Surfersblog

Youp Schmit (Tabou / GA Sails) enjoyed his best season to date on the World Tour in 2019 - entering the final event of the year with a genuine world title chance. Unfortunately a knee injury suffered just 6 weeks before the finale in Sylt hampered his chances, but he still walked away in an excellent 4th place overall. The 25-year-old is our next sailor to take our ‘Would You Rather’ quiz…

If you were reborn in a new life, would you rather be alive in the past or in the future?

The future fascinates me, yet I would be love to experience the windsurfing world in the 90’s.

Would you rather be free or totally safe?

I would rather be free! I love my freedom and especially now with the COVID-19 situation we all feel how important our freedom is! 

Would you rather have free Wi-Fi wherever you go or have free coffee where/whenever you want? 

Free coffee sounds great! But I am not a coffee drinker, so I would rather have free Wi-Fi please!

Would you rather lose the ability to read or ability to speak?

I would rather lose the ability to read, because I would still be able to communicate while speaking.

Would you rather spend the rest of your life with a sailboat as your home or an RV as your home?

I would rather spend the rest of my life on a sailboat because I love the ocean, plus if so my sailboat would be sailing through the Caribbean, surfing and catching fish.

Would you rather have unlimited international first-class tickets or never have to pay for food at restaurants?

I would rather have those unlimited international first-class tickets to keep on traveling the world. 

Would you rather be forced to dance every time you heard music or be forced to sing along to any song you heard?

I would rather sing along! I am not the number 1 dancer on the dance floor, just on the water dancing freestyle moves.

Would you rather travel the world for a year on a shoestring budget or stay in only one country for a year but live in luxury?

I would rather travel the world on a shoestring budget. Seeing new places and meeting new people is one of the best experiences you can have.

Would you rather have a horrible job, but be able to retire comfortably in 10 years or have your dream job, but have to work until the day you die?

I would rather have my dream job! I love to be busy and to be doing my thing.

Would you rather be able to land every move in the world right now and never crash again or still be able to still learn new moves, but crash 10 times more frequently than it usually takes you to land a new move?

I would rather keep learning and crashing, this is the most fun about windsurfing! 

THX guys!

Thanks to you also Youp!

In our penultimate feature of ‘Blast From The Past’ - Italian wave sailor and stand up paddle boarder Caterina Stenta (RRD / RRD Sails / AL360 / Maui Ultra Fins) takes centre stage. Read on to find out more about Caterina’s first experiences whilst windsurfing…

Hey Caterina, take us back to the memory of your very first windsurf experience - where were you? 

Greece

When was it? 

Around 1997

Who were you with?

My parents and my brother.

What do you remember from that very first ‘session’? 

It was tiring and not really satisfying! 

Who was your local hero? 

My brother and his friends And why? They could all already plane.

What gear were you using? 

Old stuff from my parents.

Describe your feeling when you were planing for the first time…

From that first time planing I got hooked immediately, and I could finally understand the feeling of freedom from windsurfing.

How did you realise you were becoming a professional windsurfer? 

I decided to join the World Tour to improve my skills, and then I found myself dedicating most of my life to it for few years, but it's not really a profession.

Give a tip for the next generation…

Just have fun and the rest will eventually come!

Thanks, Caterina.

It’s safe to say the action has been going off in Pozo Izquierdo, Gran Canaria, and over the weekend, which is when the 2020 Gran Canaria Wind & Waves Festival would’ve taken place, the sailors who are currently there were treated to classic Pozo conditions with 50-60 knot winds and stunt ramps galore. 

One of those sailors lucky enough to score those conditions was 17-year-old Marino Gil (Goya Windsurfing), and he’s just dropped a sick new edit, which you can see @ youtu.be/6JOHVbt7CC8

Marino Gil (Goya Windsurfing): “One of the best weekends of my life… epic sailing conditions and meeting new awesome people is always good!”

The Art of Waves featuring Graham Ezzy (Tabou / Ezzy Sails) is a refreshingly different take on windsurfing videos....You can now cruise around Ho'okipa - Graham's home spot - and have him explain the art of waves...

Graham Ezzy: "Often, windsurfing movies are a montage of quick cuts—all the best action moments jammed together. These surf-pornos are fun to watch but leave out a lot of what windsurfing is actually like. With traditional filming, a 4-minute movie consists of many days condensed down into their best moments, and you never see more that a few consecutive seconds at a time. This, of course, leaves out much of the actual experience.

“The Art of Waves” is a single shot, which means it is a window into an uninterrupted 4 minutes at Ho’okipa. My narration is inspired by and is at times a paraphrase or even direct quotation of John Ruskin’s analysis of Turner’s painting, which touches on the concepts of the individual’s place in the infinite."

Filmed by Wavetraveller

You can see 'The Art Of Waves' @ https://www.instagram.com/p/CBz4KvYD-9K/

Jenna Gibson (Fanatic / Duotone) has shown moments of magic in her first few seasons on the Slalom  PWA World Tour with the Brit showing she has plenty of potential to challenge for top honours in the future by winning her first elimination on the tour in only her third event - South Korea 2018. Up to now her best now her best result has been a 4th place in Denmark last year, whilst in 2018 she was ranked 6th in the overall rankings. Jenna is next up in ‘Blast From The Past’.

Hi Jenna, take us back to the memory of your very first windsurf experience - where were you?

It was in Gümüslük, near Bodrum, Turkey.

When was it?

I was about ten years old.

Who were you with? 

I was on holiday with my family, but my mum and dad were teaching me.

What do you remember from this very first “session”? 

I hated windsurfing so much the first time that I walked off (see picture) but I also remember crashing into some pretty expensive yachts… no damage done! 

Who was your local hero? 

My parents.

What equipment did you use? 

It was on a Mistrial flow board and a 1.5m  sail.

Describe the feeling when you were planing for the first time…

I think I planed for the first time at a lake in Poznan, Poland, I spent  all day every day on the water for a week

How did you realise that you were becoming a professional windsurfer?

Weymouth harbour my first slalom event… I used the same size sail as the men and did better than expected...

Give advice to the next generation…

Try everything once, enjoy it, and it's ok to walk off on the first session (like me).

Thanks, Jenna.