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After a 5 year hiatus the Freestyle Frenzy came back with a bang!
47 competitors represented 6 countries. Riders came from the US, Canada, Mexico, South Korea, Australia and England. With a less then ideal forecast for the 5 day competition window, Head Judge, Casey Hauser, decided to call a 6:30am skippers meeting on the first day of competition and it paid off. Winds built throughout the morning and winds peaked at midday averaging over 30mph! With consistent high winds, the swell started building. Creating the classic Gorge conditions the Freestyle Frenzy was designed to highlight.
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The WA crew head over to Cairns Australia to compete in the first Australian freestyle nationals on Green Island. The video gives a feel for the island, the conditions, and the up-and -coming freestyle scene in Australia. Unfortunately we had the strong wind on the first few days, and went windsurfing instead of filming, so we can promise the island does get windier than this.
Another great clip from Pozo, this Time from Team France Windsurf featuring Antoine Martin, Thomas Traversa and brothers Jules and Justin Denel.
Boujmaa Guilloul looking spectacular on Maui! This short clip is packed with nothing but the sickest wave action from the Flying Moroccan!
Freestyle windsurfing action with professional rider Phil Soltysiak on the Sailworks Revolution sails in the Columbia Gorge and Vancouver Island in the summer of 2013.
Film and edit by Adam Wojtkowiak.
Kai ‘Waterman’ Lenny has a new series with GQ, this is the second episode where he heads out windsurfing in suit, why we can’t say for sure. But I’m sure he had fun, and got a few dollars in the process. Let us know what you think, or what crazy get ups you’ve gone windsurfing in for any reason.
The final day at the 2013 Gran Canaria Wind and Waves Festival still didn’t give conditions good enough for official PWA competition. In its place a super session was held to get a result for the event and distribute the prize Money. Philip Koster won the mens Super Session and Daida Ruano Moreno won the womens division. You can check out a full report on the Day 6 Super Session here. Enjoy this clip from the Super Session action!
Point-7’s team, know as The Black Team (Waverider Adam Lewis and Martin Ten Hoeve) head to Pozo for the 2013 Wind & Waves Festival. This year the winds were lacking in Pozo, and a single elimination couldn’t be run, so no PWA results cam from the event this year. Still the Black Team was there see what they got up to during the 6 days of waiting for the competition.
Dutch NeilPryde rider Dennis Klaaijsen broke the world record for non-stop, 24-hour distance sailing on Sunday 23rd June, sailing over 600 km in one full day. Here is what he had to say about this incredible windsurfing feat:
“June 23rd 2013 presented itself as a possible day for an improvement on the 24h distance windsurfing record. The forecasts were showing south westerly winds in the morning, veering to west south west, 20-25 knots later in the day. Ideal for an attempt at the record location – Grevelingen lake near Zonnemaire, the Netherlands.
I woke up at 01.30 and together with the support crew we drove to the Grevelingen lake. At 03.00 the stand by boat went in the water and I rigged three sets – NeilPryde RS:RACING EVOV 6.4, 7.0 and 7.8
At 04.50 it was light enough to start. Every 75-100km I made a pit stop at the stand by the boat to stock up on energy and water. Around 15.00 I had 350km on the GPS display. The wind picked up to a steady 30 knots and I changed to the 6.4 EVOV. I used this sail for the next 4 hours and during the course of the evening I switched back to 7.0 and later 7.8.
The cruising speed was 30-35 knots with peaks of up to 39 knots. The sails feel so stable that it’s nearly impossible to get an overpowered EVOV. The chop might become a limiting factor, but the sails just keep on going.At 21.15 I passed the 550km mark and the world record was mine. I still had another 7.5 hours in the bag and was determined to keep on sailing the full 24 hours. The support crew, consisting of my good friends and surf buddies, started to rig the lights on the buoys and markers around the water so I would be able to keep my bearings in the night.
At rround 23.00 I had 600km on the clock and switched to my warmer winter gear for the night time session. Winds had dropped after sunset (22.30) so with my 8.6 EVOV and 135 litre board I went on the water again. In gusty, light conditions sailing became increasingly difficult and extremely tiring, within an hour of the difficult conditions both my hands had open blisters. At 02.00, with a total of 630km I called it a day.
My mission was successful, with an improvement on the 24h distance by 80 kilometers. I am left with the question… is 700+ km within reach?
A more detailed report is in the making, as well a short movie of the preparation and day itself.”
Congratulations to Dennis!
The Fanatic Wave and Freestyle Team on Maui. Waveriders Klaas Voget, Victor Fernandez, Nik Baker, Nayra Alonso, Olivia Piana, Alice & Arthur Arutkin, Peter Volwater as well as Freestylers Gollito Estredo & Max Rowe. Enjoy the clip by by Carl Nyberg Productions.
Starboard is proud to present their 2014 Wave & Freestyle range! From the trademark Quad to the magical Flare, including the title-winning Kode Wave, the unique NuEvo, the swiss-army knife Kode FreestyleWave and the revolutionary Black Box, there’s a lot to discover!
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The big news for North Sails is the introduction of two all new sail to their 2014 range. The IDOL Limited to the freestyle lineup and the SOUL.WAVE to the wave lineup, find out more about it here. Nik Baker walks us through the 3 Wave Sails in the North range for 2014, the 5 batten Volt, the four batten Idol and the 4 batten Hero. Max Rowe talks about the new dedicated freestyle sail the Idol LTD.
The Soul.Wave is an all new sail from North sails for 2014. It’s a new concept with light wind wave and style soul Surfing in mind.
The radically different sail for chilled out Wave and stylish Soul-riders, which turns even lousy conditions into a super session! SUP-compatible!
Key Features:
Fanatic has one huge advantage in the Freestyle market, multiple time freestyle World champion, Gollito Estredo. For 2014, a new tail design with integrated arch support in the tail pad offers the ultimate in comfort and control and eliminates the double-rail shape in the tail.
The Limited Team edition in Innegra Carbon construction remains as a lighter, stiffer and more UV resistant laminate in the TE model’s 85, 93, 101, and 111-liter sizes The Biax Glass version is available in 100 and 110 L models which are slightly longer and forgiving for aimed at freestyle fun for any level.
“If you’ve got an aggressive, competitive style, you need early-planing, low swing-weight shapes and smooth front-to-back flow to blend tricks from air through to sliding phases. The Skate’s rails do this perfectly – with amazing pads and deck shape to cushion the ride.” – Gollito
Fanatic introduces the new Fanatic wave collection including the Quad, TriWave and FreeWave. Fanatic shaper Sebastian Wenzel, Klaas Voget, Victor Fernandez and Nik Baker are explaining the differences.
Check out more about the 3 New shapes below, complete with great videos from the Fanatic Team.
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