The legendary Falklands story
The cover story of the July 2008 issue is still regarded as the most expensive production in the history of the magazine. The idea: we go spot-hunting together with an Argentinian and a British windsurfer on the Falkland Islands. The archipelago in the South Atlantic was not only the scene of the war between the two nations, but also has crystal-clear water, white beaches, waves and - located in the middle of the "Roaring 40's" - plenty of wind. So the unforgettable Steve Chismar invited photographer Jean Souville, Argentinian Mariano Estevill and Brit Ben Proffitt to Falkland.
The traces of the 1982 war can still be seen and felt on site: helicopter wrecks, cannon remnants and lots of mines are omnipresent in Falkland. As there are still numerous mines lying on the beaches in 2008, many sections are closed - but according to the locals, the legacy of the Argentines has only killed a few cows so far. The British officer in charge of the clearance is looking forward to returning to the UK: "Too much goddamn wind!"
At Volunteers Beach, the first spot of the expedition, hundreds of spectators wait for the first windsurfers ever to take to the water. The beach is home to the world's largest colony of king penguins, which Ben and Mariano eye up with curiosity. "The waves and the water are like South Africa," says Ben, "the air has a Scottish flavour." Back in the 1980s, Brit Dick Sawle took his windsurfing equipment with him to the Falkland Islands, but surfed on other beaches. After his equipment broke, he was once pushed back to shore by dolphins, he tells Steve. But even in 2008 there is still a lot of resentment, a Brit refuses to shake hands with the Argentinian Mariano. He and Ben, on the other hand, get on brilliantly and share a lot of waves.
A portrait of Ben Proffitt and Mariano Estevil
Further on in the magazine, Ben Proffitt and Mariano Esteville are introduced in more detail. We learn that Ben invented the move "Proffitteroll", but was then made famous by Ricardo Campello as Air Chachoo, that he once had a relationship with a German Playboy model and would rather give up sex than windsurfing. At least the issue of his lack of fame has now been resolved: as a PWA commentator and "Mr Windsurfing TV", Ben is the voice of windsurfing.
Mariano Estevil comes from the same place as Francisco Goya and emulated the world champion: Save money, fly to Maui and get better there. On the side, he paints almost every house on the island to earn money. Thanks to good results in freestyle, he is able to travel the world as a professional, but things have become quiet around him in the meantime.
Visit to the custom-made forge "Soul Session"
Surf author Stephan Gölnitz looked over the shoulders of the makers of Soul Session, a small brand that works on a Bavarian farm in the very same premises where Helmut Kirner used to build boards. "Board building is first and foremost anything but soul, it's hard, meticulous work." The shaper duo Jona Velte and Stefan Gliesche combine a "love of laminate" and an "enthusiasm for every millimetre of rocker line". Team rider Fabi Weber has cancelled big brands in order to ride Soul Session boards. The two have nothing good to say about standard boards: custom boards are more durable, better customised and ahead of their time. Nevertheless, they dream of working with a major brand, but talks with Mistral have already failed twice. In addition to building and repairing boards, Stefan and Jona see themselves primarily as developers: "You don't have to have built 1000 boards to be able to build a good board," is their philosophy. "You have to have 20000 in your head."
You can click through the entire magazine in the gallery above!
And what else?
- Balz Müller's (presumably) first appearance in surf magazine. He sent a picture of himself jumping off the jetty with the equipment in the best Eagle Wing style as a lull activity
- RS:X would not celebrate its Olympic premiere until a few weeks later, but even before the 2008 Games, Starboard applied for its successor as a standardised class with a formula board. This was to take another 16 years, with the iQFoil only replacing the RS:X class in 2024.
- Who can beat the NeilPryde RS Racing? The top sail in the World Cup and DWC has to prove itself against six other thoroughbred racing sails in 8.5. The testers find out: other sails are also fast - but don't have Flessner or Albeau on the boom
- Focus on children's products: The manufacturers have a wealth of boards especially for children in their programme for 2008 - surf presents them!
- The "Big Five" of freestyle riding technique, shown by Gollito Estredo and André Paskowski: Volcan, Spock, Diabolo, Grubby and Flaka
- surf has a new employee: In future, Björn Dunkerbeck will write regularly in the magazine and answer readers' questions
- Windsurfing also develops skills in other sports, surf shows youngsters how hockey players and skiers train on the board
- surf meets Sunstar, a legendary photographer from the 80s: "To this day, he lives a mystical life in Hawaii between earth and cosmos, yin and yang, writes books and submits to the wonders under his sun." Incidentally, mockers also call Sunstar "Sunstroke".
- The film professionals from Tonix test the first action cams ("Waterproof camcorders") for surf. Handling and quality are impressive.
- Spot Guide Slovenia: Freestyler Tine Slabe shows the best spots in his home country. Despite having just 40 kilometres of coastline, Slovenia has many varied and beautiful spots between Koper and Piran
- Young talent again: Robby Naish presents the greatest talents of his kids' team, who go out on the water with the master almost every day. First and foremost, of course, super talent Kai Lenny, but also Bernd Roediger (back then with a mohawk instead of a curly mane). Kanza Stott and Ashley Baxter, on the other hand, have become comparatively quiet
More surf reviews:
- surf 4/1977
- surf 6/1977
- surf 6/1978
- surf 4/1979
- surf 9/1980
- surf 11/1980
- surf 4/1981
- surf 5/1982
- surf 6/1982
- surf 4/1983
- surf 10/1983
- surf 9/1984
- surf 12/1984
- surf 8/1985
- surf 8/1986
- surf 9/1986
- surf 2/1987
- surf 5/1987
- surf 8/1988
- surf 5/1989
- surf 7/1989
- surf 4/1990
- surf 3/1991
- surf 6/1991
- surf 3/1992
- surf 10/1992
- surf 9/1993
- surf 10/1993
- surf 4/1994
- surf 7/1995
- surf 6/1996
- surf 11-12/1996
- surf 7/1997
- surf 8/1998
- surf 9/1998
- surf 4/1999
- surf 7/2001
- surf 5/2005
Tobias Frauen
Editor