"Now the freestyle scene is exploding, and almost every day we receive new names of youngsters who have invented yet another spectacular manoeuvre," writes Andreas Erbe in the editorial. But one surfer towers above them all: Ricardo Campello. "The 18-year-old [...] is currently determining what needs to be danced on the freestyle floor." And even if hardly anyone can copy the moves, "just watching him gives you a real adrenaline rush." In keeping with the freestyle hype, surf is bringing a large riding technique section: "Cooler Moves" with Ricardo for the cracks - and classic freestyle on the longboard for all mere mortals to copy - from edging to windward 360s.
Skinny chic
What today is simply known and widely used as RDM was still relatively new in 2003 as "skinny": thinner masts with thicker walls. surf tests how the slim spars affect the sail and the sailing characteristics, from "spongy, the sail compresses and works hard" to "full power and neutral sail feel", everything is included. "The fun already starts when rigging," enthuses Sailloft sailmaker Gerrit Maaß, and surf tester Gunther Baade finds that rigs with RDMs are easier to handle.
The first Super X
The forerunner of the Slalom X, which celebrated its premiere in the 2024 seasonsurf invited a number of riders and industry insiders to the very first Super X race on Lake Garda before the first World Cup. Not everyone has mastered the compulsory manoeuvres yet (start - 360 - duck jibe - spock - duck jibe - flaka - duck jibe - jump over the sausage); Randy Naish, who arrived spontaneously, asks in amazement "What the fuck is a spock?" Surf author Steve Chismar, like some other pros, is struggling with the weak wind. In particular, the final jump over the rubber sausage, which celebrated a comeback this year at Slalom X, becomes an insurmountable hurdle. Quite a few "climb over the rubber bellows like wet spider monkeys". Steve: "There are nobler seconds than being catapulted to the front in front of a crowd of onlookers." A clear advantage for the racers who reach for giant lobes and accept manoeuvring disadvantages. Robby Swift and Andrea Rosati show just how good Super X can be, pulling off two heats with spectacular moves and completely gliding. PWA Tour Manager Rich Page is watching closely and knows ahead of the first World Cup: "The discipline needs to be organised in more wind."
"Frisian boy" Klaas Voget
"Whether in the bush or in the jungle, a cup of tea a day is a must!" says mate and travelling partner Lars Gobisch about Klaas Voget. The East Frisian is the shooting star of 2003, is rumoured to be the next German champion, competes in the World Cup and is idolised by the ladies. Klaas not only cultivates his roots when it comes to hot drinks, but also when he returns to the Little Sea near Aurich: the old Ten Cate, on which Klaas and his brothers learnt to surf, is still there. He still likes to stand on the "old cucumber and sail across the water at two Beaufort," says Klaas. After his civilian service on Norderney and six months in South Africa, he ended up in Kiel, where he studied sports science. His friends recognised early on that he could turn his obvious talent into good results: great ambition and a strong will were to make Klaas the best German waverider for at least the next 15 years. But his home base will always remain the north: "I'm a passionate waverider, and unfortunately we don't exactly have the best conditions for that in Germany, but I would never leave here!"
You can click through the entire magazine in the gallery above!
And what else?
- Naish, Dunkerbeck and co. on the hunt for the speed record. In order to achieve the best times, they are busy tinkering with the material: Dunki gets a speed sail with a double profile in the front area "similar to an oversized mast sleeve" - this is widely used in slalom today. Robby's sail is completely double-walled and has air-filled tubes instead of battens - did someone say wing here?
- The PWA attempts to create a Hall of Fame and nominates three new inductees. Ken Winner, Arnaud de Rosnay and Mike Waltze were to be honoured in 2003, with Jim Drake, Hoyle Schweitzer and Robby Naish kicking things off the year before. However, these endeavours came to nothing; in the meantime, the much larger and so far more successful Windsurfing Hall of Fame.
- Inland economy: Good early planing material and the freestyle trend are ensuring a comeback for inland lakes. This was not only the case for surf editor-in-chief Andreas Erbe, who had his in-laws waiting for a session on his local Dümmer. You can also see more and more sails on the water on Ammersee, Selenter See, Möhnesee, Wolfgangsee and many more inland waters. As surf reader reporters, locals can present their spot in the magazine in future.
- At the surf festival on Fehmarn, it was a case of bobbing around at first, but 21 windsurfers were able to set a new world record on a 16 metre long board, staying on board for 17 minutes. At the end, the event had to be dismantled early due to a storm warning - and some star guests such as Josh Stone let it rip in Altenteil.
- At Girls Camp, women learn amongst themselves - relatively new at the time, but a real success today!
- In the "Addicted" section, surf always introduces windsurfing enthusiasts, this time Norbert Retzlaff, the owner of the Fehmarn surf shop. His favourite anecdote from more than 20 years in the shop: A customer's comment after buying a board: "You can just take off those fabric hangers at the back, I've been travelling without them since last year!"
- "Surfing with God in France": Antoine Albeau shows his home of Ile de Re, with its Mediterranean climate and varied spots.
- At the DWC on Norderney, surf equips three racers with GPS transmitters to analyse their runs. Bernd Flessner, for example, crosses much more effectively on one side than the other: "My legs are different lengths!" Best youngster at the time: Vincent Langer, best rookie is the later surf tester Christian Winderlich with fifth place in freestyle.
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
