Behind the scenes: Test Tobago 2026, Part 6 - Stumbling blocks & the forbidden S-word

As always on Tobago, the wind god was once again in our favour. We've now been here for 18 days, with 17 days of wind, so it's no wonder that our three large test groups are on the home straight. We could now devote ourselves to the infamous rum punch and spend the last four days dangling in the hammock if it weren't for a rather long list of special topics that we want to work through for the coming issues: Video tutorials, product presentations, riding techniques - and the still missing lead picture for our freemove board group. We have an elaborate plan for the latter: we surf out to the reef, all four testers glide close together over the turquoise-coloured water, jump around a bit and station manager Brett Kenny captures the whole thing with the drone - so much for the theory. Brett (yes, that really is his name!) explains to us exactly where the channel is through which we are supposed to go out through the reef. Apparently nobody really listened, because ten minutes later we're bobbing around a kilometre off the coast in the wildest chop as the wind dies down. The swell mixes with wind wave and current here, and the reef is so shallow that you would get stuck crossing it even with a freestyle fin. Meanwhile, Brett waits with his drone at the channel 300 metres further upwind - until at some point the battery runs out. Unfortunately, he didn't get more than a few emergency shots at the edge of the lagoon.

Editor Manuel seems to have taken a liking to the reef. He has to film the Heineken Jibe for a wingfoil tutorial. Just as the film drone is about to take off, Manuel gets stuck on the reef belt inside the lagoon at low tide. It's too shallow to take off again, but after 15 minutes of barefoot stumbling over the coral and a lot of cursing, he actually makes it back into the deep water. Of course, the drone is long gone by then.

We continue ashore, filming tutorials - at least that's what we want to do. Tobi is behind the camera, Manuel in front of it. First, an interested tourist stumbles into the frame, wanting tips on foiling. Then a car alarm goes off next door and five minutes later a kiter starts his electric pump three metres away. We give up, exasperated, and postpone this item on our to-do list until tomorrow.

Fortunately, things go better after that: a pronounced round of manoeuvres with various fins goes smoothly and the potential for errors is also limited when discussing the final sailing details. In the early afternoon it is clear that all three large test groups are completely bagged and if we reduce our fail rate a little in the remaining time, the rest will also be manageable. As the wind picks up and the conditions look too tempting not to go out on the water, the forbidden S-word is actually uttered. "I'm going out for a quick spin for fun," says Tobi and grabs a freemove board and 6-power sail. Stephan also does a few laps in the lagoon, Franky checks whether 115-litre freemove boards can also be looped and Manuel heads to the outer reef for a short wave session. But after almost three weeks of continuous testing, photography and morning desk work, it just has to be done.

Part 5 - Pass me the boom(s)!

Really fine people don't just eat with a boom, they have a special tool for each course. That's how we felt about the cutlery options for the practical follow-up to the large Boom tests in the new surf 2/2026. The finest carbon was available, but also down-to-earth aluminium in Schwarzenegger dimensions. "How noticeable are the differences measured in the laboratory when surfing?" we wanted to know, so we packed a few selected grips.

After Manuel had tried out all of the booms on a powerful 7.7, the question of how to compose a suitable image as an eye-catcher for the theme came up again and again. Without further ado, Stephan strapped three booms to the rig at the same time and attempted to jibe a photogenic jibe with the construction in front of the camera - to the general amazement of the other windsurfers at the spot. His judgement of the triple boom: "Jibes minus 1, handling minus 2, control plus 5 - I can save myself the weight waistcoat!"

Driving technique fail: The wrong manoeuvre...

Before that, we were able to tick off another item on our to-do list: the pictures of the no-cam sails, which we have ridden extensively over the last few days - despite a massive thunderstorm during the shoot. The procedure for the sail test is similar to that for the boards: Two test riders of roughly the same weight race against each other at a small distance and on identical boards, in which points such as planing, planing through or speed are compared. In between, the sails are changed and the whole thing is repeated, and the trim is also adjusted again and again.

The "fail of the week", however, was Manuel's: On a somewhat windless afternoon, he wanted to get a riding technique tutorial with the wing into the box. He spent half an hour doing "Heineken jibes" around Tobi, who was standing in chest-deep water - or at least what he thought he was doing. During the evening's office work and when viewing the pictures, Manuel first became quiet before he had to admit meekly: "I did the wrong manoeuvre!". A round was due...

Part 4 - Man down and the riddle of the laundry basket

Half-time at the 2026 surf test! And in the last few days we've been able to really go full throttle: Perfect wind for the 115 freemove boards, the smallest boards we have with us this year. Manoeuvre rounds, swaps, fine-tuning, score discussions - every board was put through its paces by all the testers. An exciting group with very different models, you can read the test in surf 3/2026 from mid-April!

The pictures for the freemoveboards are now also in the can. We already told you a few days ago that photo shoots are always special and a lot can go wrong. One setup is the infamous ladder, which is placed in shallow water and offers a slightly elevated perspective of the testers jibing around it. The super disaster - the ladder, photographer and camera being blown off - didn't happen, but somehow the shoot dragged on for so long with wind holes and equipment changes that Stephan's head was really fried in the blazing Tobago sun.

The next day, he therefore preferred to get into a motorboat from the "tiller" category to head out towards the reef, where the water colours are even more stunning. But while Franky, Manuel and Tobi hopped around the boat, the nutshell rocked so much in the choppy waves that Stephan stubbed his already damaged toe - his curses could probably be heard as far away as the neighbouring island of Barbados.

An object came from about there that caused some confusion among the guests of Radical Sports Tobago, the surf centre that is also our test base this year. "Did you try out a new camera mount?" we were asked, someone suspected a new type of protective device, while others were sure they had seen something wrong. The solution to the riddle: Tobi had discovered a floating laundry basket far out and collected it so that no turtles or other animals would get caught in it. For the sake of simplicity, he had simply clamped the blue monster to the harness line. The basket now serves as storage for extensions, base plates and other small items - perfect upcycling!

Part 3 - Avanti Diletanti!

After a few days of light and sometimes gusty winds, the trade wind finally kicked up a gear - the starting signal for the test group of crossover boards with 115 litres. Before heading out onto the water, Stephan insisted on a lead photo for the freerace group: "At 7.0, you're now nicely fuelled and can race close together towards the shore and I'll take a photo with you" - that was his wish. Especially the casual remark close together naturally caused us as protagonists to frown, because we all know what that means - namely that you will feel the boom of your test partner in the small of your back, because only then will it look really good in the photo. So pull the big sails flat and hope that everything works out.

However, nothing worked out at first. Franky and I didn't manage to stay as close together as necessary in choppy and completely overpowered conditions. Stephan watched the debacle through the lens for 15 minutes, then pulled the plug: "It's not going to work, better get some small sails and we'll take photos for the test group of 115-litre crossover boards."

Tobi was the first out, but somehow the board glided really badly. This could have been because he hadn't removed the fin cover. Fails like this don't just amuse the colleagues, of course, but also generally cost the test team a cake. Stephan's wish for jump action where you could see the boards clearly was honoured later on. However, spin loops with the 6.0 sail caused many a painful back slap. After an hour, however, some good shots were in the can.

As the wind died down, we switched back to the 7.0. After the photo of us pulling along in the morning was a complete flop, Stephan wanted to take matters into his own hands on the water. Together with Franky, he took a run-up and the two of them set off towards the shore, one metre apart, where I was waiting with the camera. The problem: if the windward boat (Franky) hangs with his boom in the cross of the leeward one (Stephan), it can sometimes be difficult to sheet out. The result was a serious double crash - and another cake for the test team.

Although this Tuesday was somehow a Monday, the day's results were still positive. All the boards and sails are undamaged, apart from Franky's stiff neck, all the testers are still in good health and there were even some good shots and lots of new test impressions. Finally, we went back to the nearby surf spot Mount Irvine, where fantastic waves have been rolling over the reef for a few days now.

Part 2 - Racing, baby!

What a start to the test! As soon as the freerace boards were pulled out of the bags, they had to compete against each other in tough duels on the water. The start could hardly have gone better, despite the somewhat patchy wind we almost completed the first test group. Ten freerace boards with a width of around 75 cm are included, and this much can be revealed: The differences are noticeable within the first few metres. The test procedure is well established: Two riders of roughly the same weight compete against each other with identical rigs. Planing, acceleration, planing through, speed - everything is tested against each other several times before the boards are swapped and the whole thing starts all over again. This results in a ranking list for each category that reflects the full range of the test group.

You have to co-ordinate very closely with your test partner and pay attention to each other - but when it's on, it's great fun! Kilometre-long speed runs in close succession, always trying to squeeze a little more out of the material and win the race. And after the swap, the question: Was the other person really faster or was the board the decisive factor? In between, there are always sea turtles, flying fish and rays in the crystal-clear water - fantastic!

However, the wind at our test spot at Pigeon Point kept giving us the odd break in between. Dampening, pumping, briefly into the loops, out again in the next wind hole, hoping for the next gust - despite everything, the test rides were a little tough at times. No problem, we have more exciting toys with us: Manuel used the phases in which the wind was not sufficient for planing with the 7.7 for a few test runs with new wingfoil material, while Stephan tried out the foil suitability of the Freeracer. And if nothing works, there are still plenty of pictures to be taken of all the test models and their details. It could be worse than working through this in an almost kitschy palm tree backdrop, but the heated sand and bright sun turn the photo spot on the beach into a sweltering oven - or, as Stephan put it: "It's like top and bottom heat with circulating air!"

A little more wind is forecast for the coming days, so hopefully the last rides in the upper wind range can be completed quickly. After that, some smaller material is on the agenda - we'll reveal what that is here soon!

Part 1 - Only the bare essentials

Our editors are currently on the road again for a major production in Tobago. You can find the latest insights in our test blog.

The timing couldn't have been better - board bags in, flap closed and a hair's breadth escape from the snow chaos at Frankfurt Airport. On the 10-hour flight across the Atlantic, there was plenty of time to take a deep breath, because there was a lot of work behind the fact that 17 bulging boardbags were now slumbering in the belly of the Condor plane: from putting together the test groups, to ordering, unpacking and packing the bags, to checking in at the airport, many a bead of sweat flowed down the forehead of editor Stephan, who was responsible for organising the test in this case.

Brett Kenny and his crew from Radical Sports Tobago were already waiting at the airport in Tobago, which is one of the main reasons why we keep coming back here. Having a well-equipped surf centre as a base is essential for us, and the reliable trade winds and great photo backdrop at the Pigeon Point spot provide ideal conditions. In addition to some board and sailing groups for testing the new equipment, smaller tutorials and webinar content are also on our packed to-do list. But before we could hit the water, we first had to unpack and prepare!

With some Doubles It's easier to work in the stomach, those typical local dumplings with a spicy chickpea filling. All kinds of exciting new products came to light from our 17 bags - such as the new board model from Duotone, called Lightningthe freerace board White Tiger from Future Fly or an innovation from MS Fins, which sucks in air through small channels during the ride and lets it flow out at the trailing edge - no joke.

After three hours of sticking on sails and fitting loops, however, we slowly began to feel restless on the beach, as the palm trees were swaying more and more in the wind every minute - so we headed out onto the water to surf the jet lag out of our bones. Armed with plenty of sun cream, we were able to do our first laps with the 7.0 sails and the large freerace boards. The contrast to our cold home country couldn't have been greater: 30 degree air, 27 degree water, palm beach - what more could a surfer's heart want? When we go out on the water with a board group for the first time, we often start with a so-called Manoeuvre roundThis means that each tester keeps their own sail and we rotate the boards in a cycle of around 20 to 30 minutes. In this way, the strengths and weaknesses of the boards in terms of planing, control in chop and, of course, manoeuvres become particularly clear. After four boards at the latest, each tester saves their impressions - in the evening we will then sit together to discuss the impressions.

Our 4-person test crew consisting of Tobi, Stephan, Franky and Manuel will certainly be rattling off plenty of nautical miles in the coming weeks. You can read about what we experience here, what new features await you in the coming issues and what else happens in the test blog on a regular basis.