Spot Guide Fuerteventura and the "SS American Star"
The wreck of the ocean giant "SS American Star" at Playa del Garcey was still a spectacular backdrop for the extensive spot guide on Fuerteventura in 1999. It was no coincidence that the front part of the ship, which ran aground in 1994, also adorned the lead story, together with a Disney sail from North on a deep blue wave. At the time, it was 20 years ago that Fuerte had established its reputation as a windy and versatile windsurfing destination. "In the years that followed, countless panda pilots sniffed around the island in search of the ideal break," writes author Christian Tillmanns. At the same time, mass tourism began and with it the construction boom. In 1999, the "unruly pile of sand in the Atlantic" was one of the top spots in Europe, just as it is today. In addition to the legendary World Cup in Sotavento, the waves on the North Shore and the stories of numerous locals and visitors have also contributed to this. The World Cup spot in Sotavento offers the best infrastructure with the Egli Centre and its 850 rigs and 300 boards (!), while other spots don't even have a road. The north is particularly rough: Mejillones - the "horror reef" - is "the right spot for those who are tired of life", in Puerto Lajas "the entry into the water is so annoying that only a few freaks do it". The construction boom of the nineties has now died down, meaning that Fuerte is still one of the most popular Euro spots for all skill levels. Only the "SS American Star" is hardly to be seen anymore, it has been destroyed by waves and wind over the years, so that only a few remains lie on the seabed.
How windsurf masts are made
Masts and their carbon content are a perennial favourite, just as they were at the end of the nineties. Back then, surf was allowed to take a look behind the scenes at the "Eros centre of all carbon fetishists", the mast production facility at Reglass in Bologna, Italy. It describes in detail how a windsurfing mast is made from countless tiny carbon fibres. In addition to the quality of the raw materials, the composition of different orientations and angles of the fibres is crucial. "Building a stable mast is not difficult, it only gets tricky when you want to construct the lightest and yet sufficiently durable mast," explains one of the technicians. In addition to the theory, surf also compared various sails, each with three different mast options of 30, 60 and 100% carbon. None of the masts survived the test - because all of them were then bent to bursting point in the laboratory to measure their durability.
Camping World Cup on the Baja California
With prize money totalling 50,000 dollars, the O'Neill Wave Classic attracted the windsurfing elite to Punta San Carlos on the Baja California in Mexico. The 1500 kilometre-long headland is known for its magnificent waves as well as its endless sandy slopes, poisonous animals, cold nights and hostile desert areas. Those who didn't want to make the journey themselves could join a motorhome convoy from San Diego, including Robby Seeger, who reported for surf on "probably the most unusual event in Word Cup history". Instead of a beach with thousands of spectators, event set-up, hotels and full catering, the wave stars found themselves in a few mini tents in the middle of the desert. Naish, Flessner and a few others were "not up for a scout camp", but with the Sivers, the Stones (Josh and Jason, not Mick and Keith), the Bakers, Jason Polakow, Robert Teriitehau, Björn Dunkerbeck and a few others, the contest still had a top line-up. After an exhausting journey far away from civilisation, a familiar feeling awaits the pros: the water is "as frosty as Sylt in October". The waves are all the better for it, they break at Punta San Carlos "almost perfectly, a little slower and not as powerful as Hookipa." Polakow and Baker are much more radical than the rest with new, 2.20 metre short boards and end up deservedly at the top. "Polakow is now surfing in a league of his own," says head judge Klaus Michel. In between, there are repeated heavy downpours on the Baja California, which cause the rivers to swell and make the return journey an ordeal - "80 kilometres in six hours".
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And what else?
- Mistral, which recently came under the same roof as Fanatic, also wants to use the new sister brand's production facility for boards with the m Dot. Many brands still have their production facilities in Malaysia, but the top boards now come almost exclusively from Cobra. In Europe, only AHD, F2, Bic, Schütz and Rotex/HiFly still operate their own factories.
- At the World Cup on Lake Neusiedl, there was only a faint breeze on two days, and the first round was completed with difficulty. In the end there were 16 first places, the heavier riders started a signature campaign against the classification
- Advertising gems: no surfers, no water, no action - and yet hardly any other advert conveys the feeling after a good day's surfing as well as the ad for watch brand G-Shock. A hand that is struggling to hold a boom full of spaghetti, accompanied by the slogan "Back in the sun, back from abrasions, back from exhaustion. Now charge the battery. And the same again tomorrow. Pasta and that's it."
- The boards are getting wider: F2 Xantos, On Free, Mistral Vision and others are going wider. Simmer Style presents a freeride sail with a boom at the top, Monty Spindler returns with his own brand "The Loft" after leaving ART
- You have to be able to let go sometimes: Because "three out of four unfinished power jibes fail due to shifting", the right time to rotate the sail is demonstrated.
- In the manoeuvre special "Cool Moves", freestyle icon Josh Stone shows 24 manoeuvres from basics such as back riding and hand-wash jibes to volcano and spock. A bible for whole generations of up-and-coming freestylers
- Trim points in the sail, now widely used, still required a licence at the end of the nineties. surf shows the correct trim to paint the points on the sail yourself.
- To reveal secret spots or not? In the letters to the editor, opinions differ on this question. One person "doesn't want to keep avoiding the climbers", another complains about "noisy Heiopeis from Wanne-Eikel" who invade with motorhomes and barbecues. At the same time, there are many voices in favour of consideration and understanding. A never-ending story...
- A treat for fans of endless tables: For the "way to the right board" there is an extensive matrix of test scores, then board weights from the brochure are compared with reality
More surf reviews:
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- surf 11-12/1996
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Tobias Frauen
Editor
