Surfersblog

Sport in Hawaii is still allowed at this moment in time as long as social distancing in respected, which is helping to keep the windsurfers sane! Over the last week or two there has been some great conditions with a pumping swell at La Perouse being the highlight. Ricardo Campello (Naish / Naish Sails) is still in Maui and he's just released a brilliant new edit...

Ricardo Campello: “Crashes, big waves at La Perouse, jumps , wild animals, GoPro shots and the best, my new 2020 Naish Equipment!

Stay home and enjoy 3 minutes of windsurfing action! If you are bored at home and you love windsurfing you will like this video , fortunately in Hawaii we are still allowed to go to the water with social distancing.

Watch it, love it, hate it and most importantly enjoy it. if you do like it please share it so your friends can enjoy it too and make sure you subscribe to my channel!

Remember keep calm and stay positive! Aloha!

You can Ricardo Campello's 'Quarantine' @ https://youtu.be/2-FhHD3yrhg

Next up in our latest ‘Blast From The Past’ is another young hotshot, who only made his full debut on the PWA Wave World Tour last year at the age of just 17 - Michael René Friedl Morales (Quatro / Goya Windsurfing). However before then the young Spaniard has been a regular face on the Youth wave circuit where he often caught the eye with his radical style, which earned him several podiums during that time. Carry on reading below to find out more about Mike’s early experiences of windsurfing. 

Michael Rene Friedl Morales, take us back to the memory of your very first windsurf experience.  

Where were you?

It was at Bahia Forma, a flat water beach in Gran Canaria, near pozo.

When was it? 

A few years ago, I don't remember it well, but maybe when I was 7 years old, around 2009.

Who were you with?

My father was teaching me the basics about windsurfing.

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

It was horrible because I remember about being alone in the water and I didn’t know how to make a gybe, so I started crying jajajaja, and suddenly I saw my father swimming towards me and he got on the board and took me to the beach again, on the way back to the beach I was sitting on the nose of the board and smiling.

Who was your local hero? And why? 

My father, because he taught me how to surf and when I started windsurfing at Pozo he gave me some tips.

What gear were you using? 

I don't remember which gear I used when I tried it when I was 7, I think it was a NeilPryde sail with a René Egli sticker - I remember this because I’ve seen this sail quite a lot at my father's office, and a very big and old board.

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

I was so excited because I was used to sailing slowly and suddenly the wind picked up and I started planing.

How did you realise you were becoming a professional windsurfer?

I started competing in the pro category last year (2019), before that I used to compete only in the Youth category, and I liked that, I don't feel like a professional windsurfer, I feel like someone who loves windsurfing and shares this passion with friends, family and when competing I like to see the progression of others and get motivated about improving myself!

Give a tip for the next generation?

My tip for the next generation is to enjoy this sport as much as possible and when you go out to the water give your best, don't get depressed if you don't get the place you wanted in a competition, remember, every defeat is a chance to learn.

Thanks, Mike.

Amid the continuing evolution of the global COVID-19 crisis, the decision has been taken to cancel the 2020 Costa Brava PWA World Cup.
 
Although the cancellation is a disappointment to everyone involved, we know that you will all understand that the safety of not only the athletes and staff involved in the event, but the world’s population, must be the priority to all of us. The event is fully expected to return for 2021.
 
There are no further updates about PWA events at this time.
We will continue to bring you any information as and when any further decisions are taken.
 
Stay safe and healthy and we look forward to seeing you all on the water soon when the virus is beaten.

Martin ten Hoeve (Flikka / KA Sail) has been a household name on the wave scene for well over a decade having made his debut on the world tour back in 2006. During that time he has recorded numerous top 10 results - defying his high centre of gravity whilst standing at 6 feet 7 inches tall. Whilst ripping on the water he also remains one of the friendliest faces off the water too. We recently caught up with Lampy for the latest in our 20 questions feature…

1. Why are you so passionated about windsurfing?
    
Windsurfing makes me feel alive. I just have an addiction to find perfection in windsurf conditions and I love that whole hunt for waves, and when it everything finally comes together, it feels amazing to go on the water! 

2. What quality do you like most in other people?
    
Mostly honesty, but also the ability to be grounded. 

3. What annoys or frustrates you the most?    

When people are not honest. And of course when there are no windsurf conditions for a long period. 

4. What do you most like in yourself?    
    
I always have the best view. I try to be an honest person and I try to say my true opinion. 

5. What do you dislike in yourself?    

My broken feet. It effects my whole body and I have to keep myself going everyday or else I’m in pain. 

6. What has been your best moment on tour?    

Moments where I manage to sail in competition like I do when I free sail. That’s those times when everything came together in a heat, and I did a good job in heats. 

7. What has been your worst moment on tour?
    
When I broke my foot during the PWA in Klitmøller four years ago. That messed up my whole my body for a long time. 

8. Knowing what you know now, what advice would you have given yourself when your career started?    

Be nice to your body! When you break something, give it time to heal before going back on the water again. It messes up so much not listening to your body. Also be more grounded in your mind. 

9. What is the best advice you have ever been given?
    
“Breath Mother Fucker” - by Wim Hof 

10. What would be your perfect day?
    
To go windsurfing with perfect down-the-line conditions, in sunshine and a little nap in the car, and go for second session again in the afternoon with my girlfriend on the water. Did that already many times! Good life.. 

11. Do you have any superstitions?
    
No.. 

12. Which living person do you most admire?
    
There are of course a few! But in the windsurfing world I’ll mention a few. Marcílio Browne, Leon Jamaer, Kauli Seadi, Marc Paré, Julian Salmonn.. Well the list is long! 
.
13. What is your greatest fear? 
    
To die and not having lived the life I wanted. 

14. What is your most treasured possession?
    
My car

15. If you weren’t a professional windsurfer, what would you like to be?
    
I love working with wood and designing furnitures

16. Where is the best place you’ve been?

Those days where my favourite spots in Denmark and Holland work, that’s the best place to be. 

17. Where would you most like to go to that you haven’t been to yet?
    
Chile 

18. Who would you most like to have as a dinner guest, dead or alive?
    
Wim Hof, h’es the man, and he knows how to heal the body, would love to have a chat with him about that!

19. First App you open in the morning?
    
Facebook/Windguru

20. A phrase you live by?
    
Where there is a will there is a way

Thanks, Martin!

Niklas Lillelund (JP / NeilPryde) is a relative newcomer to the PWA World Tour having made his debut in 2018 at the age of 16. The now 18-year-old is a 3-time Youth Champion in his home country of Denmark, while he showed he has plenty of potential after finishing just outside the top 20 in Foiling in 2019. You can find out more about Niklas’ first windsurfing experience below: 

Hi Niklas, can you take us back to the memory of your very first windsurf experience - Where were you? 

I was at the WestWind Surfshop in Bork Havn in Ringkøbing Fjord, opposite where the Hvide Sande PWA World Cup has been held. 

When was it? 

2006, I was 5.

Who were with you? 

I was with some friends of my parents, who ran and still run the surf shop. 

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

I struggled to carry the 1.0m2 sail to the beach, probably weeped a bit also, and my dad told me I had to man up, or I could just take my wetsuit off and get back in the car, haha. Good decision to carry the sail the rest of the way.

Who was your local hero? And why? 

My first windsurf instructor, Anders. He told me he had broken several masts, and I was impressed and thought "Wow, I also want to sail so fast my mast breaks." 

What gear were you using? 

JP Young Gun 114 and 2.0 sail. 

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

Ecstatic, but scared like hell.

How did you realise you were becoming a professional windsurfer? 

I don’t consider myself a professional yet, but the first time I realised I had reached a very good level, was at my first World Cup in 2018, when I sailed against people I had had on posters in my room as a child. 

Give a tip for the next generation! 

Follow your dreams, with the right amount of commitment everything is possible.

Thanks, Niklas!

In just a couple of days time the green flag should’ve been being prepared for the opening racing event of the 2020 PWA Slalom World Tour in Marignane, France. However, France has had to be rescheduled until October due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. 

Several weeks prior to that though, Ben Proffitt (Simmer / Simmer Sails) put together a preview in anticipation for the start of the season and it’s well worth a watch with a lot of interesting opinions from many of the world’s top racers… You can see that preview @ youtu.be/YdD7gP9md7k

WindsurfingTV: “The 2020 PWA Slalom Preview is here…

OK, okay… with all this Corona Virus, things have changed a bit but we thought we’d release it anyway!!

The made topic is obviously ‘Foil vs Fin’ and in this preview, a lot of top riders give us their opinion.

Although we are already hearing in Tarifa training last week the 7.8 on the Foil in Gusty conditions is now competitive… let’s see!

Hope you enjoy it.. stay safe and more videos on the way."

February was fairly epic by all accounts for Martin ten Hoeve (Flikka / KA Sail) with Denmark delivering a solid month of wind and waves… Lampy is now back in the Netherlands, which is one of the many countries now on lockdown, so with plenty of time on his hands he’s had the chance to have a look back over that footage and produce his latest video, which you can see @ vimeo.com/399130934

Martin ten Hoeve: “On these corona days I'm looking back on some pretty epic sessions from February.. It's been a windy one! That spot in Denmark has been funky last year due to extreme sandblasting messing up the banks, but finally it came together again like good old times! Here is some footage of a few different days…

Thanks Sara for filming!
Music from Kenzo
FLIKKAboards Ka.sail Acernum
Stay healthy!”

With Covid-19 continuing to dominate the headlines windsurfing and sport in general have been put on hold as each country attempts to to gain control of the ongoing pandemic. Over the coming weeks we’ll be catching up with several sailors and asking them to cast their mind back to some of their first windsurfing experiences and memories. First up is non other than 24-time world champion Antoine Albeau (JP / NeilPryde). If you fancy it why not let us know about some of your windsurfing memories in the comments!

Take us back to the memory of your very first windsurf experience…

Man... I was 4 or 5 years old, I don’t remember!!

Where were you?

Ile de Ré, the island where I live.

When was it? 

I was 5 years old.

Who were you with?

With my dad.

What do you remember from that very first session? 

I don’t remember, at this time windsurfing wasn’t like it is today. There was no gear for kids, even the adults had problems to lift up the sail out of the water. It was the beginning of the beginning! My dad made me a little sail that I still have. He cut the very top out of the triangle sail, which was the standard sail back in the days and made me a tiny sail.

Who was your local hero?

At this age only your dad is your hero!

What gear were you using? 

A self-made sail by my dad, the top of a triangle sail. 

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

I don’t remember my first planing because when I was starting windsurfing, planing didn’t exist!! It came slowly with the evolution of the gear, so it was no first planing.

How did you realise you were becoming a professional windsurfer?

I never realised, I started to follow the Olympic Class and on the side I was doing the funboard class. I started doing a few events on the tour in 1992, like Almanarre, Aruba, The Netherlands and Sylt.

Give a tip for the next generation!

Spend hours on the water, but don’t forget to study!

Thanks, Antoine.

2020 marks a new beginning for Alessio Stillrich (Simmer / Simmer Sails). The 25-year-old parted ways with Fanatic and Duotone - for whom he had sailed for his whole career- and starts a new challenge to Simmer.

Like most winters, Stillrich travelled a place he loves… Cape Town - where he teamed up with fellow Simmer teammate Markus Rydberg (Simmer / Simmer Sails) to shoot a brilliant short documentary, which contains an explain blend of trademark jumping, wave riding and exclusive interview footage with Alessio.

You can see the aptly named ‘Alessio’ @ vimeo.com/397032009