Betty Birrell is presented as the "best female surf surfer in the world". The stewardess has relocated from Canada to Kailua and can be found in the waves on any good day - as long as her work schedule allows. She also builds her own boards. In 1982, the waves were still a men-only zone, "women were too weak, too cautious, too scared", it was said. On a big day at the "Avalanche" spot, however, it was only she and Ken Winner who made it back to the beach in one piece. The local cracks didn't reject her when she turned up at the wave spots, "no, on the contrary, they acted like protectors and simply didn't take women seriously," reports Betty. However, she is now a "recognised expert".
Jim Drake's new wing rig
It's no longer a secret that resourceful minds came up with the idea of surfing with a wing over 40 years ago. Some time ago, we dug out the original wing from Jim Drake and Uli Stanciu ("From the original wing to a trend sport in 40 years"). The idea was first presented in surf 9/1982: "The point of the whole thing: In strong winds, the aerodynamic forces can only be directed upwards from the side by sheeting in or sheeting out", and should therefore make longer flights possible. Jim Drake had the idea not to circumvent the patent, but when he realised that the rig acted more like a parachute during the first jumps. The first testers Richard Whyte, Pete Cabrinha and Randy Naish confirmed Drake's theory that all courses and manoeuvres were rideable and that you could move much more freely on the board without the mast. The only drawback at the time was that the wing was not yet as fast as a windsurfing rig. "We didn't learn to windsurf in a day either, and it took years for the first experts to jump," says Drake.
Homemade surf films - Super 8 vs. video
"Four years after the start of the so-called video age, over 1.5 million home video recorders have already been sold in Germany," says surf. In addition to feature films, instructional videos and films for the "small circle" (what is meant by this is left to the imagination), home-made videos are becoming increasingly popular. Perfect for "preserving the highlights of the surfing season for long winter evenings" or for watching yourself surfing and improving your manoeuvres - the birth of video analysis. In addition to the then new VHS video, there was also the established Super 8 format, which was significantly cheaper and easier to handle, as video recordings not only required a camera, but also a portable recorder including battery. One specialist, however, gives a preview of combined devices that are "unlikely to come onto the market before 1985/86" - the camcorders that became widespread later. Surf films were already available at that time, three in all. In addition to two instructional films, a semi-professional Jürgen Hönscheid film is "the best available on the subject of windsurfing". The price: 180 marks.
A portrait of surfer and politician Norbert Gansel
He is known as a disarmament expert in the Bundestag, later he became the Lord Mayor of Kiel: Norbert Gansel is also an enthusiastic windsurfer who made his first strokes during a state visit to Senegal - and was promptly three hours late for his next appointment. At home, the SPD politician surfs as often as he can on the Baltic Sea, preferably with a seven-person sail and without a harness: "I want to really push myself while surfing!" The former sailor has found his passion in surfing and is against over-regulation such as compulsory driving licences: "All the sailing language and tam-tam gets on my nerves," he says, "everything is much more natural when you're surfing!" Gansel's passion for windsurfing is well known and he is often given tips on nearby surfing spots when he receives invitations. However, Gansel only surfs at sea: "For me, surfing and salt water belong together, I wouldn't enjoy the sport on inland lakes and rivers!" His dream: to ride a real wave one day.
You can click through the entire magazine in the gallery above!
And what else?
- And again and again the patent says hello: while a court rules that manufacturers are allowed to supply their own sails as long as a licence sail is also part of the set, Hoyle Schweitzer is parting ways with its long-standing European partner Ten Cate.
- "Don't be a safety muffle!" appeals the Official Materials Testing Institute of the University of Hanover to board manufacturers. This was triggered by a surf article that revealed "sometimes life-threatening safety details" on boards
- The "Sailboard Porsche Design" developed by none other than Ferry Porsche has made it into the State Museum of Applied Arts in Munich as a documentation of "unique industrial design"
- Isar GFK Kunststofftechnik GmbH has developed a transparent safety mast where damage should also be visible from the outside
- No typo: the board "Alpha Hawaiin Chi Chi" in the big board test is really called that!
- Pearls of advertising, for the Winglider Bahia: "Charly always wanted to go to Bahia with Ria. But that's where she went - with Carlos. But then he met the nice people from the club, the ones with the great boards that everyone can ride. Today he doesn't care about Ria, laughs with Maria and surfs in Bahia - our Charly is a real club slider!"
- "This is how dangerous surfing really is", analyses surf, also against the backdrop of some exaggerated horror stories in the national press. The result of almost 4000 windsurfers surveyed: Really serious injuries are very rare, but minor injuries such as grazes, bruises or small cuts are all the more common.
- A topic even back then: cycling to the spot. surf presents three more or less adventurous trailer designs
- Lake Silvaplana and its neighbours are presented as an alpine surfing spot, while Uli Stanciu and his surf team attempt to surf one of the highest mountain lakes in Europe. After two hours of towing, the Lec Grevasalvas turned out to be almost completely windless, with only enough for a few metres of pumping.
- "Is cheap flying illegal?" asks surf, referring not to Ryanair and the like, but to cheap tickets from the "grey market". Nevertheless, the flights still cost several hundred marks
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 4/1983
- surf 10/1983
- surf 9/1984
- surf 12/1984
- surf 8/1985
- surf 8/1986
- surf 9/1986
- surf 5/1987
- surf 8/1988
- surf 5/1989
- surf 7/1989
- surf 4/1990
- 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
