Nic Hibdige, K-700, leads the UK charge on the PWA freestyle circuit and his 9th place finish at the Sylt leg of the 2018 tour shows he has the ability to break into the top ten in the world. We learn more about the 23 year old sailor from the south coast of England this month as he talks with Loris Vietoris about scoring, finance and future plans.
LV - You are one of the few guys who are trying to push the freestyle discipline into new dimensions, with obvious influence from other boardsports. In Fuerteventura last year you came up with the air-spock tail grab for example. Do you try to connect style aspects from windsurfing and skateboarding?
NH - I think with the limited amounts of high scoring power moves it’s important to bring other aspects into the mix. Antony Ruenes and Davy Scheffers for me have both been pushing the air spocks in the past years with their own styles. Antony does this big over the top kind of rotation, sort of like an air chacho and Davy does it more like a backside 360 in skating/ snowboarding, which is really hard to land clean, this is the type I kind of go for. Personally I think it’s underscored as it does not get you many more points than a boring culo or kono. Balz Muller and I were actually sessioning boom to boom air spocks and then it clicked that grabbing the tail is pretty doable as you are so over the gear. The one in the contest wasn’t a full on grab, but there is more to come.
LV - So do you see windsurfing sessions more as training or a way to be creative and expressive?
Denne historien er fra Issue 386 - June 2019-utgaven av Windsurf.
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Denne historien er fra Issue 386 - June 2019-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!
