigged sail to a tree or picnic table with the uphaul can prevent repair bills.

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making moves 1

John Skye’s Push Loop Aerial Here’s the challenge: let’s see some national pros try landing an on-shore Push Loop back on the same wave as John Skye does in Pozo, Gran Canaria. Photos By John Carter

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ride guide

PUNTA SAN CARLOS

7 8

E-O

SID

WORDS BY PETE DEKAY PHOTO BY CLARK MERRITT My first mistake was not stopping to check out Punta San Carlos back in 1998. It was my first trip driving down the Baja peninsula and I had tunnel vision for La Ventana. Looking back, I really cheated myself out of a good many years of epic wavesailing, as my first trip along that dusty 38-mile corduroy dirt road didn’t happen for another eight years when SoloSports Adventure Holidays hosted Windsport’s first destination waveboard test.

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I FW

SoloSports runs an incredible operation at Punta San Carlos. Whether you take their fly-in or drive-in all-inclusive package, you will enjoy deluxe camping, hot showers, tasty food, unlimited drinks (including a well-stocked bar), and all the activities your body can take. When the afternoon wind blows you can windsurf and take advantage of the calm mornings to surf, SUP, bike, motocross, fish, hike or simply relax. SoloSports also hosts wavesailing clinic weeks and demos with Matt Pritchard, Graham Ezzy, Jem

Hall, Guy Crib, team Quatro and a Continuing Education program, where qualified participants can complete CME requirements and ride down-the-line on the same day (see solosports.net for dates). The main Punta San Carlos season runs from April through November; however, some folks have been know to spend the winter enjoying the solitude and year-round wind. The water is generally cool averaging between 53°F and 60°F; however, in three September trips I have used everything from board shorts to a

5:3 steamer wetsuit… so bring it all. The launch is rocky and booties are a good idea but not mandatory (you’ve been warned). The four sailing areas that make up Punta San Carlos allow every wavesailor, from beginner to pro, to have fun. The Beachbreak, located directly in front of SoloSports and the RV camping sites, is perfect for learning how to catch waves. As long as you can waterstart and ride upwind in the footstraps, you will see your skill level rapidly increase. The Bombora is a big wave made

HIGHLIGHTS:

1. SoloSports camp: Deluxe camping accommodations 2. Beach: Beware the rocky launch 3. Birdshit Island: Smell the goodness 4. Beachbreak: Non-experts should stay here 5. Bombora: Expert jumping wave 6. The Point: Start your ride into the Chili Bowl 7. Chili Bowl: Why the pros come 8. RV Row: Drive in and wreck your own car

for jumping and located just off of Birdshit Island (donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t criticize the name until you smell it). Only experienced riders should mess with this wave as it is created by the Pacific swell suddenly encountering a very shallow reef. The Point offers a steep peak that can break pretty far offshore. Punta San Carlosâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; most famous wave is the Chili Bowl. The best rides are those that start at the Point and then connect through to the Chili Bowl for the ultimate opportunities at aerials and cutbacks.

RIDING TIPS: The wind is side-offshore... know your limits Inexperienced sailors should stay in the Beachbreak area Surfing every morning will improve your wavesailing Beware the rocky launch A weed-wave fin is often necessary Obey all surf right-of-way rules Southwest swell direction offers longer rides West and northwest swell directions are good, but shorter

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Ready for action.

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town ship kids words by Peter Garzke photos by Andrea Franova & Peter Garzke

a day to remember

In Khayelitsha Township a three-month-old girl is raped. Shortly after, the man who committed this unthinkable crime is caught and sent to prison only to show up back in Khayelitsha a week later. Everybody is shocked. The community is outraged and kills the man. The Cape Town police return with no understanding of why these people took justice into their own hands. This is the reality of life in Khayelitsha.

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Lining up to go windsurfing.

One day last year I am just about to launch for a lit-up session at Melkbosstrand, near Cape Town, South Africa, when I see three young black men walking along the beach toward me. I notice they are looking at me curiously. I ask them to come over, and

Keeping people out or in?

they’re obviously surprised that I’m so friendly. The wounds of the apartheid system haven’t yet closed. I let them hold my rig, and I can see the joy in their faces when they realize the actual power of the wind in their hands. This gives me an idea.

Could there be a way to build a few bridges between black and white people using windsurfing as a platform? Wouldn’t it be nice to get a few so-called disadvantaged kids out of the townships around Cape Town and teach them to windsurf? Or would it be like offering them the taste of chocolate and then ripping it away from them right after? Perhaps there could be a way to repeat this event and build a few bridges between black and white people using windsurfing as a platform. At the same time, the kids would get to experience something new away from the

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reality of the townships. And even if it happened only once, isn’t that better than never? Returning to South Africa again this year, I’m not sure how to get in touch with the right people to find such kids. As a white person, you can’t just walk into a township. While having dinner at my favourite restaurant, I talk to someone working there to see if they have any ideas. Shortly after, a woman comes to my table and promises to get me in touch with someone who can help. The next day she hands me the telephone number of someone named George, who is her brother’s rugby coach and knows everybody in Khayelitsha. I call him and we arrange to meet in Cape Town an hour later. I like him immediately. He is confident, and his moral understanding is clear. His mission is to keep the boys on his team away from the streets by giving them a sense of direction through sports. In Khayelitsha, he is a respected man for what he does. George describes the circumstances in the township, and the story of child rape is one of many he shares. I ask him if he personally knows the people who are involved in all the crime occurring around Khayelitsha.

Touring the bay.

“Peter, I don’t see these people because they only work at nighttime,” he says with an ironic smile on his face. George works as a paramedic and will soon have to pass his yearly test, which is making him nervous. Not because he’s afraid of the medical questions—that isn’t a problem at all. It’s the driving.

He could lose his job because he doesn’t have a chance to practise his driving skills, and if he loses his job, his world will collapse. George tells me that Khayelitsha means “our new home” in Xhosa, the predominant language in the area. In the 1950s, blacks were forced out of the cities to live in the outskirts of Cape Town

as the system of apartheid was developed. In the mid-1980s, many blacks, mainly Xhosas, moved into areas around Cape Town in search of work, establishing little neighbourhoods like Khayelitsha. Nowadays, there are about 800,000 people living in Khayelitsha. The government claims to help its people by build-

ing brick houses. However, new people move in from other parts of Africa using their old shacks made of tin, wood and cardboard. As a result, there is no real improvement to the neighbourhoods and crime continues to increase dramatically. I explain my idea of creating an opportunity for some of the

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Teamwork.

township kids to experience windsurfing for a day, and George loves it. He sees another opportunity for the kids to practise a pure white person’s sport and promises to help find kids who are interested. But first he demands that I watch his team play rugby. The next Sunday I drive to Khayelitsha to watch their rugby competition. It is my first time visiting a township, and I’m nervous. George is not around when I arrive at the stadium, but everybody seems to know me already. George had spread the word, and the boys are friendly and outgoing. When George arrives, I get to watch him coach, and his team does very well. The atmosphere

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Some are young and small and have a hard time pulling up the sails, but with the help of a few others they manage to do it. is pure fun. What an experience after hearing all those bad stories about Khayelitsha. A few weeks later I return to Khayelitsha on a mission to collect seven kids, George and two of his friends to drive to Langebaan to go windsurfing. When we meet at the stadium I can immediately see that the kids are excited. These kids don’t have the opportunity to travel

and experience life away from the streets often, if ever. We arrive at Anthony’s windsurf shop in Langebaan, which provides us with boards and wetsuits for the lessons. The kids are all over the place, checking out the boards, sails and harnesses. After a short beach lesson, we rig up the sails and head out to the water. The kids grab the boards, and off they go with huge smiles

on their faces. On the water, they help each other pull up the sail and sometimes you see up to four kids on one board. Some are young and small and have a hard time pulling up the sails, but with the help of a few others they manage to do it. I also take them onto my board and explore parts of the bay with them. After hours of fun, the wind picks up, making it too hard for

the kids to sail. We return to the beach for pizza before heading home. After five minutes of driving, the kids all fall asleep, exhausted from the day on the water. When we get to Khayelitsha, I am once again hit by reality. Today we have experienced two different worlds. It is shocking to see the circumstances in which these kids survive. It makes me feel sorry to leave them behind, but the kids are amazing. Because

they are used to it, they don’t have a hard time switching back. This is their reality. I am happy we made this happen and that I’m able to share some great memories with these kids. I’m looking forward to doing it again. In fact, the South African windsurfing magazine Gust was so inspired with this event that it has already brought the kids from Khayelitsha back for more windsurf lessons.

The township of Khayelitsha.

The kids take turns.

Sailing away.

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Following the fleet. Seidler photo

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Hook

In AND

Hold

Racing in the British Virgin Islands words by Cliff Hauser I don’t know of any windsurfer who hasn’t dreamed of doing the HIHO, a week of intense but fun windsurf racing mixed with yacht cruising among some of the world’s most beautiful islands. When my son presented me with the opportunity to go this year for Father’s Day, I couldn’t have been happier. My wife and I quickly adjusted schedules, found flights, and read the detailed information about the event on go-hiho. com. A couple of weeks later we found ourselves deplaning in paradise.

A typical view from the beach. Seidler photo

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ur journey begins with a quick and colourful cab ride from the airport on Beef Island over to Road Town, Tortola, home of The Moorings. Here, hundreds of yachts serve as a backdrop to a well-organized and cheery registration process with a cast of characters we would come to know and like over the next week. Each participant selects a Bic Techno II 148-litre board and is supplied with two brand-new Neil Pryde rigs. The buzz is all about how unusually windy it will be for the first few days. Aboard our 43-foot yacht, a twin-hulled beauty with interior teak decks and four private cabins, we meet Pete Ratcliffe, our charter captain for the week of cruising. After quickly stowing our windsurf gear topside, Captain Pete rigs the “iron jib” and we begin our cruise through the British Virgin Islands. We motor all the way up the Sir Francis Drake Channel to Virgin Gorda’s North Sound to anchor just off Saba Rock and the world-famous Bitter End

Yacht Club, which just happens to be a short sail from Sir Richard Branson’s Necker Island. The first evening dinner is upstairs at Saba Rock Resort. People have traveled from 13 different countries, including Australia, Thailand, Luxembourg, France, Brazil, Germany, the U.K., Argentina, the U.S., Canada, as well as locals from the BVI, Grand Cayman and St. Maarten. The food is good, and the mood is relatively quiet. Everybody is ready for an early night. Day 2 starts with anticipation running high. There are relatively strong winds, with a prediction of 15 to 20 knots and possibly higher gusts in short, small squalls. A brief skippers’ meeting on Saba Rock by event organizer Andy Morrell and the race committee chairman precedes a quick trip back to our yacht and a dinghy ride to the Bitter End Yacht Club beach to rig up. The action begins with racers having to cross through a narrow opening in the shallow reef, after which we quickly find ourselves heading toward a mark set off Necker Island on open water with seas of five feet. After rounding

the mark, the broad reach back downwind to the opening of the reef in a freshening breeze is exciting. Once back in the sound we round a downwind mark for a second lap. The race ends at a beach on Prickly Pear Island, where we must drop our gear and sprint to touch the Highland Spring flag in signature HIHO finish. An enthusiastic crowd cheers each competitor as they finish. The afternoon course follows a different yet no less spectacular route and ends with similar results: Brazil’s Wilhelm Schürmann wins both, with St. Maarten’s Jean-Marc Peyronnet not far behind. After racing, Ed Sparrow of Highland Spring and his lovely wife and daughters host the first of several pre-dinner cocktail parties aboard their yacht. The following dinner is a veritable feast, and the wine flows freely. The group’s non-sailing members find the afternoon race even more interesting because the close proximity of the racers to the Bitter End Yacht Club makes the whole experience much more personal. They also enjoy snorkeling

Winds are gusting to 24 knots for a classic demonstration of what HIHO stands for: hook in and hold on. A classic beach finish. HIHO photo

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The BVI is paradise. HIHO photo

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In AND

Hold

Lunch on the beach. HIHO photo

in the 85°F sparkling-clear waters and lounging aboard the yachts or on the beautiful noncrowded beaches. Among this year’s group are French windsurfer Alain Montazour and his new bride, who are honeymooning on the HIHO with three generations of family members. On Day 3 the morning talk is all about whether the wind will hold for the signature 13-nautical-mile beam-reach race to the lowlying Anegada, a desert island at the northern end of the BVI. At only 28 feet above sea level, Anegada cannot be viewed for most of the race. The sensation is that you’re speeding off across the Caribbean into the Atlantic and beyond. The wind is forecast to be only 13 to 17 knots, but I gamble that the apparent wind on a reach would allow a smaller sail to suffice in the lower winds. This proves to be true, as Montazour keeps pace with the leaders using an 8.5 m2 sail and finishing a close third behind Schürmann and Peyronnet, who take giant 10 m2 rigs. For the return trip, all 10 43-foot catamarans have a full-on race starting 100 yards off Anegada over to Leverick Bay. On the way, we watch a squall work its way toward us, and a fresh breeze of 26 knots kicks in for an incredible ride through the accompanying rain. The evening dinner is another feast, even better than the night before, with fantastic music and a limbo contest.

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Sprint to the finish. Seidler photo

Navigating through the reef. HIHO photo

Talbot sprints the length of the yacht and dives off the bow only to swim to a second yacht lined up closer to the finish. Racing continues on Day 4 with a fun downwind course cutting through a channel between two islands, followed by a leg along the backside of Virgin Gorda. The smooth water on the port side of the course allows for some of the fastest rides so far. The scenery is unparalleled—this is one of the most beautiful places on the planet. After the race and lunch we motor to Trellis Bay on Beef Island, home of The Last Resort bar and restaurant. Before dinner we attend a second cocktail party aboard the Sparrow family’s yacht, where we get our first glimpse of the pirate costumes for the much-anticipated pirate party. A favourite of Jimmy Buffett, The Last Resort hosts the dinner and pirate party and always has a terrific band playing throughout the night. The following morning Captain Pete finds yet another pristine beach on which to rig. From there, we sail upwind to the start of a 22-mile race consisting of deep downwind legs back and forth across the Sir Francis Drake Channel and working fully halfway down through the BVI. The first mark is set just off Cooper Island, the second is back by Beef Island, and then across the main channel again to Salt Island for the third leg. We then sail back to Tortola to jibe around the mark set just below the castle on Buck Island and then blast over to Dead Chest Island for a quick downwinder to finish at Peter Island. Winds are gusting to 24 knots, and it is really a classic demonstration of what HIHO stands for: hook in and hold on. Schürmann, who has aced every single race of the series so far, says that the

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wind and sea were challenging even for him. He makes it work by using all the experience he has Formula racing with even larger sails than we are using in this event. With a prediction of the same 15 to 20 knots as the preceding day, many rig smaller for the lower channel crossings that will take us into U.S. Virgin Island territory on Independence Day. The first leg is a beam reach to Tortola, followed by a deep run back across the channel to St. John of the U.S. Virgin Islands. Next, racers speed their way back to Tortola for a downwind finish to the most beautiful beach

And the winners are... Seidler photo

so far. For lunch, we are served pizzas baked right on the beach in pizza ovens. After lunch we motor across to the well-known Foxy’s, voted third-best venue of a New Year’s millennium bash (after Times Square and Las Vegas). With the best band of the week and Mr. Foxy himself to entertain us, a fantastic dinner leads to everybody ripping up the dance floor. Reluctantly, we head back to our berths to rest for the final race set for the next day. A short race is set, the starting line just off the beach. The course is a full cruise around the small island of Sandy Cay. On the final leg,

Hook

In AND

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The Bitter End Resort. HIHO photo

Top 5 HIHO Highlights 1. Participating in the 1982 Johnnie Walker HIHO. I was 18 and racing a stock windsurfer in the huge fleet of over 100 sailors.

2. Placing first in the 1986 Johnnie Walker HIHO. A lot of hard work went into this win, which sealed my decision to be a pro windsurfer.

light winds make for a lot of trading places. The finish is comical, with sailors pinching up to the beach, trying to ride the little gusts coming through from an approaching squall. The best finish of all is definitely that of Sam Talbot. Finding himself knocked low of the finish, Talbot abandons his board and rig at the back of one of the big catamarans and climbs aboard. He sprints the length of her and dives off the bow only to swim to a second

by event organizer Andy Morrell 3. Getting the event off the ground in the mid-â&#x20AC;&#x2122;90s. We restarted the event in 1993 and by 1995 we had full sponsorship from Bacardi rum.

4. The HMS Liverpool joining the event in 2005. The Royal British Navy contacted us to see if they could join for a day during the 2005 event.

yacht lined up closer to the finishing flag. After another sprint he dives in again and swims to shore for an entertaining finish on the beach. After lunch everybody does the final breakdown and packs up for a quick cruise back up to the harbour in Road Town for the final party. The party is especially fun, with awards being given out and everyone spending a last evening with new friends from 13 different countries. We all talk about which friends

5. Lunch with Sir Richard Branson on Necker Island. The event stops on his private island, Necker Island, for lunch, where he cheers the finishing racers.

from home they would try to bring along for next yearâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s HIHO, which will be the biggest yet as it celebrates its 25th anniversary. Fun for sailors and non-sailors alike, the HIHO is something every windsurfer must try at least once. There is no adventure like it anywhere else in the world. Find more information about the Highland Spring HIHO at go-hiho.com.

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Ti of as th h t D N a u a e n is k h n er s v b s

Getting along on a wave.

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Do you remember the first time you met? Robby Naish: It was in Bahia Feliz, Gran Canaria, way back in 1982. We went to Pozo to go sailing. The place was a dump at the time. It was the sort of place where the locals threw their garbage. There was nothing there but just a rocky beach with a lot of broken glass. It was super gnarly, and I remember cutting my foot on glass on the way out. Since then, it has been built up into a beautiful windsurfing community, but back then it was really hardcore. There were hardly any windsurfers there. I remember going sailing—that was back in the real shortboard days. I think I was riding a 7’3”. It was a tiny board. Bjorn Dunkerbeck: It was windy enough for those boards even back then. RN: I was on a 3.7 m2, and Bjorn was out sailing. BD: It was actually during the Mistral Worlds. My mother, Ulla, had brought us to the island when I was seven. My parents had opened a Mistral windsurf school in Bahia Feliz and had brought the world championships to Gran Canaria. I was only 13 when I took part in the Mistral Worlds, while Robby had already moved on and was only doing funboard competitions. So, at the time Robby was dominating all the competitions? RN: That was right before the organized World Cup started in 1983. From 1981 to 1983 I was running around doing all the independent events like the Maui Grand Prix, the California O’Neill events, the Hang Ten Cup in L.A., and the Japan Cup. At that time I was pretty much at the top of my game and winning everything.

When did Bjorn start rattling your cage? BD: Robby was pretty much up there until 1987. RN: Nineteen eighty-seven was the first year that Bjorn was really trouble, and by 1988 he won. It was a fairly quick turnaround. Honestly, here is an indication of how good I knew Bjorn was. In 1982, after we met, we stayed in contact. I went back to Hawaii, and we shaped Bjorn a board. I brought the board back to the Canaries in the spring of 1983. I took it to the first WSMA World Cup in Fuerteventura. I had this custom Naish board to give to Bjorn, and I was so bummed because by the time I arrived, F2 had already picked him up. BD: My mother and father had a windsurfing school back then. It was originally Mistral, but they changed over to F2. I got to know Peter Brockhaus pretty well. He was the man who brought the first windsurfers to Europe, and he signed me on the F2 team. I took part in that first World Cup, just as a young kid, and was already on F2 before Robby managed to give me the board. So I guess the board went back to Hawaii. [laughs] RN: I didn’t have the balls to give the board to him. BD: I don’t know who was more bummed, Robby or me. [laughs] RN: That was how much we recognized the talent. We knew we had to get this kid on our stuff. The first time I sailed in Pozo he was just following me around, mimicking everything I did. If I did a Duck Jibe, he would come in and do a Duck Jibe. He was probably even more used to the conditions than I was. He was only a kid, but he was ripping. You could see

“On the beach I had a lot of respect for Robby, but out on the water I didn’t care who I was against.” —Bjorn Dunkerbeck

Who will blink first?

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Demski/ Red Bull photo

the talent. Mistral missed him by a month or two. Otherwise, we could’ve been on the same team rather than opposing teams. BD: The first World Cup event I actually won was in the summer of 1987 in San Francisco when I was 17. RN: I don’t even remember San Francisco, but the first time I really recognized that he was really a force to be reckoned with in competition was the Guadalupe Slalom. It was the last event of the year and the last year I won the overall. That was really the beginning of the waterstart, vertical fins and a totally different type of slalom sailing than we’d had before. That is when I said to myself, Shit, things are changing, and they changed. The other thing that was scary with Bjorn when he was younger was that I knew he was not going to just come do one event and disappear. I could tell that because he spoke seven languages when he was 12 years old. [laughs] BD: It wasn’t quite that bad, but I spoke five when I was 17. RN: Either way, it was scary. I knew he wasn’t a dumb shit.

Naish sails more today than ever.

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The Terminator destroys a lip.

Bjorn, were you intimidated by Robby when you started competing on the World Tour? BD: Everybody impressed me, especially Robby, Ken Winner and Jürgen Hönscheid, who were the guys up there fighting for first, second and third. The good thing for me was that I had already sailed in the Canarian championships, Spanish championships and even the European championships, so I had quite a lot of competition experience before I started the World Tour. That really paid off. On the beach I had a lot of respect for Robby, but out on the water I didn’t care who I was against. I was out there to win, and that was it. So that’s when the rivalry really started between you? BD: After 1987 I guess we became rivals. We were both fighting for first, second and third together with Nevin Sayer, Anders Bringdal

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and a few others. Obviously nobody likes to get beaten after they’ve been winning for a long time. RN: We were both really serious about wanting to win. Second place was the first loser— that is the way I approached competition. For sure I’m out there competing for fun, but winning for me is fun and getting second kind of sucks. Getting third sucks more, and getting fourth sucks more than that. More rivalry came from the media and opposing team press than actually from us. We were both focused on winning and windsurfing, and that was it. You didn’t care about partying, about other sports; everything was about being prepared enough to win the next event. That in itself created a really good rivalry, but the fact that we were on opposing big corporate teams helped a lot to kindle the rivalry because there was marketing power behind Bjorn and marketing power

behind me. The bigger the rivalry became, the better it was for the sport and our sponsors. BD: If everybody had been friends, it would not have been good. You have to really go out there and not give any of the other guys any slack. As Robby said, I never went to windsurfing competitions to get second place. At first it was all about winning. Later on, it became winning by a margin and then winning by a bigger margin. That fire in me kept burning for a long time. It was all about preparing yourself equipmentwise, physically and mentally. There must have been a point where you both actually didn’t like each other, once Bjorn started winning all the time. RN: I didn’t like him at all when he started beating me [laughs], but we didn’t really know each other.

“I could go to golf or car racing, but I have absolutely no interest at all in doing that. I want to get up in the morning and sail Ho’okipa.” —Robby Naish World championship memories.

You never talked to each other on the beach? RN: Bjorn didn’t really talk to anybody; I only talked to a few people. We were both kind of introverted personalities. It took me, honestly, 20 years of traveling and competing and stuff to get to know people, to be able to talk to people. It wasn’t why I was there. I kind of knew everybody, but there were certain guys on the tour I had traveled with for years but didn’t even know their names. I just said howzit to everybody. Not in disrespect to them, but I was there for windsurfing. Everything to me was competition and not going out partying at night. BD: It wasn’t until the mid-’90s before we even started talking and getting to know each other. Now we are both fathers and close to 40 [winks at Robby]. One a little bit over and one a little bit under. RN: I hit 45 two days ago.

Bielmann/ Red Bull photo

Being Robby Naish and Bjorn Dunkerbeck means that you guys are rarely left alone at events or simply at the beach. Don’t you get fed up with being in the spotlight? RN: Not when you make your living doing it. It’s a blessing. What would be scary is if nobody was interested. BD: It’s kind of part of the game. I have my sponsors, I try to promote windsurfing, I play this game and try to make it look good. The media needs to talk to us, and anyone at the

top of the windsurfing industry has to do all the media-related stuff. Anything we do with the media creates a bit of interest around us, which is all good for windsurfing. The more everybody gets involved and takes an interest in windsurfing, then the more equipment will get sold. You cannot just say I only want to go windsurfing and that you won’t do anything with the media. You have to take it as part of the job. I gotta do it and make it look as good as I can. RN: Windsurfing was not just a step in my life. You see a lot of athletes who get to a certain point in their career where they have accomplished whatever it was they were trying to achieve. They then move on in life and move on to something else. To me, I have always looked at it not ever as a goal or a periodic point in my life, after which I’m going to go on to something else. This is my life. There was never any guarantee that it was going to last even one year, two years or 10 years. Every year I’ve just been doing the best I can to perpetuate this lifestyle. For one, I have always appreciated how lucky I am to have the lifestyle I have, able to do what I do and somehow get paid for it. The love of what I do is so far beyond what any of the other options are in life. I could retire right now if I wanted to. I could go to golf or race cars, but I have absolutely no interest at all in doing that. I want to get up in the morning and sail Ho’okipa.

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I’m going to the big bank.

Bjorn, what was it like the first time you were beaten, when Kevin Pritchard won the overall title? BD: After 12 years in a row of winning everything, it was like, come on, guys. [laughs] It was no problem for me. It was close anyway. RN: It’s not like he finished 15th.

“[Antoine Albeau] is going to have to fight for it this year. It will not be as easy as last year for him. No way.” —Bjorn Dunkerbeck One billionth photo shoot.

Is the fact that Antoine Albeau has raised his level over the past few years made the game more interesting? BD: Today it is a different slalom altogether. Now you can just choose two boards and four sails for whatever the conditions are. If you don’t have the right equipment for the conditions, then of course you’re at a big disadvantage. The bigger and heavier you are, the tougher it is to have the right gear. RN: You are talking to a man who used to travel with 20 boards. [laughs] BD: No, it was not that bad. I used to have five slalom boards. There was a lot of equipment back then, but you could choose the equipment for the conditions. Now there is a luck factor. Not taking anything away from Antoine. He is very consistent, and he probably made a very good choice going with Starboard, so his board improved him quite a bit and seemed to suit him really well. He wants to be the best; he has got the quality to do it, and so every contest is interesting. RN: Antoine was for sure the most calculatedly professional this year, in comparison with Kevin Pritchard and the rest of the guys. They’re all good, but they did not want it anywhere near as bad as he wanted it last year. As bad as Bjorn wants it—he’s got responsibilities in life now. I don’t see Antoine lasting with this type of perfection for that long, but it’s neat to see somebody else putting it together that well. Honestly, since Bjorn and me, he is the first guy I’ve seen put it together on all levels consistently. It’s good for the sport. Just having guys who win here and there and have the odd good day isn’t as healthy as having a guy come in and dominate for a while. Like you say, it’s motivating for other guys to knock them down. Whether it’s Bjorn or— BD: [interrupting] He is going to have to fight for it this year. Let’s put it that way. It will not be as easy as last year for him. No way. Does getting old scare you? RN: Yep. It’s more of a number than anything physical. I try not to look in mirrors very often, because I feel a hell of a lot better than I look. I am fucking fit. I’ve got no injuries or ailments. From 1981 to when I retired from competition, I never missed one single event due to injury.

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A stylish Naish aerial.

Not one. I had trouble with my back 10 or 12 years ago. I herniated a disc, and it was punishing, especially in the weight-jacket days. I was having to take tons of Tylenol just to be able to get up in the morning and go race— but I did it, and it’s gone away completely. Maybe I don’t ride quite as powerful as I once did, but I still think I am better now than I was back then. I think I’m more fluid and more calculated these days. BD: I am 38 and three-quarters, and I don’t know any 38-year-old who has kept better than me. I look at some of these guys in their mid-20s, and they’re all out of shape. I feel stronger every day. RN: The main thing is that you don’t lose your edge. I’m not sitting around drinking beer, working at the office and going sailing on the weekends. I’m going sailing every day, more now than I was when I was on tour. When you’re on tour you are limited. You go to a World Cup, if you win every heat and make a final, you still only sail for, like, three hours in a week. You have an eight-minute heat and then sit on the beach for four hours. Now I just go and sail for hours and hours and hours. As long as you don’t stop doing it or lose the passion that keeps your level, I don’t think age matters. We’re not in a sport, fortunately, that has degenerative problems. Windsurfing is such

a healthy sport. It just makes you healthier, stronger and more balanced. BD: It keeps you young and strong. That is what my father always said. He is 64 and still goes windsurfing three, four or five times a week. What goals have you got left? BD: To be the first windsurfer to 50 knots and to keep windsurfing interesting for the rest of my life. RN: Honestly, there never were any. If you see these motivational speakers and success coaches, it’s all about goal setting. I never set a single goal in my entire life. I’m living a dream. I’m more of a dream follower than a goal setter. For me, goals don’t work; I don’t want to be disappointed. I want to wake up the next day as happy as I can be. What motivates me now is just being able to do what I want to. Right now I just want nothing more than to be on the water. In the last two years I haven’t gone snowboarding once. If I wanted to, I could go heli snowboarding in Canada with the Quiksilver guys, but I don’t want to do that because I don’t want to miss a good winter day in Hawaii. Who are the legends of the future? RN: I think the sport needs to solidify itself a little more before we can get to that stage. We

need windsurfing to become broader based. There is a lot of talent around; there are some really good personalities in there as well, a great cast of characters. Some are in the making, and some of them are there already. Windsurfing is just not broad based enough to give them what they really deserve as professional athletes. Guys like Kai Lenny— he’s a future superhero, no doubt. Kauli Seadi is a real character with a lot of talent. Maybe there’s not the focus that he would need to become legendary at the moment, but he’s still young and has time. Last question: Any regrets? BD: There were a few small mistakes here and there. I would like to have had the experience that I have today when I was 20. You have to earn your way there, I guess. Mistakes are part of life as well. If you never make a mistake, then you never appreciate when you do something good. RN: If I could do it all over again, I would stand in line to do it. If I died tomorrow, I would look back and go, “Thank you so much.” I would do it all over again, and do it exactly the same. BD: You’ve still got 55 years until 100. Don’t stop doing it—that’s the key. Don’t stop. Keep going.

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Manuel Grafenauer, Vienna, Austria. Csaky photo

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Keith Teboul, Hoâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;okipa, Maui. J. Houyvet photo

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Baptiste Gossein, Teahupoo, Tahiti. Thouard photo

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Rob Warwick, The Hatchery, Washington. Hallman photo

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Bryan Metcalf-Perez, Maryhill, Washington. Hallman photo

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Scott McKercher, Western Australia. Engstrom photo

2009 buyers’ guide Ride like a pro En route to Windsport’s annual fall waveboard test in San Carlos, Baja, I spent a day hanging out in the San Diego harbour. Taking a little cruise to see the sights, I was surprised to come across the 2000 America’s Cup sailing yacht giving a tour of the bay. Even though this boat is no longer competitive at the highest levels of racing, it is easily the most advanced and expensive boat I have ever personally witnessed. Despite being retired, there is still no way a boat this technologically advanced could be purchased by anyone not involved in world-class yacht racing. As a windsurfing gear junkie, this makes me appreciate my choice in sailing craft that much more. If I want to ride the same board Antoine Albeau dominates PWA slalom racing

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or the same sail Kauli Seadi rips waves apart with, I can simply walk into my local shop with a credit card and this issue of Windsport and say, “I want this,” and point to almost any photo in the magazine. Windsurfers are unbelievably fortunate. No other sport allows the average Joe to own the exact same gear the pros use so easily. Just five or six years ago you would have to order up a custom board to get anywhere near the performance readily available from every brand today. So as you flip through the pages of this year’s gear guide, revel in the fact that you can choose gear that will not only help you reach your own personal goals but are designed to reach them no matter how high those goals may be.

by Derek Rijff

Hey, Keith! I want your board. Oreve photo

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SAILS

AEROTECH For 2009 Aerotech continues with its 100 per cent grid lineup. New is the SUP Wave available in 5.8, 6.5 and 7.3 m2 sizes. Its soft luff panel allows you to depower the sail while waiting for set waves on your standup paddleboard. This sail offers tons of low-end power and works well on or off a plane. The ’09 Rapid Fire has been completely redesigned with more low-end power and increased stability. This model features twin cams and a moderate luff sleeve for racesail performance without the hassle. Also new is the addition of UDLO4 sails in select sizes across the Aerotech range, with Technora for significant weight reduction. aerotechsails.com

B I C SPO RT For 2009, Bic continues its goal of making windsurfing as fun as possible for everyone who tries it. All sails are available as a rig package with all the parts coming together in one compact bundle. The Nova is a beginner sail that is made to get newcomers stoked on the sport. The Cruiser and Speedster offer more performance but are still easy to rig, sail and maintain. In order to support the growth of the Techno 293 OD and Hybrid classes, Bic developed the One Design Rig package for use specifically by youth sailors on hybrid boards. It has been designed to represent the best possible compromise between light and high wind performance. bicsport.com

EZZY Two new wavesails are available from Ezzy: the Wave Panther and Freewave. The Wave Panther has a shorter boom and a flatter profile than the Wave SE it replaces. In the Panther you’ll find a new Technora sailcloth, which is eight times stronger than steel and approximately 25 per cent lighter than conventional grid films. Early reports on the Panther have riders describing it as “magical” because it has power without excessive pull. The Freewave has a similar cut to the Panther, yet it has a flatter profile that gives it an easy throw-around feel in transitions. Ezzy’s legendary quality standards means either will provide owners with years of enjoyment in everything from flatwater to huge surf. ezzy.com

GA ASTR A Gaastra is one of the longeststanding windsurfing brands around. Originally known for introducing the camber inducer to windsurfing, Gaastra has built a reputation for dominating on the racecourse in waves and freestyle. Chief sail designer Dan Kaseler, based in Washington State, works closely with Matt and Kevin Pritchard to drive the entire R and D program, achieving great results both on and off the water. Matt recently took over the U.S./Canada distribution and promises to take the brand to new places. New for ’09 is the bombproof Manic HD all-X-ply wavesail, and revolutionary Plasma, a lightair planing machine. gaastra.com

EPIC MOMENTS IN SAIL DESIGN Looking back it is amazing to see how the windsurfing sail has evolved from a basic triangle shaped piece of cloth into a high-tech precisely designed foil. Windsport contacted five current sail designers, Barry Spanier (Maui Sails), David Ezzy (Ezzy), Bruce Peterson (Sailworks), Monty Spindler (Loft) and Jason Diffin (Goya), to help put together a timeline of the most important moments in the history of their craft.

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Dupont magazine cover shot.

1971: The original triangle sail on a Baja Board makes the cover of Dupont magazine with the caption, “Windsurfing: no waves needed.”

Pat Love. Wilkings photo

1978: Pat Love makes the first custom sails in the mid-70s. He refined their profile for better manageability and made high wind “Storm Sails.”

SAILS

gOyA The integration and evolution of Stretch Control to all ’09 Goya sails provides powerful and dynamic performance. It prevents unwanted panel stretch throughout the body of the sail, allowing it to maintain its intended shape and twist through a huge wind range. New is a softer wavesail called the Guru. By oﬀering two wave models for 2009, Goya meets the needs of sailors around the world. The W3D and the Guru are not conditionspecific but rather specific to your style. Distinctive looks articulate the light and direct feeling of the 2009 range visually, following and celebrating the new functions through iconic and recognizable graphics. Welcome to the next level. goyasails.com

Malte Simmer. Wilkings photo

1980: MauiSails FatHead designed for HiFly changes the outline from a simple triangle to a more eﬃcient shape with a shorter boom and luﬀ length.

HANseN For 2009 Hansen adds the Jason Voss V-Wave. This freestyleoriented sail features a perimetertensioned, low-aspect outline with a striking panel layout utilizing mirrored and coloured X-ply. Boom height, clew position, foot outline and batten rotation are finely tuned to provide the manoeuvrability and predictability needed for today’s complex freestyle moves. The Formula and Slalom Pro lines have been tweaked for improved acceleration, stability and smoother transitions, while the FreeRace has been revised for better rotation with RDM masts. The Bump Wave has an all-new construction for better durability and revised shaping for better handling. hansensails.com

Pete Cabrina. Wilkings photo

1982: Full length battens and vertical seams allow designers to build sails that are far more stable and easier to control. This is Pete Cabrina at Diamond Head early the following year.

H OT sA i L s M Au i The 2009 Hot Sails Maui collection provides something for everyone. The wavesail collection has been refined, with more power for the Fire and a smoother, lighter feel for the Smack. New additions in the crossover category include the Liquid, DD and Superfreak Ultralight. The all-purpose Liquid is a superversatile sail with sizes from 5.0 to 7.5 m that can all be rigged on a 430 m mast. The DD is an extreme lightweight four-batten sail designed specifically for the smaller sailor and easy handling. The new ultralight construction of the Superfreak UL is lighter, with an even softer feel than the Superfreak. hotsailsmaui.com

Mike Waltze. Wilkings photo

1983: The foot batten makes it’s first appearance helping to improve the eﬃciency at the bottom of the sail. The air sailors like Mike Walze (pictured) get at Ho’okipa is getting unreal.

kA You may not know KA, but KA knows you. Because just like KA, everything you want to do is about doing your best. Other sail brands know about KA as well, since they probably use KA’s McSail computer design program. And why not? KA makes the fastest sails in the world. The Koncept is a three-cam, easy-to-tune, narrowsleeved rocket. The no-cam freeride Koyote is 40-knot certified, while the Kult is the big seller in Australia and the Kaos rules the waves. It’s all in the design and KA has been doing it for 17 years. www.kasails.com

Jeff Magnum. Peterson photo

1984: Jeﬀ Magnum (pictured), Tom Nishimura and Mark Belvedere simultaneously develop the camber inducer for better sail stability and power.

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SAILS

tHe LoFt The Loft enters its second decade developing original designs. With creativity at an all-time high, there are now six distinct sails in the line for 2009 (Lip Wave pictured). All share updates that lead to Loft’s goal of “dynamic response”: light, living, breathing designs that react directly to trim variation. For 2009 Loft presents windsurfing’s longest reduced diameter masts. These new Team Edition masts are so consistent in their bend that the Blade and Blade FR racesails are designed around them. Even the 11.0 m2 rigs on a 550 cm RDM. All this is the result of a new fibre-straightening process that eliminates the issues that arose with previous RDM construction technology. loftsails.com

m AU I sA I L s This year Maui Sails has applied its unique shaping techniques of the TR-3 racesail to the entire range, resulting in a refined relationship between the tension inside the body of the sail and the bend character of the mast. The Dynamic Skin Tension produces a soft feel that responds quickly in gusts while making them more supple and powerful. Load cell apparatus has been applied to carefully gauge the tension in each sail, which calibrates shaping relationships between sizes. The entire range also benefits from a weight reduction through the use of lighter materials and new engineering. Other highlights include the new twin-cam Titan and a 100 per cent X-ply Legend. mauisails.com

nAIsH Naish believes the future is about extending the limits of what is possible while staying true to its values as a core brand. It was the first major brand to build all of its wavesails out of 100 per cent scrim and now makes four ranges in this lighter, stronger and more durable construction. For ’09 Naish has refined its entire sail line. In particular, the Redline has been completely reinvented in the image of last year’s breakthrough Stealth. It now delivers record-breaking speed in an easy-to-handle moderate sleeve package. Naish also uses shaping knowledge from the Stealth to improve its entire freeride line and introduces the Global Freeride as a new entrylevel sail. naishsails.com

n e I L p RY D e Neil Pryde continues to improve durability by adding a considerable amount of X-ply to the Zone and Alpha. With performance that comes from receiving feedback from the world’s best riders, NP has created the next generation of freestyle sail. The Firefly is a dedicated freestyle sail that allows riders to bring pure freestyle manoeuvres into the waves. When it comes to extremely lightwind conditions, the new V8 Helium has a much deeper draft and tighter leech for more low-end grunt than any other sail. Each V8 Helium is designed around a specific body weight, creating a much more eﬃcient profile that delivers even more power. neilpryde.com

epIc moments In sAIL DesIGn

RAF lineup. Wilkings photo

1984: The first clamp-on boom and RAF (Rotating Asymmetrical Foil) sail concept born on April 1st and Barry Spanier remembers, “the RAF became a sail type overnight.”

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Nevin Sayre. Wilkings photo

1985: George Greenough develops a homemade carbon mast. Nevin Sayre (pictured) and Peter Quigley see it as the future and launch Fiberspar.

The ADTR truck. Rogers photo

1987: Testing sails in the desert with a truck at Gaastra’s ADTR program helped Bruce Peterson and Dave Russell come up with the concept of ‘twist’ leading to improved wind range and eﬃcincy.

Bjorn Dunkerbeck. Wilkings photo

1987: Reinhard Pascher of F2 begins using monofilm in sails, which reduces weight and stretch for much improved performance as shown by Bjorn Dunkerbeck.

SAILS

noRtH For 2009 the big news in sails is the wave-ready Ego, the first North sail specifically designed for RDM masts. It has shorter luﬀ lengths but still keeps the boom compact by using a cutaway clew. North’s three-piece mast system looks to simplify rigging and transportation. Not only does the mast fit into your sail bag, the middle piece can be swapped to create diﬀerent lengths. The often-overlooked boom also gets a makeover with North’s all-new iFront, which revolutionizes the way you interact with your rig, allowing you to change between more flex for high winds and choppy water or less flex for slalom and big sails. north-windsurf.com

Bjorn and Barry. Wilkings photo

1990: Spanier shows Dunkerbeck a new sail with which he will dominate. This is the first year for X-ply, a more durable and tearresistant grid monofilm.

RRD The RRD sail line is simple and to the point. The new Wave Vogue has enough detail and special features to be the most exclusive wave sail made. The new Super Style is designed to suit any wave and freestyle sailor on the planet. Whether you’re looking to go down-the-line in monster waves or spin around in flatwater the Super Style’s is made to perform. The Evolution is a easy-handling fast freeride sail made for early planing in the larger sizes and manoeuvrability in the smallers sizes. The Easy Ride and Kid Joy round out the lineup as perfect school rigs designed to make windsurfing fun for all. robertoriccidesigns.com

Dana Miller. Doutrich photo

1992: NoLimitz in the Columbia River Gorge releases the very first production Skinny masts.

sA I LW o R Ks Geometrically, Sailworks sails remain unchanged from 2008 (Retro pictured), except for some minor tweaks to a few sizes of the Revo. Through some minor luff curve adjustments, it was able to optimize the Revo’s “on/ off power” that waveriders and freestylers love. The biggest differences in the ’09 sails is in construction details and material applications. Every sail has had a “boot camp” review of its material, panel, patch and assembly, the goal being to cut fat and harden load paths. The individual changes are minor, but collectively, the impact greatly benefits the handling and responsiveness of Sailworks sails. sailworks.com

Nik Baker on a Total Flow. SSM photo

1996: A trend toward sails with shorter luﬀ lengths begin to appear like Gaastra’s Total Flow. The appearance of “flapper” course racing boards greatly influences sail design.

seVeRne Synergy, a revolutionary concept in rig design, marks the start of the ’09 product launch for Severne. A single Synergy-specific mast, boom and extension combination in a ready-to-go rig bag enables even first-time windsurfers to pick the right gear. All components carry colour coding for quick reference to the correct setting for each. Seize the perfect blend of performance and simplicity in one package. The successful Gator line connects wave, freemove and freeride sailing styles according to the size of sail chosen. severnesails.com

The ﬁrst Retro. Sailworks photo

1998: The recreation cam-less revolution begins with the release of the Sailworks Retro and Naish Noa.

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SAILS

SIMMER STY L E Simmer is on a mission for 2009. Hence the name of Tomas Persson’s new wavesails: the Mission and Mission X. The Mission is built in a tough monofilm construction, while the Mission X is the identical design made with indestructible X-ply. Also new for 2009 is the Iron, a power-positive wavesail shaped for early planing and easy handling. It’s perfect for fun when the waves are less than ideal. The Icon once again carries the flag as Simmer’s most popular wavesail, while the Xtype, 2XC and 3XC continues to rule as highperformance rigs in its respective freeride and freerace categories. simmerstyle.eu

VA N DA L Vandal Sails believe that big corporate brands spend too much time searching through clip-art archieves and butchering their sails with extra seams. Vandal is a new company that puts product function before the whimsey of any marketing department’s mandates. Once a sail’s design is complete then they look for “real art by real artists” when applying graphics. A simple three sail line covers the needs of most windsurfers: Enemy (wave), ReVerb (Freestsyle) and Addict (Freeride). Look for these Dan Kaseler designed sails to be making a splash on scenes everywhere in 2009. vandalsails.com

W I N DW I N G The Bash and Hammer lines have been further refined with a commitment to make high-performance, user-friendly sails. New design elements provide a quantum leap in comfort riding and wind range, creating a distinct-looking sail. “We actually talk people out of buying five or six sail quivers,” says Windwing Store manager Jonathon Merrell. “Less rigging and less investment is the key to Windwing’s guaranteed personal satisfaction.” Seeing Windwing’s owner John Chao ride only one sail (a Hammer RDM 6.9 m2) year round in Gorge conditions reflects its achievement in streamlining quivers. Merrell adds, “You rig once and sail all day. That’s where we think the fun begins.” windwing.com

W O R L D SA I L S World Sails’ goal remains the same: offer quality sails designed around their intended use for the given wind and water conditions. With only 14 total sails between the Blast and Surge lines, World Sails are designed precisely around the requests of its customers: large sails with ample power, medium sizes that are stable and light handling, and small high-wind sails that are durably built with rock-solid stability. For 2009 the Surge has more Dacron in the foot and head, and more X-ply in the 5.5 and 5.7 m2 to make for an even more durable sail. Making rigging easier, World Sails has also added a logo boom opener to every sail at the top of the boom cutout to aid threading the mast into the sail. sailworld.com

EPIC MOMENTS IN SAIL DESIGN

The Bonaire kids. PDK photo

2001: The kids’ rig revolution begins. These light sails look and perform just like mom and dad’s but come in sizes down to 0.8 m2.

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Metal X-ply. Neil Pryde photo

2004: Windsurfing sails are upgraded in the ‘looks’ department and become more U.V. resistant with the use of metalized X-ply.

Cuben ﬁbre. SurﬁngSports.com photo

2006: Aerotech uses a stronger, lighter grid material, called cuben fibre, leading the quest for better sail-cloth materials.

Special thanks to photographer Steve Wilkings and his encyclopedic website (stevewilkings.com) for most of these pictures.

BG 2009

components

cHI nooK This year Chinook announces the addition of sails and complete rig packages to its rigging products. The goal is to provide complete rigs with high-quality components for recreational and intermediate sailors at a low cost. The rigs come complete with Ezzy-made sails and every necessary Chinook component down to an uphaul and one-bolt tendon mast base. Chinook rigs provide beginner and intermediate windsurfers of all ages with confident, continued progression without expensive upgrades to its components. chinooksailing.com

F I B e R s pA R Fiberspar continues with a full range of carbonfibre masts, booms and base extensions to enhance the performance of any windsurfing rig. The premium performance of carbon components is well-known, but recently comes with a more premium price, primarily related to the high cost of raw materials. Fiberspar is working hard to oﬀer the best solutions for sailors, with masts ranging from 10 to 100 per cent carbon content to match any budget. The new Fiberspar all-carbon boom production has been on line for over a year with perfect results and an attractive price. In early 2009 the Fiberspar Posi-Lock mast extensions also return. ﬁbersparsports.com

GULFtecH Gulftech has the best reputation for performance mast, booms and bases in the world. Its Maximum boom has been the stiﬀest and most reliable Formula race boom for the past six years. With the rising cost of carbon and the devaluation of the U.S. dollar, Gulftech provides two lines of masts and two lines of booms. Its most reliable Italian-made masts continue to serve those with deep pockets, while a new line of masts and booms target the general recreational market. For 2009 Gulftech ups the benchmark for stiﬀ performance booms with a unique grip and complete makeover in components. windexpress.com

noLImItZ In 2009 Nolimitz Skinny masts showcase the optimum blend of aerospace-grade composite materials, high-end structural design and customer stoke. Product development for ’09 includes increased strength through specifically applied and oriented composite pre-impregnated patterns, new material testing, higher material yields and prototype work based on customer feedback and direction. The Sumo, the F.A.S.T. and the Original Skinny covers a wide range of sailing conditions and needs. Bend curves remain unchanged for 2009. Nolimitz is the only mast manufacturing facility located in North America. nolimitz.com

p oW e R e X Durability, performance, innovation and customer service are four reasons why Powerex is the best-selling mast on Maui and the largest mast maker in the world. It leads the industry in carbon fibre technology and backs up that expertise with the best warranty out there. Within its mast line there is the perfect standard diameter or reduced diameter mast for your sail and budget. Taking its extensive knowledge of carbon into a new direction, Powerex turned to renowned waterman Sean Ordonez to help design a swallowtail SUP paddle that hooks up earlier in the stroke and spills less water. powerexmasts.com

st R e A m L I n e D Dave Dominy designed the original “tendon” universal joint back in 1982, and has been pushing the performance level and durability of Streamlined components ever since. The Josh Angulo True Performance boom is tested and proven by the legend himself, claiming they are “the best booms he has ever used.” Light, stiff and strong, they have a small-grip diameter that is pleasing to the hands. The Redline extensions are newly evolved from Streamlined’s Super-lite line, which has been tried, tested and proven for years, and are made from unique 6061-T8 aluminum tubing. streamlined.us

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BOARDS

AmUnDson Born and raised on the North Shore of Oahu, John Amundson brings some of the most technologically advanced shaping and construction methods to the market in a line of products well suited to a wide range of use. To keep things simple, each board (11’3” pictured) comes equipped with fin, carry handle, full-length deck pad and mast track. Paddles range from the ultra-lightweight wood-veneer carbon paddle to the convenient T6 aluminum vario paddle. Simple sailing rigs are also available. The bottom line is that Amundson develops technically advanced products so your experience can be pure, simple and fun, no matter where you paddle. aquaglide.net

A n G U Lo Windsurfing has a few legends and Ed Angulo is certainly one of them. He is the longest-running windsurf board shaper in the industry. His sons Josh and Mark Angulo have won world championships on these shapes, so you know this is no flash in the pan. When you buy an Angulo board (Magnum pictured), you know you are buying quality, with its high performance and traditional shapes. The Cobra construction is proven to be tough and light, and the graphics are bright and fun. The brand’s unique distribution model sends the boards directly to the retailer, saving money for the consumer. angulodesigns.com

B I c s p oRt Two thousand nine marks the 30th anniversary of Bic Sport and the company is still going strong. Bic’s updated Nova and Core boards offer the best value in recreational board packages by far. The Techno and new Techno Pro epoxy series give progressing and more experienced sailors advanced shapes for top shortboard performance in all-around conditions. The Techno 293 One Design is the official ISAF International Class for the under-17 and under-15 competition, the largest windsurfing One Design class in the world. Finally, Bic’s full selection of rigs are packaged to complete any of Bic’s boards for maximum enjoyment, aﬀordability and windsurfing fun. bicsport.com

e Xoc e t Following the tremendous success of the already famous Black Machine Formula board, Exocet is proud to present the new pro versions of the SCross, Cross, Warp-SL, X-Wave, U-Surf, I-Style and Kona. These boards have been boosted with super-light constructions of full biaxial carbon carefully combined with Technora and Kevlar. Added stiﬀness and reduced weight in combination with integrated Double Density Shock Absorbers deliver ultimate performance and comfort without compromise. Two new additions to the Kona series include the 9’5” longboard waveboard and Kona standup paddleboard for those who want to paddle as well as sail. exocet-original.com

Best BoARDs 1970-87

Superlight in action.

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Baja Board (1970) “One of the first 70 Schweitzer/Drake boards leading to the original Windsurfer.”—Bruce Matlack • Windsurfer Rocket 99 (1982) —Keith Teboul • Mistral Superlight (1984) “Old faithful. I still cruise on it in light air.” —Nevin Sayre; “The Superlight was a ton of fun in light air and the spring-loaded fin would retract back at full speed or if you hit a rock.” —John Bryja; “It’s still one of the best lightwind boards.” —Pepi Gerald; “Awesome lightwind machine. Excellent pointing and fun to freestyle.” —Todd Eversole; “Racing 200 people at the Sanibel causeway is so fun.” —Jason Diﬃn Bic 750 (1984) “I almost quit windsurfing when it was stolen oﬀ the roof of my car in highschool.” —Kent Marinkovic • Mistral Equipe (1986) “An untouchable raceboard. I never owned one but spent thousands of dollars trying to keep up on customs.” —Andy Morrell • F2 Sunset Slalom (1986) “This board revolutionized the shortboard world.” —Matt Pritchard; “I don’t know why, but I just liked this board.” —Mitch Gingrich

BOARDS

F2 The FX Z is the only new F2 Formula board on the market for 2009. Shaper Patrik Diethelm put a lot of eﬀort and testing into this board and the feedback received from racing scenes around the world have been overwhelmingly good so far. F2 is currently looking to expand its Formula team for the upcoming year. Applications can be sent to Karin.Jaggi@ f2.com. Last year F2 produced a limited Team Edition line of slalom boards that were put to the test over the full length of the PWA season. The result is this year’s SX PWA edition—incredibly fast yet surprisingly easy to use. f2.com

FA nAt I c With all team riders competing on prototype boards and an 18- to 24-month development cycle, Fanatic ensures that it only puts the best-performing boards into production. Gollito Estredo used the improved speed and pop of the ’09 Skate freestyle boards to reclaim his PWA freestyle title. The all-new NewWave Twin helped Victor Fernandez claim second overall in waves this year, proving Fanatic’s claims of developing a twin fin that works in all conditions. On the speedier side, the Ray is a result of updates made to the Falcon slalom line. The Ray is a board that seeks to bring Fanatic titles in the newly emerging one-hour marathon slalom format. fanatic.com

G oYA The 2009 Goya board range is the ultimate progression in CNCshape design (Custom pictured). The Consistent Flow Concept, precisely blending the advantages of the panel vee bottom with single and double concave characteristics, makes next year’s range the fastest and most forgiving to date. Riding through chop turns into fun with these smooth and fast rides, oﬀering the most possible rail control and dynamics. You will immediately feel and embrace the possibilities of these new boards. Consistent Flow naturally brings more volume underneath your feet, so it might be worth trying smaller sizes than you’d usually go for. Welcome to the next level. goyaboards.com

Jp - AUstR A LIA Lighter boards simply perform better and are more fun to ride. That’s why it’s a passion for JP-Australia to oﬀer the lightest boards on the market. In 2003 it introduced the lightest boards available with a Pro Edition of its freestyle line. Since then, other brands have followed with Team, Limited and Red Dot editions. Now JP is establishing a new standard by oﬀering nearly every model it makes in its remarkable Pro Edition (X-cite Ride pictured). It has used years of knowledge utilizing materials such as carbon and Kevlar to ensure that JP boards set the standard for weight, durability and performance regardless of the style of board that suits you best. jp-australia.com

Best BoARDs 1988-95

Robert Teriitehau’s

Bic Electric Rock (1988) “One of the easiest boards to sail and it could win races.” —Andy Brandt; “A true classic.” —Mark Chandler • Mistral Screamer (1989) “Super high level performance with easy accessibility.” —Gary Stone; “Fast, early planing and indestructible.” —Jane Cormier; “It felt light for back then and jumped eﬀortlessly.” —Wyatt Miller • Bic Astro Rock (1989) “A shortboard for the masses.” —Jon Ford • Fanatic Ultra Boa (1989) “I learned to waterstart and jump on it, plus the graphics were cool.” —Ian Brown • F2 Sputnik 270 (1990) “A devastatingly fast board.” —Kean Roo Rogers • Mistral Explosion (1993) “The first production board worth owing.” —Jamie Reekie • F2 Axxis 260 (1993) “Handled Gorge conditions with style.” —Rick Bruner • Bic Vivace 270 (1994) “Fast and jibed like it was on rails. It was the coolest when Robert Teriitehau jumped his out of the indoor pool at Bercy.” —Nils Rueter • Hifly Revo (1995) “A legendary beginner board. Who hasn’t learned on one?” —Jem Hall. E-rock. Wilkings pho

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BOARDS

mIstRAL Mistral is pushing the limits of every level and style of windsurfer for 2009. For wave junkies there are the all-new Twinzer waveboards. Riders everywhere can now slash harder than ever. The Twinzer allows you to turn sharper oﬀ the bottom to stay close to the critical section and get even more vertical oﬀ the lip. At the other end of the spectrum, Mistral leads the longboard revolution with two new designs. With an all-carbon construction and the longest daggerboard in production, the Equipe III is 286 litres of mega-longboard power. The Ventura seeks versatility with a long enough waterline to regain the lightwind performance lost to the super-wide boards of recent years. mistral.com

nAIsH Naish is a core brand that stands true to its image by developing gear that makes windsurfing fun and easy while setting quality standards for the entire industry. For 2009 a number of Naish boards come complete with a board bag as part of Naish’s goal to become more eco-friendly. The new Naish Wave line is designed not only to perform for Robby Naish but for the average wavesailor needing a board that combines durability with light weight. The new rocker line and step rail make these boards more stable and easier to turn than ever. Both the Global Wave and All Terrain ranges have been extended and are particularly well suited to varying water conditions. naishsails.com

. SSM photo

Josh Stone on the Air & Style

oe s - AUstR A L I A Peter Ross of OES-Australia has been building pure waveboards since 1988. Holding 20 years of experience watching all manner of production boards explode, Ross is now dedicated to building his boards by hand with superior materials. The OES mission is to make boards that are bomber, light and fast on the water. It doesn’t matter which board you choose; OES shifts the shapes from board to board, not the construction. It’s a production cost for a custom build. Whether you want the amazing agility, ferocity and drive of the Twin Fin or the speed across chop and lip-hammering ability of the X Wave to slash, it’s a crisp and responsive ride. OES guarantees it. oesaustralia.com

Q UAt R o The 2009 Quatro Wave boards are fast. As shaper Keith Teboul puts it, “There is a vibrant balance between a drivey enough board and a turny enough board. Our waveboards are real waveboards.” A year has passed since Quatro started the trend with its Wave Twin Fin boards and the response has been overwhelming. Both professional and casual sailors have shifted gears and gone for this powerful design. The Freestyle Wave features a fast rocker for instant planing, and a more compact shape lets them excel in all conditions. The Freeride boards evolve from last year’s model with better acceleration, excellent top speed, lighter weight and a super-fast rocker. quatrointernational.com

Best BoARDs 1996-99 AHD Pro Convert 267 (1997) “It did everything well and I still have one in my garage.” —Eduardo Owen • F2 Air & Style (1998) “The first dedicated freestyle board. This one started my favourite class of boards.” —Pete DeKay • Mistral Wave 253 (1998) —Todd Elsley Bic Saxo 270 (1998) “It was so great: quick, turny and bulletproof.” —Don Jackson • Starboard Go (1998) “When it came out people laughed at how short and wide it was. Little did they know that it would sell by the container full and revolutionize all modern day board designs.” —John Carter • Bic Techno 283 (1999) “Got more people in the footstraps than any other board.” —Karen Marriott Seatrend Radical Wave (1999) “The first board I bought with my own money.” —Tyson Poor • Naish Freeride 8’7” (1999) “It’s gunny shape made it great for cruising the San Francisco Bay at high speed and searching for ramps.” —Kevin Kan.

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BOARDS

RRD Roberto Ricci’s philosophy of “nonstop research and development” results in a board range that is astonishing for both its beauty and performances ratio. The waveboard range, based on the solid performance of the Wave Cult lines, grows with the addition of the Wave Twin LTD. These new twin-fin wave shapes bring a new sensation from the world of pro waveriders to the average rider. Two new sizes are added to the Freestyle Wave line, making it the largest and most “custom-made” line of windsurfing boards ever produced. On the slalom side, the new commitment to the PWA Tour leads to five new X-Fire LTD boards for ultimate racing thrills. robertoriccidesigns.com

stA R B oA R D There are two new groundbreaking products from Starboard for 2009: the Kode and Futura. The Kode is a new wave-freestyle range and is Starboard’s flagship range for 2009. Its blend of speed, power and manoeuvring accuracy for both wave and freestyle disciplines is just perfect. The second-generation Futura is also an exciting range in its 2009 collection. Using a thinner shape concept, Starboard has improved the speed, responsiveness and manoeuvrability while making the ride more comfortable and stable through a greater wind range. This means the Futura’s range has a huge sweet spot that delivers peak performance more easily, regardless of changes in conditions. star-board.com

tHom m e n Change for change’s sake is not one of Peter Thommen’s habits. T1’s generation 3.1 R and D focus starts with the goal of a superior construction. Ultra-light highmodulus 1K carbon for the RS slalom models and re-engineered internal and external structures throughout the range set a new industry standard in terms of quality and value. With its unique transparent high-gloss finish and brand-name components such as MeanLine CNC G10 fins and board bags, T1 clearly establishes itself as a high-end brand. The T1 FreeX, CrossX and MauiWaveX lines are shaped for performance, range and ease of use. thommen1.com

tA B o U Tabou is excited about the development of its Rocket series for 2009. Building from well-established shapes, the new Rockets have reached an all-time high. Tabou’s unique doubleconcave front section allows for rocker lines that part the waters in front of you, making chop disappear. Speed and planing come naturally to this easy-riding range of boards. Starting at 145 litres and working all the way down to 95, the simple and impressive range of Rockets suits advanced freeriders all the way down to the beginning shortboarder. To get this range, Rockets are available in GT, Standard and LTD constructions. tabou-boards.com

Best BoARDs 2000-09 Fanatic Randle (2000) “Sweet performance and cool skull graphics.” —Ben Kurman AHD Maxx Ride 62 (2000) “I started sailing it before I could jibe and didn’t retire it until landing Spocks.” —Matt Case • Mistral Naish Floater (2000) “The only board I ever owned for more than one season. I kept it for four.” —Matt Aiken • Tiga FreeCarve 256 (2001) “A board that was way ahead of its time.” —Derek Rijﬀ • RRD Freestyle Wave S (2003) “This was by far my best board.” —Patrick Bergeron Starboard Evo (2004) “Transformed my wavesailing, and waveboard design as well.” —Tony Kardol • Exocet Kona (2005) “It’s made my sailing skunk-proof.” —John Ingebritsen • Fanatic Freewave 86 (2005) “A do-everything board for the sailor who can only own one.” —Temira Wagonfeld • Quatro Twin Fin (2008) “Keith Teboul’s twin fin designs are amazing.” —David Ezzy • Starboard 12’6” SUP (2008) “My favourite after windsurﬁng for 30 years.” —Svein Rasmussen • Naish Wave 80 (2009) “Ultimate riding performance with a classic look.” — Michi Schweiger.

Scott McKercher’s orig

inal Evo. PWA photo

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getting real

Jacques Pauvert I’m 43 years old now, and time seems to be flying by. Everything changes around me: my personal life, my house and my restaurant, Jacques Northshore bistro in Maui. But the one thing that doesn’t change is the sensation of arriving down at the beach to go windsurfing. It’s such a comfortable atmosphere, hanging and sailing with my friends. I love when Robby Naish calls me and says, “Let’s go for a rocket blast.” It feels the same as it did 10 years ago. I’m out there smiling for no reason, being crazy and afraid of nothing. The difference now is that I can also enjoy this deep passion with two generations by sharing the ocean with Kai Lenny and Robby. The connection between the ocean and my body keeps me young. To me, windsurfing is a long journey that can sometimes be frustrating when waiting for waves and wind, but sharing a moment out there with your friends in the beautiful ocean with the wind blasting in your face, water blasting under your board, and a big smile on your face is priceless.

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A windsurfing chef. Oreve photo

close out

Why Whit Didn’t Win Words by MITCH GINGRICH Photo by RYAN TOASPERN

Being judged sucks because judges never get it right. A judge possesses the ability to render irrelevant all the work you invest in training with hardly more than a flick of the wrist. That same power burdens the judge. He sits on the beach, watches the competitors, and delivers a verdict, destroying the dreams of those he judges. After the event, it’s time for defense. The judge always hears about his mistakes. Of course, there are those times when a judge delivers a verdict with which you finally agree. Rare, yes, but it happens. In windsurfing, this verdict gives you a title of some sort, and enough cash to rent a go-kart for 30 seconds. Go-karts are an awesome rush, but really competitors crave validation. Finally, you have to take him seriously as a competitor. It’s a transition from thinking you can, to knowing you did. Agreement occurs at a very low percentage. Only one competitor will be satisfied. If there are 30 competitors, the happiness quotient (the number of competitors judged and happy with the result divided by the number of competitors judged and unhappy with the result) equals 3 per cent. That’s decent interest on a chequing account balance, but not exactly a target for a utilitarian enterprise. Competition intends and designs a champion, which in turn means a bunch of unhappy losers. According to social understanding no person can claim superiority, even through achievement. Each person has an equal right to a wave or ramp because no authority exists (like a boss or set of rules respecting the achievements of the actors in question) to say that performance equals a reward. Egalitarianism flattens the world and erases all the differences people would otherwise be happy to show.

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Competition represents one of the last permissible refuges of the jungle; it’s the place where our social egalitarianism allows these suppressed tendencies to express themselves openly. When Nathan Mershon won the Gorge Games in 2000, we went out to dinner. He wore his medal. I didn’t really understand why back then, but it makes sense now. He earned the right to finally say, “I am the best.” (Of course, if you know Nathan, you know this is the closest he’ll ever get to bragging.) If you haven’t earned that right, you’ll never fully get it. If you haven’t the desire to try, you can’t understand at all. The tension between the social rules of competition and the norms of equality held by the larger society manifests in the competitors’ reaction to a decision against him. He’s taught that he’s special and unique. He learned a few moves and believes he’s a good sailor. If he’s special, he cannot lose. His conception of reality (he’s a good sailor) just met up with a very real reaction for which he is incapable of explaining. His only choices are to abandon his specialness and admit he was not up to par, or to explain away the result by asserting the wrongness of the world for not conforming to his vision. Most people take the second approach, where it becomes the judge’s fault. Competition takes place in the jungle. Hunting tigers don’t wish away the mountains, rivers, valleys, trees and vines. They use them. A judge has a set of ideas about what it takes to win. Those ideas draw a map to success for the competitor. It’s incumbent upon those entering this jungle to understand it, and if necessary overcome. Many times you’ll hear the gasping of a competitor asserting unfairness (I’ve done it and am retarded). That’s retarded. Competitors, listen up, the judge determines who wins. It’s as easy as that. Knowing his mind is to know what it takes to win. A competition ought to be a meritorious event. And, it is. It’s just that the merits

advertised as those necessary to win (the completion of moves within an arbitrary and discrete box of time) aren’t necessarily those that the judge looks for. Whit Poor sailed against his brother Tyson in an event final last summer. I watched the heat. Tyson won. I know because the judges said so. Still, there were a few strewn through the crowd that thought Whit ought to win. If I judged that event, my vote goes to Whit. Now, it’s also going to sound very weird to see me write that Tyson deserved to win. The judge sits in a position of balance between competing social goods. He not only has to consider the things that make a decision correct in terms of that time-frame, but one that also must balance his broader sense of justice. The dilemma is simple. Tyson, at the time, was a much better sailor than Whit. He put his work in, sailed hard, and cared for his reputation with sponsors and through the media. The evidence of work was clearly in his favour in terms of overall sailing skill. Whit was killing it last summer, but Tyson was phenomenal. The judge needed to decide between a person who for eight minutes was better, and a person who over a broader period of time demonstrated vastly more skill. Is it permissible to give the man who ought to win (according to a broader justification) the reward? Or is it necessary to ignore the efforts of a man simply because they were outside an arbitrary box of time? I chose the box of time when I judged. It pained me. Judges face this dilemma, and more often than not, they side with the broader sense of justice… like it or not. If you want to beat a rival with a superior reputation, buckle down and make it painfully clear. That’s how you become king of the jungle. Whit didn’t do that. Whit didn’t win. Watch out, though, because he’s got a wicked lion’s main and the attitude to match.

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