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.
CHRISTIAN MUELLER – EVENT ORGANISER
The history of competitions on lake Silvaplana started back in the seventies. In 1978 Nicolo Holinger founded the Engadin Surf Marathon and the first ever winner was Robby Naish. In the following years there were several competitions organized on the lake, like the Mistral World Championship in 1986 or the Jet Set PWA World Cup in 1994. Twenty years ago the event got a new name – Engadinwind. The event ethos is hosting the best windsurfers in the best possible windsurfing disciplines on the lake and having the legendary Engadin Surf Marathon always a part of Engadinwind. The ‘new’ event started with a PWA world cup and for the last 20 years we’ve hosted many top league windsurfing events in Silvaplana. As well as PWA world cups, we’ve organized world championships in freestyle, Euro cup racing and slalom, EFPT (European Freestyle Pro Tour) events and many Swiss championships and, very importantly, every single year we’ve organized one of the world’s oldest and still running windsurfing contests - the Engadin Surf Marathon.
Denne historien er fra Issue 387 - August 2018-utgaven av Windsurf.
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Denne historien er fra Issue 387 - August 2018-utgaven av Windsurf.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
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!
