CATEGORIES

Powellin' Around

Lake Powell is the second largest man-made reservoir in the United States, situated on the border between Utah and Arizona… and completely offradar for windsurfing! Kevin Pritchard gets his redneck boots on for a sideways look at its beautiful scenery.

Pol - 1111

Justyna Sniady has become one of the world’s best women wave sailors despite being born in Warsaw, Poland, working a full time job and breaking 15 bones over years of trying to make it to the top. Her journey is an unconventional one, but testament to her strength of character and passion for windsurfing. Finn Mullen and John Carter caught up with the talented Polish sailor to find our more about her success.

Jack Of All Trades And Master Of One

Are You Better Off For Having Not Windsurfed From The Cradle? Harty Champions ‘Generalism’.

Fuerte' Or Bust

With three days to complete a photo shoot and a last minute diversion across continents, Geraldton based photographer / fireman, Mathias Moerman, charts how a mission to capture Severne’s team and 2020 product in action turned into love at first sight with the island of Fuerteventura.

ITA - 2111

Francesca Floris, ITA-2111, is an insiprational Italian windsurfer who doesn’t let age get in the way of ability. In her late fifties she competed earlier this year in the PWA freestyle event in Bonaire, winning heats and finishing a very respectable 6th place overall. She gives us an insight into her life and how she started freestyling at 47!

Chasing The Dream

Ricardo Campello, V-111, has been chasing his dream of becoming PWA overall wave champion for many years now. Last year in Sylt he came agonizingly close to winning the title but lost in a super final to Thomas Traversa in tricky conditions. In 2019 he started the year without a sail sponsor, but through his own resources managed to make an online appeal to find backing. After kicking off the season with an emphatic victory in Pozo, an event dominated by Philip Koester and Victor Fernandez for over a decade, is this the year when the gifted Venezuelan can finally fulfil his dreams? John Carter caught up with Ricardo to hear his thoughts on the title race and a whole lot more.

Front Hand Rules

Want to improve your windsurfing? Then start with your front hand says Sam Ross; he tells us why.

Freeride Foil Test

AFS W85 FOIL AND AHD TOPAZ 127 BOARDWEB WWW.KAISPORTS.CO.UK / WWW.AFS-FOILS.COM / WWW.AHD-BOARDS.COM PRICE FOIL: £1199 F-800 WING: £549 BOARD: £1499

Caribbean Travel Guide

If you’re looking for a windsurf holiday destination, somewhere with warm, windy turquoise waters and no-stress vibes is a pretty good place to start, and that’s exactly what the Caribbean specialises in. From the butter smooth waters of Bonaire to idyllic Tobago, find out more about some of the best destinations in the region with our Caribbean travel guide.

Back To The Future

Former PWA world wave champion Scott McKercher needs little introduction, but if you have been following his latest adventures, you’ll know that outside of running his board company ‘SMIK’, he’s been frothing on all things foiling. Read on as Scott charts his journey form reluctant foiling participant to fully fledged fan and why he thinks foiling’s evolution is happening at ‘back to the future’ speeds!

Are You Going Yet?

Whether you’re a racer, wave sailor, trickster or a strong wind ‘newbie’, the ability to get planing and strapped in early and without fuss remains the most potent of all the skills. Harty sheds much light.

All In

When Cloudbreak, one of the world’s heaviest waves, looks set to rock with wind and waves, you can be sure one man has his eye on sailing it – Jason Polakow. Teaming up with the Brazilian powerhouse, Marcilio Browne, the duo packed their bags for an ‘all in’ strike mission to the legendary Fijian break; this is their story.

Team Work

Behind every brand lies a team of dedicated specialists whose job it is to design and bring to market a range. John carter lifts the lid on the inner workings of northsails and the men behind the scenes that have kept them among the elite of the windsurfing industry for over twenty years and continue to fuel their reputation for innovation.

Beside The Seaside

In the concluding episode on his guide to ocean windsurfing, Peter Hart tweaks your techniques and teaches us how to deal with this new, expansive, undulating environment.

Lucky Sixes!

Earlier this spring in Maui, the GA / Tabou team, along with infiltrator Timo Mullen, clocked into a surprise late season session at Jaws. The forecast medium sized swell by far exceeded expectations and late in the afternoon there was a golden hour, when the waves pumped over six metres and six lucky sailors scored a rare uncrowded session. John Carter and Graham Ezzy report on a lucky day at Pe’ahi.

Solo Perouse

Located on the south side of Maui, La Perouse is one of the best waves on the island to surf or sail. Back in the 90’s it was the hot spot to windsurf during the summer months, but with the rapid increase in surfing’s popularity, it has been effectively shutdown for windsurfers for the last 15 years. With a huge south swell forecast however, Jason Polakow couldn’t resist the lure of a session there. Read on as Pozza tells us more in his inimitable style!

Alex Mussolini

Alex Mussolini is one of the best wavesailors in the world, a threat at every contest and continues to be a world title contender. Hailing from surf-starved Barcelona, he has had to earn his wavesailing credentials through hard work and dedication. One of the most passionate sailors on tour, he wears his heart very much on his sleeve and is vocal about the good and bad of life as a professional athlete and our sport is all the richer for his character and skills. John Skye finds out more from Alex about his life, loves and why “windsurfing is like a relationship.”

Cornish Cruncher

The equation of a twenty foot wind swell and bolt onshore fifty knot northerly winds on the north coast of Cornwall for wave sailing just doesn’t add up; unless of course you have a screw loose like the Motley Crew! Aided by Ian Black’s ever reliable on the spot ‘intel’, JC and Timo Mullen drove through the night up the A31 to be on hand for a wild and windy day and the rare opportunity to sail St Ives Harbour, a quality left hander normally loaded with surfers. Once the word spread that this hit and run mission was going down, PWA head judge, Duncan Coombs, couldn’t resist joining the mayhem. JC recounts a day to remember out west.

Aussie Rules!

Malcom Bonzer is a ‘true blue Aussie’ and guest ‘fake news’ reporter this issue on a very alternative type of windsurfing contest. Crass, crude and definitely not P.C., read on as Malcom tells us more with his tongue firmly bolted to his cheek.

Highs And Lows

Multiple world champion Kevin Pritchard has been competing for over two decades. Far from retiring, he is still on the podium and winning against sailors half his age. A seasoned professional, he has encountered the full range of emotions, good and bad, an athlete faces in their career. He shares with us some of his personal highs and lows of windsurfing competition and the experiences that have shaped him.

The Power Of Choice

For such a sport that is so dependent on nature, windsurfing so far has done very little to look at the environmental cost of the production of its equipment. Starboard wants to change that and is leading the charge through reduction of plastics in its packaging and use of environmentally friendly materials where possible. Recent Starboard signing, Flo Jung, tells us about their latest venture to produce an eco-friendly board using Balsa and discusses the challenges of meeting windsurfing’s obligation for more sustainable choices.

Staghunt

When Chris ‘Muzza’ Murray has his stag do, you just know there is going to be a story worth telling! George Shillito tells the tale and provides us with some inspiration for alternative stags and WindSUP adventures.

Rising Appeal

When we conducted our review on WindSUPs last year, we didn’t anticipate the amount of interest it would whip up. This year windsurfing foils will try to come in and steal the limelight, yet we’re still hedging our bets for the WindSUP to win out in the popularity stakes. So why the grip of attention - what is the appeal? We sent our test team in to investigate the developments on the market for 2017.

Life In Older Dogs

Encouraging news for those of advancing years – you may not be past your peak.

Mauritius Attitude Challenge 2018

The Mauritius Attitude Challenge (MAC) is an event inspired by the fun and party atmosphere of Défi Wind but with a Mauritian twist of turquoise water, trade winds and coral reef! The 2018 competition took place in mid July and was blessed with great conditions and a win for a team of British sailors! We hear from the organizer and a selection of competitors on what made it such a great event to be a part of.

The X Factor

A perfect four firsts from four races gave Antoine Albeau a decisive slalom victory at the 2018 PWA Fuerteventura Grand Slam. Antoine’s track record in Sotavento’s choppy waters is phenomenal, winning eleven out of the last twelve years, a unique record from the twenty-four-time world champion! John Carter went round the pits to ask his rivals and the big man himself what gives him the edge over his peers at this legendary location!

Onshore Speed

Unless you’re blessed with consistent down the line conditions, for most of us wave sailing is about generating speed in less than ideal wind and surf. For the men and women of the PWA it’s no different when they have to compete in light and onshore conditions and this year’s PWA Wave World Cup event in El Medano, Tenerife was a prime example. John Carter went beachside in El Medano to ask the pros their tips for generating speed in typical ‘real world’ conditions, while Finn Mullen speaks to the designers of JP boards and Goya sails for their insight into the design parameters for speed generation.

2018 Waist Harness Buyer's Guide

If you feel like upgrading your waist harness for something fresh for 2018, then check out our buyer’s guide with some of the latest product from the brands and some expert advice from German ripper Klaas Voget.

A Rising Influence

The birth and subsequent growth of stand-up-paddling brought about a positive and much needed injection of interest into watersports in general. One of the key drivers was that it was easy to understand, and more importantly easy to access, bringing the sport into the mainstream. Simply grab a board and paddle, and away you go! And with the first boards that hit the market being long and wide, the early-adopting windsurfing brands quickly realised there was an opportunity for some crossover between the two sports. So not long after the dawn of SUP production came the emergence of the windsurfing-SUP board – a.k.a. windSUP.

Waves Anyone? Entry-Level Wave Sailing

Peter Hart has been leading courses into swells for a few decades. Backed by comments and reflections from clients who’ve taken on the challenge, he describes the true nature of the game. Here’s a clue – it’s not all about the wind but about preparation and revisiting the most basic skills.