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.”
FAMILY
I have 2 kids that are 7 and 3 now. The best thing about having a family is to know that someone loves you no matter what. Whatever happens at least your kids are going to love you forever. It’s a wonderful feeling. In the beginning, having a family was really hard. Mixing up sailing with the baby, but somehow I managed to make it work and thankfully my wife was a massive help. Many women don’t really understand how windsurfing works, but she helped me a lot, even when I was in my lowest point, losing heats or whatever. Competing after having a kid was amazing for me. I somehow had more focus on what I was doing, I was forced to sail when the conditions were not the best or the tides were wrong and in competition I had some amazing results. Maybe having a kid was what I needed at that point of my life.
TRAVEL
I like to travel but now it’s harder as I really miss my kids. Now when I travel it’s for myself and for my windsurfing. I think if you don’t travel it’s hard to keep moving forward in windsurfing. It’s part of the job and it’s beautiful but at the same time when you have the family it’s not so nice. My favourite place to sail is probably Hawaii, because it’s so consistent. Maui has some amazing waves and perfect winds. When I had the chance to travel with Thomas and UMI productions we went to Chile. We had amazing waves, met amazing people and ate very good food. If I had to recommend somewhere to travel to for windsurfing I would say Chile. It’s a bit far away, but you get to sail in un-crowded spots with some amazing conditions.
UMI AND THOMAS
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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!
