Superstar Robby Naish
Only in our last review of the year 1992 we had a big story about Robby Naish, in the 1984 Christmas issue the superstar was the main topic - on the cover with a caricature by surf cartoonist Bernhard Förth! Naish was 21 years old at the time and had become world champion "again". In the interview, he talks about his training with bike and weights ("It's primarily my own interest in my body.") and the myth that Hawaii always has good training conditions: "We [are] simply far too spoilt [...]. If the wind is only good enough for a 5.5 square metre sail, then we don't go out on the water."
Robby doesn't take his wife and then three-year-old daughter to regattas; they stay in warm Hawaii and have no interest in freezing in Scheveningen or on Sylt. For this reason, however, they don't realise how famous Robby is in Europe: "Crowds like the ones in Scheveningen or La Torche this year - 50,000 people staring at you - she's never experienced that before." In the USA and even in Hawaii, he was not a celebrity at the time and hopes that the surfing boom in the USA will start while he is still active. Robby actually likes being famous - even if someone else always has to fetch his equipment from the beach because he can't just turn up at the European events. And even though he is only 21 years old, Naish is already thinking about a possible end to his career: He will continue for as long as he has fun, after which there are already several business options.
The windsurfing industry in 1984
Bad weather caused board sales to plummet in 1984, but tour operators were delighted - everyone wanted to go out in the sun. The most sought-after accessory of the season was umbrellas, sneered surf. Surf schools also felt the effects of the bad summer, but "family lessons are still flourishing" - i.e. surf lessons given by husbands, boyfriends or fathers (it was apparently unthinkable at the time for women to pass on their skills). Payment is made "with a kiss, cognac or a simple thank you." The market leader in Germany in 1984 was HiFly, who successfully revamped their rather unattractive PE image with a small series of 2,000 epoxy boards - an impressive cosmetic achievement given the total number of 50,000 boards worldwide. surf was even allowed to inspect their books and delivery notes to confirm the figure. The situation is completely different at Mistral, which describes itself as the global market leader, although industry experts clearly doubt this. Germany's best-selling board in 1984 was the Klepper S 205 with 4801 units. Some big names from the early days of windsurfing, on the other hand, are slowly fading: Ten Cate is on its way to insignificance, Bic Marine is struggling after the liquidation of Windglider. Incidentally, cartoonist Bernhard Förth also contributed a great cover picture to this story!
Speed windsurfing: Wing rigs, profile masts and wetsuits
Lots of speed: at the "Johnnie Walker Speedweek" in Weymouth, numerous starters want to break Fred Haywood's record (57.08 km/h). In eight-strong winds, many compete with five to seven square metres of sail area and tiny 30-litre sinkers. Adventurous designs such as Peter Bridgman's fixed-wing rig can also be seen, as well as moulded masts and wing rigs. While Arnaud de Rosnay destroys his sail in a mega-crash, Fred Haywood doesn't even make it onto the water, his mast already breaking on land. Axl Ohm rides a new rig with a conventional mast and a foam profile body, which takes him beyond the 50 km/h mark with a standard Sunset from the previous year (!). What the material can't do, high-gloss "paint suits" have to do to make the riders particularly wind-slippery. Also at the start: a certain Eberhard von Osterhausen with a speed rig called "The Gun" - the birth of one of today's biggest sailing brands!
Meanwhile, New Caledonian Jean-Pierre Siret, who has been tinkering extensively with his equipment at home, is setting the top speed of the whole week at 55 km/h - with a self-hauled 285 board and a 6.4 sail with a five-and-a-half metre mast and 1.70 m boom that looks as smooth as butter: "That's precisely why it's so easy to ride!"
Jenna de Rosnay, who dominates the women's field and is also travelling faster than many men at 50.17 km/h, is sailing a similar rig. Eleven months after the birth of her daughter, she skipped the World Cup in Japan to take part in Weymouth. One of her secrets: She sails the rig very upright to have more sail area in the wind. "However, this sailing position is quite uncomfortable because you have the feeling of being pulled overboard at any moment." She denies that she can only manage all this because her husband, the French Baron Arnaud de Rosnay, is very wealthy: "We're not rich. Arnaud didn't inherit anything from his parents [...]. We then worked hard [...] and this year, for the first time, we are no longer under financial pressure!"
You can click through the entire magazine in the gallery above!
And what else?
- Pearls of advertising: How about six rounds of emergency ammunition as a Christmas present? "This is a new, sparkling gift idea that is sure to be well received!" says manufacturer Nico. If you want to personalise it, you can even have the recipient's name engraved on it
- Pacific is a new brand in the board business, Tornado is renamed Top Sport and HiFly has new investors to finance the expensive moulds
- Unusual spot tip: If you book through the travel agency of the GDR, you are not only allowed to import surfing equipment into the neighbouring state, but also to surf on lakes and lagoons. However, the Baltic Sea is also off-limits for West Germans.
- In terms of riding technique, surf shows the water start - and the aerial jibe for advanced riders
- In London, the "International Yacht Racing Union" selects the Olympic board for 1988. Beneath large-format paintings of Admiral Nelson and Queen Elizabeth, elderly gentlemen in dark blue blazers decide on the successor to the Windglider. As is well known, the Division II class won, and the board was later supplied by Lechner. Only Russia came out in favour of a revised Windglider.
- Flour instead of sanding dust: there are recipes for windsurfer biscuits for the Christmas season. There's a selection of cut-out biscuits in the shape of football fins and power joints, batten made from wafers and the "Linzer style" back end - "shaped by grandma".
- Two completely different worlds in the Spot Guides: In addition to Hawaii, there is also a large report on the Ruhr region. Great scene, lots of lakes, dubious water quality: in addition to openly visible toxic foam, viruses and bacteria lurk - according to a study by Ruhr University, polio viruses have even been found, and doctors generally advise extensive vaccinations before going on the water. Local Peter Dengler advises in view of the intestinal bacteria: "Get immune!" After "weeks of suffering from intestinal illnesses and skin rashes", the broth no longer bothers him. Fortunately, 40 years later, such horror stories have been forgotten...
You can click through the entire magazine in the gallery above!
More surf reviews:
- surf 4/1977
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