CATEGORIES

Starboard Supercruiser Foil And Foil X Board

When Starboard released what they called, “Our easiest foil ever”, the “SuperCruiser”, we heard that there was actually a top secret new design of foil board in the works too. Starboard’s head of brand and design, Tiesda You, gives us the lowdown on both their new 2020 Foil X board and SuperCruiser foil.

Pushing For Victory - The Push Tack

This month Peter Hart dissects an old favourite, the push tack. It’s vaguely functional, happens on, rather than above the water, but still introduces elements key to many new skool stunts.

Guadeloupe

John Carter and 2016 PWA slalom Champion, Matteo Iachino, head out to explore the windsurfing paradise of Guadeloupe in the French Caribbean. Hosted by fellow Severne and Starboard world tour racer, Tristan Algret, and avid local sailor Bruno Kancel, the planned itinerary was to windsurf as many of the island’s best locations in a mere six days. John Carter reports!

Energise

“The key that unlocks energy is desire. It’s also the key to a long and interesting life. If we expect to create any drive, any real force within ourselves, we have to get excited.” Earl Nightingale

Big Cornwall

John Carter muses over the dilemma that many of us face when weighing up weather forecasts. Do you go out searching for that pot of gold, or do you stay at home in your comfort zone, but spend the day fearing that your mates are scoring a session you are going to live to regret missing?

New Foil Army

The advent of foiling on the PWA tour has brought a new group of men and women racers to the fore, John Carter takes a look at the Olympic windsurfers upsetting the rankings and asks the PWA elite for their opinion of the new contenders.

True Champion

Victor Fernandez is one of windsurfing’s good guys. His third PWA wave world title may have come in strange circumstances in 2018, but it was thoroughly deserved nonetheless. Known for his unassuming demeanour on land, but a complete competitor on the water, his windsurfing skills are testament to both a unique talent and a relentless work ethic. Victor normally lets his sailing do the talking, but we managed to get an insight into his life with these candid words from the man himself.

The Big Stuff

Tenerife has become the winter go-to spot for slalom sailors, but let’s not forget Tenerife in winter can also offer huge Atlantic surf on more exposed parts of the island. Visiting Polish PWA racer Maciek Rutkowski took a break from training round the buoys to sample the big stuff.

Youthspiration

2016 and 2017 UK Youth Wavesailing Champion, Ruaraidh Somerville, is an up-and-coming young gun with ambitions to be a pro windsurfer. Based in Glasgow, his water time is limited but he has an interesting take on how to stay motivated. Read on as Ruaraidh gives us an insight into the world of an aspiring fifteen year old wavesailor.

Francesco Cappuzzo

Italian windsurfer Francesco Cappuzzo has a few strings to his boom. He competes on both the PWA freestyle and wave tours, no surprises there, plenty of sailors dabble in both, but how many do you also know compete on the Professional Kitesurfing GKA tour?

Invasive Species Week 2019

The RYA tell us about the ‘Check Clean Dry’ initiative to help stop the spread of invasive species and diseases.

Other Voices

It’s a paradox of the vast array of communication tools of our modern age that still some of the most interesting voices are those least heard.

Seavets

Seavets is a UK based senior and veteran windsurfers association, vice-chairman Ruth Tracey tells us more about their merry clan.

New Caledonia: Blue Lagoon

With over 1600km of outer reefs circling New Caledonia, this stunning French island in the South Pacific is surrounded by the largest lagoon in the world. With this huge coral boundary protecting the shallow waters within from the ocean swell, this dazzling expanse of azure is possibly the ultimate freeride windsurfing playground! Keen to test the waters, John Carter assembled a selection of lucky pros to blast around this dream location whilst he shot from the air and water. Read on as the crew recount a classic session where windsurfing proved to be the ultimate island hopping craft.

Benone

The Causeway Coast is an area of rugged beauty on the northern Coast of Northern Ireland, famed for its natural attractions and history but most recently rising to global prominence as a filming location for the ‘Game of Thrones’ series. For windsurfing, the area is also rich in wavesailing due to its coastline facing the North Atlantic and at its western end lies one of its jewels – Benone beach. Timo Mullen talks us through the spot and his last session there in the company of Adam Lewis and John Carter.

Check, Clean, Dry.

Seeking new waters to explore? Don’t bring back more than you bargained for! The RYA explain the ‘Check, Clean, Dry’ initiative to help stop the spread of invasive species and diseases.

Tatt Report

Forget Brexit, the real debate is on body art! Tattoos, love ‘em, hate ‘em or ‘not bovvered’ either way, there’s no denying they are a ‘thing’ right now in windsurfing and in the ‘gun shows’ on display at PWA competitions there’s plenty of ink on forearms. Over 30% of the UK population between 16 and 44 have them and their appeal seems to rise by the day for the ‘selfie’ generation. It’s a fact of life though that as the popularity of tattoos grows, so too does the market for tattoo removal. So tattoos, rad or fad? We questioned a selection of sailors on their views of needles and ink, sending our very un-trendy reporter, John Carter, on a mission to discover who is in and who is out amongst the trend for tattoos in the windsurfing fraternity. Tatty journalism at its finest, this is the results of our first and last ‘Tatt Report’.

New Views

“Excited and nervous for where the progression of windsurfing is going.” - Jaeger Stone, 22 July 2018, Pozo Izquierdo, Gran Canaria.

The New ‘Go-To' Size?

Another season starts and another crop of the latest and greatest wave boards land on our doorstep to try. There are certainly worse jobs in the world! After what has seemed like an eternity waiting for the winds to return this summer, at last the high pressure broke and low pressures rumbled in from the Atlantic, giving the team and I the chance to put 2019’s 90 litre wave boards through their paces on UK shores.

RYA Safetrx – Improving Safety At Sea

The world-leading app has been designed to improve safety at sea and potentially cut vital minutes off the time taken to pinpoint a casualty’s location.

Jono's Mediterranean Summer

Navigating the coastlines of Spain, France and Italy, Jono Dunnett continues his intrepid round Europe windsurf expedition. In this issue, he updates us on his progress in the Mediterranean under the relentless heat of summer and muses on his travels, global warming and plastic pollution with poignant observations from his voyage.

Pop Tips

Aerial freestyle windsurfing is now at a staggeringly high level, but whether you’re doing a double culo in the PWA or a cheeky chop hop at the weekend, it all starts with a ‘pop’! So how do you ‘unglue’ your board from the water? Finn Mullen speaks to Fanatic, Duotone and Severne for design insights, while John Carter asks the men and women of the PWA for their ‘pop’ tips.

Peter Hart Masterclass - Mixed Up Gybes

The big enemy of gybers is ‘sameness.’ The best continually adapt every element to compliment their kit and the situation in front of them. In part 2 of his gybe mastery series, Harty suggests yet more ways in which you can mix it up.

Jem Hall - Move On Up

ENHANCE YOUR STANCEPeople come on my coaching clinics to nail targets like better gybes, tacking and jumping, wave ride smoothly or even learn to loop, but the main skills they learn on their first few trips are from my oft quoted ‘Trinity’ of skills – planing early, sailing fast and getting upwind. This month I will look at the top tips to improve these areas, with the aim of producing a better stance that is both effective and efficient. A good stance ensures you enjoy your ‘Effective time on the water’ more and are in the best position to improve in a huge range of moves, so let’s get started on enhancing your stance!

Home Score

He may be known for his onshore skills and incredible ability to make the most out of decidedly average conditions, but Philip Koester loves to score down-the-line riding just as much as the rest of us. Fiji, Western Australia and Mauritius may be his usual haunts to get his cross-offfix but his latest score was a lot closer to home, about 20kms in fact! We all know 2018’s summer has been exceptional in temperature, but the unusual weather threw a favourable curveball swell wise to the Canaries and a juicy south swell lit up rare spots to the south of Pozo in Gran Canaria; Philip breaks down the resultant epic sessions.

2018 Winter Wet Suit Guide

With the cold and windy season approaching, insulation is key and if you’re considering some new neoprene then read on as we speak to Marc Burhans, ION’s neoprene product manager, who gives us some expert advice and talks through the new ION range and check out our 2018 winter wetsuit buyer’s guide, where a selection of brands show off their latest product.

Chop Tips

Chop, it’s part of windsurfing whether you like it or not, and how to deal with it is a challenge almost all sailors have to face. Slalom racing at Sotavento is one of the most extreme chop scenarios in windsurfing, John Carter asks the racers who fly over it on the brink of control for their tips on how to keep board and sail in check and Finn Mullen finds out from RRD, Gaastra and Tabou on the design tweaks for chop management.

Langebaan

Langebaan, just 100 minutes drive north of Cape Town has become increasingly popular as a windsurfing destination,offering great free ride conditions and even wave sailing sometimes. Local windsurfer and the fastest women wind surfer in Africa, Karo van Tonder, gives us a guide to her home waters and an insight into her windsurfing and lifestyle.

Air Miles

PWA Slalom racers spend more time travelling than any other sailors on tour, it can seem a lifestyle of international jet-setting but is the reality less glamorous? From how they pack their enormous kit bags to dealing with hotels, planes and car hire, the frequent flyers of the PWA detail the highs and lows of travelling with race gear.

British Sailing Team Update

Continuing the legacy of UK success in Olympic windsurfing, the push for glory in Tokyo 2020 continues for the British Sailing team as Richard Aspland reports.