So….to give you an idea of what it’s really like to do the jump, we gave French indoor hotshot Yannick Anton the Boardseeker headcam. 

		From here you get the best view in the stadium.  Your heart is racing and you watch the sailor in front of you prepare for his jump.  Secretly you hope he doesn’t make a good one otherwise the pressure is really on you!
		You are feeling very nervous, in less than a minute you could be champion of the show, in front of several thousand spectators, or getting dragged from the pool by the medics on your way to hospital – it’s a fine line that separates the two!  There is not a breath of wind up here which is strange when its blowing 35 knots just 5 meters in front of you.  Its also incredibly noisy and just to the right of you is a table with 3 judges sitting with clip boards waiting to rate your efforts
		The marshal helps you fit your fin behind the locking bar that holds your board in place on the ramp until you are ready to go.
		Get in the footstraps, rotate your sail and get ready.  There is still no wind except for the occasional gust that blows from the wrong side of your sail and keeps popping it around the wrong way.  Its very noisy!“I decide what move to do on the start ramp.” – Alex Mousilini
		Give the Marshal the thumbs up when you are ready and prepare for the drop.  Within a fraction of a second, you feel the board drop away from underneath you.  There is still no wind in the sail, so stay low and keep your weight over the board.
		As the nose hits the water, you feel the wind surge in your sail and at last you can lean back against it!  Try not to let the nose dig in too much – maintaining speed is essential!
		The wind is now at full force in your sail.  You will feel very overpowered.  Try not to bear off as you will distance yourself from the fans and the wind will drop very quickly.  Hook in and try to head up towards the fans.
		Its all about speed.  The faster you go, the better your jump will be.  Its not easy though as you feel every single gap between the fans.  The wind is on, off all the way!  You have to keep the board smooth and aim just above the red guide bouy.“Go as fast as you can and relax but its important to hold the board steady before hitting the ramp.” – Josh Angulo
		The red bouy is there to help you line up with the slot on the jump ramp.  Stay just above it and you should be roughly ok.“Your approach to the ramp should be slightly upwind so if you are going to not get perfectly into the slot, you have more chance of being pushed into the right position once your board is halfway up the ramp. Go too far downwind and you will just go over the side of the ramp.” – John Hibbard
		This is the scariest moment!  You have to get the fin in the centre of the V slot.  Get it wrong and you will crash.  The trick here is not to bottle it.“The main thing is you have to try not to lift the board before you hit the ramp. Go for it but try to be controlled before the ramp.” – Ricardo Campello
		Sit back and hope the fin goes into the slot.  The ramp is actually quite slidey and you don’t feel much friction.  There is still power in your sail to propel your way up the ramp.  It is a strange sensation, not like hitting a wave – more like being on an escalator until you reach the rollers at the top which give you the kick you need to initiate your move.
		If you get this far and the fin is in the slot, you are safe!  As you reach the top of the ramp, you will feel the rollers give your board an extra ‘kick’.  It is important that you don’t try to start rotating on the way up.  The ramp is straight and if you try to turn, you will come a cropper!  There is still a good amount of wind in your sail as you leave the ramp.
		At the apex of your jump the wind is a lot lighter.  The higher you go, the lighter it is!  From up here, you are conscious that the pool is very shallow (less than waist deep), it also looks very small!
		You have to put a lot of effort into your jump as the wind is so light.  Over-emphasise your movements.  The higher you go, the worse it is!“The only thing different is that you can not stall too much. If you go too high, you get to a spot where there is no wind, no speed and you’ve got to do much more body rotation. The easiest move is the forward loop. The push loop needs a lot of speed and you don’t seem to get a lot off the ramp.” – Kauli Seadi
		The lights are dazzling.  It is strange to look back and see roof where there is normally sky!  Its also very noisy!
		Try to land flat so you don’t hit the bottom of the pool – it is very shallow!
		Bang, you get a fresh shot of ice cold fresh water in your face!! You are so far downwind when you land that there is hardly any wind at all.  Your landing technique has to be slightly different to outdoors.  Instead of bracing yourself for the sail to power up again, you actually have to land over your kit so that you don’t fall backwards.
		Once the water clears, you have to come to a fast halt before you reach the end of the pool. You hear the crowd cheer over the noise of the fans and you wait to see your jump score on the large screen!! You have made it and you are still alive! Even if you know it is going wrong when you get close to the ramp, stay sheeted in and you will be catapulted clear over the ramp.  Sheet out or try to avoid the ramp and you are likely to make a head sized dent in it!

Do you want to see an indoor competition back on the PWA calendar? What made these events so special? Do you think we will get to see any monster moves inside in the near future? Let us know your opinion in the comments below! 

One of the great moves to have in your trick book is the upwind 360. It may not impress the tourists on the beach, but all your buddies on the beach will be quietly impressed by this unassuming technical trick. The UW360 feels great when you perfect it and opens the door to Flakas on flat water and the Takas in the waves, it really is a must have move when you start your freestyle journey.

Upwind 360:

• Sail across the wind and lean the sail to the back of the board. LOOK in the direction you want to go. As the sail goes back transfer your weight onto your heels, driving the board into the wind.
• When you are dropping the sail back remember to move your hands down the boom. Moving your hands along the boom is important - YOUR HANDS ARE NOT SUPER GLUED TO THE BOOM – the boom is how you control the power.
• The board will then start to carve into the wind. Try to get as far round as possible. As the board speed reduces start to transfer all your body weight from your heels onto your toes. Now the board speed has reduced lean forward bringing the rig with you. Slide your hands down the boom. Remember we are always counter balancing our weight against the rig, so rig forward weight back.
• As the rig slices forward you are aiming to push the mast through the eye of the wind. Do not push with your back hand we are trying to keep the sail neutral. The boom should end up tucked under your arm.
• Now the sail is neutral, so here comes the tricky part. Your front hand controls the turn your backhand the power.
• Front hand – as you slice the sail forward, if you want the board to turn push the front hand in the you want to go, but remember to be gentle.
• If it’s windy, to control the power extend your front hand down lower to the water pull in with your back hand, this will depower the sail (the dry humping effect)
• As the nose of the board starts to turn in the direction you want to go, you will end up in the back winded position, so remember your power control that dry hump, slowly feel the board in the direction you want to go with your front hand when the board is sat on a bored reach or a run your ready to pop the clue through!
• To pop the clue through, you do this wait for the nose of the board to point down wind. As soon as this happens we move our weight from your toes to our heels. As the clue goes through we must be prepared to handle the power in the sail. So, get back onto your heels. When the clue goes through keep your back hand down this will also help to handle the power.
• Now sail away.

More hints and more tip can be found on the windsurfcoaching.com blog and websites.
Message our facebook page and we will reply with solutions to your problems, or by the DVD – Go Pro with Colin and Marco.

Where To Go To Progress Your Freestyle

So, whatever your freestyle level there is a lot to be learning towards the end of summer and even more places to venture to as this the season continues.

Check out the full Boardseeker Summer Special for all the places to travel and info on how to arrange your perfect windsurfing holiday.

Another destination we recommend, especially as a year round location, is Club Dahab which is located on the stunning windy shores of the Red Sea. It offers over 300 days of force 4+ a year and is proud to be the only British centre in Dahab, and the only one offering inclusive rental and tuition with Club Vass top instructors. Just a short haul flight away, it’s ideal for a quick ‘fix’ any time of the year, with many flight options.

The centre commands a prime beach position, with easy access to all sailing spots and it’s the only place rocking the unique Club Vass vibe!

Club Vass Hot Shot Pip Pardoe has moved on to Club Dahab for the windy season to join Luke and the team. Pip has proved to be a huge star at Club Vassiliki, pulling off some of the biggest moves, he is Mr Motivator!

And there are some great deals for Autumn 2012. W/C 15th September through to W/C 13th October only £349 for 1 week!
(Price includes: Airport transfer, accommodation at the Ganet Sinai, half-board meal plan, tuition with top instructors, unlimited use of windsurfing kit).

www.clubvass.com info@clubvass.com 0844 463 0191

Antoine Albeau

Name: Antoine Albeau

Sail number:F192

Date of birth: 17/06/72

Born in: La Rochelle

Currently living: ile de Ré, France

Sponosors: RRD, NeilPryde, Quiksilver, Ford Autovital, Sosh Orange

Discipines: All

Top results: 20 x World champ, World Speed Record 49.09kts

Nicknames: Tonio

Describe your style on the water: Free but very technical

Favourite spot: Maui, Caledonia, Guadeloupe, ile de Ré

Current favourite board and sail: Right now it will be my 4.8 and my little RRD custom 40cm for the speed !!

Best memory from 2012: My come back for the 1st place in Turkey and Sylt!!

What do you think helped you win the title? My concentration and focus on the race all year long.

How did you celebrate? Lots of champagne!

What are your plans for the winter? A big party again at the boat show on the 9th Dec; you are all welcome!!!

What are your strengths and weaknesses? Strengths I think are my competitiveness and concentration on events, and weaknesses….ask all the others.

What skills would you like to have from another competitor? Hummmmm I don’t know, I think I am not too bad as I got the win !!!

All images: PWA / John Carter.

Photos by: Jimmie Hepp

Last time Boardseeker caught up with the flying doctor she was enjoying the long waves of south america, but where is she now?

Aloooooooooha from the beautiful land of Mahi Mahi, Mai Tais and bomby shallow reef breaks! Yes compadres, I’ve ventured across the Americas to the depths of the pacific to the wee paradise isle of Maui, Hawaii. To be honest, having been here many times already the sense of adventure was slightly lessened compared to my last two trips to Peru and Mexico. The 50th state of America is almost like a second home at this stage and knowing what’s in store for me here comes almost as a relief in comparisson to the daunting unknown of my escapades in Central and South America. Maui is a unique place. As hospitable and welcoming as it can be, it can also come with equal measures of hostility and difficulty. It is after all an island, and island cultures and people tend to be extemely unique and slightly insular……. I should know, after all I come from one.

Cultural pride and heritage mean everything to island people and there are few if any other places I have ever been to where the people take as much pride in where they come from as they do here. Hawaiians are a proud people and rightfully so. They come from a tropical paradise, which is as rich environmentally as it is culturally and being here reminds me of how similarly, I take such pride in being from Ireland and being Irish. The more often I come here the more clarity and insight I gain on this place. Living on Maui’s Norh Shore as I have done for every visit I’ve made, I begin to appreciate more and more of what it has to offer considering it is such a diverse melting pot of cultures and societies. People come here from every corner of the world, from every possible demographic and every mix of backgrounds all in search of the same thing……. waves. Glorious, clean, heavy, punishing, beautiful, challenging, jaw-dropping waves. It honestly never gets old taking a look at the mottly crew who make up a line up. Whether surfing, windsurfing, SUPping or kiting, the stories you hear and the faces you meet rarely tell the same story. Everyone came here in their own way, from their own background and in their own time but all for the one common cause. The sea. Nature’s playground.

And so I suppose I have my own story to tell and reasons for being here…….. naturally working on my pasty Irish freckly tan is one……. eating my bodyweight in fresh Ahi Poki doused in wasabi and soy is another…….. of course my life-long dream of donning a coconut bra and grass skirt and taking to life as a professional hula girl is up there too…… but mostly so I can find someone who’s willing to take me for dinner to Mama’s Fishouse already!! What I wouldn’t do for a $50 plate of Mahi and a $20 cocktail….. hahahahaha!!! Oh yeah, and I suppose I wouldn’t be too averse to the idea of doing a bit of windsurfing here and there…… if I have to…….

The sailing here has been epic, as always! There really is no need for me to go into the ins and outs of sailing Ho’okipa, you’ve heard it and seen it all before, so naturally you all know how incredible it can be. I first sailed Ho’okipa four years ago and coming back, having been limited since then to the waves of Ireland and Europe I was interested to see how all my ‘training’ would pay off here…… hahahaha holy crap Ho’okipa can beat me up! It’s all about going for it here, the wave can often times be a one or two hit wonder and unless you’re willing to ‘send it’ and boost a big aerial you can come away after a day’s sailing there with your tail between your legs , a rosy colour to your cheeks and some rock-mangled gear that looks like it spent some time in the ring with Tyson.

Ho’okipa sailing is Ho’okipa sailing. It’s a unique wave that takes years to fully tune in to and can be as punishing as it can be rewarding. A month into my stay here and I’m starting to tune into it…..I think…..and now at least I know what I want for Christmas….. “Dear Santa, I would greatly appreciate the magic skill of boosting a big aerial off the lip just like Mr.Polakow or Mr.Siver thank you please……… And if not, I suppose a voucher for Mama’s Fishouse wouldn’t go astray instead, ta very much”. Hahaha stop thinking about food Katie, focus on sailing.

So mixed into my personal battles with Ho’okipa (currently pretty good odds on Katie vs the Point with the wave coming in victor at about 200:1 ) hahaha!, I have been competing on the awesome American Windsurfing Tour. The Maui Makani Classic was the last stop on the six event tour for 2012 and was without a doubt, the best sailing I have seen in person in my life (and I’ve seen Koester in 50 knots Cabezo). I also feel it’s probably the best I have sailed on the tour too. I took the unique angle at this event of being media director which involved everything from writing daily press-releases to making videos and interviewing the competitors and dealing with the local press. Super fun considering my love of “the chat”, oh how I love “the chat”! Ha! But slightly challenging considering my only skills for the job on my CV include, 1) Loving the chat 2) Talking a lot 3) Loving the chat……. and 4) Being a doctor?! Hmmmmmm…. not quite media mogul credentials, pretty sure CNN won’t be banging down my door any time soon, but I did gain mad skills in using more than two fingers at a time to type and trying to sound a little less leprachaun and a little more uncle Sam…… got a real nice American twang going on right now, really helps break down the Paddy communication barriers over here!

The event was an insane success. 120 competitors from 24 countries (including two from Ireland, yours truly and 3rd place amateur fleet Neil Turpin from Dublin!) and a who’s who in the line up of the pro fleet. Watching heats with Stone vs Goya vs Siver vs Polakow vs Pritchard vs Katchadourian et al was mind blowing. I have written thousands of words about the heats on the AWT website so I won’t bore you with them now but all I can say is mix those names in with double mast high Ho’okipa and the recipe delivers probably the most memorable and successful event in recent times. From the ladies point of view we had a mackin’ fleet. Names like Junko Nagoshi, Anne-Marie Reichmann, Shawna Cropas, Tatiana Howard, Angela Cochran, Ingrid Larouche and so many more were all battling it out. I felt honoured and so unbelievably priviliged to be sailing both with and against those girls. Having 20 minutes of mast high Ho’okipa to yourself and three other women is absolutely priceless and I’ll never forget it. So proud to be representing Ireland at these events and really, really chuffed to have made it through to come 7th against 20 women for this event and 5th overall for the AWT year. My first heat was a toughy but I pulled through only to be pitted against last year’s winner and superstar Junko Nagoshi and last year’s runner-up Anne-Marie in my quarter finals. But I went into the heat with the only expectation of doing myself proud and having fun….. which I did! And caught some nice big bomby sets along the way and only narrowly lost on a 2:1 judges decision to Anne-Marie. Happy days! The win in the mens was taken by super nice, intelligent and talented 16 year old Bernd Roediger

And so from there it’s been a mix of sailing, SUPing, surfing, eating, partying and hanging out with some of the coolest people I know who I now consider very dear friends. I love the complete dichotomy in my life between Ireland and being a doctor and travelling and being a windsurfer. I’m so lucky to have the family and friends at home and away who all enrich my life so much regardless of what capacity it is in. Whether it’s my Mum, Dad, siblings and friends at home or my windsurfing family here on Maui and my sponsors in the Simmer team and Moo Custom team, I’m so grateful to be surrounded by such kindness, openess, happiness and support. Mahalo to you all!!

Previous adventures with katie and link to maui travel feature:

• Maui travel feature
• Katie in Peru
• Tenerife to South America

Getting the most our of your gear is incredibly important; John Skye shares his tips on trimming your outhaul to get just the right amount of power.

Photo: Dave White

Check out the previous technique videos on Boardseeker:

• The taka with Phil Horrocks
• Catching waves with James Cox
• Wave tips top turn with Jamie Hancock
• Push loop with Jamie and John
• Wave Tips with Ben Proffitt
• On shore bottom turn with Phil Horrocks
• Getting out in waves with John Skye
• Forward loops

The EFPT’s final event this year took place on UK shores, at Weymouth, the Olympic sailing site. Boardseeker finds out more from Hanna Poschinger.

EFPT Weymouth

Photos: Jay Haysey/GlobalShots.

After seeing the South of France with every possible weather scenario ranging from howling winds to calm sunny days the EFPT team and many of the riders travelled onwards to the first ever EFPT tour stop in the United Kingdom: Weymouth.

Seen by many people as an ex-olympic site, the event company XPLG (Xtreme Playground), with the leading managers Sam Burnett and EFPT rider Adam Sims (Sailloft), decided to make it a venue for the 2012 finale of the European tour. In only two months they pulled in a high value main sponsor, Centaur Executive Coaches, who saw the potential in supporting such an event in the popular windsurfing scene of the United Kingdom. Starting from scratch only 60 days before the competition took place, the organisers worked like maniacs not to only make it happen, but to provide a great event for the riders, partners and the spectators.

Because the EFPT team has been working very closely together with the organizers of the event, we’d like to give you some insights into just exactly what went on behind the scenes. After driving for approximately 1,000 miles from Six Fours les Plages in France to Weymouth in the south of England, spending the night in ‘interesting’ travel lodges, having more fuel station food and Red Bull than you can shake a stick at, the experience of severe hail showers on the highway (not good!) and the enjoyment of driving the last 200 miles with only 50mph because the car broke down, we safely arrived at our destination – the OTC right in front of the big National Sailing Academy within Weymouth. Being welcomed by strong winds everybody was craving for a windsurfing session. We still decided: first the work, then afterwards the fun bit, not quite considering that it was (almost) winter and the sun would set at 5 pm. Anyway with a small but motivated group of helpers we started to set up the 12 x 6 meters marquee without any instructions which probably wasn’t the best idea ever considering that we used all the wrong poles for the roof, screwing in dozens of tiny screws…which we had to unscrew again (of course) to exchange for the right poles. As the day got later and darker the hope for a windsurf session was gone and only the drive for food made us continue on. It was good to see that even competitors got involved and helped us setting up this massive tent in order to provide a wind protected chill-out area for everyone throughout the following days.

On the registration day we saw a big number of competitors entering, with a high number of Brits. Adam Sims (Sailloft), Nic Hibdige (Starboard), Ben Lee, Jack Sawbridge (North/RRD), Charlie Wilson (North/Fanatic), Nick Bentley, Jamie Howard (RRD/RRD), Phil Richards (F2), Josh Sparks (North/Fanatic), Will Rogers (Starboard), Andy Bubble Chambers (JP/Neilpryde) and Jamie Drummond (Starboard) all paid the entrance fee in order to compete against some of the best European freestylers such as: Davy Scheffers, Dieter Van der Eyken (Starboard), Andraz Zan (F2/F2) and Adrian Beholz (Sailloft).

Different to the other tour stops we saw this year, there was also be a girls fleet sent out in Weymouth. The organizers called for female freestyle windsurfers to compete in the ‘Queen of the Wind’ event sponsored by Femi Pleasure. The Polish brand provided not only prize money and nice clothes for the top three, but also goodie bags for every entrant. Seven girls registered to fight for the crown.

If we would have to make an equation after the last two tour stops it would be: strong winds = cold temperatures. The first day of competition delivered enough wind to run almost the whole single elimination with the postponement of the losers and the winners final to the following day. The hot tub just in front of the Official Test Center (OTC) was heavily used by the riders. Fast in, warm up, fast out was the motto as people were lining up to get at least their feet and hands into the steaming water. It all looked pretty life saving to me. Good job to the organizers for providing it!

The single elimination saw Davy Scheffers taking victory with Van der Eyken in second and Adam Gavriel and Andy Chambers in third and fourth. Right after the final the wind dropped and sailors were released.

Monday was the day that was awaited with high expectations. First of all the wind was back and we could send the riders through the whole double elimination with Rick Jendrusch (F2) definitely being the man of the moment. He sailed amazing heats, taking out Jeremy Plüss from Switzerland, Adrian Beholz from Germany and even Andy ‘Bubble’ Chambers, to end up in fourth position overall. The top three positions stayed the same with Davy in first, Dieter in second and Adam Gavriel from Israel in third place.

In the evening the schedule included a night tow in show at Weymouth town beach! Every year fireworks light up the skies during the traditional Guy Fawkes night celebrations. With many thousand spectators expected, this evening promised to be a big happening for the 13 experienced tow in riders. Red Bull were of huge support for the show and provided the jetski, the music truck (DJ Chubsy) and plenty of free cans, they guaranteed the right atmosphere at the beach, especially with the likes of Colin ‘Whippy’ Dixon taking over the towns PA system. Also with the funfair and the bright lights in the background the scene was amazing and all the riders were hyped up for their two runs ahead. The two powerful spotlights were switched on and the competitors provided a great show with Max Matissek (Fanatic) from Austria winning the discipline, Andy Chambers in second and Julien Mas in third place.

It wouldn’t be an English event if there wouldn’t also be the right parties to go with it. Jay Haysey and Adam Chubbock from Globalshots made sure that Saturday (Royal Rave) and Monday (Globaland) were unforgettable nights. With a lot of UV paint, glow sticks , funky glasses and Adam ‘Chubsy’ Chubbock as the guy behind the turntables, we had a great celebration after the tow in show.

The prize giving was held the day afterwards in the Spinnaker room of the National Sailing Academy. Honoring the top three of the event and also the top three overall in the 2012 EFPT ranking, Davy Scheffers (1st), Dieter Van der Eyken (2nd) and Adrian Beholz (3rd). Davy who won the tour for the first time fulfilled one of his dreams and stated:

‘What I reached today shows me that you can get everything you dream of as long as you keep going for it and work hard.’

It was a great event and a great show at all the tour stops this year. We would like to say thank you to everyone who participated, organized, helped in any way or followed us in this season. We are hoping to provide an even bigger and brighter tour for you next year with a lot of wind, action and fun!

Let the good times roll and stay tuned!

Hanna

Windsurfing is all about imagery; capturing the perfect moment on the water is something truly special. In this new series Boardseeker catches up with a few of the World’s top windsurfing photographers as they share their favourite shots and explain the stories behind them.

Second up is Maui based Darrell Wong.

All images © Darrell Wong.

Naish Noseride

1988

Robby Naish at Diamond Head. This is my all time favorite photo. To get Robby doing a nose ride was cool enough, but to have it as a “speed blur” was unreal. I’ve had so many people over the years comment on how cool this shot is. You can’t do this anymore because the mast track is farther back now.

Kai Katchadourian

1999

At Hookipa. Okay… this is my second favorite photo of all time. I am please to say this photo redefined my career in windsurfing. This was my first experiment at shooting these from a helicopter in waves. And to my surprise… it worked! 99% of the credit goes to the pilot; Peter Voorhes. As they say in photography… 99% is just being there. And Peter put me in the perfect position every time, with the smoothest helicopter tracking.

Naish Peahi

2006

Robby Naish at Peahi (Jaws). Shooting at Peahi from the jetski is a lot of work… and luck. First you have to get out there… then you have to be safe… then you have to get the shot. I give credit to every Jaws photo I’ve shot to my boat partner and driver; Keith Baxter (Connor Baxter’s Dad). He is the most knowledgeable and experienced driver out there. We’ve shot Peahi since day one, and this is one of my favorites. It’s not the biggest, or scariest, but shows the power of Peahi. And if you think Robby’s only doing a “pussy” turn on the shoulder… the wave is actually bending towards him in the foreground and the wind is whipping at 25+ mph up the face!

7 year old Camilla Tasetti and windsurf instructor Eva Enriquez.

Kanaha, Maui; Hawaii. April 2006.

I love this photo because it shows the first time joy of windsurfing with your friend. And isn’t this what it’s all about… windsurfing with your friends? I’m disappointed that none of the magazines used this photo.

U.S. F1 Grand Prix. Phoenix, Arizona.

Ayrton Senna. 1991

I have been a fan of Formula 1 racing since I was a kid. Ayrton Senna was and still is my favorite driver. This was my first F1 race, and I was so stoked to get a sharp “speed” shot of him. Besides my favorite windsurf photos of Robby and Kai, I’d have to say this is my favorite sports photo.

Check out previous week’s intallments:

• Dani Miquel photography

From road tripping to new spots to finding new spots, these Italians, including the PWA freestyler nicola Spadea, ventured away from local shores to discover a spot with some decent November waves. Not epic conditions but still some nice windsurfing action to pass the Monday morning.

Now something cool from Flo Jung who organises and trains young up and coming freestylers and wave riders in his windsurfing camps. Named Talentschmeide, meaning talent development it\’s a seriously cool opportunity for the youngsters to train with one of the best wave sailors in the world and learn a little more about what it is like to be a professional windsurfer.

The last video of the morning comes from the surf and SUP scene, if this is what you are in to then this issue of the Wapala TV mag is packed full of big waves, little waves and even river waves, enjoy.

Elsewhere we\’ve got two awesome interviews, the first is on Zakel.ws and celebrating two years of windsurfing action on their cool and fresh website they decided to hook up with Marcillio Browne to ask him some unique questions about what inspires him, the double taka and much much more…

Having opened with a mention of Andraz Zan it seems only too right to close this mornings news with him, so this second interview comes from the EFPT who caught up with the 2012 5th overall freestyler. Andraz is beginning to make a name for himself in the video editing world, alongside his coaching weeks, the former ski jumper is now proving his worth within windsurfing. Read the full interview here.

Photo Credit:

Boardseeker catches up with the EFPT’s Hanna Poschinger to find out more about the latest events; first up the EFE in the South of France.

EFPT monthly September/ October

Photos: Raffi Cherbedjian

With many thousand miles travelled by car, plane, bus and train the last weeks have been the busiest for the EFPT team in the whole year. We’ve seen the last two tour stops in Six Fours les Plages, France and the big finale in Weymouth, UK. First things first, we’d like to give you a better insight on the first of these two events, the European Funboard Expression which took place from the 27th through to the 31st October in the South of France.

The European Funboard Expression event, organised by Steve Palier as well as Fred and Natach Bosson has become an institution in the past three years and already staged the European Freestyle Pro Kids Tour. For their fourth edition the team wanted to take it a step further and bring the best professional freestyle windsurfers of Europe to their venue. Working 24/7 throughout the whole year the organisers managed exactly that. The event set up was well worthy of the international competition that they expected and featured freestyle windsurfing, a tow-in contest as well as a social programme that ranged from community dinners to a movie night with a video contest and a RRD fashion show.

36 riders out of 12 nations registered on day one. Some to fight for the crown and the top positions this year, some to experience their first international competition. Amongst the world class sailors getting involved were Davy Scheffers from Holland, Dieter Van der Eyken (Starboard) from Belgium, Adrian Beholz (Sailloft/Fanatic) from Germany, Tonky Frans from Bonaire and Mattia Fabrizi (North/Fanatic) from Italy, just to name a few. Best seeded UK freestyler was Adam Sims (Sailloft) who came to defend his current top 10 overall position. He brought along 17 year old Nic Hibdige (Starboard) and Ben Lee, both from the UK who had their EFPT debut in France.

Immediately after the registration was completed, race director Tom Hartmann sent the fleet out on the water as the storm front was coming, just as ordered, and delivered conditions for 4.7m sails and smaller. A whole single elimination and parts of the double were run on the first day always followed by the camera of the B2B team, who provided the live stream on dailymotion.com. Over 5000 people were following the competition at home via the internet. This made the whole event extremely accessible and interactive. Steve Palier who was the responsible person on site even found the time to do the live commentary and managed to organise interviews in between. He really did a great job and deserves some special acknowledgement for his commitment. As many followers have been national, Steve kept entertaining the French audience in his mother tongue, whilst Adam Sims from the UK helped out in between and after his heats to give the international followers updates on what was going on on the water.

Day two always had a big storm on the cards. With wind speeds of up to 60 knots forecast the council refused authorisation to start the competition and we had to postpone the first possible start from 9.00 am to lunch time, when the wind dropped a tiny bit. The riders had to rig their 4.0′s and smaller. Whilst people were still out in their short wetsuits the day before, they now had to unpack their winter ones as the strong winds delivered super cold conditions with a windchill of only a few celsius above zero. The judges were equipped with snowboard jackets and pants, as well as thick sleeping bags and snow goggles due to the strong onshore conditions, which even made the water surface take off at some points. They had a really hard job here and proved themselves in these tough conditions. Some riders were clearly struggling in the nuclear wind and the choppy water, whilst others still showed high class freestyle. As we made our way through the double elimination the performance of some riders should be highlighted: Davy Scheffers sailed through four heats taking out Rick Jendrusch (F2), Anthony Ruenes, Mattia Fabrizi (North/Fanatic) and Adrian Beholz (Sailloft/Fanatic) to be then stopped by Dieter Van der Eyken (Starboard). Dieter was clearly powered up on his small sail and ready to take victory defeating Tonky Frans, who is currently ranked top five in the world, twice! The result for the top five after the finished double were as follows:

1st Dieter Van der Eyken (Starboard)
2nd Tonky Frans
3rd Davy Scheffers
4th Adrian Beholz (Sailloft)
5th Mattia Fabrizi (North/Fanatic)

Dieter Van Der Eyken (Belgium) – 1st place:

‘I am really very happy to see that I can beat some top guys like Tonky, especially by defeating him twice, it’s just incredible! I already knew le Brusc as I have sailed here a few times and this is one of my favorite spots in the Mediterranean, it’s perfect to train in freestyle. But I was not expecting such strong winds, it has been a long time since I used such small sail. I was on 3.6 overpowered! The organisation was top and especially the live webcast, which is great for the image of the EFPT. The EFE is much more than a competition, it a great appointment and a great showcase for the sport!’

The top UK sailor was Adam Sims (Sailloft) who finished in joint 13th place. Ben Lee and Nic Hibdige (Starboard) made it to a joint 25th place in their first international competition. Well done!

The following days of the EFE in Six Fours delivered nice weather, but unfortunately no wind. Perfectly prepared for that case we had two strong boats to do a tow in qualification that was open to every registered sailor. Due to the mild weather the beach was full with people as 21 riders fought for the 10 places in the final on the next day. As expected the members of team France, Julien Mas and local boy Adrien Bosson (North/Fanatic) made a great impression here, clearly showing that they trained this discipline. In the final though, two rookies made it to the podium and dispatched Julien Mas to the third place. Romain Pinocheau (F2) French freestyle talent convinced with a perfect double funnell and took second, Antoine Albert from New Caledonia even managed to land a switch kono on his first run and almost nailed a skopu on his second try. This was rewarded by the judges with a first place.

For the last day of the event, the new single elimination had already been seeded and the riders of the first heat were prepared to hit the water around 9.00 am. Again le Brusc had a super strong forecast this time with wind coming from the other side, delivering fully offshore conditions. The whole coastline between Marseille and Nice saw a red flag this morning, so did we. The coastguard gave us no authorization to start due to dangerous conditions and recommended to cancel the competition. Like that the freestyle contest came to a sudden end and the ranking stayed the same.

The EFE/EFPT in France convinced with an amazing organisation, great but also challenging conditions for sailing, a superb social programme and a media coverage which was quite unique for the European tour, due to the every day live stream. We are looking forward to next season and to see this tour stop grow even bigger. At this point we would like to thank all the riders who were providing the show, to the whole EFE team and everybody who followed us throughout these exciting days.

Stay tuned for the full write up and some insights about the finale of the EFPT, the Centaur King of the Wind in the UK!

Thanks for following,

Hanna

All images © Col Leonhardt/WindsurfAustralia.com

Australia has one wave sailing location that stands out from all the rest, it’s a location that really needs to be seen from the air to understand how remote it is, how beautiful the landscape can be and how the wind and waves line up to provide one of the best spots on the planet.

As an aerial photographer and windsurfer I have been trying to photograph Gnaraloo for six years but the cost of getting a helicopter to such a remote location was so excessive that I thought it would never happen. Gnaraloo has never been photographed from a helicopter;that was until this year whilst working with a pilot in another part of the north west he mentioned he would be near Gnaraloo during the best time for waves (September/October).

The next issue was fuel for the helicopter, no fuel provider would deliver out to the location so we ended up purchasing our own drums and drove them out there ourselves along some very rough tracks. Then we were ready to go.

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We ended up spending three days shooting/filming on this trip with a fair few incredible sailors including Al McLeod and Ben Newson from Australia, plus several other locals.

Gnaraloo handles a large swell very well, however on this trip the expected swell didn’t arrive so we had waves from waist high up to almost mast high in a more dangerous section of reef a little further upwind. The wind starts blowing from late August to about April with the best months being September, October, March and April. December/January/February is very windy with less swell but the heat can be unbearable.

While Gnaraloo is great for wave sailing it also has a flat water bay 12km further north if you are into slalom sailing and if you are after a gentle swim there is a tropical lagoon right in front of the campsite.

Gnaraloo is private property, a working sheep station to be exact and is about 1,200 km from Perth, a nice long drive with the last 100km over quite a rough track. Accommodation is either at the campsite for $20 per night, there is no fresh water, no power, there are toilets and showers though (bore water). Further down the track is the homestead which has small basic villa’s starting from $70 per night, these have water, power and basic amenities.

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What does Gnaraloo mean to…. Ben Newson.

“Gnaraloo to me means a long straight drive in the heat of the day without air-conditioning. Dodging wild animals that run or skip the gauntlet at night. Eating servo food and loading up on Redbull to keep you awake behind the wheel. It means bouncing along a dirt track hoping to make it to the point. It means scoring epic, barreling left hand waves with your mates and a swarm of blow ins and blow flies. It means you are guaranteed to break something and swim for your life. It means having a few cold beers after a sail and passing out under a starlit sky. It means that summer is just around the corner.”

• www.gnaraloo.com

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Some news from the K4 scene. Looks like Thorpy has been scoring some decent early winter swells, he managed to capture a few shots on his K4 Harness Mount. You can check them out here and more about the harness mount here.

Hot off the press, this just came in. The crew behind the World Cup in Sylt have released a highlights clip from the epic finale we had on the PWA Tour this year, including action from all the top names.

Now we finish with this beauty that only Jem Hall could pull off. Thanks to Phil and Danielle from Getwindsurfing for producing this little beauty.

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Yesterday we highlighted the features that went up on the site, certainly some cool ones to check out, including the EFPT Monthly, who have also published a super nice interview on efpt.net with the young JP/Neilpryde freestyler Marco Lufen. Check out the interview which also includes the video below.

Whilst we are on new up and coming faces, Noah Voecker-Roche features in this next clip. The young Fanatic waterman shows his skills in not just windsurfing but also on the SUP.

From the newest of faces to one of the biggest legends in the sport, we head over to Robby Naish who was recently put in the hot seat and reveals a lot of detail about his life and how he came to be where he is now. Certainly interesting listening.

Now we hot foot it over to the fairer sex, who bless us with this dose of windsurfing action. Introducing Vicky Abbot who tears up these mast high monsters in Cabo Verde. She really would put plenty of the guys to shame as she makes some really nice clean turns in these perfect down the line conditions.

Short and sweet this morning but tune back in later where we will have plenty more…

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For the freestylers, particularly those in NZ, then it\’s competition time. This weekend will see the NZ Freestyle National Championships in Wellington. Timings are 11am to 6pm Saturday and if required 11am to 4pm Sunday. Word on the street is that UK ex-pat, Al Bentley who now lives in Australia, will be jetting over for the comp. We are looking forward to hearing more about it, for now there are more details here.

Talking of UK freestylers, it looks like Adam Sims has embraced the MOvember and is crying out for donations. Alongside the likes of Max Matissek and Mauricio Alvarez the crew will be offering a free freestyle clinic if they reach €500 before tomorrow night. So if you are feeling generous and fancy donating to a good cause then head over to this link and check out the Sims MO here.

For those that missed it the Boardseeker features went live yesterday as well as a new podcast on the front page about the EFPT Centaur King of the Wind. Take a moment to have a browse, some cool stuff there.

Right the last video for today comes from Sherpas Mind productions. They\’ve got a new ski video coming out and the trailer is just epic. Each shot is perfect!

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Photo: Dave White/ BWA