Rémi Vila is the man responsible for the design and development of some of Starboard’s most successful boards, most notably, their world championship winning slalom board, the Isonic. No stranger to the podium himself, Rémi is also a world champion windsurfer and his competitive streak transfers into his work “to make the best boards possible.” Read on as Rémi tells us more about his life and craft.
BEGINNINGS
It’s a long story how I started working for Starboard. I met Svein for the first time in 2000 at the Formula worlds in Pattaya. While I was there he invited me to test with him. He was very happy about the way I saw how boards worked and my testing methods and results. He asked me to work as a freelance tester from 2001. In 2007 I had a big problem with a brain tumour. Svein came to visit me at the hospital in Bordeaux. Then in January 2008 when I recovered, Svein and Tiesda proposed I work full time at Starboard. I did not hesitate! I received the news at 8am and by 6pm I was on a flight! Since that day I moved to Thailand to work for Starboard full time. My background was always racing and I previously had raced in all the different classes. I started sailing on flat boards in 1978, the Windglider and Carib Surf Boards, before going to Division 2, and then I switched to Raceboards, Formula and Slalom. Maybe next year it will be foil, I don’t know!
THE PROCESS
Denne historien er fra Issue 366 - June 2017-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 366 - June 2017-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!
