There's a lot to digest in 120 + entries from DaNews. This week's blog highlights some of the reporting from the first 2 weeks of October.
Luderitz may sound like the name of some Balkan rapper but it's not. It's the place in Namibia, just north of South Africa, where kiting regained the World's Fastest Sailing Speed over 500 meters record, again. Paul Larsen of the Sailrocket syndicate wrote, "So how do these speeds affect us? Well they vindicate our decision to park the old boat and build a new one. I'm pretty sure that the speeds are also out of practical reach of all the other boats we have seen to date. Part of the reason I say this is because I think that the kites still have a few knots up their belt. They are not subject to the same issues of ventilation and cavitation that windsurfers and boats are, well not to the same degree anyway, and with a few readily available tools they can make an ideal course. That's a big part of the equation..." Windsurfers who have gone to this event usually come back less than thrilled with the course. BIG Congratulations to Alex Caizergues and his new record of 54.1 knots. That's over 100 kph and 62.25 mph. The video below shows Anders Bringdal being chased on the Luderitz course. More here: Speed Challenge website
Epic Sessions TV did the video first. The Beach Telegraph interviewed Mark Angulo a week or so later. Mark said, " First things first. I would be remiss to not state the obvious, most of the maneuvers all of us are doing should be considered 360s. Goiters and Takas being counterclockwise [at Ho’okipa] and carving 360s, aerial 360s and Mutants being clockwise. As we progress into landing tail first, or taking off tail first for that matter, than we enter into the realm of 540s and then 720s...Many get confused with the many different names we have for them all, but in reality these descriptions do serve a practical purpose..." The rest here:Mutant Definition. The Jimmie Hepp photo (above) of Mark Angulo's latest ride only punctuates that he's a different kind of windsurfer.
On Maui, the first swell of the season is expected by mid September. The video below records that first, true swell of the season. Hookipa by Happy Surfer is another video from the same day.
Tropical systems, especially hurricanes, are a fact of life on the U.S. eastern seaboard and September is usually the most active month. Hurricane Earl brought his winds to Lake Erie.
Maybe the most unusual crossover story in awhile: EFX sports bands are being worn by the entire North Sails Windsurfing Team. I'm not going to get into what these bands do but they seem to be the latest rage everywhere. Gollito's wearing one...must improve his balance...OK, that's why he's Freestyle World Champion ??? North Sails | EPX
Longtime iWindsurf Forum heavy hitter, Warren Thomas aka Wardog, is still in the windsurfing business. Zane Schweitzer writes "Yesterday I met up with Warren the number one Starboard SUP distributor for the US..." While in California, looks like Zane ran into someone from back home. Zane's World | Ledbetters ands Jalama
The new website, Flow, is an acronym: for ladies of windsurfing. The tutorial, The Waterstart, takes advice from a bunch of name brand windsurfers to help you get better at one of windsurfing's most important skills. The Waterstart
Do you remember Burkard Vierth, the New Zealand fin maker, who was all the rage in the early days of the light wind Formula revolution? He was so back ordered for his fins, that he stopped taking new orders...Overwhelmed by the demand and the endless hours of production, he disappeared for a couple of years to Europe on an educational sabbatical. He resurfaced doing prototype work for Maui Sails and helped create arguably the best carbon boom in the industry. Now, re established as a fin maker...he made the New Futura Fin for Starboard. We all know him as Boogie.
The beauty of windsurfing in far off exotic locales is too compelling to ignore. While DaNews does focus on North America (hey we're beautiful too), almost everyday there is a new video of some dreamy I wanna go there place. Here's a perfect example.
The PWAWorld Tour usually finishes at Sylt, Germany in early October. This mega event puts more eyes on windsurfing than any other single event in our sport. Now that reporting is coupled with live web casting, the viewership for windsurfing is definitely amped and forever changed. If you're gaga for windsurfing, then celebrate 2010, truly a breakthrough year. Live web casting, hopefully, is here to stay. The PWA still takes great photos (John Carter) and videos. Get a sample of the live web casting on their website.
A Solo Sports vacation cost real money. The volumes of reporting about this Baja landmark indicate one thing: it's worth the money. OK, I've never been but I'm getting a better picture of when to go. This year, starting in late August going through October, there was a steady stream of week long wave sailing clinics by windsurfing's best instructors. They must know something. This Clive Boden video, whose famously humorous learning to loop video is one of my all time favorites, once again showcases the mighty splendor of Baja.
No comments:
Post a Comment