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Fetched: October 6th, 2008, 5:50am CEST
Kauli Seadi slashes a path through to the wave elimination final, securing him his second consecutive Wave World Title on the penultimate day of competition in Sylt.
Watch the "PWA Sylt 2008 - Day 9" video on WJ TV Subscribe to WJ TV flux - The Windsurfing Channel on iTunes Store
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Fetched: October 6th, 2008, 5:50am CEST
Return of the king: Antoine Albeau executes his first race win with machine like precision in typically volatile Sylt conditions.
Watch the "PWA Sylt 2008 - Day 8" video on WJ TV Subscribe to WJ TV flux - The Windsurfing Channel on iTunes Store
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Fetched: October 6th, 2008, 5:50am CEST
Subject to WSSRC ratification, Sebastien Cattelan (FRA) has finally broken the magical 50 knots barrier, the holy gral of speed sailing in Lüderitz Friday. Accompanied by several high 49 knots runs from himself, Alexandre Caizergues and Jerome Bila (all France) he was the only sailor finally getting to 50.26 knots. Special attendance was paid to the required water depth, and the organizer in cooperation with the WSSRC commissioner present clearly ensured that the rule was strictly applied.
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Fetched: October 3rd, 2008, 9:32pm CEST
Down here at Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer in the south of France, we’re keeping a careful eye on the record attempt at the Luderitz Speed Challenge that started on September 15th in Namibia…Still on standby, the Masters of Speed team has just decided to wait til the 13th October, the official closing date for the Luderitz Speed Challenge before making any kind of decision on what to do at the canal.If the record still stands at 49.84 knots at the end of the Namibia event, the canal at Saintes could well open its doors in early 2009 to try and break the 50 knot mark before the kitesurfers can do it…But if the kitesurfers do manage to beat 50 knots before then, the decision will probably be to close the canal definitively and never organise another speed record attempt there again…Let’s hope that this somewhat extreme position will still allow for those three windsurfing speed giants, Antoine Albeau, Finian Maynard and Bjorn Dunkerbeck, at least one more crack at it and a chance to see them in action once again !
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Fetched: October 3rd, 2008, 9:32pm CEST
Josh Angulo’s Wednesday win in Sylt in the second Slalom 42 round was a noteworthy enough event for his sponsor Maui Sails to want to tell everyone all about it !!!Proof of the quality of his sailing on this video shot by the Maui Sails team during the final race, featuring some great over-enthusiastic commentary from Angulo’s mucker Phil McGain, from in front of and behind the camera…Some great footage that shows exactly how difficult the conditions were, with these top pro windsurfers nailing some superb jibes on 7.0 m2 sails in more than 30 knots of wind !
Watch the video (Flash Media Player)
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Fetched: October 3rd, 2008, 9:32pm CEST
When he won the second round of Slalom 42 racing over in Sylt, Josh Angulo showed that he is as talented a slalomer as we knew he was a waverider. CV-1 tells Windsurfjournal.com all about it !“This Wednesday was a big personal challenge, requiring my head and body to work in perfect harmony with water conditions that were difficult to say the least…I had great support all through the day from my mate Phil McGain, helping me with my rig tuning and other things, specially just before going out for the final.But I always felt as though I could do it, that I could win, so I went for it full-on !”
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Fetched: October 3rd, 2008, 9:32pm CEST
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Fetched: October 3rd, 2008, 9:32pm CEST
Having recently set up home in the south of France, Anders Bringdal has found himself much closer to another important windsurf person living nearby, in the shape of shaper Marco Copello !The two know each other very well and this summer Copello shaped a couple of new speed boards for Bringdal, one at 42cm wide, the other 50cm, all this to help his mate compete at the speed event in Sotavento on Fuerteventura in the Canaries…For the time being that’s where the project stays, some prototypes for Bringdal, but there’s obviously every chance that S-10 will be back on the blower to Copello regarding some future developments…
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Fetched: October 3rd, 2008, 9:32pm CEST
During August, Italian windsurfer Federico La Croce had the opportunity to visit the island of Masirah in Oman, Middle East, to sail the spot at Khasiit…Only known by a handful of riders, it’s a spot that’s drawing more and more windsurfers to it because of its metronomically regular wind and superb waves that give you the smoothest of take-offs…And to help you visualise the spot, what better than a great video like this one showing the superb conditions that put you in mind of Baja California in Mexico…
Watch the video (Flash Media Player)
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Fetched: October 3rd, 2008, 9:32pm CEST
Like lots of other manufacturers this year, Starboard have released a range of twinzer boards, the Evil Twin series, available in 74 and 80 litre versions.With just the two boards in their range this year, you could be fooled into thinking that Starboard were just dipping their toe in the market before extending their range, but that would be to reckon without mastermind Svein Rasmussen, who has just announced a doubling of the range with two new models this autumn at 70 and 87 litres !
Still very compact in outline, the Evil Twin 70 (225x55cm) and 87 (233.5x60.5cm) will be available in Wood and Wood Carbon options, and should be available in the shops as from November…
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Fetched: October 3rd, 2008, 9:32pm CEST
Josh Angulo steals the show on competitions's fifth day, winning the second round of racing, and claiming his first ever elimination victory. The crowd were also treated to the start of the wave single elimination, which saw seven heats completed in testing onshore conditions.
Watch the "PWA Sylt 2008 - Day 6" video on WJ TV Subscribe to WJ TV flux - The Windsurfing Channel on iTunes Store
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Fetched: October 2nd, 2008, 4:44am CEST
In May, Starboard lobbed a brick in the pond with their proposal for a Formula One Design as a new option for the Olympic Games in London in 2012… On "official demonstration" during most of the year’s big international competitions by their "in-house" Olympic sailor Allison Shreeve, Starboard has positioned itself as the main competition with the current RS:X board, and while the final decision rests with the ISAF at their November meeting, there seems little chance of them dropping the current board after just one Games…Strengthened by a successful Olympics and 4 years of running the Olympic class, NeilPryde have published their own arguments in the shape of a file to be sent to the ISAF and to be available in the public domain.No less than 59 pages of interesting and persuasive arguments, tracing the history of the RS:X board, its development and expansion throughout the world in the last few years, with more than 2000 boards now sold worldwide and almost double that of rigs !
Download the presentation RS:X Beyond 2008 (Pdf)
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Fetched: October 2nd, 2008, 4:44am CEST
We spoke about this at the beginning of the year, that after several years of using the Slalom 42 formula, 4 sails and 2 boards that the riders have to register before the event and use during it, the PWA World Tour will be switching to a new format regarding the registering of equipment in 2009…A big difference in fact, and with some implications, riders now having to register at the start of the season a quiver of 6 sails and 3 boards that they must use for the whole competition year, so for all the PWA rounds 2009 !Still being written but definitely in use for next year, part of the idea behind the new rule is to limit the riders baggage requirements on extended away trips, a factor that has become more and more of a problem each successive season.The idea that was floated to allow riders the chance to take 4 boards to one event each year was not in the end taken up, and from now on the discipline will be called simply Slalom, replacing the old Slalom 42…
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Fetched: October 2nd, 2008, 4:44am CEST
In a little over 15 days it will be the end of the Luderitz Speed Challenge in Namibia, with hopefully some of the windsurfers making it back for the final days after their PWA event in Sylt, Germany…Although American rider Rob Douglas got things off to a flying start with his 49.84 knots and the new all-category world sail speed record, some of the riders’ GPS readouts from their own GPS while racing, make you realise just what potential kitesurf has got in the discipline.So, for starters, Rob Douglas’ GPS showed a Vmax (vitesse maximale/maximum speed) of 54.3 knots during his winning run on the 19th September, but not as strong as Sebastien Cattelan a few minutes later, originally given as 50.10 knots, then corrected to 49.59, but with a Vmax of 58.3 knots !!!It may still be the case that GPS readouts are to be treated with extreme caution, in any case it all adds spice to the end of this week, which is once again forecast to have good strong winds blowing in to Luderitz…As for Rob Douglas, he’s in no doubt that the 50 knots over 500 metres will be well and truly taken before the end of the event !
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Fetched: October 2nd, 2008, 4:44am CEST
Laying waste to the savage North Sea conditions, Antxon Otaegui rose up through day five's freestyle single elimination to defeat Jose 'Gollito' Estredo in the final, and take the lead in the Sylt freestyle ranks.
Watch the "PWA Sylt 2008 - Day 5" video on WJ TV Subscribe to WJ TV flux - The Windsurfing Channel on iTunes Store
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Fetched: October 2nd, 2008, 4:44am CEST
Swedish windsurfer Andreas Olandersson is one of the top European freestylers, a regular crowd pleaser on the European Freestyle Pro Tour and some regular top 5 finishes to go with it !And when he’s not sailing on his local spots in Sweden, S-66 usually winters in South Africa to prepare himself for the season and a round of the PWA world cup, the big one at Pozo Izquierdo.Before setting of for South Africa again in a few weeks time, to the Cape Town area, Olandersson has sent us this cool little video of his best sessions of 2008, a video that shows once again that it’s perfectly possible to be a good freestyler and just as useful ripping up the waves !
Watch the video (Flash Media Player)
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Fetched: October 2nd, 2008, 4:44am CEST
Here’s an interesting initiative, from Australian windsurfer Sean O’Brien, a brand new concept called "Follow The Winds" that should see the light of dayvery soon, it’s hookline being "Follow the winds and follow your dreams".The Follow The Winds concept is to put on-line a website choc full of photos and videos, all related to the individual life and riding styles of a group of pro windsurfers including Arnon Dagan, Dennis Littel, Jesper Vesterstrom, Ross Williams, Steve Allen and Wojtek Brzozowski, all brought to life with reports on their daily routine, their latest trips and latest competitions…Where the idea becomes more original, is that the project is targetted at the un-converted (to windsurf) youth, to try and show what it’s like to be a pro-windsurfer, and that it is actually possible to live your dreams…A very ambitious project, Follow The Winds aims to follow this magnificent through to this autumn in Brazil for the two rounds of the Formula Windsurfing Grand Prix World Tour at the end of October and end of November, and hopefully to be back with a repeat running in 2009…
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Fetched: October 2nd, 2008, 4:44am CEST
Among the registered riders for the PWA wave contest in Sylt, one very famous name is missing, the very notable one of Australian rider Scott McKercher.World Waves Champion in 2004, KA-181 has decided to retire from the hectic world of full-on competition at the end of the summer and will almost certainly only be seen again at the occasional big event such as Cape Verde…Aged 38, McKercher has been suffering from a hip injury that has got worse and worse with time, giving him considerable pain with the rigours of endless seasons of intense activity. But, far from stopping windsurfing completely, McKercher will still be very active in the windsurf world from his base in Australia, where he will be hard at work on development of Starboard’s new wave boards, plus the SUP boards that he’s been busy riding for the last few years.And those enticing exotic trips will still be on the agenda, even with KA-181 leaving a huge void on the PWA World Tour, renowned for his supreme talent and his good humour alike…
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Fetched: October 2nd, 2008, 4:44am CEST
Day four's forecast delivered the goods, allowing the remainder of race one to be completed in 7-15 knot wind.Finding form in the testing North Sea conditions, Sylvain Moussilmani seized victory, in turn handing him the early event lead.
Watch the "PWA Sylt 2008 - Day 4" video on WJ TV Subscribe to WJ TV flux - The Windsurfing Channel on iTunes Store
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Fetched: September 29th, 2008, 3:53pm CEST
For this final round of the season in Sylt, competitors have been faced with a real conundrum as regards equipment choice for Slalom 42, in only choosing 4 sails and 2 boards to last all 9 days of the competition, a real brain-ache considering how unreliable any forecast that far ahead is likely to be.While some riders, such as Arnon Dagan and Finian Maynard have gone for big rigs, biggest sail over 9.5 m2, the average is more like 9.0 m2, with the intermediate choice being between 7.2 and 7.8 m2. The smallest sizes on show vary between the 7.2 of Antoine Albeau and Bernd Flessner’s 6.2 m2. With nothing yet confirmed as regards Bjorn Dunkerbeck’s new board sponsor, lots of people were interested to see exactly which boards SUI-11 would be checking in on Saturday, and he’s eventually opted for the same combination as in Alacati, Turkey, a few weeks ago, namely the Starboard iSonic 111 and 133, but still no official announcement ! Back in action for this German round, king of the Sylt beach, Australian Phil McGain has gone for his Tabou Manta 110 and 125, the boards supplied by his regular sponsor Carbonart, not actually being registered with the ISAF…
See the full list of Slalom 42 choices checked in (Pdf)
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Fetched: September 29th, 2008, 3:53pm CEST
Much anticipated, Friday’s action in Luderitz at the Luderitz Speed Challenge didn’t in the end live up to its big expectatations, with the wind from slightly too tight an angle that complicated things for the kitesurfers, despite the run’s apparent kitesurf advantage… Apart from anything else, the falling tide gave everyone a few worries as regards safety !The riders were all out nonetheless, with the wind flickering between 35 and 40 knots, and the French riders came out firing, with Alexandre Caizergues hitting the day’s top speed of 47.57 knots, followed by Christophe Prin-Guenon with 46.77, with American sensation Rob Douglas doing "no better" than 45 knots.Also apparently promising, Saturday in Luderitz at the Luderitz Speed Challenge was a long way from what had been hoped for as regards conditions, for organisers and riders alike…The angle may have been wrong the day before but it was just not there at all on Saturday, hardly busting the 35 knot mark with litle hope of beating 45 knots over 500 metres. As on Friday, Saturday was a good day to be a French rider with Sebastien Cattelan posting top score with 44.76 knots, ahead of Prin-Guenon with 44.49 knots and Caizergues with 44.27.With the forecast being for less wind in the coming days, the riders are back on standby, with another session looking possible at the end of this week…
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Fetched: September 29th, 2008, 3:53pm CEST
Competition's second day saw the slalom fleet complete one more heat of the first race before the wind became too light to continue racing.
Watch the "PWA Sylt 2008 - Day 3" video on WJ TV Subscribe to WJ TV flux - The Windsurfing Channel on iTunes Store
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Fetched: September 29th, 2008, 3:53pm CEST
A fresh 11-16 knot breeze accompanied by clear blue sky provided a promising start to competitions second day in Sylt. Unfortunately, the prospect of racing in the perfect North Sea conditions was to be short lived.
Just moments after the sailors of heat ten hit the water to resume racing, the wind backed off, forcing the heat to be abandoned. The subsequent heat had more luck, and successfully secured the only result of the day, when Ross Williams (Tabou, Gaastra), Gabriel Browne (Mistral, MauiSails), Finian Maynard (RRD, NeilPryde) and Jimmy Diaz (Starboard, North Sails) qualified from heat 11, and proceeded into the following round of race one.
Despite the race committee’s repeated efforts to restart competition, the wind refused to play ball, and ultimately resulted in the day drawing to a close with just one heat completed.
See men’s slalom elimination #1
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Fetched: September 28th, 2008, 11:21am CEST
Following an afternoon of teasing wind, suitable conditions finally arrived on Westerland Beach, allowing the first slalom race to be started.
Despite the wind's arrival only being a brief encounter, the nine heats sailed have already produced numerous shocks and surprises.
Watch the "PWA Sylt 2008 - Day 2" video on WJ TV Subscribe to WJ TV flux - The Windsurfing Channel on iTunes Store
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Fetched: September 28th, 2008, 11:21am CEST
Following registration and a typically high profile Sylt opening ceremony the previous day, all the PWA fleets were rigged ready to compete in whatever day one threw at them. As it turned out, the morning was to be a leisurely affair, bathed in sunshine and teased by light westerly winds. The afternoon looked to follow a similar pattern until the sun started to drop, and a modest 7-11 knot breeze arrived at the competition area. Springing into action, the race committee quickly tweaked the four buoy downwind slalom course for the start of the very first heat of the event.
Two heats down, and just as proceedings looked to be following a relatively predictable path, Josh Angulo (MauiSails, Dakine) made a catastrophic error, when he crossed the finish line from the wrong side in his heat 3 clash. The shock mistake meant that he not only had to relinquish his victory, but also failed to qualify for the subsequent round of the race.
As normality looked to be restored, the next big surprise of the day came when 2008 Slalom World Champion, Antoine Albeau (Starboard, NeilPryde) failed to qualify from his heat 8 showdown. The usually dominant Frenchman looked to have a firm grip on second place in the heat, until he stalled exiting the second gybe mark, leaving his rivals free to pass him.
As the swarming crowds lining the beach came to their senses after Albeau’s shock departure, they were to witness another rare spectacle, when current slalom number three, Kevin Pritchard (Starboard, Gaastra, Dakine, MFC) missed out on qualification from his round two heat, by just one position.
Entering the subsequent heat, the wind backed off, forcing the race officials to abandon the heat and call an end to the first, and highly controversial day of competition in Sylt.
If day one’s events were anything to go by, the coming days are going to deliver ample loads of windsurf competition that’s as varied and unpredictable at the Sylt weather.
See men’s slalom elimination #1
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Fetched: September 27th, 2008, 7:15pm CEST
The PWA circus has rolled into Westerland, on the German island of Sylt, for the final date on the 2008 World Tour calendar. From 27 September - 5th October expect to witness a full spectrum of windsurf action, as the Super Grand Slam swings into full-on competition mode.Friday is set aside for the registration of 100+ competitors, and mammoth event opening ceremony, which will see all the stars of the PWA introduced to the massive crowds, and officially welcomed to Sylt.
Watch the "PWA Sylt 2008 - Day 1" video on WJ TV Subscribe to WJ TV flux - The Windsurfing Channel on iTunes Store
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Fetched: September 27th, 2008, 7:15pm CEST
The long wait is almost over, as the athletes of the PWA World Tour sign up for the forthcoming nine days of Super Grand Slam action. With a whole day set aside for registration, rigging and general preparation, it’s been a fairly relaxed opening day for the sailors and spectators alike.
However, the casual ambiance is to be short lived, as the event swings into full-on competition mode Saturday. A promising forecast combined with the huge weekend crowds, means proceedings are to set to start with a bang.
The first shock to proceedings is the news that German freestyler, Normen Günzlein (JP, NeilPryde) has suffered an unfortunate injury while training in the Baltic Sea. Günzlein, who came seventh in the last freestyle event in Fuerteventura, is reported to have broken his jaw after a collision with another sailor. The injury requires Günzlein to have an operation before he’ll be fit to windsurf again.
On a more positive note, top slalom racer Micah Buzianis (JP, NeilPryde, MFC) is making a solid recovery after breaking his leg racing in Fuerteventura. Buzianis will be back on his board and training for the 2009 season in the near future. In the meantime, he’s made the surprise decision to come to Sylt and share his wealth of windsurf knowledge with the crowds, as he takes up the roll of assistant event commentator.
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Fetched: September 26th, 2008, 2:27pm CEST
One of the top American windsurf spots, The Gorge on the Columbia River in Oregon is a summer magnet for all sorts of riders, it having become renowned on the American scene since way back when...Among the hot locals, many of who are big time into freestyle as you can imagine, there's some great style out there on the water in the persons of Tyson Poor, Rob Warwick or Wyatt Miller among the "names" you may have heard of…Here's some great video footage of some of this summer's best sessions, all put together on this cool little video called "FreezZzit" !
Watch the video (Flash Media Player)
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Fetched: September 26th, 2008, 2:27pm CEST
While Portuguese windsurfers may not yet have really made an impression on the international scene, there are still some talented riders around who deserve our attention, such as waverider Francisco Fonseca…A regular at the superb spot of Guincho, Fonseca evidently knows the place like the back of his hand, giving himself plenty of enjoyment ever session, as shows on this video covering most of the summer’s best days riding !
Watch the video (Flash Media Player)
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Fetched: September 26th, 2008, 2:27pm CEST
There’s hardly been time to take stock and settle down again but already the Luderitz Speed Challenge is getting itself ready for more action this Friday and Saturday, with more excellent speed sailing conditions forecast to blow in.Back from a quick trip to Cape Town in South Africa, some of the riders, such as Alex Caizergues and Christophe Prin-Guenon, have been practicing in the 30-35 knot winds that were blowing on Wednesday and Thursday, making runs up around the 47 knot mark, but with some of their Vmax and GPS runs getting up to the 53 knot region !Some new competitors should be appearing this time, like French speed specialists Charlotte Consorti and Sylvain Hoceini and, having sole use of the spot now that the 3 windsurfers have disappeared to Sylt for the PWA event, the kitesurfers could be making their own headlines once again…
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Fetched: September 26th, 2008, 2:27pm CEST
Co-organiser along with Pascal Maka of the Masters of Speed on the speed canal at Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer, Christophe Simian delivers his verdict on the latest performances by the kitesurfefs over in Luderitz…"I send my hearty congratulations to the team over in Luderitz, performances like that are the result of lots of hard work, and even more in the way of preparation. So hats off to Frederic Dasse and his team ! And lots of respect and admiration for Sjoukje Bredenkamp for her excellent new record. But I’d also like to just say something about American rider Rob Douglas, who was very disparaging about the speed canal and our work there in one of his recent interviews. But you’d also have to say that there’s still no record for open water sailing and that therefore Bjorn Dunkerbeck has never set any kind of record. If such a thing existed it would be held by Yellow Pages with its 46.52 knots, leaving Bjorn Dunkerbeck a long way off the mark !For sure, a page in speed sailing history is turning, kitesurf is progressing at quite simply incredible speed. The WSSRC has made its decisions and we must all live with them… I even contacted the WSSRC in July about their proposed changes to Rule number 3, to make it less difficult for the kitesurfers, and I don’t regret that now. I think the big difference between there and here is that they can get good conditions blowing in very quickly and regularly, whereas we sometimes have to wait up to 3 or 4 months to be able to sail. And even when the wind’s there, some of these windsurf characters prefer having a meeting on the shore rather than racing on the water, with the exception of Antoine Albeau and Finian Maynard, who made 28 runs between them on the 5th March 2008 !!!And as for the credibility of the record, Mike Ellison is a very good WSSRC observer. He’s fastidious and if he says a record is ok it’s because everything was good and there’s no doubt about its validity. Meanwhile, we’ll be waiting for the end of Luderitz to know what to plan next on the canal."
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Fetched: September 26th, 2008, 2:27pm CEST
An emblematic figure in the world of British windsurfing, Dave White is also the man behind the recent DrivenbyWind speed record attempt in Southend-on-Sea in England…Always reliable in his dealings with people and sponsors, he’s actually just turned his own world upside down by quitting his sponsors Gaastra and Tabou, for both of whom he’s been riding for some years now.The recent change of distributor for them both in Britain seems to have perhaps exacerbated the situation and decision, and K-63 is giving himself a period of weeks before plumping for any new sponsors, not rushing the decision, testing as much equipment as he can…Another serious contender for the 50 knot barrier, there seems little doubt that his next sponsor relationship will be with one ready to get behind him in that particular quest.
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Fetched: September 26th, 2008, 2:27pm CEST
From the 8th to 14th September just gone, the spot at Portimao in Portugal welcomed the Formula Windsurfing world championships, also an occasion for the Formula class to hold its annual general meeting and agree the direction of future competition.As regards the event calendar, we now know the confirmed dates and location of the 2009 world championships, in Santa Pola, Spain, from 13th to 19th September next.One of the big world competitions of the year, next year’s will see a visit from a very important couple indeed, in the shape of Prince Felipe and Princess Letizia, honorary presidents for the event.
Invited by the Santa Pola town council, a spot that was also home to the 2007 European Formula championships, the Spanish royal couple, big fans of all kinds of water sports, will undoubtedly be following the competition with a great deal of interest…
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Fetched: September 26th, 2008, 2:27pm CEST
15 minutes, that’s the space of time when all the big action happened last Friday 19th September at Luderitz, Namibia, at the Luderitz Speed Challenge while the riders were in full session.The unique feature in Luderitz appears to be the tides, that actually give a very short period of perfect conditions, the higher the tide rises increasing the chop on the water surface. So, at about 4.00pm local time, Seb Cattelan, followed by Rob Douglas, took advantage of this window, with the Moussilmani brothers and Bjorn Dunkerbeck still waiting for more water depth before joining the fray on the run…Even then, it seems there was just enough time for two ranking runs and you had to be in the right place at the right time to get the benefit and get near the 49 knots, as Douglas and Cattelan did.The other trick, and not the least important either, after using the higher section of the run as they had at the beginning of the week, notably for the session on 16th September, they moved down to the lower section which is further downwind for the second serious attempt, with a much better wind angle of between 145 and 150 degrees in relation to the direction of the run, a much more difficult angle for the windurfers to use…Still officially on standby, either at the spot or down in Cape Town in South Africa, the runners are ready for action again this weekend on Friday and Saturday, with some ideal conditions on the forecast and a good chance that the 26th and 27th September will go down in history !Quite apart from the 50 knots, everyone will be keen to beat Rob Douglas’ mark, a man who’s only been kitesurfing for 4 years and who only got into speed kitesurfing earlier this summer…
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Fetched: September 25th, 2008, 10:19am CEST
Seriously bad news reaches our desk this Thursday morning, concerning an accident suffered by German freestyler Normen Gunzlein, the very same man who directed our new WJ TV video, "Always"…The exact circumstances and information have yet to be totally verified, but it seems that while out training for the forthcoming PWA in Sylt (that starts this Friday) at the German spot of Femharn this Monday 22nd September, Gunzlein was hit by another windsurfer also surfing the spot.The physical consequences seem to be serious enough anyway, with G-186 being rushed off to hospital in Lubeck with serious head and neck injuries, plus a fractured jaw. Operated on during Monday night, Gunzlein is recovering slowly but will also have a second piece of bad news to accept and deal with, that he’ll be kept in hospital for at least another 10 to 15 days, closing the door to his participation at the Sylt event completely.Currently lying 8th in the provisional PWA World Tour freestyle rankings, G-186 had been hoping to break into the top 5, and had just started full training again after picking up a shoulder injury at the PWA Fuerteventura earlier this year !
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Fetched: September 25th, 2008, 10:19am CEST
As it does every year, the ISAF, the International Sailing Federation, is in the process of organising the ISAF Rolex World Sailor of the Year awards, the honouring of the year’s top international waterman…As in previous years, there are just two categories : men and women. The good news for windsurfing is that both Alessandra Sensini and Tom Ashley have been included on the nominations lists.A big enough achievement in itself, figuring on the nominations lists is already serious recognition, notably for Sensini, who became the first woman to win a 4th Olympic medal, at her 4th Games, while New Zealander Ashley is actually getting the nod for his world championship RS:X class win at the beginning of the year, followed some months later by victory over in Qingdao, China…The windsurf nominees will be heading for Madrid, Spain, on November 11th where the nominees to hear the verdicts, but bear in mind that the lists also include top sailors of the calibre of Francis Joyon and Ben Ainslie…
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Fetched: September 25th, 2008, 10:19am CEST
Bjorn Dunkerbeck took the opportunity of last year’s PWA round in Sylt, Germany, to release his book, called "The Search", and now another windsurf star, German rider Jurgen Honscheid, is releasing his own windsurf literary oeuvre about his career, called "Mein Arbeitgeber ist der Wind , translated literally as "My boss is the wind"…Illustrated with some 500 photos, the book is a veritable journey through time, notably the period 1977 to 1986, a point when Honscheid was a pro windsurfer, the big rival of the period to a certain Mr Robby Naish…An excellent edition, "Mein Arbeitgeber ist der Wind" takes you through different stages in the life of this big windsurf character, a man who eventually decided to up sticks and live on the island of Fuerteventura in the Canaries to spend his time sharing his passion with the Atlantic Ocean.Unfortunately, for those of you who enjoy these stories about the history of the sport and its “belle époque”, you’ll need to polish up your Gothic, as the book will only be available in German and may never see the light of day in English translation…
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Fetched: September 25th, 2008, 10:19am CEST
When he’s not windsurfing, Antoine Albeau spends most of his time back on the water on his SUP or on his jetski, always on the hunt for big thrills, always ready for those chance meetings that happen…That’s how, last Saturday, when leaving the water after a great SUP session on the Ile de Re, FRA-192 happened upon a marriage group with the bride and groom still doing their photo bits down on the beach.It could have ended there of course, but it soon turned into something more meaningful when the groom recognised Albeau, obliging our hero to spend a few minutes having his photo taken with the happy couple !And never one to miss that kind of thing, photographer Julien Gazeau was on hand to capture the big moment for posterity…The good news for any other budding romances is that after the closing PWA round of the season in Sylt, Germany, Albeau will once again be free to spice up your wedding photo sessions too !!!
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Fetched: September 25th, 2008, 10:19am CEST
After Andre Paskowski, now it’s the other top German freestyler Normen Gunzlein who’s getting into a spot of video production, with his first production, called "Always"…A video filled with colour, humour and fun from Maui to Lanzarote, passing through Fuerteventura, Gunzlein himself in the spotlight but also some other main actors such as Ricardo Campello, Antxon Otaegui and Andy Chambers.
Watch the "Always" video on WJ TV Subscribe to WJ TV flux - The Windsurf Channel on iTunes Store
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Fetched: September 25th, 2008, 10:19am CEST
As you might imagine, the latest remarkable performances by the kitesurfers over in Luderitz hasn’t gone unnoticed by Alain Thebault and his team, who announced on September 21st that they would soon be ready for a new attack on the absolute record !Based in the south of France since last May, the Hydroptere has had to undergo some serious re-tuning and adjustments to deal with the very changeable conditions, so it’s going to be September 30th coming that the base at Port-St-Louis-du-Rhone will be welcoming the boat and opening its doors for a new official record attempt.Antoine Albeau’s record stood for 7 months, will Rob Douglas’ mark last that long ? Only one way to find out…
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Fetched: September 25th, 2008, 10:19am CEST
There’s absolutely no question, kitesurfers have turned the speed sailing hierarchy upside down last Friday 19th September in Luderitz, and although their times have still to be fully ratified by the World Speed Sailing Records Council, from this point on it’s clear they’re going to be up there over the coming years.To prove the point, there are no less than 6 kitesurfers now in the all-category speed top 10. Antoine Albeau’s flying the windsurf flag at 3rd in the list, ahead of Finian Maynard in 4th and Patrick Diethelm in 9th on a production board !In 10th place now is the former record holder Yellow Pages, its best mark set in 1993 helping the boat people retain a foothold in the top 10, that is perhaps until the Hydroptere gets itself going again in the next few weeks.And lets not forget the stunning performance of South African woman rider Sjouke Bredenkamp who, with her latest best of 45.20 knots, is now in the top 20 all-comers, ahead of some big names from speed windsurfing like a certain Bjorn Dunkerbeck ! The top 10 all-category performance ranking1) Robert Douglas : 49.84 knots (kitesurf)2) Sebastien Cattelan : 49.59 knots (kitesurf)3) Antoine Albeau : 49.09 knots (windsurf)4) Finian Maynard : 48.70 knots (windsurf)5) Alexandre Caizergues : 48.69 knots (kitesurf)6) Christophe Prin-Guenon : 48.64 knots (kitesurf)7/ Hennie Bredenkamp : 47.59 knots (kitesurf)8) Manu Taub : 46.98 knots (kitesurf)9) Patrik Diethelm : 46.57 knots (windsurf)10) Yellow Pages : 46.52 knots (boat)
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Fetched: September 25th, 2008, 10:19am CEST
Among the last of the big manufacturers to present its new 2009 product range is Gun Sails, who have just lifted the lid on their new Transwave sail, the replacement for the Wave MC in their European wave range… As with the Hammer replacing the Steel, the German company has come up with something brand new, designed by head designer Renato Morlotti and his research and development team based down in Tarifa in southern Spain…Accessibility and comfort are the buzz words for the new sail, with some serious work having one in to reduce weight without losing any strength.Available in sizes ranging from 3.7 to 6.1 m2, the Transwave also has the advantage of being compatible with both SDM (standard diameter) and RDM (reduced diameter) masts…
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Fetched: September 25th, 2008, 10:19am CEST
The intense action at the end of last week calmed itself down again this Sunday in Luderitz, with a weather forecast pointing towards the re-starting of the speed trial as from this Friday.Back in Europe to take his place at the final PWA round of the season in Sylt, Germany, Bjorn Dunkerbeck is still very positive about going back over to Namibia as soon as the German world cup round is over and if the forecast is good enough…Meanwhile, surfing their wave of success, the Luderitz Speed Challenge team are working with a sports marketing agency, Sail Incentive, on a new event project, also to go off at Luderitz in Namibia, their aim being to create a prize fund for the first man to break 50 knots, with an unprecedented media blitz to go with it…The Luderitz Speed Challenge itself is due to continue til the 13th October, and considering the big news from there in the last few days, there seems little doubt that this spot at Luderitz is going to be much in the news over the coming months.
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Fetched: September 22nd, 2008, 6:12pm CEST
When asked, "If you won the national lottery tomorrow would you…", answers are… Go and live in Hawaii ? : 15%Go on a world tour of the best spots ? : 56%Go and buy the quiver of your dreams ? : 18%Go and hire Robby Naish as your personal coach ? : 3%Go and sponsor the world cup ? : 3%Set up your own windsurf brand ? : 5% Thanks to our panel of 1322 voters…Watch out for a new survey starting now !
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Fetched: September 22nd, 2008, 5:12pm CEST
Co-organiser, with Christophe Simian, of the Masters of Speed contest on the speed canal at Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer, but also an expert in everything concerning speed sailing, Pascal Maka gives us his opinion of Rob Douglas’ record breaking run over in Namibia…"I knew kitesurf had in immense traction potential and that the day when the kitesurfers were going to find their “ultimate spot” wasn’t far off, and that then they’d be posting some serious times. It was just a question of time. Luderitz is a great spot for kiting but not for windsurfing, as we’d heard from those who made the trip out there last year. There’s too much angle for windsurfing, too much chop to cut through and not very much water depth at the mid-tide, which actually suits the kitesurfers better.In my humble opinion, the speed canal is still the ultimate spot for speed windsurfing, and the challenge is far from over. Windsurfing has still got plenty to say on the matter."
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Fetched: September 22nd, 2008, 5:12pm CEST
Safely back in Europe after his trip to Namibia, Bjorn Dunkerbeck tells us how he saw the day of Friday 19th September when, as impotent as the Moussilmani brothers Benoit and Cyril, he could only watch as the record was exploded without really being able to defend windsurfing’s honour."Friday was a very windy day with between 40 and 45 knots on the anemometer, but it was impossible to use for windsurfers because in places on the run there was no more than 10cm depth of water.It was only much later in the day that there was enough water for windsurfing, but unfortunately by then the wind had dropped off to 25 to 30 knots. A big shame !!!Now I’m on my way over to the closing PWA event in Sylt, we’ll see what happens after that."
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Fetched: September 22nd, 2008, 5:12pm CEST
7 months and 13 days, that’s the exact length of time that Antoine Albeau was holder of the world sail speed record, right up to this Friday 19th September 2008, when the kitesurfers took their turn to turn a new page of speed sailing history… Here’s the FRA-192 view of the hot news as he saw it…"I think it was a good decision not to go to Luderitz because I don’t think the spot is too well adapted to windsurfing, specially looking at their times over the last few days.But that’s just going to help get us even more motivated than ever and I really hope the speed canal will be open again this winter !!!"
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Fetched: September 22nd, 2008, 5:12pm CEST
Just like Antoine Albeau a few months ago, American kitesurfer Rob Douglas made himself the main event this Friday 19th September at the Luderitz Speed Challenge…Here’s a selection of footage of who is now the fastest man in the world under sail speed, first up in interview, then exclusive film of that record breaking 49.84 knot run !
Watch the "Rob Douglas - 49,84 knots" video sur WJ TV Subscribe to WJ TV flux - The Windsurf Channel on iTunes Store
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Fetched: September 21st, 2008, 11:56am CEST
It was a massive day for Lüderitz Speed Challenge in Namibia, record after record fell. All but the 50 knot milestone, which escaped by a 0.16 knot whisker.Results are a new outright world record for speed sailing over 500m from Rob Douglas (US), a new women’s world record from Sjoukje Bredenkamp (ZA), and several national records. Day 4 - 19 Sept (WSSRC ratified) Rob Douglas : 49.84 knots (and new outright world record)
Sebastian Cattelan : 49.59 knots
Alex Caizergues : 48.69 knots
New women’s outright world record
Sjoukje Bredenkamp : 45.20 knots - beat her own record of 42.35 knots
New South Africa (and Africa record)
Hennie Bredenkamp : 47.59 knots - beat his own record of 44.62 knots New Namibia record
Jurgen Geiger : 44.90 knots - beat his own record of 44.03 knots
New UK kite record
David Williams : 43.32 knots - previous was 41.38 knots
Forecast for Saturday looks like another huge day.
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Fetched: September 19th, 2008, 2:42pm CEST
Earlier this summer we mentioned this new board manufacturing enterprise set up by Cesare Cantagalli and Gianni Valdambrini, 99 Custom Boards… This September sees the Italian company launching itself for real, and with it its first edition of its website !Somewhere between custom and production boards, 99 Custom Boards site is another dark and classy production, with plentiful board shape possibilities to study, there being no less than 5 separate ranges of between 5 and 10 boards each !After choosing your preferred model, you can choose the colourway/decoration from a range on offer, then place your order, on line if you wish and if our limited Italian understood properly what was being offered !Another really well constructed and interesting site, 99 Custom Boards is another that’s well worth a visit ! More information :
www.99customboards.com
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Fetched: September 19th, 2008, 2:42pm CEST
It’s definitely the season for it, one by one the windsurf manufacturers are launching their new, updated websites and now it’s time for RRD to unveil their 2009 site…Sober and clean, the site retains many similarities in terms of graphics with this year’s with similar, detailed and illustrated product files.A veritable mine of information in fact, the RRD 2009 site allows you to download all the relevant files in Pdf format, same goes for the promo action videos for their board range !As complete a site as you could wish to find, the RRD 2009 site is well worth spending the time to visit and exploring all its features and subtleties… More information :
www.robertoriccidesigns.com
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Fetched: September 19th, 2008, 2:42pm CEST
By setting a new American sail speed record on the very first day of racing over in Luderitz, Namibia, with 47.639 knots, Rob Douglas also became the 4th fastest all-category sail racing man in the world…Aged 37, Douglas isn’t exactly an unknown in the speedsailing roll of honour, with good reason, seeing as he’s a windsurfer at heart who’s only been converted kitespeeding a few months ago.He was heavily involved, with his brother Jimmy with who he regularly organised events and competitions in the Boston area, in the windsurf world until a couple of years ago, and like a lot of people got involved in kitesurfing too, but had never set feet on a speed sailing board until this June.After encountering Mike Gebhardt last May, who has since become his personal coach, the pair of them have come up with an ambitious plan to beat the world speed sailing record, and have developed an impressive training and development to match. Twice an Olympic windsurf medal winner, Gebhardt goes everywhere with his man and, on his competitive speed sailing debut in July at Fuerteventura in the Canaries, Douglas quickly made his mark with an excellent second place, that’s before the action yesterday over in Namibia that we’ve just heard about today…Clearly a very serious contender for the new absolute record, Douglas should be much in the news over the coming weeks, and if he IS the first to break 50 knots, we’ll console ourselves with the thought that in fact it was a pair of ex-windsurfers that did it…
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Fetched: September 19th, 2008, 2:42pm CEST
PWA World Waves Champion 2005 and 2007 and very recently signed up to the NeilPryde/JP Australia team, Brazilian superstar Kauli Seadi has been long overdue a website of his own that measured up to the level of his talent on the water… And now that’s a done deal, since just a few days ago !A bit slow, nut nonetheless well designed, the new site tells you much more about BRA-253, what he’s up to at the moment of course, but also about his work helping young Brazilians by getting them into windsurfing, not forgetting his plans for a windsurfing club… More information :
www.kauliseadi.com.br
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Fetched: September 19th, 2008, 2:42pm CEST
3rd in the last PWA waves competition at Pozo Izquierdo in the Canaries this summer, Daniel Bruch has just joined the Maui Fin Company (MFC) rider team !Currently lying 8th in the provisional standings before the final wave round in Sylt, Germany, Bruch will be riding with the latest range of harnesses, but will also now be working on the development of their new wave fin range…A great piece of recruitment for the Hawaiian manufacturer, giving them one of the up and coming riders of the year !
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Fetched: September 19th, 2008, 2:42pm CEST
Israel’s only medal winner at the recent Olympics, windsurfer Shahar Zubari flew home as soon as the games were over and since, like Gal Fridman 4 years earlier, has become a major star in his country…Only a Bronze perhaps, but his medal is beginning to rub off gold with the young Israeli having been signed up for a forthcoming publicity campaign for Renault in Israel ! Quite apart from the fee of 80,000 Shekels (about 15,000 Euros) he got from the Israeli sailing federation for his great performance, Zubari will be very happy with the 130,000 Shekels he’ll be getting on top from Renault, about 25,000 Euros extra…
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Fetched: September 19th, 2008, 2:42pm CEST
With his Black Shot Trick, the new move invented by Moroccan wave riding star Boujmaa Guilloul that we brought you footage of yesterday, the latest wave riding trend is clearly towards double or composite jumps, such as the push loop to front loop invented by Kauli Seadi… Here’s M-3’s explanation of his new trick he’s been working in through the summer."In fact this is a move I’ve been dreaming of since the day I landed my first ever Crazy Pete, but up until this summer I’d never had the courage to really try it. I’m sure I’m not the first one to have had the idea for the move, others must surely have thought of it, but on the day itself photographer Jean Souville was on the beach and there were fantastic waves making great jump ramps !It’s actually not that difficult and you don’t get scared jumping so high because that’s what makes it happen all by itself… No question, there will be other riders doing this move very soon."
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Fetched: September 19th, 2008, 2:42pm CEST
The Wind Legends DVD - The history of windsurfing, is the latest production from Jonathan Weston, capturing on film from the early period right to the present day the development of windsurfing over the last 30 years...
The end product is a film that is haflway between an official history and a documentary, as you'll see when you check out this excellent and very promising trailer film !
Watch the "DVD Wind Legends" trailer on WJ TV Subscribe to WJ TV flux - The Windsurf Channel on iTunes Store
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Fetched: September 19th, 2008, 2:42pm CEST
Tuesday was a phenomenal day in Lüderitz/Namibia for the second day of the Lüderitz Speed Challenge. Kitesurfer Rob Douglas (US) goes smoking into the lead, and shatters the previous US speed sailing record with a 47.639 knots run. Once teething troubles were sorted out with equipment on this first day of the Lüderitz Speed Challenge, and everyone had settled into the relentless blast of the wind, there was no end to the high speed runs. Rob Douglas had a great result for a relative newcomer to the international speed sailing scene, although Frenchman Alexandre Caizergues and Sebastien Cattelan are hot on his heels only .33 and .46 knots slower. Windsurfing great Bjorn Dunkerbeck set a personal best times of 44.78 knots, even in slightly broad conditions not perfectly suited to windsurfers.
The Lüderitz Speed Challenge is only into its second day out of a whole month’s sailing, so there will be more records personal, national and international to be broken. Results day 1 (WSSRC ratified)
Rob Douglas : 47,639 knots (kitesurfer)
Alex Caizergues : 47,313 knots (kitesurfer)
Sebastien Cattelan : 47,175 knots (kitesurfer)
Manu Taub : 45,196 knots (kitesurfer)
Christophe Prin-Guenon : 45,112 knots (kitesurfer)
Bjorn Dunkerbeck : 44,779 knots (windsurfer)
Jerome Bila : 43,986 knots (kitesurfer)
Hennie Bredenkamp : 43,807 knots (kitesurfer)
Taro Niehaus : 43,279 knots (kitesurfer)
Benoit Moussilmani : 43,183 knots (windsurf
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