Kicker Ramp

Have ramp will loop! If you can’t get to the waves…bring the waves to you.

What do you do if you sail in Austria and don’t have any waves to play on? Well the answer is simple enough; build your own ramp. We know Kauli Seadi did just that in Brazil to practice for the indoor events, and this inspired Tom Hartmann to do exactly the same at his home spot.

Tom tells us all about it:

“We have developed an open water jump ramp which can be placed in nearly all spots due to its floating construction and a wave-breaker, but can also be placed on the ground if the water is shallow enough. The angle of the ramp is fully adjustable to make the kick more interesting.

We have tested the ramp so far at Neusiedlersee in Austria , where the kicker had its official premiere at the EFPT event. These pictures were taken during test-runs with 5.5m sails, so all riders were hot to hit the ramp in this first contest and see what’s possible when the wind picks up.

During the event in Podersdorf, the kicker was placed in the freestyle competition area as an option for riders to use it during their heats. Kevin Mevissen was going for some double loop attempts right on his first runs on the ramp, and he was on 5.7m sails. The ramp will be available to rent and there are some other events who have already booked it for this year, so we will see more action”

Get more info at www.rentaramp.at
Or to see more of it in action: www.efpt.net

SWA: Student Champions

The SWA season is over! Those poor students have a month of exams before a summer off perfecting their windsurfing skills. It all starts again in September.

SWA Racing Champion (overall): Tim Staley (Cambridge). He won a £500 Neilson voucher.

SWA Wave Champion: Bob Shelmerdine. He won a RRD Hardcore wave board.

SWA Overall Woman’s Champion: Erica Phillips (York). She won a Naish wave sail.

SWA Freestyle Champion: Sam Stevens (Southampton). He won a Turfdog land board.

BUSA Racing Champions (one-off event at Calshot): Hugh Sims Williams & Tanya Saleh (both Bristol)

AHD Seal

The seal in action

Fish boards have long been affiliated with the surfing scene as a fast and agile solution for less than ideal conditions. Swiss brand AHD have recently invested a lot of time and effort in this direction, the result being their new Seal, which at 88 litres boasts the unique dimensions of 213 x 60cms.

Combining the compact plan shape with a fast rocker, double concaves and the option of a single or tri-fin set up, AHD say the board gives awesome all-round wave-sailing performance and excels in light winds or difficult conditions while not losing control in windy conditions. The versatility of the tri-fin or single fin configuration means the Seal can change from a snappy surfer in smaller waves to a

down-the-line wave board in fiercer conditions.

ABOVE: Highly versatile. BELOW: The stats

program	PURE SURF
model	SEAL
volume	88 litres
length	213 cm
width	60 cm
sail range	4.2 – 6.2 m 2
wind range	8 – 35 knots
fin	Tri (11/15/11 cm) Single (21.5 cm + two fin box plugs)
fin box	US Box
weight	6.3 kg
R.R.P	£949

Transfer window

Diony Guadagninio goes Mistral and Hot Sails Maui


		Nicolas Akgaczyan goes Gun Sails and Starboard

Ben Proffitt from Mambo to O’Shea

Fleadh Sheoil- Irish Windsurfing Festival

May 5-7th 2007

When? The 2007 Fleadh Sheoil, Irish Windsurfing Festival, will take place on the May bank holiday weekend (5-7 May) from 10:30 to 18:00 daily.

What is it all about? The Fleadh Sheoil Irish Windsurfing Festival began in Belmullet in 2004 with the aim of providing a non-competition meeting point for Irish windsurfers of all ages and all levels to come together. It was an instant success and over the past 3 years the Fleadh Sheoil has gone from strength to strength. A mix of coaching for all levels from complete beginner to hardcore wave and freestylers, fun events and a lively social scene have made it a must on every Irish windsurfers calendar.

Get some freestyle coaching this weekend in Malahide

This year the Fleadh Sheoil leaves its spiritual home in Coláiste Uisce, Belmullet for the first time and heads for Dublin to the Broadmeadows Estuary in Malahide. Surfdock, Fingal Sailing School, DMG Sailsports have teamed up to bring you what will be an event to remember! There will be beginner and improver coaching sessions available each day, with coaching from the country’s best instructors like Dave Garvey & Jeff Cochrane, Irish Champ Oisin van Gelderen, and Ladies Champ Noelle Doran. There will be a wide range of the latest boards and sails to try out, one design racing on Exocet Konas and GPS Speed Trials. On top of that, Fiat Ireland and Federico la Coche from the FIAT Freestyle Team will be attending, looking for Irish talent to join the Fiat Freestyle Team. FIAT have also put up €500 for a freestyle event, which promises to be the biggest of it’s kind in the country and is sure to be hard fought for as all the country’s top freestylers will be keen to impress FIAT. Word is even Irish wavesailing legend Timo Mullen will attend!

As ever, the festival is also well supported by the industry with all the latest windsurfing equipment to try out from the likes of JP, Neil Pryde, Loft Sails, Fanatic, Mistral, North Sails, Exocet, Goya sails and boards, Starboard, O’Neill.

The festival site will be on the water front form the Fingal Sailing School to the Malahide Yacht Club building.

For more information, visit the festival website at: www.windsurffestival.ie

For more information on the Irish Windsurfing Association go to: www.sailing.ie/windsurf

Carry on Connor

Zoned in...

more...

Windsurfing Survival Pack!

Are you knackered after a two hour session? Or come day three of a week’s windsurfing holiday and you can’t get out of bed? Fluidforce has the answer to help you sail all day, every day with the ultimate sports nutrition survival pack.

The windsurfing survival pack, exclusively available from Fluidforce addresses the key issues affecting windsurfers: hydration, recovery and fuelling!

Pack Contents

SIS GO Electrolyte (500g) for rehydration (lemon & lime / blackcurrant / tropical)

SIS REGO (500g) for recovery (strawberry or chocolate)

SIS GO Gel (x10) for energy (orange / blackcurrant / tropical).

2 x 1 litre bottles to mix it all up in.

COST: £30.00 + p&p (a significant saving over buying these products separately)

Order online at www.fluidforce.co.uk or call Tim on 07810 021651 for more information.

NB: You can also get free sports nutrition advice by using the free advice facility on the website.





	Top of page