Check out the PWA livestream from Sylt, Germany.
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Currently the PWA World Tour is visiting Denmark and the live stream just went live. So if you like seeing some good wave action from Cold Hawaii…you are on the right place!
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Bjorn Dunkerbeck managed to secure the PWA slalom world title with still one event to go. Congratulations to Bjorn! Good to see someone else winning again. Not that I have anything against Antoine Albeau but after winning several world titles in a row it is good to see somebody else win again. The same happened a while back in the Formula 1 where Michael Schumacher was taking all the wins successively. That became a bit boring after a while.
Bjorn Dunkerbeck - PWA World Champoin 2011. Photo by PWA / John Carter
In my opinion it would even be better to see someone win who has never won before instead of Bjorn, Ben van der Steen for example. That will shows to the other windsurfers that it’s still possible to win a world title between all the “old” guys. On the other hand Bjorn Dunkerbeck and Antoine Albeau show how incredible talented they are because they are so consistent in their performances over the years.
Let’s see what will happen in Sylt, Germany. That will be the last race/slalom stop of the PWA Tour 2011.
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Usually I don’t just post videos but this one is just awesome. The footage of Jaws and the editing is just great. It’s almost a mini documentary. Check out Jason Polakow presents Jaws.
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We are just in the second part of 2011 and the first new 2012 windsurfing sails are hitting the market. North Sails released the new wave sail range for 2012. Besides familiar models, like the Ice and Duke, they also released two new ones. The new wave sails are called the Hero and ID Ultralight. Check out the introduction videos below:
Intro video for the North Sails Hero 2012:
Watch more about the new 2012 wave sails
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The Windsurfer International Magazine has been released for July 2011. No racing or slalom tips in this issue like other issues. For me the most appealing article was the Defi Wind event guide. I tried to participate in the Defi Wind a few years ago but due to the bad conditions no races were completed.
Go check it out:
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Update: Read on to see who won the Planet Reef tickets
We are boarding with the Ocean Diva once again for the sexiest party in the Netherlands: Planet Reef. And you can also join the party on the 12th of June and see who will become the new Miss Reef Holland because the pre sale has started. But of course it would be better to go for free and spend some extra money on drinks for your friends (or yourself 
). Mad Windsurfing offers you 2×2 tickets for you to win. Nice!
Read how you can win tickets for Planet Reef 2011
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Boujmaa Guilloul had a big crash recently while attempting the triple forward loop. Luckily he is fine now. He has some footage to see what went wrong because the attempt was filmed with a GoPro camera. As you can see below, the crash is pretty extreme. Not strange that Ricardo Campello was wearing a helmet during his triple loop attempts.
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Reef Holland is looking for the new Dutch Miss Reef 2011. If you are a beautiful girl with a nice bum and want to compete with other breathtaking girls, sign up for the competition. Hurry up, because the deadline is the 1st of may. The winner will get two tickets to an exotic destination. Nice!
Read how you can become the new Miss Reef Holland 2011
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Finally I have the boards and sails that I always wanted. I went to BOOT (the boat show in Düsseldorf) and was lucky to find a Starboard isonic 121. A new one but then the 2010 model. I usually don’t buy new boards because buying them second hand can save you a lot of money. A few months back I bought an isonic 101 (2008) for 550 euros with 2 Drake fins. Not bad at all.
I was also looking for an older second hand model, mainly because that would have saved me a some money. But the deal I got on BOOT was to good to walk away from. So I took the isonic 121 home. Let’s hope I made the right choice because other people would have swapped the 121 for a 131.
The most important reason for having two boards is to maximize my time on the water. I always had 1 board and this was always a board around 105 liters. Great for mid wind but not in high or low winds. And since I gained some weight lately I wasn’t able to stay afloat anymore (i’m currently 107 KG) . With this new purchase I have a fantastic board for lighter winds and from mid to strong winds I can use the 101.
Why go for Starboard and not another brand? Starboard has a great reputation since they are winning a lot of races and a lot of heavy windsurfers are really happy with the isonics. I also heard and read that they can have a lot of back foot pressure. That’s good since I like to give a lot of back foot pressure without worrying to much about a spin out. Also Neilpryde racing sails tend to make people give a bit more back foot pressure. So stylistically that would be a good combo. Besides that, I have owned a hypersonic for several years now and I have always been happy with the performance.
My new sail, the Neilpryde RS Slalom MKIII 8.6, is meant for light wind sessions. I chose this sail because I have already have 2 RS Slaloms and I like them. The X6 490 mast can be used in the 8.6 which means I don’t have to buy a new mast, great! (although a X9 is recommended).
Sometimes my equipment was limiting my possibilities to go windsurf but that’s not the case anymore. Spring has begun and I’m stoked to get on the water and improve my GPS Speeds.
To summarize my equipment for this season (and probably the next seasons):
Sails
Neilpryde RS Slalom MKIII 8.6
Neilpryde RS Slalom 7.8 – by far my most used sail size.
Neilpryde RS Slalom MII 6.7
Neilpryde V8 6.0
Boards
Starboard Isonic wood 121 (2010)
Starboard Isonic wood 101 (2008)
What will be in your quiver for 2011?
p.s. This also means that I’m selling my Starboard Hypersonic 105. If you are interested, contact me here.
p.p.s. Are you wondering what kind of equipment a pro windsurfer has? Take look Robby Swift’s his van and you will get an impression.
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