"These world championships were not cheerful games," summarises the surf author about the windsurfing world championships in Sardinia. There were 58 protests, with only light winds, mainly because of "the worst evil among surfers: pumping". The women's award ceremony even had to be postponed due to protests that were still being negotiated. Windsurfing had lost a lot of its looseness in view of these World Championships, even "the award ceremony was rather stiff and formal". There was only a lot of wind on the pre-arranged rest day, when Malte Simmer and a previously unknown American named Ken Winner, among others, showed what can be done with windsurfers. Otherwise, 14-year-old (and 49-kilo) Robby Naish won his second World Championship and shed a few tears on the podium, while Niko Stickl, Guy Ducrot, Anders Foyen, Claudie Forest-Fourcade and the Stickl/Mast tandem duo won the other classes.
New: The Ostermann tandem
Speaking of tandems: "Windsurfing in a duet still causes almost as much of a stir today as a solo surfer did in 1972", and 400 Ostermann tandems were sold in the first year. Klaus Gahmig sheds light on the trend for surf. On the one hand, tandem surfing is good for training because the instructor can ride along directly, on the other hand, it is "the fastest surf vehicle ever for experts". The disadvantage: the rather bulky handling with a length of 6.75 metres. After a few initial tips on riding technique, Gahmig concludes: "So the tandem is more than just a mechanical unit, it's a companionship." surf was able to try out one of the Ostermann tandems straight away. After the logistical challenges (Where to store? How to transport?), the test duo were delighted: "The Windglider tandem is incredible fun on the water," said Ulrich Stanciu. He was "completely surprised" by the manoeuvrability and the board behaved well in the waves. "We were completely blown away when the tandem started to glide effortlessly," enthuses Stanciu. "The person in front is then up to half a metre in the air, and the person behind can only rely on their partner's good visibility, surrounded by spray." The only point of criticism is the 1.10 metre long daggerboard: "This unprofiled plywood board can only be described as a 'wooden beater'!"
How Jim Drake invented windsurfing
Honour to whom honour is due: "The real inventor of windsurfing is a weapons expert!" is how surf announces a "sensational interview". We are, of course, talking about a certain James R. Drake ("Jim, as his friends call him"), who at the time still stood in the shadow of the omnipresent Hoyle Schweitzer. Drake recounts how he developed the basic idea with a friend and colleague one long night back in 1961: "During our conversation, we came up with the idea that you could move the surfboard you were standing on forwards with the help of a large kite that you steer with your hands." Wings were therefore invented before windsurfing, one could say from today's perspective. What was still missing from the windsurfing foundation at the time was the step of attaching the sail to the board. In 1967, Drake finally came up with the idea of connecting the rig and board with a universal joint, whereas a forked boom had already been used in sailing boats in some places. Hoyle Schweitzer financed the development and both filed the patent together. Schweitzer later urged Drake to give up financial interests, and Drake eventually sold his share. In 1977, Drake does not regret the sale; friends and the "intellectual dividend" are more important to him, he says in an interview. Nevertheless, he thought it was a shame how narrowly Schweitzer viewed the patent and slowed down the development of the sport.
You could say that wings were invented before windsurfing
Surfing as a fight for survival
"Everything moves, the waves roll, calmly, majestically, with dignity, until they reach the beach, where they suddenly rise up, break thunderously and transform everything with destructive force into a barely predictable, seething chaos. [...] Whoever is in here experiences the thrill that lies in the uncertainty between winning and losing, between being and not being. It is the alternation between fighting against nature and adapting to the matter whose function we are." If you're not scared after this eloquent introduction, Calle Schmidt reveals the first secrets of surfing. Instead of swimming first the rig and then the board out through the surf zone and launching behind the white water, Jürgen Hönscheid perfected the beach start in 1976. Schmidt describes the technique as standing on the board on the beach in the water's edge in the riding position and then being lifted slightly with the next outgoing wave and riding off.
You can click through the entire magazine in the gallery above!
And what else?
- "Are protests immoral?" asks a member of the Eutin jury in a commentary, emphasising that they only serve to correct injustices previously experienced on the regatta course. "The moral ostracism of protest, as it is spreading in windsurfing circles [...], only serves those who deliberately disregard the rules!"
- As a remedy for slippery standing surfaces, a surf reader sticks a large area of studded rubber mat on the board, as is normally used on the back of table tennis bats. The effect is good, the reader is enthusiastic - the first footpad?
- The "Ministerial Director of the Federal Ministry of Transport", who is to draw up the "Sailing-Surfing Ordinance", dives deep into the subject matter and takes surfing lessons on Lake Garda. The surf instructor reports that after five hours, the civil servant was fully gliding.
- Babsy" is on duty at the Hamburg boat show: this is a computer that displays the right board or boat at the show, including stand number, after requesting a few key data and wishes
- A study has found out how surfers are perceived by non-surfers. The result: sporty, freedom-conscious, individualistic. It also requires more body control than tennis and is sportier and more exclusive than sailing.
- Asmussen Rum ("For the stiff grog afterwards!") offers three sails with advertising print - to be ordered by coupon and Euro cheque.
- The first iSUP: A Swiss company has presented the first inflatable surfboard. It consists of a textile-coated plastic skin and plastic stabilisers and weighs 15 kilos.
- Fips Müllegger shows how to build an ice surfer for the winter. The bill for materials and labour ends up including several beers for the locksmith, carpenter and author - as well as a broken collarbone.
- surf tests seven special surf shoes, from today's point of view rather clunky boots that have more in common with hiking boots than with neoprene footlets with a good feel
You can click through the entire magazine in the gallery above!
More surf reviews:
- surf 4/1977
- 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 4/1999
