The big fin special: The "dark horses of the surfing world" are decisive for whether the material rides tame or bucking. The thicker the profile at the front, the easier it is to ride. Extremely thin "bread knives", on the other hand, are only in good hands with professional racers. Fin pope Jean Jacques Deboichet advises choosing a fin that is about as long as the board is 30 cm wide in front of the tail; he sees the limit at 80 cm. The pros reveal what they screw under the board: flyweight Josh Stine only uses mini fins between 17 and 19 cm (we're still in the single fin era!), while Matt Pritchard uses race fins up to 35 cm long. Ralf Bachschuster turns out to be a minimalist: one board, one fin - that's enough for him in South Africa! In the tuning test with a Mistral Flow, the standard 29 cm fin is swapped first for a 34 cm and then for a 40 cm freeride fin. Result: The longer, the faster and better on the cross, but the 40mm doesn't fit the board and messes up the trim.
The F(reestyle) generation
Windsurfers used to be cool by nature, writes Andreas Erbe, but at some point other attractions came along. The many young talents striving for the top promise new momentum, largely fuelled by the freestyle boom. At the German Windsurf Cup on Norderney, 90 freestylers competed, a third of whom were under 21 years old! surf introduces some of the young guns - many a name still makes us sit up and take notice today. First and foremost, of course, André Paskowski, 18 years old at the time and about to graduate from high school. He had already been travelling to regattas for ten years at the time and competing in all disciplines. A stellar freestyle career up to the European Championship title was to follow, and André, who died far too young, is also unforgotten as a filmmaker. Other top talents from back then who are still known today are globetrotter Rik Fiddike, Olympic starter Toni Wilhelm, surf tester and surf school operator Christian Winderlich and Blackroll founder Marius Keckeisen. The conclusion: "There are finally guys again who skip school when it's windy, turn mum's car into moving surf shops and impress the girls!"
There are finally guys again who skip school when it's windy."
Scandal at the DWC Sylt
"A handful of riders tried to save their places and sponsorship contracts by unfair means and had the support of the regatta organisers," wrote one observer in the surf forum after the German Windsurf Cup on Sylt. Young riders were cheated out of a great contest, top freestylers were cheated out of their championship title, the commentary continues. What had happened? After a week of waiting, it would have been enough for freestyle on the last day of the event, but the regatta organisers changed their minds and cancelled the freestyle due to the loud protests of a few riders who had been eliminated early. Henning Nockel, among others, showed what would have been possible with a lot of anger in his stomach. "You could even have gone waveriding in the late afternoon!" grumbled André Paskowski. In the "Speaker's Corner" section of surf, Henning Nockel vents his anger.
A visit to Mickey Eskimo
On the cover, Mickey Eskimo jumps one of his jumps that is actually impossible to land, Steve Chismar then interviewed the Austro legend. Mickey was 37 at the time and no longer quite so present, but he still designs clothing, board graphics and much more. He devotes a lot of time to his buoy art ("A buoy floats and keeps you upright") and yoga. "I'm like a sponge that absorbs everything," he says, describing his life. "Matter passes through me and is 'eskimotised'." When it comes to surfing, he sees himself, along with Cesare Cantagalli and Mark Angulo, as a trailblazer for young radical riders like Francisco Goya. Eskimo would probably be the perfect driver for the freestyle wave: "I wish it had been around in 1980!" In the meantime, however, art has become increasingly important to you, and there are even contacts with the Guggenheim Museum in New York: "However, a meeting was cancelled due to Prince Carles' visit. He was more important after all."
You can click through the entire magazine in the gallery above!
And what else?
- At the Nea Awards, the "extreme sports Oscars", Francisco Goya and Daida Moreno won in the windsurfing category, Robby Naish was honoured for his life's work and Andy Wolff was named best newcomer. Kelly Slater, Dennis Rodman and Tony Hawk were among the many top stars who attended the ceremony in Munich
- Christian Marty, a windsurfing pioneer, was at the helm of the Concorde accident near Paris. Marty had crossed the Atlantic on a surfboard in 1991 and had been a pilot since 1969.
- Smear theatre surrounding Mistral: The editor-in-chief of a US magazine and a former producer accuse the managing directors of having included specially manufactured and extra-light boards in the surf test. They were able to refute the accusations: five of the seven boards in question were never included in the test, the other two were within the normal tolerances. The two initiators of the intrigue demonstrably had a score to settle with Mistral...
- After a few mysterious ads, North reveals who is behind "Dr X": the new wave sail from Levi Siver and Nik Baker. In a white clinic look, the two top riders now announce: "You definitely need a doctor!"
- 14 exercises for the power jibe: Peter Garzke and Michi Schweiger show how to optimise your jibes with small series of exercises: Grab the lower leech, hand wash, rail grab in the jibe, "stiff man" or hooked into the harness (!)
- No wave riding at the World Cup in Gran Canaria due to a lack of waves, then storm freestyle in Fuerteventura. Josh Stone wins, but is drunk under the table by Fran Lewisch at the closing party. Bernd Flessner also took part with classic moves such as body drags and table tops. Eleventh place in the end!
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
- surf 3/2006
Tobias Frauen
Editor