“Excited and nervous for where the progression of windsurfing is going.” - Jaeger Stone, 22 July 2018, Pozo Izquierdo, Gran Canaria.
July was a good time to be a sports fan, a confluence of major sporting events made for an interesting background to view our own sport against. Mainstream sports have a stable base level which they currently operate under, there’s rarely any seismic breakthroughs in performance, unless you’re a cyclist with a ‘good’ doctor or ‘special’ blood. But that doesn’t mean there isn’t drama, Wimbledon wouldn’t be Wimbledon without the oohs and ahhs as balls just make it into play and the World Cup wouldn’t be the World Cup without the dreaded penalties, nor would a Grand Prix be a Grand Prix without crashes. The scripts are unwritten, but essentially balls and cars move around as they have done for quite some time. Nothing wrong with that. The pathways into these sports are well established; to learn tennis hit a ball against a wall, football – kick a ball into a wall, motor racing – have a large trust fund and don’t crash into a wall. Mainstream sports are mainstream for a reason, they’re normal and things don’t change, generally. There may be a scandal every now and again, or weekly if it’s athletics, swimming, cycling or any other of the ‘dope’ sports, but by and large what you see with these sports is what you get. Windsurfing isn’t like that, thank goodness.
This year’s PWA wave event at Pozo displayed a level of performance that was unrecognisable from even just a year ago. Jumps teetered on the edge of insanity, the risks were beyond comprehension and even the sailors themselves had a hard time processing just how far the level of our sport was raised. It was beautiful to watch. It was scary to watch. It was nothing like a mainstream sport.
This story is from the Issue 379 - September 2018 edition of Windsurf.
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This story is from the Issue 379 - September 2018 edition of Windsurf.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
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.
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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!
