The first loop
"Nobody believed that the loop was possible anymore", it says at the beginning of the "true story of the flip in the surf". Two years earlier, even the best in the world had failed to jump the first loop in windsurfing history in front of a sponsor's camera, but in 1984 Peter Boyd and Doug Hunt managed the first rotations. The windsurfing world still struggles with the term: "As soon as the loop was jumped, the first know-it-alls came and said: 'That's not a loop, it's more of a helicopter jump, a 360 in the air!" - Today, such candidates would probably write Facebook comments and forum posts. For the time being, the term "barrel roll" prevailed, but what we see is an almost perfect backloop. Almost - because when it comes to landing, the pioneers still have work to do: "Barrel rolls are only very rarely stood up." Boyd and Hunt don't keep their air superiority for long, a handful of cracks like Craig Maisonville, Angus Chater "and of course [...] Robby Naish and Pete Cabrinha, who can do everything anyway", also get the loop down quickly. Cabrinha creates another historic loop moment at the World Cup on Sylt: he jumps it for the first time in Europe and makes the Brandenburg beach cheer. Just under two years later, things went in the other direction: Cesare Cantagalli jumped the first cheese roll, the forerunner of the front loop!
Surf scene Ruhr area
Where millions of people live in a small area, there must also be an above-average number of surfers. There are said to be 150,000 in the Ruhr region, which was still a stronghold of mining and heavy industry at the time. The surfing centre is "Ruhrpott-Windsurfing" in Bochum, the shop of surf tester legend Kutte Prießner (whose real name is Hans-Joachim, as the story reveals). This is where "oddballs and complicated cases" come together and chat about windsurfing over coffee and cake; the social aspect of the shop is much more important than the commercial one ("Money or life, you have to choose one.") The spectrum ranges from Opel workers to miners and IBM people to surfing early retirees. However, more and more are being drawn to the Dutch coast instead of the surrounding lakes. "You can often only get to the water there as a club bully," complains Werner Buschmann - another longstanding surf tester from the Kutte clique. In the Netherlands, they have discovered a spot that has long since ceased to be an insider tip: Renesse and the Brouwersdam, which is firmly in German hands on windy weekends.
Björn Dunkerbeck: Robby II
"One will come and overthrow your idols. A new god. And you will fall for him." So begins one of the most legendary and most frequently quoted surf stories, the first portrait of a 15-year-old prodigy from Gran Canaria named Björn Dunkerbeck. The fact that the seemingly biblical quote is otherwise completely unknown can be overlooked due to its astonishing farsightedness. surf author Ono was sent to the Canary Islands to meet the mega-talent. "Two blue beady eyes under a tuft of straw-blonde hair," he finds, "a mixture of Robert Redford and Mike Eskimo, brought to 1.65 metres." The young Björn approaches other people openly, enchanting girls, old mums and young mums as well as grim Spaniards. Björn's unbelievable talent is revealed during the joint session. "While the big, strong men fight their battle for survival with the monster waves, little Björn simply plays catch with them. And he knows he's winning the game, you can see that in his face." The then flourishing industry is hot for Dunki. "Everyone will try to turn his head, with material and with money, and the worst thing is that I will contribute to it with this story," the author writes thoughtfully. He hopes that Björn won't let himself be wrapped round his finger and become "a kind of surfing Pippi Longstocking"
You can click through the entire magazine in the gallery above!
And what else?
- Advertising pearls: Renault advertises the R11 as "Robust & Racy" - a rather staid hatchback saloon with a boxy design that is as confusing as possible.
- "Rocker methods" on Lake Garda: During a sailing regatta, the organisers of the local club chased away windsurfers with metal truncheons to give their boats free rein
- Jim Drake sues Hoyle Schweitzer: In 1984, we are still in the middle of a major patent drama. Board manufacturer Bic finances Drake's lawsuit against his former partner - a never-ending story.
- Dozens of vocational school teachers in NRW have trained as "surf instructors" and founded "surf working groups". In Marl, a surf trailer was built, among other things
- A board that was not properly strapped down first flew into another car on the A1, then skidded into the oncoming lane and "shredded a wildlife protection fence over a length of several metres". According to the report, no people were injured and nothing is known about the fate of the apparently extremely robust board.
- Under the name "Strandjungs", a band of singing windsurfers even make it onto the ZDF hit parade with their Germanised Beach Boys songs. In addition to "Surfen auf'm Bassersee" aka "Surfin USA", the four also have "Hilf mir Sonja" (Help Me Rhonda) and "Kaffeebraun" (I Get Around) in their repertoire.
- To prevent his customers from becoming the talk of the neighbourhood, a Munich exterminator disguises himself with a surfboard on the roof. It's supposed to look like a friend of the family is simply visiting.
- Long, narrow and thin guns are the shape trend of the year. Six shapers show their designs for the ultimate early glide guns
- At the World Cup on Sylt, not only will the first Euro Loop be jumped (see above), but the first camber will also make an appearance. Here you can read more stories from Sylt history >> At the next event in Scheveningen, more and more brands will have quickly sewn together camber sails for their pros
- "Political slogans, pop, cuteness and plagiarism" arrive at the surf editorial office after a colouring-in competition for sails was launched in the June issue. The winner was a "fat-head sail" with the voluminous heads of Kohl, Strauß and co. The best of the more than 4,000 entries can be seen on a double-page spread
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
