CATEGORIES

Defi Wind Japan

Miyako island in Okinawa Prefecture played host to the inaugural Defi Wind Japan last month and interestingly the City of Miyakojima, which includes not only Miyako Island, but also five other populated islands, is twinned with the island of Maui! Japanese windsurfing culture is one of the most interesting in the world and combining it with the DéfiWind concept was always going to be an interesting mix; we talk to some of the athletes and organisers to get a flavour of the event.

Exploring Israel's Windsurfing

Boasting 275 km of coastline with access to the Mediterranean and the Red Sea, Israel enjoys solid wind statistics all year round and offers everything from flat water to waves. It has a buoyant windsurfing community, but outside of the country relatively little is known about it as a windsurfing destination; Eric de Cruz made a trip there with PWA slalom sailor Benjamin ‘Babou’ Augé and Esteban de Cruz to find out more.

Move On Up - Gybe Exits

This month we look at the gybe exit. It requires us to be very efficient and consistent in handling the rig in a clew first position, and also challenges our early planing skills. The best news is you can really nail many of the clew first skills at slower speeds in light winds on bigger boards. And we can improve our speed out of the gybe by working on our early planing skills. If we have a strong and ‘active’ getting planing position then the nirvana of a planing gybe exit is so much closer! We can be working on this even before we learn to gybe, so we have our gybe endings already nailed before we attempt to carve!

Freestyle King

Born in 1989 in Porlamar, the largest city on Isla Margarita, Venezuela, “Gollito“ Jose Estredo grew up in the windsurfing playground of El Yaque, home to fellow PWA freestyle champion, Ricardo Campello. At the tender age of 13 he entered his first professional competition and won his first PWA freestyle world title in 2006, his ninth world title in 2018 and the smart money is on number 10 for 2019! In the ever-changing world of freestyle, one thing remains constant, Gollito winning! So what is the secret of his success, we ask his peers and the man himself.

Under Starter's Orders

This is the first occasion we’ve had an entry-level freeride sail category in our test schedule, which left our test team asking the most basic question, “What is required of an ideal first-time freeride engine?” And if the parameters are agreed and set, which of them should be prioritised? Ease of rigging and ease of use? Cost and affordability, or durability and range? Over to the team to expand.

Miriam Asmussen

Norwegian racer Miriam Rasmussen was a late starter to windsurfing, but that hasn’t held her back. From competing around the world to setting national speed records, Miriam has forged her own path in the sport from a challenging beginning. Learn more about Miriam’s inspiring path as she tells us in her own words, “The story so far, …or how I stopped worrying and learned to love windsurfing!”

Gunsails Bow Concept

One look at the Gunsails BOW sail tells you it’s different, very different! It has a specially developed mast to go with its radical head design and in contrast to established modern designs, doesn’t have a loose leech. To get the lowdown on the BOW and find out more about its design, we caught up with designer Pieter Bijl.

Stormy Dreams

Harty sings the praises of the storm chasing shenanigans in Donegal.

108 HOURS

Norwegian windsurfers, Oda Johanne Stokstad Brødholt and Håkon Skorge hit the road in continental Europe, following forecasts and checking out new spots in their self-converted camper van. From Norway to Portugal via Switzerland and back to Norway, taking in Spain and Sweden on the way, it was 108 hours of driving. Was it worth it? Read on and decide as Oda documents the highs and lows of their ‘Euro’ trip.

Amazing Amado

Jack of all windsurfing trades and master of them all, Amado Vrieswijk is one of windsurfing’s ultimate all-rounders. From incredible double air culos in freestyle to being one of the top foil racers in the world, his skills are not confined to one discipline. Born in Bonaire, he continues to keep up its tradition of producing world-class windsurfers. The talented Dutchman tells us more about his life.

Move On Up

THE DUCK GYBEThis month I urge you to get into and improve the duck gybe as it feels great, looks cool and is another fantastic milestone in our sport. It is also simpler, in some ways, than the carve gybe and will actually help you improve these too. It may actually yield your first planing exit in a gybe!

BOSS BEACH

Cotillo – the very name used to strike fear into mast manufacturers. Its notorious waves gave birth to many fledgling pro careers and death to many rigs in wave sailing’s formative years. Located on the NW shore of Fuerteventura, it’s a beach break with a reputation as one of the heaviest in the archipelago and deservedly so – when it comes to Canarian beach breaks, Cotillo is the boss. On their final day of a four-day stint in the Canary Islands, John Carter and Timo Mullen on a high from an epic session with current men’s world champion Philip Koester in Jameos Del Agua in Lanzarote decided to go 2 for 2 and sail with women’s world champion Iballa Moreno and take on the challenge of Cotillo! John, Iballa, Timo and Corky Kirkham tell us more about the session and their relationship with the island.

Journey To The Med

Our last update from Jono Dunnett and his epic round Europe windsurf expedition was in our April 2018 issue where we left the adventurer off the coast of Spain. We catch up with him this issue as he heads out from Galicia, NW Spain and back to the open ocean, heading down the Atlantic coast of Spain and Portugal, bound for the Mediterranean.

The Long And Short Of It

Whether it’s the behemoths of long boards past or their modern incarnation, windSUPs, Peter Hart contends that, “There is eternal beauty in length.”

Ho'okipa Breakdown

Ho’okipa is one of the most famous wavesailing breaks in the world and home to some notorious kit crunching rocks. But not every day is mast high plus and on flat days the famed spot can be ticked off the bucket list by a reasonably competent sailor. If you’ve ever fancied a go or want to know more about Ho’okipa’s nuances, then read on as Robby Swift gives a guide to the iconic wave and a breakdown on the ins and outs of sailing his adopted home break.

High Winds

If you fancy windsurfing in the Swiss Alps, 1800 metres above sea level, then Lake Silvaplana is the spot. Located in the Engadin valley region in the eastern Swiss Alps, southeastern Switzerland, it is home to one of the ‘highest’ windsurfing clubs and longest running windsurfing competitions in the world. We caught up with Christian Mueller, co-founder of the EFPT and head of the Engadinwind event team and Italian freestyle young gun, Riccardo Marca, to find out more about the pristine alpine spot and its competition scene.

The Rough Stuff

When the going gets rough, what do you do with slalom stuff? The 2018 Ulsan PWA World Cup in Jinha Beach, South Korea tested PWA slalom sailors to their limits with high winds and choppy seas. So how do they adjust their tactics and equipment to handle the rough stuff and what did they think of some of the most extreme slalom racing to take place in years. A selection of the world’s best racers share their knowledge and experiences.

Rediscovering Aruba

I remember the moment vividly, it was late May 2011, and I sat in the pristine white sand of “Fisherman’s Huts”, overlooking layers of turquoise as the sun set into the Caribbean Sea. I sat facing the dying rays, alone, feeling blue and oblivious to the beauty around me. My heart had already sunk somewhere deep inside me. I felt hunger, exhaustion, and yes I’ll admit it, I even felt cold. It was the end of a long succession of PWA World Tour competitions, and this last one in Aruba got to me. I windsurfed terribly, had one of my worst results, and I couldn’t recall a minute I enjoyed from the entire week. My confidence and motivation were trampled upon like never before. Not only did I hope to never compete in Aruba again, I also vowed to never return.

Father Time

A newborn baby inspires Graham Ezzy to reflect on his life as a father and son, as the Ezzy windsurfing dynasty continues to grow.

The Kit Factor

However good and versatile kit is these days, bad choices are still the number one barrier to progress. Peter Hart offers some prime examples.

The Long Glide

“Still glides the Stream, and shall for ever glide; The Form remains, the Function never dies.” William Wordsworth.

Inner Mongolia

Inner Mongolia is an autonomous region of northern China, bordering both the Republic of Mongolia and Russia. Far from the coast, it isn’t the first place in the world you think of for windsurfing, but intrepid Norwegian windsurfer Miriam Rasmussen travelled there to compete in a race and explore the sailing around the city of Wuhai, located on the Yellow River between the Gobi and Ordos deserts. Read on as Miriam gives us an insight into the area, its windsurfing and how China is embracing our sport.

Check Yourself

Carole Fowler raises awareness of prostate cancer an important male health issue that caused the death of her late husband.

Gateway To Gaming

When we last tested crossover boards of this size a couple of years ago, the first few designs influenced by the compact concept (initially seen in wave boards) were beginning to come through. Today, more than half the lineup on test here has a connection to the ‘short and parallel’ concept, but are they becoming commonplace for the right reason? In other words, do the new designs definitively offer performance benefits or is change happening purely for change’s sake? We sent our test team in to find out

JP FREESTYLE WAVE 103

WEB WWW.JP-AUSTRALIA.COM PRICE PRO £1999 FWS £1649

QUATRO POWER PRO 105

WEB WWW.QUATROWINDSURFING.COM PRICE £1949

TABOU 3S PLUS 106

WEB WWW.TABOU-BOARDS.COM PRICE CED £1759 LTD £1999

SIMMER HELIX 105

WEB WWW.SIMMERSTYLE.COM PRICE £1899

STAR BOARD KODE FREEWAVE 103 FLAX BALSA

WEB WWW.STAR-BOARD-WINDSURFING.COM PRICE CARBON REFLEX £2459 FLAX BALSA £1679

Black Sea Tales

We last caught up with Jono Dunnett on his round Europe windsurf adventure as he landed in Istanbul. Here he picks up the story as he continues his epic voyage, venturing further into the Black Sea along Turkey’s coastline and into Georgia. Read on as Jono reflects on his journey.