Women windsurfing
"Women - far too beautiful to get wet?" asks the provocative line on the surf cover. Author Susanne Scheuer explores the question of why the proportion of women on surfing courses is relatively high (around 60%), but only a fraction of beginners continue windsurfing after the course. "They don't even want to!" replies Martina Loch, a surf instructor and millennial from Lake Garda. "They do it because of their boyfriend or because it's fashionable at the moment. But nothing comes from within!" While Martina is extremely indifferent to appearance when it comes to her numerous extreme sports, she observes a great deal of inhibition and jealousy among her female students. In a (controversial) conversation with the surf author, she appeals to the self-confidence and independence of surfing women: Set your own equipment, set your own goals and boundaries. "With the right mix of feeling and understanding, you can get an incredible amount out of yourself," says Martina. And with her, every student will find a wetsuit that fits!
Transporting surfboards correctly
"A career in broadcasting doesn't start on the radio!" - again and again we are warned about lost surfboards, surf shows how to transport the material correctly. A dry topic? Yes, but the differences are considerable and still largely valid today. Bow forwards and downwards - everyone should have internalised this to some extent. Bowing upwards increases the lift, so the car is basically lifted slightly at the front. Fuel consumption also increases, as does the "cool" variant with the tail forwards and the nose as a kind of spoiler at the rear. It is better to have several boards on top of each other rather than next to each other and, above all, to secure them with good straps. surf tried out two PE boards from "Wild" to see what it looks like if you mess up the loading. The boards flew 20 metres through the air and then skidded another 50 metres across the (cordoned-off!) road. If this hits another car, serious accidents are inevitable. Incidentally, the boards withstood ten attempts relatively unimpressed.
The birth of the One Hour
Today, the "Racer of the Sea" is uncomplicated regatta fun. At the beginning of the nineties, the North One Hour finally brought fun and serenity to the otherwise often doggedly competitive sailing scene. The rules are very simple: a hundred people race around two buoys for an hour, and whoever has the most laps at the end is the winner. Accordingly, counting the laps is the "only hint of bureaucracy", otherwise there are no restrictions on equipment and no obligation to belong to a club. 230 people from A-Cuppers to holidaymakers wanted to take part in the German premiere on Fehmarn, so there had to be qualifying races beforehand to limit the field to a more or less manageable 100 starters. Too much ambition did not go down well: "Two experienced A-Cuppers, who [...] had forgotten the fun character of this event, had to be disqualified: With a roar of 'Space!' they tried to carve out an express lane at the buoys." At the two buoys, which are around 1.6 kilometres apart, there is a "spectacular constant hustle and bustle", because "supplies are constantly coming in from the well-filled buoy track." In order to avoid serious accidents, the sharp noses of the boards had to be wrapped in bubble wrap. After the successful kick-off, the event continued in Husum in 1991, and there was also a big European final. Good times!
Portrait of shape guru Peter Thommen
Thommen's great guys: "On a Thommen board, the world champion should be invincible and the recreational surfer should become a near-world champion," is the philosophy of the shape guru. Thommen is the shooting star of the plane heroes, Björn Dunkerbeck is almost invincible on his boards and the testers are enraptured. The Swiss rider trained with Ed Angulo and Helmut Kirner before he turned the shop upside down at F2. "There are probably a lot of people who don't like me," says Thommen - even internally, there have always been tensions with the Euro team around Werner Gnigler. His boards, on the other hand, speak for themselves, even if Thommen's philosophy is difficult to reconcile with the fidgety Sputniks of the early nineties from today's perspective. The best board is the one that is easiest to ride - "A statement that you've never heard from a 'Formula 1 shaper' before," says surf author Gerd Kloos in amazement. But Thommen's hobbyhorse is also weight; he is a friend of new, lightweight construction methods. "Sensitivity to impact is no longer an issue for me," he replies almost brusquely to the cautious question about durability. "If a surfer thinks he has to drag the board over the rocks into the water, then he should please keep his hands off such a board!" Dunkerbeck trusts the shaper blindly, mainly giving his impressions and not getting involved in the details: "People who give lectures on why something doesn't work belong off the beach anyway!"
By the way: A board from Peter Thommen also features in our latest early gliding test. He and Werner Gnigler explained their early gliding philosophy to us in an interview: Peter Thommen & Werner Gnigler - early gliding in light winds
You can click through the entire magazine in the gallery above!
And what else?
- "Block formation" in terms of fin systems: Fanatic presents the Trimbox as a competitor to the Mistral and F2 Powerbox. It is adjustable, because with a fixed position, "power losses [...] are unavoidable", according to the developer. Fanatic offered the system licence-free for reproduction - around ten years later, the box died out again
- The surf cover with the beach beauty was chosen by visitors to several surf parties. "So far, we haven't dared to run a 'hot' cover," admits the editorial team
- surf goes on television: The monthly windsurfing magazine "Fun TV", produced by surf and World Cup marketer Matthias Neumann, will be broadcast on the "Sportkanal" from autumn 1991
- "Robby rode like an old man," wrote a US newspaper after Naish's defeat in front of Hookipa. The "now 28-year-old" legend commented on this, garnished with a few nice swear words - in German, in front of the ZDF camera.
- Ralf Bachschuster counters Mike Eskimo, who had claimed in a surf interview two months earlier that no one in Team Germany had a "feel for the wave" apart from Robby Seeger and that he - Eskimo - was the "best-known windsurfer in the world" after Naish. Bachschuster: "Anyone who gives interviews like that will be pitied at best."
- It hurts to even think about it: surf tortured a lot of boards to the point of total damage for a board quality test. The break, fin box, edge and standing surface were tested in the laboratory. The range was wide: while some boards were significantly more durable than required, others were "only allowed to leave the water for transport" to avoid damage.
- Andy Wolff was the shooting star of the German windsurfing scene in the late nineties and surf first introduced the huge talent in 1991. By the time he was twelve, he had already mastered a whole host of tricks, was supported by Tiga and was out to beat the cracks on Lake Garda. Andy's parents encouraged him by travelling and, at first, providing him with self-made equipment: "When young people are off the streets and surfing, they smoke, drink and hash less!" says his mother Wolff.
- In Wustrow, Oli Kuschke's surf centre is a thorn in the side of the mayor: he bans flags and showers in order to divert campers to the region's hotel beds. Oli: "He acts like he's in kindergarten." Oli had more staying power, the centre was even used as a film set a few years ago: How the Wustrow surf centre became a film set
- A fixed speed strip including measurement was installed at Wulfener Hals on Fehmarn. For 15 marks you can speed through the light barriers at almost any time, and at the end you get a certificate and the chance to win prizes.
- From after-work spots to weekend destinations: surf presents the best spots for windsurfers in Berlin.
More surf reviews:
- surf 4/1977
- surf 6/1977
- 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 9/1998
- surf 4/1999
- surf 7/2001
- surf 5/2005
- surf 3/2006
Tobias Frauen
Editor
