Windsurf
Defi Diaries
‘DéfiWind de Gruissan’, is the original ‘DéfiWind’ event and doing a ‘Défi’ has become a must do on windsurfing bucket lists. Seasoned ‘Défi’ dude John Skye and first timer, Karo van Tonder take us behind the scenes of the world’s largest windsurfing race with their ‘DéfiDiaries’!
10+ min |
Issue 388 - August 2019
Windsurf
A Swell Sou'Easter
Southeast winds and south coast swell prove the perfect ingredients to fire up Dorset’s finest wave, Kimmeridge, for some rare port tack down the line action. On scene to score it with the lucky locals were Timo Mullen, Andy Chambers and Paul Hunt. They tell us just why it was a day to remember.
7 min |
Issue 388 - August 2019
Windsurf
A Rising Influence
The birth and subsequent growth of stand-up-paddling brought about a positive and much needed injection of interest into watersports in general. One of the key drivers was that it was easy to understand, and more importantly easy to access, bringing the sport into the mainstream. Simply grab a board and paddle, and away you go! And with the first boards that hit the market being long and wide, the early-adopting windsurfing brands quickly realised there was an opportunity for some crossover between the two sports. So not long after the dawn of SUP production came the emergence of the windsurfing-SUP board – a.k.a. windSUP.
10+ min |
Issue 388 - August 2019
Windsurf
Windsup Skills
WindSUP doesn’t just offer a light wind alternative, but also a gateway back into some potentially long-lost longboard skills, once the target of all windsurfers! So while you’re eyeing up those summer breezes, let’s look at a few top tips to make the most out of your WindSUP this summer.
2 min |
Issue 388 - August 2019
Windsurf
Benefits Of Windsurfing For Kids
The RYA explain why windsurfing helps develop positive character traits.
3 min |
Issue 387 - July 2019
SUP International
Slow West
As dawn sets in, I slip out of my dream world, crawl out of the tent, put my feet on the sandy ground, breathe in the fresh sea air and watch the breaking waves.
5 min |
Early Summer 2019
SUP International
With Friends Like That...
One of the ways in which SUP is unique in the boardsports world in that it’s very easy to teach someone new how to paddle, even when compared to surfing. And especially when compared to windsurfing or kitesurfing.
10+ min |
Early Summer 2019
SUP International
On All Fronts
Originally from Perros Guirec in northern Brittany, Alexis Deniel was a regular from a very young age on many national and international surf and longboard competitions before he turned his focus to SUP surf about ten years ago. His radical and powerful style and mental fortitude quickly propelled the charismatic Breton rider into the French vanguard of the sport. At the end of his 7th season on the APP Tour, he managed to secure a 7th overall ranking for 2018 which has only poured more fuel on the fire. We caught up with the two-time European champion to find out where it started, his thoughts on the APP Tour and where SUP surf is headed…
10+ min |
Early Summer 2019
SUP International
Kombucha In Chiba
I was in Hawaii when paddle boarding had just been born, or more accurately reborn, but still hadn’t grown up enough to leave its parents, Laird Hamilton and Dave Kalama.
2 min |
Early Summer 2019
SUP International
Paddle Science #15 - Smart Muscle Training
Some athletes are able to sprint paddle faster and are able to develop bigger muscles more easily whilst some athletes will be able to paddle for longer and further without fatigue. This is largely based upon which muscle fibres are recruited in your body. If you’re thinking of creating a SUP training programme for the summer then understanding what types of fibres you have in your muscles will greatly influence how you will adapt to any training programme.
9 min |
Early Summer 2019
SUP International
Out Of Time
Another loud explosion. We looked at each other with a mix of excitement and worry. What would we see up there? We were walking towards Mount Yasur on Tanna, one of the few very active volcanos in Vanuatu which was considered ‘kind of ’ safe to view up close. It was still a two hour hike ahead but the noises were already worryingly loud.
10 min |
Early Summer 2019
SUP International
Minor Threat
Everyone has seen Ice Age and who doesn’t love that movie when poor Zid is denied his nut because it’s frozen inside an ice cube?
8 min |
Early Summer 2019
SUP International
Knowledge
Get psyched #10 Giving back to nature.
3 min |
Early Summer 2019
SUP International
If You Do Just One Thing Today…
We’ve all got some advice to give everyone else when it comes to health: go keto, be more plant based, mobilise don’t stretch, lift heavy things, go outdoors, randomise your workouts...
3 min |
Early Summer 2019
SUP International
Christopher Fuhrhop Founder Of Restube
We first saw the Restube at the huge German watersports expo Boot, in 2014.. The product looked ingenious, a compact self-inflating bouyancy aid that could be worn unobtrisvely in the ocean. Time has shown a genuine demand for Restube across many professional and recreational users. We spoke to Restube founder Christopher Fuhrhop to learn more about how Restube can work for paddlers.
5 min |
Early Summer 2019
SUP International
Get Started In Foiling
Foiling has quite simply taken over my free time for a few months now. The sensation of lift, speed, hovering above the wave, turning with the slightest twitch of a foot and riding across a wave so slopey that in real terms you wouldn’t give it a second glance has completely captivated me. The new skills won in hard-fought battles have given me such rewards, riding on never ending waves with such velocity in the most pathetic conditions, that to me the foil is king and long live its continued development.
7 min |
Early Summer 2019
SUP International
Cool County
If you want to explore a county in Ireland with your SUP, the one with the longest coastline on the island seems a good place to start. County Donegal has over 1000 kms of wild shores and is often called the ‘forgotten county’ due to its remoteness. Finn Mullen gives a guide to its waters.
10+ min |
Early Summer 2019
SUP International
Flow Motion
The thing I love about living in Western Australia is its vastness. Having scoured its coastlines for over three and a half decades, with the aid of a new toy (a wee little Zodiac bought for tow- in foiling) the doors have opened to areas of that I’d previously been to, but never had the means of accessing. Until now.
8 min |
Early Summer 2019
SUP International
Desire Lines
Flung far out into Norwegian sea, the Molde Archipelago forms part of Norway’s Romsdal Peninsula, the corner’ of this long, tall country that marks the division between the lower regions and the long run up north. Although it sits at latitude 62 degrees north (Anchorage, Alaska is 61) Molde is caressed by the same Gulf Stream that warms Norway’s British neighbours to the south west. It’s mandatory that you’ll bring your paddling kit, but can we also make a strong suggestion to bring a fly rod too? The fishing is quite literally ‘off the hook’…
4 min |
Early Summer 2019
SUP International
Back To Dakhla
Six years after our last trip to Dakhla, we returned for two weeks during January and February. When you go back to a place full of good memories after a few years you're always asking yourself about how it may have changed. Even more so in developing areas such as the Western Sahara. Let's dive in to the Dakhla of 2019 compared to the place we enjoyed nearly 2000 days ago.
5 min |
Early Summer 2019
Windsurf
Elevate
“Only passions, great passions can elevate the soul to great things.” Denis Diderot.
4 min |
Issue 387 - July 2019
Windsurf
Flight's Primary Ignition
The parameters suggested to the brands for our inaugural wind foil sail test were left incredibly broad and open, for one simple reason. We wanted them to decide which product to put forward, and in doing so provide some understanding of their design direction. A sort of litmus paper test to gauge whether there was a consensus amongst the largest sail lofts.
10+ min |
Issue 387 - July 2019
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
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
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
Black Sea Tales
We last caught up with Jono Dunnett on his round Europe windsurf adventure as he landed in Istanbul. Here he picks up the story as he continues his epic voyage, venturing further into the Black Sea along Turkey’s coastline and into Georgia. Read on as Jono reflects on his journey.
7 min |
Issue 387 - July 2019
Windsurf
The Black Rock Yacht Club
Summer is here and festival season is well underway, and if you like your festivals eccentric, few come weirder than ‘Burning Man’ in northwest Nevada. So what does a desert rave up have to do with windsurfing and what is the Black Rock Yacht Club, Kevin Pritchard tells tale.
8 min |
Issue 387 - July 2019
Windsurf
Devon Dreams
Huge southwest swells pound UK shores a few times a year, but lining them up with sailable easterly winds is more of a once in a decade occurrence. Fifteen years after scoring an epic mast high plus port tack session at Bigbury, John Carter rolled the dice on a mission to the famed south Devon spot, hoping for the stars to align once more and score a repeat performance! The lucky crew that scored pick up the tale.
10+ min |
Issue 387 - July 2019
Windsurf
The Gentle Art Of Being Coached
There are good and bad teachers. But there are also good and bad pupils. With the holiday season upon us and many heading to centres home and abroad, Harty, with a few thousand coaching hours under his belt, offers much advice on how to get the most out of tuition.
10+ min |
Issue 387 - July 2019
Windsurf
Sustained Flight
You’ve had lift off and you’re hooked! The next question is how do you turn this bucking bronco of a ride into that serene image of cruising along above the water without the thought in the back of your mind that the kit is at any minute going to try and kill you! In other words, how do I get sustained flight and start windsurfing in 3D?
3 min |