Boating-sailing
Windsurf
The Fatal Lure of Greener Grass
Harty muses on the multi headed beast that is travel.
5 min |
Issue 364 - April 2017
Windsurf
Far North
The Faroe Islands are an archipelago between the Norwegian Sea and the North Atlantic that lie 200 miles north-northwest of Scotland and about halfway between Norway and Iceland. Self governing but part of the Kingdom of Denmark, the Faroes are little known for windsurfing but Jamie Hancock, Nic Hibdige and Kenneth Danielsen made an explorative trip to discover more about the islands of the far north.
8 min |
Issue 373 - March 2018
Windsurf
Happy Days
Does combining a family trip with the chase for epic conditions make for a stressful holiday or enhance the experience. Klaas Voget has been making the journey to Chile for many years and the recent addition of his two small children hasn’t stopped his desire to score the perfect ride on Chile’s rugged Pacific coast. Read how he ensures his annual South American sojourn is happy days for all.
6 min |
Issue 366 - June 2017
Windsurf
Isonic Man
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.
10 min |
Issue 366 - June 2017
Windsurf
The Magic Of Moulay
Morocco has a mystique that has long drawn artists, hippies and bohemians to its shores. On the Northern flank of Africa, its latitude puts it within easy reach of Europe and before long windsurfers started venturing to explore its potential, discovering the magical town of Moulay. The legacy of these pioneers has been a generation of Moroccan windsurfers who are as talented as the amazing conditions they can call home. Read on for an inspirational tale of how windsurfing changes lives.
10+ min |
Issue 361 - November/December 2016
Windsurf
Freeing Radicals
This month we bring you the last of our wave equipment tests for 2017 …
4 min |
Issue 361 - November/December 2016
Windsurf
Sea Mandala
When it starts to take up all your time and mind, windsurfing can feel like a religion. Graham Ezzy uses an Indian religious symbol to describe his springtime windsurfing on Maui - “Mandala”, a Sanskrit word that refers to intricate geometric designs that represent the universe. Mandalas serve many purposes in Hinduism and Buddhism—from being a visual aid for meditation to providing architectural layouts for temples. Graham references sand mandalas, a Tibetan Buddhist practice that involves monks carefully using small funnels to position millions upon millions of coloured grains of sand into a beautiful and incredibly intricate mandala. This process normally takes weeks. Upon completion, the sand mandala is ritualistically destroyed to represent the cyclic, empty, and impermanent nature of life. Often the sand is deposited in a river to be carried to the sea. What, then, is a Sea Mandala? - Graham Ezzy muses.
6 min |
Issue 361 - November/December 2016
Windsurf
A New Breed Of Windsurfers
The RYA give us a guide to the RS:X windsurfers of the British Sailing Team due to compete at the World Championships in Denmark this summer.
4 min |
Issue 377 - July 2018
Windsurf
Ezzy Hydra
Ezzy Sails have released a dedicated foiling sail with a unique design; we get the lowdown from designer David Ezzy
4 min |
Issue 377 - July 2018
Windsurf
Fanatic Jag
Fanatic describe their new “Jag” board as “A freerace board set free from the racecourse!” Fanatic brand manager Craig Gertenbach gives us the lowdown on the concept.
5 min |
Issue 377 - July 2018
Windsurf
Loftsails Skyscape
Loftsails have introduced a well developed foiling sail to their range, the Skyscape. We get the lowdown on their foil program from test pilot Fernando Martínez del Cerro Delgado and designer Monty Spindler.
3 min |
Issue 377 - July 2018
Windsurf
Pre-Flight Checks
As Harty has already noted in the mag, getting your foil set up correctly is key. Not knowing whether the challenges you’re facing are down to user error or kit setup can make progressing quickly a challenge. Here’s a quick look at making sure you’ve matched your foil well to your board and how to get the most out of your ‘first flights’, and beyond.
2 min |
Issue 377 - July 2018
Windsurf
RRD WH Flight ALU 85 & Fireride V1 LTD 155
RRD WH Flight ALU 85 & Fireride V1 LTD 155
3 min |
Issue 377 - July 2018
Windsurf
High Flyers
Foil racing is all go for the 2018 PWA calendar and after a successful start to the season in Yokosuka, Japan it was clear the new racing discipline has a bright future ahead. Old dogs are having to learn new tricks, so we quizzed the pros about their foil racing setups and technique and hear from the PWA race director on the challenges of setting foiling courses.
10+ min |
Issue 377 - July 2018
Windsurf
Inside The Fish Bowl
Sofie Louca and Paul Karaolides A.K.A. Fish Bowl Diaries are award winning photographers, recognized as some of the top shooters in the windsurfing industry. Until very recently, the couple have been based in the UK but have just moved to Maui full time to be closer to the island that has inspired so much of their work. To find out more about the talented duo, we caught up with Sofie to learn about their life, photography and how they came up with the ‘Fish Bowl’ moniker!
7 min |
Issue 362 - January February 2017
Windsurf
Focus
“Athletes Who Are Able to Stay Completely Focused in Pursuit of Their Dreams Are the Ones That Are Most Likely to Become Champions.” - Steve Backley Obe, Former Javelin World Record Holder. as the Competition Season Closes, We ‘FOCUS’ on the Champions and Podium Placers Who Were Successful in Their 2016 Pwa Campaigns. What Was Their Focus, How Did They Maintain It and How Will They Carry It to 2017? Read on for Some Motivation for Your Own Season Ahead.
10+ min |
Issue 362 - January February 2017
Windsurf
Storm Ophelia
The business end of the season has arrived in the UK. As the leaves fall offthe trees and the days grow shorter, the Atlantic has finally started lighting up with a barrage of huge low-pressure systems battering the UK coastline. And of course, once this time of year comes round, then the infamous Motley Crew red phone starts bleeping. John Carter, Ross Williams, Jamie Hancock and Fergus the dog headed to the West Country to chase Ophelia and bring us their account of the first big storm of the season!
10+ min |
Issue 372 - January February 2018
Windsurf
Adam's Good Year
Adam Lewis started his 2017 PWA campaign with a serious ankle injury and ended it with a career best of 5th in the Men’s wave rankings. It may have been a surprise to some,but not to anyone who knows the dedication of the 29 year old Englishman to his sport and ambitions. Adam is testament to hard work brings results. From humble beginnings to a place on the Fanatic / North international team and a result that puts him amongst the world’s wavesailing elite, Finn Mullen sits down with Adam to talk about his stellar year and rise to the top.
10+ min |
Issue 372 - January February 2018
Windsurf
Travelling Man
Seasoned traveller Klaas Voget gives us the benefit of his experience with airlines, excess baggage and why he loves to explore the globe.
4 min |
Issue 372 - January February 2018
Windsurf
Move On Up
With the windy season well underway, this month I take a look at how to gybe when it is getting wild out there. You may feel that the gybe is quite a complex move but actually it is just a sequence of key positions that should follow in succession whilst, as ever, employing a clear strategy. It is simple but challenging and when it cuts up rough, is a physical and mental test. A positive self-dialogue alongside a lot of self belief and resilience will see you making way more gybes and especially so when you are fully stacked! You will also be better placed to up your gybe success rate by being cardio fit and physically strong, as when it is windy, sailing in a straight line is more tiring and once you unhook the sail it has a lot more power coming through it and thereby you! When you are gybing fully powered up you really need to be precise and be ready and able to control a lot of power! On my recent Ireland clinic we took on Storm Ophelia, when the wind was somewhat manageable, and I gave my crew some top tips on gybing and some of their responses were along the lines of ‘Yeah, yeah that might work in Rhodes but …’ This made me consider how they went about their business and also look at what really worked for my gybing whilst stacked on a 3.4 and so compile the tips to present in this feature.
5 min |
Issue 372 - January February 2018
Windsurf
Adam And Oz
Adam Lewis traded his usual winter haunts for Western Australia this year and wasn’t disappointed with his decision! Read on as he brings us his tips for a successful trip down under and how he fell in love with the place and its people.
9 min |
Issue 376 - June 2018
Windsurf
Foil Design
Designing foils is throwing up fresh challenges to the windsurf industry. Starboard’s head of brand and design, Tiesda You, gives us an insight into the innovation and process of foil R&D.
6 min |
Issue 368 - August 2017
Windsurf
Moroccan Heart
Sam Bittner, organiser of the IWT (International Windsurfing Tour), recently ran a competition in Morocco that left an indelible mark on her life. Read on as she shares her experiences of the mystic magnetism of Moroccan life.
5 min |
Issue 368 - August 2017
Windsurf
Foil FAQs
To help you navigate the world of foils we’ve compiled a buyer’s guide to some of the latest offerings on the market, but first Sam Ross gives us the answers to some foiling FAQs
5 min |
Issue 368 - August 2017
Windsurf
New Heights
A year is a very, very long time in a discipline as fast moving and dynamic as foiling. Not only have the foils and foil-specific products evolved considerably since our last test … but so, it seems, has the whole direction of travel! 2018 brought us our first PWA foiling champion and a foiling world championship open class, providing the test bed for the latest and greatest racing-oriented kit. There have been pioneers pushing the limits in foiling freestyle and wave riding … and as we go to print, it seems the World Sailing Council are reopening the debate about the potential for foiling to be adopted for the 2024 Olympics, to be decided after sea trials conducted towards the end of this year.
10+ min |
Issue 387 - July 2019
Windsurf
Turn Left For Humpback Highway
Ever think of running away to a remote part of the Western Australian coast and living on a diet of wind and waves at the edge of the desert? Fredrik Plantin makes the case for a simple, salty life.
4 min |
Issue 387 - July 2019
Windsurf
Top Gun F-14
Pierre Mortefon has proved himself to be one of the PWA slalom tour’s most consistent podium placers, ranking in the top 3 for the last 5 years. In 2019 he has won the opening rounds of both the slalom and foil PWA tour. The fast Frenchman with eyes on the number one spot in slalom gives us an insight into his world.
9 min |
Issue 387 - July 2019
Windsurf
Elevate
“Only passions, great passions can elevate the soul to great things.” Denis Diderot.
4 min |
Issue 387 - July 2019
Windsurf
Finding North
German PWA star Leon Jamaer is as happy in a heat as he is on the road. A Red Bull Storm Chase finalist, he has the skills to backup his lust for adventure. His latest travels took him to the far northwest of the UK to the islands of Lewis and Harris in the Outer Hebrides, Scotland; Leon recounts his trip and gives an insight into the origins of his passion for exploring.
8 min |
Issue 382 - January/February 2019
Windsurf
Search
I always thought windsurfing gave me an advantage in geography at school.
4 min |