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When Jason Polakow says he must ‘step it up’ this winter, you know that things are changing at the elite end of our sport. With a new style of boards and a new style of riding, we thought we’d ask the one sailor who caused the last ‘shake up’ on the wave tour what he thinks about it all now. |
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Polakow on Kauli
Why is Kauli Seadi the stand out wave sailor at the moment?
FREE SAMPLE QUESTION I think Kauli’s style is definitely unique. He is a very good top to bottom rider, very snappy. The reason he is able to do that is firstly he is a very talented sailor and secondly his equipment is tuned for that type of riding. His boards are very wide with lots of curve in the rail which allows him to get those really tight turns. |
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Has Kauli Seadi’s wave riding style influenced your thoughts on board design?
From watching Kauli in Cape Verde I definitely saw how his boards got him into the critical section of the wave and since that event most of the sailors, including myself, have gone back to the workshop and we are trying to make them shorter and wider to get our boards to do those turns in the tighter areas of the wave. Since Cape Verde everyone has tried to step it up because we are going to have to if we want to beat Kauli. |
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How would the average wave sailor find Kauli’s board?
Kauli’s boards are unique compared to everybody else’s. If you put the standard Joe Blow on his boards, they would find that very difficult. The boards have quite a bit of rocker and they are quite thin. But the concept behind the twin fin makes a board a lot looser and that would really help the ‘average joe’ turn a bit quicker and tighter in the wave. |
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Polakow on Twin Fins
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So how come Twin Fins are back?
It was really Kauli who brought the twin fins back into play. He came up with a whole new concept. When twin fins first made their mark on the sport the boards were quite long and narrow and Kauli took it a step further and went a lot shorter and wider which really changed the whole feel of the board. Seventy to eighty percent of the sailors at this event (PWA Tiree) will be on twin fins so I think in years to come a lot of people (non-pros) will be on twin fins. |
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Is a twin fin board harder to sail than a single fin board?
No, not at all. I would say the twin fins are easier to sail. They are wider and shorter so they have a little more stability compared to a single fin board. |
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Do you see the major board brands bringing twin fins into their range?
I think next year (for 2008) there are a couple of companies who have introduced twin fins into their range (Mistral/Quatro). We (JP-Australia) are also looking into twin fins; it’s definitely the way to go. |
Polakow on Himself
Will you be trying to learn the latest jumping moves over the winter?
I would definitely love to learn those pushloop forwards, pushloop backloops etc. Everyone has to step up their jumping routine, so it is going to be an interesting winter. |
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What do you think about the younger sailors bringing freestyle into the waves?
I suppose it all depends on where the freestyle move is done. If it is done off the lip then fine but if it is done in the flat of the wave then it shouldn’t be judged with too many points. I think I’ll stick to what I know – top to bottom sailing. |
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Finally, does it hurt not being the ‘top dog’ anymore?
Not really. I’ve been on the Tour for 18 years so you can’t be at the top of the game forever and it’s great to see the youth coming into the sport and making their presence felt. Kauli, Marcilio Browne, Ricardo Campello…it can only be good for the sport. It just means I have to lift my game! |
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Lizzie Smith
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