Björn Dunkerbeck in Fiji
Björn Dunkerbeck takes a break from the World Cup (see below) and goes on holiday - to Fiji, where he and his crew with Scott Carvill and Jono Knight are hoping for big waves. From a small surf camp, they first head to the Frigate's spot, where the hollow waves break so powerfully over a reef that even world champion Dunki rides "rather conservatively". With the channel always in view, nobody really dares to approach the lip at first. Scott Carvill is the first to take a risk and is promptly crushed by a wave, fortunately without serious injury. He then takes a catamaran to the best breaks in the area. But the wind falls asleep and doesn't come back despite the experienced skipper's well-founded forecasts - "All signs point to it". So it's still a lot of surfing and fishing, even if the biggest chunks win the battle with the anglers. When the swell eventually dies down, despite the idyllic set-up in the middle of the sea with no land in sight, a little frustration sets in. But it was worth the wait: at the end, Dunki and co. were treated to an unforgettable session with six-foot waves and 15 knots of wind! Great pictures - and part of Dunki's project "The Search"
Freestyle Evolution in the test
"Just two years ago, the freestyle trend was ridiculed", write the surf testers, but now "the industry is letting its shapers plane for all they're worth". The test shows the evolutionary and experimental fervour of the scene: lots of features are being tried out, and a first-generation freestyler like the F2 Air already looks a bit dusty. Right on trend back then: angular grooves in the nose area to give the board some directional stability when riding fin-first. Speaking of fins: "Strange" things are spotted among the boards of the pros, we are talking about the then new stubby fins. A particular eye-catcher in the test was a hollow freestyler from Airinside weighing less than five kilograms. Many of the test boards also have solid freeride characteristics and are closer in their characteristics to modern freemove boards than to the now very specialised freestylers. In keeping with the test, there are the basics in the riding technique section: fin ahead, body 360, board 360 and much more!
You can click through the entire magazine in the gallery above!
And what else?
- Advertising pearls: Bloody hands, "Doctor 180 $, Sail Repair 0 $" and "Even if you feel the pain, your Voodoo doesn't!" - this is how North advertises its new Wave model
- Dunki puts an end to racing: the Terminator only wants to ride waves and otherwise do a lot of travelling. The addition of "for the time being" laid the foundation for his comeback a few years later.
- While Tonix is at least formally growing up as a limited company, Big Sexy Pictures presented its debut work "Faces"
- NeilPryde parts ways with sail designer Nils Rosenblad. There was a lot of controversy behind the scenes at the time, as Neil Pryde himself recently told us
- Brian Talma makes music: the soul surfer launches the song "Irie Man Action", a "catchy-upbeat reggae track"
- Lots going on in the board market: F2 launches the Maui Project, Bic brings waveboards with the Tabou label, and Fanatic presents the legendary Goya models
- Robby Seeger and his daughter Shamana show how children can get a taste of windsurfing together with their parents.
- On the "Kite Pages" (which are actually just a single "page" in this case), surf shows kiting surf pros and two new boards for kite climbers.
- Always fascinating: One of numerous Cornwall spot guides also in surf 8/2000
- Different times at the DWC: after nine days on Sylt, "only" 37 freestylers and 23 racers are still taking part in the event on Amrum, with youngsters André Paskowski and Klaas Voget winning. On to Föhr and Kühlungsborn.
- Roberto Ricci again: In the surf interview, the Italian explains how he wants to establish and expand his brand on the market. In 2008, surf published another portrait - also quite entertaining!
