“If you’re afraid, you take fewer risks,” says Jason Polakow, one of the most radical and influential windsurfers in history, whom surf writer Steve Chismar had the pleasure of visiting. The Australian has a long list of injuries, but also two World Championship titles and a reputation for being in a class of his own. Even as a teenager competing in motocross, he was no pushover; his willingness to take risks and immense athletic talent are matched by an unyielding drive to win. Even when playing on his games console, Polakow is so ambitious that he’ll sometimes skip a windy day just to improve his skills. When surfing freely, too, Polli puts on a spectacular show every time – aerials, spray, tukkas (“off-the-lip board-sail 360s”). Yet his signature move is, at first glance, relatively simple: “No one can carve bottom turns with such an extreme lean and carve the wave like Jase”; his nickname is also “Quasimodo” because of his cat-like hump. He lives with Nik Baker; a collection of porn films makes up a large part of the furnishings in their bachelor flat share. He never settles down, always on the move – whether it’s windsurfing, motorcycling, surfing, or whatever. Marketing man Martin Brander suspects that his mother’s smoking during pregnancy is the reason for Jase’s restlessness.
Windsurfers versus racing trimarans
A race between sailors and windsurfers is set to finally settle the question of who is the ‘King of the Seas’. Although ‘sailing yacht’ is a massive understatement for the €2.5 million racing trimaran ‘Club Med’, which the chain of the same name is fielding in the race it has organised. But the windsurfers are no slouches either; with Robert Teriitehau, Patrice Belbeoc’h and Jochen Kraut, some of the best racers of the nineties are taking part. “At 20 knots we don’t stand a chance, but in choppy conditions: I’ll kill those guys!” retorts Teriitehau to the sailors’ cocky boasts. After all, around 100 journalists are present at the start near Almanarre; the finish line is a Club Med resort in Corsica. And the wind is blowing hard: Robert Teriitehau leads almost the entire race at speeds of up to 40 knots, virtually uncatchable; the other windsurfers had misjudged their sail choice and have “lost all control”. Teriitehau is held back only by a broken board and the incompetent driver of his support boat. But just as the finish line is in sight, the wind dies down and a frustrated Teriitehau has to let the race boat pass him under full sail. Still, the dejected sailors don’t really feel like celebrating a victory after all.
Austria: The Home of Freestyle
“Freestyle has an Austrian flavour”; this new discipline is dominated and shaped by a striking number of Alpine nations. Yet the best competitors are as varied as the mountains and the water: whilst Ossi Krupitz analytically breaks down the moves and sometimes practises them piece by piece in his garden, others have a “go for it” mentality. Alex Humpel, a former professional snowboarder and inventor of “King of the Lake”, wants to hit the water “stress-free, please, and without any structured training”. He’s been there, done that – his former sponsor, Burton, had the audacity to try and get the paid pros to train even in the summer. Frank Lewisch, already a surf tester and freestyle bon vivant back then, is also, above all, relaxed: “I just ride back and forth.” He admits, however, that he does need to practise the Spock a little – it’s “really tricky”. Michael Schweiger is also part of the circle of Austrian trick riders; he was the first Austrian ever to top the world rankings.
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So, what else is going on?
- In the new surf technique video “Classic Moves – Back to the Elegance”, Robert Teriitehau demonstrates classic moves and how to adapt them into modern freestyle manoeuvres
- A software company based on Lake Ammersee offers leisure time when the wind is blowing. The bosses are windsurfers themselves and hope this will boost creativity.
- Market leader F2 is set to be acquired by Mistral, and the surfing community is following the negotiations with bated breath. It is one of the biggest deals the industry has ever seen.
- Planing from eight knots? *surf* tests how early riders of different weights can start planing. With a 150-litre board and a 9 m² sail, the limit is achievable for a 65-kilo rider.
- Gems of advertising: “And woe betide anyone who has not prepared for those days, and who lacks the strength and confidence to face the unbridled elements.” ART is using these biblical lines to advertise a new wave sail (“The Revelation 99–2000”)
- The ‘trick of the season’ is the radical pushloop. It was, however, invented back in 1984 by – who else? – Robby Naish
- surf spotted the “Tattoo of the Month” on Henning Nockel: the Kiel native had a figure of the Virgin Mary tattooed on his upper arm.
- At the Funboard German Championships on Sylt, Bernd Flessner was crowned the first German freestyle champion. A week later, however, the title was revoked: due to confusion over the rules, no title was allowed to be awarded.
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Tobias Frauen
Editor