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.
SARAH-QUITA OFFRINGA
The first time I saw anything about Miyako island was about two years ago. Andrea Cucchi and Matteo Iachino sailing near a bridge over impossibly blue water!! What a sight. Not something you’d expect from Japan right? So when I received the invite for this event I grabbed the opportunity with both hands. I’ve been to Tokyo once and most people visiting Japan will only go there, but how many people will be able to say they’ve been to the tropical islands in the south of Japan? Fun fact - people in Okinawa, which is the bigger island near Miyako, live to over a hundred years old! So maybe there is something magical about this place!
Getting to Miyako felt like an odyssey. I did two 11 hour flights in a row before having a layover in Tokyo. I arrived there in the afternoon with the Dutch windsurf magazine editor Mart. Obviously we had to check out town, so we went to Shibuya crossing. It was a funny process finding the right metro ticket and transferring at different stations. Apparently Japanese people have a hard time saying no, so even when they mean no, their head will still shake yes, which left our jet lagged and foggy brains confused. We finally figured it out with some help with people on the subway. Had some rice and noodles in town before finding our way back with our sleepy heads, to catch four hours of much-needed sleep before our last flight to Miyako.
It took me 3 flights and about 50 hours in total before I could stretch my legs and set foot outside the airport in Miyako only to arrive at the beach and feel like I never left home!. The water was gorgeous and there was a welcoming breeze. Guys like Phillip Koester, Bjorn Dunkerbeck, Andrea Cucchi and Boujmaa Guilloul were there as well.
هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة Issue 385 - May 2019 من Windsurf.
ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.
بالفعل مشترك ? تسجيل الدخول
هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة Issue 385 - May 2019 من Windsurf.
ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.
بالفعل مشترك? تسجيل الدخول
New School
Slingshot’s windsurfing brand manager, Wyatt Miller, has noticed that kids are drawn to playing with wings and puts forward an interesting case as to why he thinks this could help entice them and others into windsurfing.
Changes
Wave sailor Flo Jung reflects on our changed world during his lockdown in Germany.
THE LAST WAVE
Lockdown stirred the creative juices of reader Björn Alfthan, who peers into the future to present a fictional story set in the wild waves of Norway, five years from now.
STILL IN THE GAME
After a horrific fracture in his leg from a crashed aerial in 2018, Alessio Stillrich is back! John Carter talks to the highflyer from Gran Canaria about his move to the Simmer team, recovering from injury and how he learned to windsurf in Gran Canaria!
MOVE ON UP - GET ON THE FRONT FOOT
This month we look at how our front foot weighting can affect and improve different aspects of our main windsurfing moves.
SOUTH' KIPA
Nik tweaking it over home waters.
A NEW NORMAL
On a trip to La Tranche-sur-Mer in France last year, Tris Best estimated over 80% of the windsurfers were foiling. This summer in Portland Harbour, foiling activity has increased dramatically too he reports. With the market offering plenty of choice to recreational windfoilers, our test team check out some of the latest foil offerings.
TACKING – THE SEQUEL
Having given you time to practice, Harty concludes his tacking series by critiquing various tacking options, including the carve tack, as well as offering solutions to common slip-ups.
‘NO VAPOUR TRAILS TO SCAR THE SKY' *
Realising we may be about to enter an extraordinary period in our lives, Harty decided to keep a windsurf-centric lockdown diary. Here are some of his choice excerpts.
REDEMPTION DAY!
Renowned for its windsurfing and variety of spots to sail at, Kimmerdige Bay is a wave sailing jewel on the south coast of England. Timo Mullen gives a guide to its shores while reflecting on why a recent session there was a reminder that there is no place like home!
