Review: These were the highlights in surf 4/1990

Tobias Frauen

· 29.10.2022

21 Images

Photo: surf-Archiv

On the cover of surf 4/1990: Mark Angulo, photographed by Darrel Wong

We go back into the archives and take a look at old issues! Here we show you the best finds, remarkable test results, bizarre anecdotes and much more! Let's start with the year 1990!

In 1990, the year of unification, the focus was on the East: surf showed the best spots on the coast of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and looked for donated material for East German surfers. The visuals are particularly striking: in addition to the brightly coloured advertisements and reports, the black and white sections look very dull from today's perspective.

In addition to the content, the advertising pages also have a high nostalgia factor. The numerous car adverts make every classic car fan sigh with relief, while the omnipresent cigarette adverts tend to make people shake their heads. And many a brand that used to run large adverts has (almost) been forgotten today.

Home story at Dunkerbeck

In 1990, the later dominator was "only" two-time world champion, surf editor-in-chief Gerd Kloos visited Dunki on Gran Canaria. In addition to home-story-like pictures (trophy shelf with ghetto blaster in the room of his youth), sister Britt and cat "Surfy", they also went out on the water. In search of a quiet spot, Björn took him to his secret spot, including an adventurous trip and several deceptive manoeuvres in order to outrun any pursuers. "I just want to be alone at a spot with my friends," sighs Dunkerbeck. Before continuing, there is a mini beach clean-up and the statement "I would have problems accepting chemical companies as sponsors." Speaking of sponsors: When asked whether rumours about F2's alleged half a million mark salary are true, Björn is nebulous: "I don't earn that much." There have also been better offers than the one from F2.

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However, Dunkerbeck admits quite openly that he doesn't usually ride his sponsor's boards. "I only ride production boards for photo shoots. They're all compromise boards with far too little rocker." He said and got on a "wave banana" from the shape plane of none other than Rick Naish, which at 2.60 metres was radically short by the standards of the time. While Dunkerbeck himself claimed that he didn't dominate anywhere, Germany's surfing legend Jürgen Hönscheid already had a hunch back then: "Björn will dominate the World Cup like Robby used to". He was proved right.

Germany united on the waterfront

Under this still marvellous headline, surf author Günther Heyden set off in the spring of 1990 in search of surf spots in the GDR, which still officially existed at the time. A few months after the fall of the Berlin Wall on 9 November 1989, NVA soldiers were still busy dismantling barbed wire fences on Mecklenburg's Baltic coast. As beautiful as the beaches are, the rest is just as adventurous: "There are almost no hotels, only a few campsites and only recently has private accommodation been available. There are only a few restaurants, but they are really full. Grocery shops are much more sparsely scattered than in the west. Petrol stations are also rare, with premium and unleaded petrol only available at the Inter petrol stations," the author reports.

While the beaches in the immediate vicinity of the former inner-German border are by necessity untouched, Boltenhagen, Salzhaff and Co. are well known. A rush is expected for the summer of 1990. While West German tourists wanted to explore the unknown stretches of coastline, the lack of foreign currency meant that many GDR citizens could only holiday in their (still) own country. But under "Surftrips" it is also announced that a total of eleven new surf stations ("with around 15 Melody ACDS boards from Bic and 30 UP sails") will open on 1 May. There will also be new accommodation, including a former Stasi suite for 3,900 E per person.

Inner Surfing: jibing in your head

Then as now, the power jibe is the holy grail for many surfers. And back in 1990, surf pointed out a way that seems highly topical again today. Mental training is used to programme the jibe - or another manoeuvre - into the brain. "If you take 20 minutes for six days, you will have your problem manoeuvre perfectly in your head," is the promise.

surf author Heinart Giebel adapted the programme of Heidelberg professor Hans Eberspächer for windsurfing and tried it out at a surf station in Egypt. For the beach start as an example, surf offered a detailed plan for the mental training programme.

And what else?

For the first surfing season after the fall of the Berlin Wall, surf is calling for donations of equipment for East German windsurfers
The surf test team has a new leader in Kutte Priessner, with Jürgen Hönscheid and Jutta Müller also on board
Tiga is on the verge of bankruptcy - because windsurfing queen Jenna de Rosnay has sued for her annual salary of 150,000 marks. The French market fears the superiority of the "cut-price provider" Bic.
In the test of the large slalom boards (approx. 3 metres, 120-130 litres), rows of fins break off the Fanatic Lite Bee. The Hifly Slalom 290 earns itself a commendation: "If you plan a change of direction or a jibe at full speed, you have to expect to fall out of planing immediately. The Hifly loses so much speed as soon as you initiate the turn that jibes are out of the question."
World Cup: 45 knots shake up the field at the PBA World Cup in Almanarre, the first indoor cup starts in Paris. PBA boss Christian Herles is already dreaming of windsurfing in Madison Square Garden.

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