THOMAS TRAVERSA
I am 1.78 m and 62 kg. The board I used is my 70 litre, 220 x 55 cm. We originally designed that board for Maui, but it works everywhere for me, it’s one of those magic boards! That is the board I was using in Tenerife for the PWA and also the Aloha Classic. It is pretty wide in the centre, but the tail is very narrow, so there’s a lot of curve on the outline. It is floating a lot because of the 55 cm in the middle, but once you get on the rail it feels like a tiny board. Rocker is the same as I use on all my boards, 20 mm, that’s more than on a production board (around 15 mm on the small Da Curve from Tabou), but that’s not too extreme. For example I used to have 24 mm on my boards when I won the PWA title, but the last three years we added channels so I can have a quicker rocker line.
For the sail on Sylt I like to have a good downhaul tension to deal with the gusty wind and to keep a light feeling. Then when it gets really light I just use less outhaul tension, that helps lift the board out of the water and make the sail more reactive. Boom maybe a touch higher to lift the board up.
I have no special tactics, just going for it and try to use the wave more than the wind. I just try to focus on the waves because they are very powerful and hard to read so I always try to attack them as hard as I can.
GRAHAM EZZY
Denne historien er fra Issue 392 - January/February 2020-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.
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Denne historien er fra Issue 392 - January/February 2020-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!
