It goes without saying that every sailor, whether it be racer, freestyler or recreational sailor, wants to get the most out of their equipment. Racers in particular will continuously be tuning and tweaking their race set-ups for optimum performance, but anything over and above this is strictly prohibited.

Previously this rule had been adhered to, however now we are led to believe that some sailors and brands are taking the next step and making physical changes to their equipment. Should this be allowed? Is it giving riders that are altering their equipment an unfair advantage? Where should the PWA draw the line? Where does careful tuning, become unfair adjustment?

Have adjustments been made to the bottom of Arnon’s board?

As new equipment is put into production and the top racers get their new quivers dialled in, many would like to change aspects of their boards and sails but who is actually doing it? As you can see below, it appears that Arnon Dagan has made adjustments to the bottom of his board – rumour has it that the double concaves used to plant the board on the water are in fact hindering the performance; riders are chosing to fill in and then sand the bottom of their boards to loosen it up and give it a slightly livelier feel.

Should this be allowed? What do you think? Answer our poll and share your thoughts in the comments below…

Tommy takes us on a whistle stop tour of Maui, with some unbelievable images, but first lets find out a little more about the man behind the camera:

When my new wife and long-suffering windsurfing widow, Jo, left me in charge of organising our honeymoon destination there was only one place on my mind: Maui. We’ve been lucky enough to have several trips to Maui before, chasing perfect wind and waves. Here’s a few photos that we’ve taken on our trips….

Thanks to www.K4fins.com for the fins and www.Bluesmiths.com who make The Kula Hoodie, the ultimate beach hoodie for the great British Summer!

Check out some more of Tommy shots at www.flickr.com/tommyperkins

Name: Sam Bittner

Occupation: Director of American Windsurfing Tour

Country of residence: USA

You’ve just come across to Europe for Defi Wind, how was it and what made you decide to enter?  

The Defi Wind was an experience of a lifetime! I heard about and ready about the event in mags over the past years and was always intrigued to see so many people on the water at one time.  Now that I organise events myself, I wanted to see what it took to get that many windsurfers organised for one event all together! When I booked my flight to go, I wasnt really sure I would race myself, I just wanted to be there and experience it.  Lucky for me, fellow Naish teammate, Sarah Herbert offered me a kit and I was able to participate as well!

What was the atmosphere like? Was it scary/exciting/amazing windsurfing with so many others?

You would have to use all those words to describe the Defi Wind. It was scary, exciting and amazing to be a part of 800 windsurfers in the same race.  I was incredibly challenged to finish the race in 40 knots of wind.  Normally I wouldn’t even go out in that much wind, but instead I went 40 km in 40 knots with 805 windsurfers.  People were crashing and some were giving up and being rescued by the safety boats.  I am happy to report that I finished every race that I started!  Happy to have been apart of the event and looking forward to going back for sure!!

Where are you heading next?

I just got into Ireland last night and will cruise the west coast with the spectacular Katie McAnena this week before heading to Wales and back to Ireland for the BWA events.

Why are you competing in the BWA tour this year?

I have a lot of friends to do the BWA events.  I was inspired from their stories of how the events are run with “family style”.  When I organised the AWT I wanted it to have the same feeling for everyone to be welcome.  Now, I actually get to attend and see for myself what everyone is talking about.

What are you expecting from the events? And what are you looking forward too?

I am looking forward to sailing in new places and meeting the organisers. I am also looking forward to helping out at an event that I am not in charge of! Loads of people help me a lot on the AWT and now I want to give back some helping hands to another tour.

You have a packed AWT tour this year…what events are you most looking forward to and why?

Shoot. That is really like asking me what child I like best! They are all my favorite or I wouldn’t organise them.  But they are all special for their own reasons.  First up is Santa Cruz and I am happy to announce that I have pulled together $6500 for prize money! Everyone is welcome! Email me if you would like tips on traveling to any of the AWT events!

What sailors will be the ones to watch out for?

Sam Bittner!  Haha, just joking.  That is another hard question because I love all the riders and they are all working so hard and improving like crazy along the way.  Fiona Wylde just spent 2 months on Maui training for AWT so for sure the girls are going to have to watch out for her! On the men’s side, Levi Siver won 3 events in a row last year but Bernd Roediger is the up and coming youth on the pro side, so keep your eye on him too!

Marcilio Browne, Sam’s tip for the top in 2013!

Do you know who from the AWT is also heading to the PWA? Who do you think could and should cause a stir on the tour?

I was just with Antoine Martin at the Defi who is doing the PWA this year. He has been training hard in Maui this winter and is an incredible sailor.  Not sure what Marcilio Browne’s plans are this year but he is an incredible athlete and has potential to take home the gold on the AWT and PWA in my opinion

Head on over to our sister site Boards.co.uk for heat by heat coverage of the BWA events, starting this Friday the 18th May. Here on Boardseeker we will have a brand new podcast or two from the events courtesy of Alfie Hart too.

One event down on the PWA slalom tour and already we have a new face to watch out for: Point7’s Alberto Menegatti. We say new face, but is he really? Surely someone cannot come in and land straight at the top of the rankings? Of course not. Alberto is a very talented racer that has taken youth world titles and been in the top ten for over 10 years, so what has changed? How did 28 year old Alberto (or Bambi as he is, or maybe now was, known on tour) go from top 10 to leading from start to finish in Korea?

As you can see here it’s all about the winter training. 

Like many other competitors Alberto is a natural on the water, always known for his incredible early planing and smart tactics, plus at 194cm tall he’s built to race. This alone maybe enough to win a race, but taking an event win is a whole other matter. Alberto obviously decided at the end of the 2012 season to re-evaluate his training and take an even more serious look at exactly what he needed to do to win. In came more dedicated off water training, whilst on the water El Medano bay became THE slalom training ground with bouys, starts and many, many races held in all manner of conditions.

This wasn’t just some equipment tuning with a training partner, this was day in, day out, fully focussed racing on the water complimented with a completely structured, functional training programme off the water.

In short, putting the hours into a structured, focussed training plan has clearly worked wonders.

This begs the question, if more racers adopted an increasingly serious attitude to all aspects of their training could we see some further new faces at the top of the rankings? 

Just windsurfing isn’t enough anymore to win you need to be a true athlete, which obviously Alberto has come to realise. Who else could be at the top if they followed in his footsteps? Did the lighter winds of Korea play into Alberto’s hands, or was it a fluke win? Will Antoine and Bjorn reign supreme as the season continues?

Who do you think has the talent and determination to make it onto the podium in 2013?

And which riders have the potential but need to take a closer look at exactly how to make it to the top?

Share your views in the comments below!

Next time Boardseeker will take a look at how the 2013 PWA Wave tour is shaping up and how a whole host of new events could really shake things up at the top. 

Image credit Michael Burgermeister.

Full Name:  Holly Catherine Kennedy

Hmmm… I’m not sure! I have had nice things said about my eyes and my ass so possibly them !?

I’m from a lovely little seaside town called Troon on the West Coast of Scotland.

Kitesurfing and delivering sports presentations in schools, and I am actually a student too.

Kitesurfing is my main watersport, although I also know how to surf, windsurf, sail and wakeboard Love them all to be honest.

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What is your most memorable achievement in watersports?

So far my most memorable achievement in watersports was gaining 2nd Place in a World Cup Freestyle Competition in Kitesurfing, I started at the bottom of the heats ladder and worked my way up passing 10 heats to get to the final. During that experience I felt my heart racing, I was pacing and the end result was amazing

This is actually a tough question for me! I would say make me laugh or smile but I do that all the time anyway so I guess they would need to do something extremely rad so I got the shivers or the butterflies. Ha Ha.

You can travel together and have great fun. Also if they are better than you then they could possibly teach you a thing or two :

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What qualities would your perfect man have?

Nothing too serious, just like the outdoors, sporty and have a bubbly personality.

Love it ! The guys are so friendly and always keen to help you improve. Ha Ha but not for long…here come the girls:)

Not anything majorly crazy in my opinion…well…yet. But so far it could involve a VERY VERY high cliff surrounded by water, a trampoline, a jump with various flips and spins in it, me in a bikini and some rocks. Can you work it out? Was a close call I tell ya

Photo score: 4/5

Overall BSB score: 80%

You can check out more about Holly on her website and Facebook page. 

Holly is sponsored by North Kiteboarding, ION, Vexed and Airbound.  

The Shaka is a combination of a Shove-it and a Flaka – it is not one of the newest moves but is still one of the nicest to watch but also one of the most difficult to learn.  It was invented by Ricardo Campello back in 2002, it was and still is used in the freestyle arena today.  However, as with a lot of the freestyle moves the Shaka has made it in to the wave sailing arena in the form of a backside 360.

• The most important requirement for a good Shaka, especially without a piece of chop or small wave is a lot of speed.
• Then to start the rotation, carve hard and fast to windward by putting the weight is on your heels. Make sure you sheet in hard with your backhand by pulling the boom in and upwards (this is the Shuv It part).
• As you carve up in to wind turn your back hip into the sail and push your back foot down, this will allow you to pop the board (this is where a small wave or piece of chop will help). Your front heel should stay down to keep the board turning in the right direction to windward.
• Once in the air you can push downwards on your back arm to backwind the sail to give you some lift and help float you around the rotation.  It’s very important that you keep turning your head in the direction of the rotation, also try to think about turning your shoulders and body in this direction as well.
• Hold this position in the air as you rotate.
• As you come down you should land with the front of the board first providing you held that same position and kept your front arm straight.
• This part is much like the end of a Flaka providing you got the fist steps right! The end of rotation will happen naturally and you will just spin round!

Andy ‘Bubble’ Chambers K540 Multiple British Freestyle Champion with over 10 years coaching experience.  A regular on the World Tour and a well travelled windsurfer; Bubble has the knowledge and experience to teach all aspects of windsurfing from beginner to the most advanced freestyle moves on the planet.  Follow him on Twitter https://twitter.com/bubblek540

Francisco Goya

“In the past we used to make the boards super small and gunny in the tail to make them controllable with all the lift from a single fin. Now with the majority of boards being multi fin, there is not one single fin giving a large amount of lift. This means the rocker shape and the bottom of the board becomes a lot more critical, this also allows the boards to be a little bit bigger too as the board is more planted in the water. The single fins in the past were almost hydro foiling, which now doesn’t happen with multi fins.

Turning an old style single fin is a lot more technical, you have to sink the tail first, then come forward, then weight the rails, it was only the most advanced that could ride really well.

The quads brought the direct link between what you want to do and actually being able to do it, they have made waveriding a lot more accessible; the boards actually go where ever you want! And even for the most advanced riders the quads work, they can just push the boards even more and take their riding even further.

Marcillio Browne

Now equipment does a lot more for you; you can have one board fairly big, which gives you enough volume for the light wind days, but is still controllable in the high winds. This previously was just not possible. To us, it’s about simplifying the range and the products. We all look for the same thing from a board, whatever the level. We want it to ride well, go upwind, have some speed; it doesn’t matter how well you can wave ride. So now, with how the multi fin boards work, producing a lot less lift we can combine all of the best aspects of boards into one, instead of having separate boards for different conditions.

Obviously, a bigger board is easier to ride around and makes it easier to catch a wave, the drawbacks used to be that on the wave they would then be uncontrollable, but now by carefully tweaking the board shape (along with the multi fin set-up) a bigger board will stay in control.

It is really incredible how much boards have progressed, we are always trying to achieve a real surfy feel with our boards, something we are always working on, but I think we achieve and again the multi fins help this. We now produce sizes like the 92 Goya Quad, which before would have been seen as so big for a wave board, but with everything I have explained is a great all round size of board. We want everyone to get the most possible from their windsurfing and really enjoy the sport, having a ‘big’ quad wave board just means that the enjoyment should be more and more!”

This forecast was pretty well predicted a fair way in advance, in fact it came off the back of a few windy days before so i had been sailing a fair bit and was into the groove.  But I didn’t expect it to come through that strong!

Normally when it blows strong in Rhossy it gets to 3.7m weather, but it is still quite manageable, this day it was at a whole other level; the wind was so strong it was chopping up the waves and making it super hard to keep the thing on the water.

One of the pilots from the neighboring RAF valley gave a phone call through to the weather tower where they were reading a steady 58 knots whilst we were sailing.  That’s pretty scary windy!  It’s not like the Canaries where it’s warmer and some how softer, this was a full blown cold wind storm!

Because the day before had been a classic 4.7 day, wall to wall sunshine, and would have been great for filming, I decided that today, with the odd ray of sunshine at my house 30 minutes away would be the same.  I somehow managed to talk my girlfriend Maike into coming with me, I said, it’ll be just like Cape Town (!!!) where she’s done sterling jobs behind the lens on many occasions before. I advised her to wrap warm as you never know with British weather and so on….. Knowing full well there was a front pushing nearly 60 knots ahead of it!!  Add to that the fact that she is six and a half months pregnant and has a stomach like a bowling ball, needs a bathroom every 10 minutes and had to negotiate my way out of antenatal classes for that evening, I thought I did a pretty good job to get any footage at all!!

The sailing was hard work, you know it’s strong when the seaweed is blowing along the beach.  I rigged my Gaastra Manic 3.7 and my Tabou Pocket Wave 75, that was the smallest gear I had; the sail felt pretty good in the hands despite the fact that I was getting my arms pulled off! I could always point it where I wanted it to go, I just couldn’t always sheet in with it! It’s rare but days like this is when I need a 3.3! Every jump and piece of white water I found myself unhooking and quickly my forearms got pumped, add to that a few bottom turns and I had arms like Popeye in no time!

I couldn’t really do too much, there were some big backloops but even they are super tricky, you pass through the apex of the wind and there is still bags of pressure in the sail, so you accelerate down towards the water and the landing has to be spot on or it’s an explosion!

I managed to squeeze in a few pushloop tables but the thought of going over the front into a forward was too much; no way!!  I think if you go for it like that everything has to be perfect, otherwise you sheet in and anything could happen!

If nothing else it was good practise ahead of the first rounds of the UK tour in May, it’s unlikely but you never know we may get something like that for the event here, how crazy would that be!  After Rhosneigr it’s Ireland and as we’ve seen before anything can happen there.

See you all there! Phil

As always Boardseeker will be providing you with podcasts from all of the BWA events, thanks to our film maker Alfie Hart, so stay tuned to Boardseeker for all the latest footage. You can also keep up to date with more info on the BWA on our sister site www.boards.co.uk and the BWA website here. 

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Arthur…

Yes, it was my first trip in Chile and I really appreciated the trip, it’s one of my best trips for sure!

It was amazing to sail with two of the best riders in the world, Klaas and Victor, that permitted me to progress a lot, the condition were not so easy but when we were wave sailing it was incredible!

I’ve learnt a lot of things, there are a lot of things you need to know to be a good windsurfer.

Unfortunately, I got injured on the last day of the trip and I had to be operated on so I haven’t really been on the water since then, but I look forward to being on the water again soon.

I’m really happy to be on the Fanatic team, I feel really good with everybody like Victor, Klaas or Alessio

This year I want to progress as much as possible, have fun with my friends on the water and hope to go on the water everyday!

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Klaas…

We always go to Matanzas, one of the windiest places in the area. There are a few really good spots in a short driving distance. It’s also the closest spot to Santiago, so it’s the place where most of the locals come for sailing.

I’ve been there from middle of December and during my first two weeks i’ve had some good wind and waves. Then it calmed down for over a month and then we scored some good sailing towards tzhe end of the trip. It wasn’t the best year for wind, but we still had some good days. Also a lot of surfing. I had an annoying sinus infection that finally had to get operated in february, so i also missed a few days out of that reason.

I’m workiong on getting more and more safe in my wave moves and then there is another project coming up. I’ve been trying doubles for several years, but never really got them dialled – so that one needs some attention before the first event.

It’s great to finally see something new happening. Cape Town and Chile are both my winter training grounds, so i’m pretty happy about it. If we manage to still get Maui back on the calendar, we’re almost having a complete tour. Unfortunately all stops are port tack (except Sylt – can be both), so i don’t think the new addition will change much in the results, but at least we’ll have a chance to some great down the line sailing in Chile.

Arthur has been doing good and i think he has improved quite a lot. We’ve been jumping for a few days in Pupuya and he’s pretty fearless in trying things. Also he’s doing already very good on the SUP in the waves and you can see that it helps him to make quick steps in waveriding also on the windsurfboard.

There are a few young kids coming up like Alessio Stillrich, Bernd Roediger, Moritz Mauch, or Morgain from Maui – all have the ability to kick out some big names already. Bernd just won the AWT event on Maui against the Who is Who! Alessio made it into 13th place in both of the PWA events he did in 2012. It’s great to see these guys pushing.

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Victor…

We were based at Matanzas, it is small town at the coast around 2.30 hours from Santiago de Chile and we get the most windy days over there.

I´ve been 2 months. The first three weeks we were very unlucky with the wind but we had amazing surf with northwest swells in different surf spots. The last 3 weeks of the trip were really good, we sailed different spots as Matanzas, Pupuya or Topocalma. All three have completely different conditions and we just change the spots depending on the tides or wave size. If it´s very small we go a lot to Pupuya as it is more a jumping spot and it is the windiest. If the swell is bigger we do Topocalma or Matanzas.

I´m trying to get back on my level of 2012 as I felt sailing very good until I got injured on Sylt. Right now I feel much better and I want to gain the same level and do it even better.

I think all aditions are good for the Tour, specially the event in Chile, down the line wave riding which we did not have yet on the tour. Chile is one of the events that Iam really looking forward this year as it is new and I know how good the conditions can be.

Arthur is a great sailor for his age, he has good knowledge of the waves as he is very good Sup rider and you can see in his wave riding skills. We did a lot of jumping in Chile too and I think he is progressing a lot. I see other kids like Alessio Stillrich and Pablo Ramírez in Pozo, Bernd Roediger and Morgan Noireux on Maui, they are all riping and it is great to see young guys coming up.

Known for its bump and jump Tarifa certainly has a few spots to windsurf, however for real true wave riding then this becomes more limited. For the locals they tell you to simply wait for the right forecast then you can get any conditions you want. From down-the-line over mast high sets to nice stunt ramps and small side on waves it has a lot to offer the everyday wave rider.

Sitting on the most sout-eastern point of Europe and with the full force of the Atlantic Ocean slamming into Tarifa, this place can really catch some good waves. This said it is more common to find the bigger swells further north at locations which require an hour or two drive. In this feature we start at the bottom and the south (in Tarifa) and work our way north. First, here are a couple of maps detailing the spots.

The first map shows Tarifa and further north all the way up to El Palmar. More importantly it shows the spot of Canos de Meca, which we will get on to later.

The second map shows a more detailed view of the beach connected to Tarifa and all the different spots heading north from there.

1. Playa Chica

Playa Chica is perhaps the most tame of wave spots when it comes to actual waves. The ramps produced there are often small, enough for forward loops and it can be quite choppy with a bit of bounce back from the peninsula wall. The main advantage of windsurfing here is that it catches the wind first, so if Levante is quite light then here is the safest bet for any form of jumping. There are other beaches that work in Levante which require a swell but can offer some great down the line riding, for example Balneario.

2. Balneario

Just over the peninsula from Playa Chica this spot works best when there is a swell and medium to light Levante winds on the forecast, then it really can offer some fast down-the-line starboard tack riding. In Poniente this is really a dead on shore spot and doesn’t work so well, sometimes if there is a little south in the wind then you can get some port tack jumping in, just.

3. Campo de Futbol/Rio Jara

Further north these two parts of the beach are fairly similar, it is quite normal to launch from Campo du Futbol and sail upwind in Levante to score some nice riding. However, the forecast rarely provides anything over waist high, which makes it a good introduction to down-the-line wave riding but not so good if you are seeking big ‘rideable’ waves. Recently Ben Van Der Steen was in town and managed to score one such session with Tom Malina and a few of the PWA Slalom crew, here are the words from Ben and a gallery to show what went down.

“It does not happen very often ( maybe 6/7 times a year ) that we get levante ( the strong east wind) and a west swell , but when it happens the beach from campo de football thats the end of town till the rio jara becomes an amazing place for wave sailing . The conditions are full speed down the line wave riding  , almost like a little punta preta. With clean waves and about a 45 degree offshore wind its pretty hard to get on the waves but when on them its just a joy to ride glass walls all the way”

In Poniente winds, both these spots can be a lot of fun and often catch some of the best wind with side-onshore starboard tack ramps and riding to be had. There is often a lot of kitesurfers here however, this can make it a little bit sketchy to get a clean run out if you are charging after ramps.

4. Arte Vida

Probably one of the most popular spots near Tarifa in lighter Poniente winds. The angle of the beach gives the ramps a little more side in them which makes riding a bit easier and the angle for jumping is also better, however if it is light then chances are it is just wind blown swell and the ramps won’t be so big. You often find yourself sailing here first then moving on to another spot later in the day. It’s pretty nice with the cafes on the shore offering cheap Bocadillos or take along your own meat and make the most of the free BBQ spots. This place is also pretty good at catching the swell when it is bigger and can provide some big ramps for those daring to ‘float’ out through them. Check out the shot on the right.

5. Las Dunas

Strong Levante winds and a some swell on the forecast make this the closest place when Levante is too strong in Tarifa. Port tack side-shore conditions make it pretty fun with a super nice back drop and the centre on the beach there has a real friendly vibe, be sure to poke your head in and look around.

6. Bolonia

A little further north from Tarifa, about 20 minutes drive is Bolonia, it works in both wind directions but again also requires a strong Levante wind to reach there. This happens quite often in Tarifa so you could well find yourself heading here. The waves generally require swell but in Levante, the wind blown stuff also works. Again the scenery is really nice here, there are some nice cafes on the beach and you can rig on the grass where the wind tends to be a little lighter, a bit more sheltered.

7. Canos de Meca

Canos is really the spot where it can go off. Big swells wrap around the point and provide full on down-the-line glassy waves. Levante has to be really strong to reach here, combined with a strong swell you get what appears in the following gallery.

Photos: carlitopix.com and javierfenoll.com

First we recommend you check out this video clip, it follows Louie Hubbard, the event organiser and tells a tale of why the idea came about and how it all got under-way.

TransAtlantic Windsurf Race – Micah Buzianis Report

I first heard about the Trans Atlantic Windsurfing Race from the old PBA tour manager Louie Hubbard, this was his idea and his responsibility to organize this event. They wanted to put some teams together from different countries and make it an international competition. Unfortunately there wasn’t as much interest as initially thought and it was hard to find sponsors but this didn’t deter Louie and he pushed on and finally got it put together. He got me involved by putting me in contact with an event organizer from Greece that wanted to field a team and since my ancestors come from Greece they wanted me to be a part of the Greek team. Of course I said yes as it sounded like a great adventure and a once in a lifetime opportunity.

The high seas

There ended up being only four teams to enter as it was costly and hard to find sponsors for but finally it all came together. The race format had to be changed from sailing in shifts for 24hours straight to sailing in shifts during daylight hours only. This was because once we arrived at the boat in Nova Scotia we found out that not all the logistics were set up properly. Mainly there were a lot of safety issues that made it impossible to sail at night, it was hairy enough getting on and off the ship to sail and launch the safety boats in daylight it would have been impossible to do it at night. Also a lot of the tracking that was supposed to be used did not come through or did not work so sailing in the dark would have been way to risky. We had a very qualified safety officer that was to oversee the whole mission and he said no way to sailing at night.

There were two professional teams, my team which was Team Hellas which is the Greek Tourism board. I was team mates with two other professional sailors from Greece Philip Adamidis and Jean Marc Fantis. The second professional team was team Sweden which had Anders Bringdal and another professional sailor from Sweden and I can’t recall his name and the third guy was Robert Territihau, not sure how he fit in for Sweden but he was certainly a memorable person to have on the ship. There were then two amateur teams, one was from the magazine American Windsurfer captained by John Chao, his sailors were Ken Winner, Eddy Patricelli and Jace Panebianco. There was also one other amateur team but I can’t recall the team members or exactly how the two amateur teams were made up.

A little side note before I go on, the main ship was a Russian Icebreaker called the Capt. Klebnikov. This is where we lived on a daily basis and where everything was managed out of. It is a very nice ship and is still operating in the Southern Ocean it is however not made for open ocean cruising and had some serious listing going on in the very rough seas off the Canandian coast.

…watching the RIB get craned back up on deck at the end of the day and swinging around the deck nearly taking out some of the crew members…

The race format was then set up so that there would be one race per day at the end of the day, the two pro teams would race each other and the two am teams would do the same. This would come after a full day of sailing on the water for each team. One team member would leave the boat each day at first light and then would sail for as long as they wanted switching off with team mates throughout the day. You could set up the sailing shifts anyway you wanted having the strongest fastest guys out for as much time as possible and have them out for the end of the day race. The day would be spent just sailing along side or behind the main ship all day and near dark all sailors would be brought to a point while the main ship would continuing sailing for about thirty minutes then all sailors would start and race back to the ship and the first one back would be named the winner of the day. Each day would be counted and at the end of the event the team with the most first would be named the winner. In the end the Swedish Team beat my Greek team and the American Windsurfer team won the Amateurs.

The early highlights of the event were actually leaving port and finally getting under way, we were delayed by a couple days waiting for some boat parts to come in but finally leaving the harbour and pulling out into the Atlantic Ocean was amazing in itself. Another big early highlight for me was just getting off the ship and being able to sail. Pretty much straight out of the harbour in Canada the combination of the rough ocean and the heavily listing ship I was sea sick. I don’t think I slept more than about an hour a night for the first three nights and barely ate any food. It took me a solid three days before I got my sea legs and those first three days were the roughest seas we had the entire trip by far. I remember the first day of sailing and the seas were massive with a rolling ground swell that felt like your were sailing up it for about ten seconds and then about five over the top of it and ten back down it. This along with the thirty knots of winds made for a very rough sea. But once I was off the ship and on my board I felt normal again so it was great to be sailing even though it was a bit scary.

Launching the RIB

The first time jumping off the ship into the ocean with no land in sight and not really sure how you were going to get back on the boat made for a scary jump. But getting back on the boat was even more interesting, getting out of a small RIB that was pulled up to the side of a large ship that was listing up to 45degrees, you had to grab onto a ladder as it came down to you and then as the boat listed away from you you had to hold on as it took you up and then scramble up the ladder as quickly as you could onto the ship before the RIB or the water came up into you. Then watching the RIB get craned back up on deck at the end of the day and swinging around the deck nearly taking out some of the crew members. It really makes me look back and wonder how no one got hurt…..We really did have some amazing people on that trip outside of the sailors, the boat drivers and crew, the Doctors and onboard safety crew as well as all the teams managers and physios they really did a good job of making it happen and keeping everyone safe and healthy.

What a nut this guy is, it had to be at least 80 feet if not 100 and he just went for it

The famous jump – Click on the picture to watch the Youtube video!

But the biggest highlights had to be seeing land again and being able to sail back into the beach after launching from the ship, if I remember right it was in Weymouth where we first touched the beach. And by far the most memorable highlight was watching Robert jump from the top of the ship into the sea. What a nut this guy is, it had to be at least 80 feet if not 100 and he just went for it. His landing was a bit painful but he walked away.

A year or two later there was a second one planned to start in Europe and finish in the USA but again they had some serious safety issues and I think ended up making it only as far as the Canaries. I wish that they would do something like this again, I would certainly like to be included and be able to do some sort of crossing like this again. Hopefully now with all the technology it could be set up to be safer and better publicized so they could get some big sponsors to take part as well.

As for me currently I am still racing and competing full time on the PWA slalom tour, I finished 3rd overall after six events in 2012 and with six events again in 2013 I hope to be on the podium again and maybe a step or two up. I will continue testing for Maui Sails and JP as much as possible throughout this year and probably next year as well. Beyond this I just want to stay healthy, spend as much free time with my family and go hunting with any other free time that I may find.

Anders Bringdal in more recent days smashing 50 knots at Luderitz

Memories from Anders Bringdal

At the time I was very much into the Long distance races. The idea of taking my windsurf board and going from one place to another was very interesting to me as it added a new dimension. When Louie asked me about it I was on from the start. Originally we wanted to do a race where the teams sailed around the clock to get across but in the end it was not possible to try due to safety reasons. The idea of sailing with a big mother ship and small support boats was the option we could all work with. It still gave us a good idea of how the North Atlantic is to sail on with the huge rolling seas and strong winds.

In the beginning we had quite a few issues and troubles but once we managed to get going it was time to let the talk stay on the boat and get sailing. It was funny in a way at how overwhelming and vulnerable you felt, the best scenario to describe this is the moment you send the kit into the sea and dive in straight after it. That second you water start is the point where you and your kit somehow felt very fragile. I guess we where all a little impressed by the situation.

Taking off in the centre of the Labrador current outside of Newfoundland heading off to the UK… Game’s on! We passed a few hundred miles north of where the Titanic is and straight on through Flemings gap. Apart from the fact that we had a great team; Robert, Nickas and myself, the strongest memories I have is from the water state. At one time, I jumped into the water before the start of the days sailing, right in the centre of the Atlantic, 4000 m to the bottom. I dove down about 3-4 metres and looked into the abyss, as you see the sunlight disappear you realise you are not really any bigger than plankton in this place!

Sailing in very converging swells was challenging but fun. Coming into the Gulf stream where the water goes from 7 deg in the Labrador current to the 20+ in the gulf stream with lots of dolphins. Then as we got towards Europe you come in over the Salmon schools outside of the UK. It goes from 4000m to 200m depth and the waves switch to the more coastal type of waves.

I am very happy I did the TAWR. I do not think I will get another chance to windsurf in the Atlantic like that so it will remain one of my strongest memories in my career.

The TAWR Movie

A documentary style movie was produced soon after the TAWR finished. You can hunt down rare copies of the movie on VHS for anyone who still has their old VHS player tucked away or you can find the clips on youtube. We’ve got the first part below and links to the rest below that. We can assure you the quality and sound is certainly reminiscent of the VHS days but the story is there of this incredible voyage. A special thanks to Micah and Anders for taking part and providing us with their memories.

Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6, Part 7

Tracing the Steps of a World Champion

Having spent the last two winters in Tarifa I really fell in love with this small town on the most south-eastern point of Europe. This February I really didn’t want to do the same as previous years, but in the end I was sitting in a 20 year old Renault Traffic driving down to Spain again.

It all started around Christmas when I was still not so excited about going back to Spain this year, but then UK Freestyler Adam Sims and also my boss from Upsidedown convinced me to go again. Adam had managed to get hold of the Steven Van Broeckhoven ‘secret list’. For those that don’t know Steven spent a number of winters in Tarifa, training hard but well outside of the spotlight, he then exploded into the scene in 2008/9 and not long after he was World Champion. We’d heard rumours that Steven had produced a spot guide for all the best places to go with exact wind directions, strengths and tide states. We later found out that Phil Soltysiak had added to this list on his travels there and by this point we knew we had to get our hands on it. A few conversations later and we found it in our hands and felt ready to hit the road following the footsteps and advice of a World Champion. With this in hand I decided that road-tripping with another mate could be quite interesting for checking out other spots and bringing some SUP gear. Just a few days later we were hitting the road with the old USD van, completely full of windsurf equipment.

After driving just 80km/h in the beginning we found out pretty fast that this is really too slow for 3100 km, so I stepped the game up to 95. Driving through Italy and France is just crazy, they just rob you: for example Diesel was €1.89, a one way toll through the tunnel of Mont Blanc is €55 and every few km there is an ‘Alt Stazioni’ – Toll Station €7. Beside this the wind was already howling like hell and it was quite difficult to not get blown away from the motorway. Anyways after 23h of driving we arrived in Leucate, our first stop. Sleeping. Eat. Sail. The flatwater freestyle condtions were one of toughest I’ve ever sailed, 60 knots+. We carried my 4.0 and my 90l board together to the water, because alone there was no chance. After 1.5h and a lot of crashes I just gave up and wanted to go back to sleep. In the meantime the van just decided not to start anymore and we had quite a lot of trouble to get help (especially because of our really bad French). In the end we got the van started with a second car and hit the road again. Next Stop Tarifa.

After paying for a whole new motorway on the day before we decided to try to go toll free. This worked fine until Barcelona. Here it really is better to stay on the motorway, then you pass the city without crossing any traffic lights… We just changed driver every few hours, meanwhile the other guy was sleeping. This worked out really well until the moment, I can really remember it, when the CD-Radio stopped working at four in the morning. Not cool!

So after 20 hours more driving we arrived in Tarifa. A quick poniente session at Arte Vida, then we checked the forecast: NO WIND. What does the list say? ‘If there is no wind, go to Portugal, Sagres, 7 hours drive. If there is north wind and no wind in Tarifa then go there, it’s really nice.  Only it is a bit gusty but ok for freestyle, it’s like a channel, but not so good for kiting, too gusty. Portugal you need 11 pages of spots, and lots of driving’. So we decided to sleep a few hours and then hit the road again to Portugal. Said. Done.

Portugal is a really strange country. They also have tolls for their motorways, but it’s a bit special. You have to buy a prepaid card and register your number plate to your prepaid card. Everytime you pass a ‘toll-station’ they book €1.5-3 from your prepaid account. To be honest the system doesn’t really work and it’s all a bit messed up so we ended up just risking it with our Spanish rental car.

Arriving in Portugal we stayed in Sagres. A really cool town, with a sick freestyle spot: Marthinal, cross-off shore wind, a sandy beach and the best thing of all, just us on the water. After scoring a few days on 4.2 with perfect flatwater and an amazing sundowner session we went back to Tarifa completely stoked and happy we had made the right call.

Back at base and fairly strong Poniente had arrived. This is wind from the west, and most of the time it’s a bit colder. The list told us to head a little further North again so the first day we sailed in Sancti Petri, a spot next to Cadiz, which provides flat conditions with some good chop for big shakas in the middle section, but you really have to be carefully with the current, it can be really strong there. On the following days we sailed a lot back in Tarifa at Campo de Fotbal, which provided good power-freestyle conditions with small head-high waves and nice power for 4.8. This spot worked pretty good when the wind was a bit to north, it made it a bit more side-shore and there was often the most wind there. On another Poniente day we sailed first in hardcore onshore conditions with mast high waves at Arte Vida (which is next to Hotel Dos Mares) and afterwards the list told us to head to the Lagoon at high tide, we had an amazing session fully powered up and in waist deep water. What’s more is that it was too windy for most of the kiters so we really scored it. Later that same day, Tonky Frans rocked up and put on a show for us including stomping one of the best no-handed burners I have ever seen, this guy is ripping and I’m sure he could be World Champion.

After having a few sick Poniente days, the wind normaly shifts 180 degrees to the East (Levante). On the first day there is normally no wind. Actually this break is quite nice and offered us the chance to do a bit of paddle surfing and later in the evening we had a super nice SUP session on glassy waves. With Levante it’s always a bit hard to find the right spot. On the first day it’s strongest at Playa Chica, a spot next to the harbour. Steven’s list told us that we should head North again when the wind was this strong – ‘Rota, but it’s north of Rota, ask locals where it is – this spot is only good when Levante is too strong everywhere, like 60 knots in Tarifa, even if it’s too windy in Cadiz this place is possible to sail. Otherwise hide’. We decided that maybe it was only 50 knots and not 60, so we stayed and tried out Balneario, just over the peninsula from the choppy Playa Chica this spot offers glassy flat water but quite gusty winds and short runs. When the wind is light Levante it can be great for surfing. Despite the short runs and gusty winds this is one of my favourite spots, it’s a bit like Fuerte Center Two, but the waves have more power and if you get it right you can just boost ridiculous ponches.

Other Spots for Freestyle with Levante are Campo di Footbal. Just sail in the direction to Rio Jara (outside of the lagoon). It can be flat, but it’s gusty and you need maybe a metre more sail area than at Balneario, this isn’t so much a problem if you are fighting to hold on to 3.6 and then have to go up to 4.6… A place that is really sick is Bolonia. It’s about 20 km away from Tarifa but totally worth driving. You have a nice bay with a sandy beach and grass for rigging. There are some easy going waves with side-shore wind from left.

On top of this we also tried really hard to sail on a couple of lakes inland, it failed every time until our last day, so our best advice is don’t go there in Poinente winds. The best lake works with Levante and is next to Algeciras, you get good power-freestyle conditions with small but really steep ramps and the wind is even stronger Levante than in Tarifa. It’s a 40 minute drive and on our first drive there we had a funny adventure. We got stopped by Spanish drug police in the middle of nowhere, for sure they thought we are completely crazy driving with our f***ed up van through the hardest 4×4 tracks, but in the end they were quite nice and let us pass although we had no passport with us (so remember always take a passport!). Actually later on we were talking about it a bit and we were pretty convinced that the super old Vauxhall Astra they were driving was not really a police car type of vehicle, so perhaps be aware if you end up taking any of the ‘main roads’ in Tarifa that turn out to be dust tracks…

Lastly, if the wind is really too strong in Tarifa and you don’t want to travel far then you can try to sail in Palmones, which is on next to Algecrias. It should be less wind, but there are always a lot of kitesurfers there. This spot has also the name “Salmones”, which comes from salmonella, because the water is not too clean, but it’s no problem at all, we all survived.

As far as Tarifa goes it really is a great spot, we had such a nice time there and the temperatures are not too bad, like sailing around Autumn time in Northern Europe, it can reach about 20 degrees air temperature and the sea doesn’t drop below 12 degrees. Other bonuses about using it as a winter destination is that it is really out of season for them so you can get some mega deals on accomodation and don’t be afraid to haggle with them a bit, most of the places are empty so they are just happy to fill them. Also the car hire was insane, Adam Sims and Hanna Poschinger hired a car from Malaga airport for 19 days, a Mercedes version of the Citroen Berlingo for €120! We managed to get four of us and kit in the car for our trip to Portugal so it worked out really good. Alongside the windsurfing there are huge number of activities to do and it reminded us all of Cape Town but in miniature. I guess we will just have to wait and see if it finds its way back on to the map again, but with flights costs increasing and the traditionally winter destinations becoming more expensive we think it is perhaps a safe bet to head there, although I would always go for a minimum of 3 weeks to really make the most of the place and get some good wind.

Editors note: If you missed it here is the video from BR of his trip to Tarifa

With the year 2012 being a big success for the European Freestyle Pro Tour the whole team went into the well deserved ‘winter break’ just after the last event in the UK. We were using the rather quiet months to discuss future plans for the tour, making necessary adjustments, exchange with our supporting brands and media partners and last but not least we seized them to plan and organize new events.

Like last year we are going to start off the season with the Chiemsee European Tow-In Championship in Podersdorf, alongside the huge PWA event. We are expecting a large number of spectators, floodlit tow-in action and an exciting battle for this years title! Steven Van Broeckhoven, reigning European tow-in champion will have to defend his status against riders like Dieter Van der Eyken (Starboard), Maarten Van Ochten (JP/Neilpryde), Frenchie Julien Mas (Sailloft) and local hero Max Matissek (Fanatic). We do know that all the riders did their homework over the winter season and do not underestimate the value of some tow-in training. We are looking forward to see the show!

The first exciting news considering freestyle contests came from Premantura, Croatia which already gained popularity due to the famous ‘Hallowind’ event, which took place many years before it got quiet around this spot in Southern Europe. This year new keen organizers stepped in. The event ‘Catch Me If You Can’ will be held from the 30th of October through the second of November with 10.000€ prize money for grasp. We are still in ongoing negotiations about a potential bigger tow-in event there on top of the ‘normal’ freestyle contest and will keep you updated.

Just after signing the contracts for Croatia, one of the EFPT’s top ten riders in 2012, Vladimir Yakovlev (JP/Neilpryde) from Russia contacted the press office. He declared his interest in running an event in Eysk, Russia at the Sea of Azov. Sponsored by the AQUALETO hotel, we could shortly after sign the contracts for the second 10.000€ prize money event this year! Yeah! The Aqualeto Cup will take place from the 20th until the 25th of May in Eysk and the pre-registration list is growing day by day. We’ll see big names like Steven Van Broeckhoven (JP/Neilpryde), Philip Soltysiak (Starboard), Dieter Van der Eyken (Starboard), Yegor Popretinsky (JP/Neilpryde), Mattia Fabrizi (North/Fanatic) and top freestyler from the UK Adam Sims (Sailloft) battling it out amongst many other riders. Furthermore the organizers will make the riders feel like rockstars, granting free transfer, free accommodation and free food throughout the whole competition.

Beyond those confirmed events we are still negotiating with organizers in Greece, France and the UK and are still hoping to run our final event there. The King of the Wind in 2012 left everybody involved impressed and we are hoping for more in 2013!

I am looking forward to give you more insights and more details in the next EFPT monthly!

Stay tuned!

Hanna

EFPT Press Officer