Red Bull Storm Chase Ireland Hi-Res Gallery

Mission 1 of The Red Bull Storm chase is done! The These six competitors to move on are: Thomas Traversa, Marcilio Browne, Robby Swift, Julien Taboulet, Victor Fernandez and Dany Bruch. You can read the full report here, but it’s all about the insane action. Check out this Hi-Res gallery from Mission 1 of The Red Bull Storm Chase in Brandon Bay Ireladn
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LEON JAMAER JOINS THE FANATIC INTERNATIONAL TEAM!

Fanatic International announced yesterday that German wavesailor Leon Jamaer is being promoted to their International Windsurf Team.  Leon is a very talented youngster from Germany and been part of the Fanatic National team for a few seasons.  He finishes his schooling in 2013, and will be 100% dedicated to windsurfing, and Fanatic is looking forward to his great potential in both German National and PWA events.  Leo in a radical “no fear” sailor, and just competed in Mission 1 of the Red Bull Storm Chase.

“It´s great to have Leon in our Fanatic International team now. If you ever had the chance to watch him free sailing in pretty much any conditions, your first reaction would be: “that guy is nuts”. When he sails he just goes for it 200% and the energy on his moves is unbelievable. Together with Alessio Stillrich, Arthur Arutkin and Noah Voecker-Roche, we will are building our next wave generation to follow in the footsteps of Victor Fernandez and Klaas Voget. – Craig Gertenbach, Fanatic Brand Manager

“I´m really happy to be part of the International Team now! I hope I can spend in future even more time with my team mates on the water, especially Victor, Klaas, Alessio and Arthur, travel around the world, compete and improve my sailing. I hope I can finish my studies this summer and then start improving my skills throughout the contest season and fully attack the PWA tour.” – Leon Jamaer (G-208)

Leon Jamaer also recently joined Project Black Fins, More on that here.
Video: Leon Jamaer in Ponta Preta
More about Leon Jamaer on Fanatic on fan

Arthur Arutkin’s first Session on Fanatic

Arthur Arutkin recently joined the Fanatic International Windsurfing Team, you can read more about that in an earlier article.  Check out Arthur´s first session with his new gear in this clip.

Moves – Double Forward by Peter Voltwater

A nice view of a double forward by Peter Volwater at Margaret River , Western Australia.

ANDREA FRANCHINI & ADELE FROLA in MAUI 2012

A nice video from A F Productions featuring two Italian wavesailors Andrea Franchini (ITA 8) and Adele Frola who spent some time on Maui training, wavesailing, SUP, Surfing and living the life!

The Line – Speed Trench

Check out this gnarly speed trench as Pierre Mortefon blasts down the narrow strip of water, trying to hit the fastest speed possible.

Moves – Air Kabikuchi by Jacopo Testa

Italian freestyle Pro Jacopo Testa gives us a nice example of an Air Kabikuchi.

Red Bull Storm Chase Irland – Mission 1 Complete.

After a ground-breaking day of hurricane-strength windsurfing, six sailors – Marcilio Browne, Dany Bruch, Victor Fernandez, Robby Swift, Julien Taboulet and Thomas Traversa – advance to Mission 2 of Red Bull Storm Chase.

With wind speeds peaking at over 70 knots and angry, 20-ft waves, the ten competitors on Mission 1 completed three rounds of competition at two spots in Brandon Bay, Ireland.
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Gollito Estredo in El yaque & Adicora

Multiple times freestyle PWA World Champion Gollito Estredo in El yaque and Adicora.

MAX ROWE IN BRAZIL

Max Rowe is one of UK’s top freesylers, climbing up the PWA freestyle rankings, and has spent some time in Brazil for the last couple of winters. Check out this awesome movie, that was put togeather by Blacklab’s Josh Willmot.

Wave Stars in Japan

Japan was recently host to a windsurfing event the “World Performance 2012”, in Decemeber of last year. Francisco Goya, Victor Fernandez Lopez, Daniel Bruch, Graham Ezzy, Camille Juban, and Tyson Poor hit up Omaezak, Japan for the event, here’s the result of the action. The clip also includes local riders Masahiro Motohashi, Takahumi Noguchi, Tomoo Ishihara, Yoshiaki Nagamatsu, and Yuma Kobayashi.

Tuning – Getting the Correct Downhaul Setting

It’s important to realize how much correct sail tuning can affect performance  and your fun on the water.   Downhaul tension and the overall luff curve of the sail is affected by the downhaul measurement, so it is very important to achieve the optimal setting for your session.

You probably know about the luff measurement marked on your sail, for example 12cm, and you set your base to 12cm.  But did you know each manufacture might have slightly different measurements, so if you are using a different brand extension this could be crucial.    So although not noticeable to the eye, a centimeter can make a large difference   So use this method to confirm your specs.

 

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When designing sails, manufacturers measure the downhaul from the bottom of the mast to the perpendicular projection of the bottom corner of the sail pulley. That information is
then printed in the sail.

 

 

The downhaul is one of the most crucial steps to rigging.  It controls the shape of your windsurfing sail and can’t be changed while sailing.  Finally, confirm that your tack pulley is as close to the base pulley as possible.

Check out the video where Artur Szpunar of Maui Sails explains how to tune and measure your downhaul settings according to the sail specification box.
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Photo Friday – So Much Awesome!

It was hard to pick a cover photo for this week.  We’ve got Robby Naish’s signature style at Ho’okipa, and Graham Ezzy who gave an amazing show also at Ho’okipa, but the one photo of Levi Siver stood out!
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Moves – 360 Off the Lip by Camille Juban

Camille Juban shows us a sick example of a 360 off the lip.

Red Bull Storm Chase – Ireland Gets the Go

A few hours ago, the first of 3 contests for the Red Bull Storm Chase got the go ahead.  10 riders are headed to Ireland, trying to beat the storm that is expected to hit Ireland West Coast on Sunday.   Boardseeker who are familiar with Ireland are saying swell could reach 30-40 feet, with winds up to force 10, that’s around 50 knots.  It should be a gnarly contest, and we’ll keep you posted with updates when ever possible.  The Red Bull Storm Chase website will go Live tomorrow, featuring frequent updates and videos.