Kitesurfer Alex Caizergues is the first wind powered rider, to achieve a speed of over 100km/h on the water on a 500m course. Currently racing at Luderitz / Namibia. The images are impressive:
Wednesday, 13 October 2010
Tuesday, 14 September 2010
I want my SUP served small, please
Gong SUP shaper, rider, manager, delivery-man, coffee-maker etc Patrice Guénolé seems totally convinced short SUPs are now ready for the market.
Check-out http://www.gongsup.com for a preview of the 2011 board line, which includes several of those short beauties, no longer than 6' and a few inches.
I can't wait to visit him and go for a ride on one of those beauties. Did I mention that the quality seems absolutely heads, shoulders and even hips above anything I've seen on the market? Made of carbon and bamboo fibers (dubbed caribou) and including additional natural components in the manufacturing process, these boards are a step in the right direction towards environment friendliness and are stiff, light, durable and with a mirror like touch!
See by yourself:
http://www.gongsup.com
Check-out http://www.gongsup.com for a preview of the 2011 board line, which includes several of those short beauties, no longer than 6' and a few inches.
I can't wait to visit him and go for a ride on one of those beauties. Did I mention that the quality seems absolutely heads, shoulders and even hips above anything I've seen on the market? Made of carbon and bamboo fibers (dubbed caribou) and including additional natural components in the manufacturing process, these boards are a step in the right direction towards environment friendliness and are stiff, light, durable and with a mirror like touch!
See by yourself:
http://www.gongsup.com
Monday, 6 September 2010
Whales!
http://images.michaelpoliza.com/p920094955/h3c5571a2#h3c5571a2
Monday, 23 August 2010
Cavemen!
Some photos of a nice paddle trip we did, my friend Julio and myself to some caves nearby. Julio is on Inspiro 12', myself on Drops SUP Spirit, with matching red lycras! The Mediterranee is such a nice shore: the ocre of the rocks, the dark green of the pine trees and the deep blue of the sea. We were close to Tamariu on the Costa Brava, at sun rise, because the caves are oriented to the east, so to have some light inside, you must go first thing in the morning. We spent 3 hours exploring this shore:
http://es.wikiloc.com/wikiloc/view.do?id=35216
An unforgettable trip, thanks to the SUP.
http://es.wikiloc.com/wikiloc/view.do?id=35216
An unforgettable trip, thanks to the SUP.
Thursday, 22 July 2010
Formula Windsurfing way faster than kite-sailors around a race course
Interesting report, about the July 17th CalCup, with a clear victory of Formula Windsurfers over kite-surfers on a regatta course (upwind / downwind). The kiters appear to be faster downwind, but the Formula Windsurfing is so superior upwind that kiters are clearly left behind overall. Some extracts:
"2010 Formula Lightweight World Champion Wilhelm Schurmann (BRA-999), Top French Formula Racer Aurelien Le Metayer (FRA-105), and Spanish Formula Champion Fernando Martinez (ESP-71) were all in town for the upcoming 2010 Starboard Severne US Windsurfing National Championships and were on hand to tune and test with the local Cal Cup fleet this past Saturday at the infamous Berkeley Pebble Carpet.
With Kiteboarders Johnny Heineken, Andrew Koch, and Kevin Richards on hand it was going to be interesting to finally put to rest the question of who was faster around the course. With Johnny being one of the top Kiteboarder racers in the country (4th at the 2010 Worlds) and Schurmann a Formula racer of the same caliber it was high noon for the kiteboards. And to end the suspense now todays results proved it’s unequivocal that the Formula boards are faster. Schurmann was sailing his 10.7 Neil Pryde Starboard Kit while Heineken was sailing his 9.0 RRD Mikes Lab set up. Despite sailing a solid race Heineken was just rounding the leeward mark as the top three Formula boards were crossing the finish line. A result that would closely repeat itself across all five races held on the day.
On the Kiting end of things the only one going faster than Schurmann downwind was Heineken. Heineken’s day was like a see-saw; picking up spots on the downwind legs only to give them back on the upwind. None of the kites ever threatened the leaders and most races saw Heineken finishing just inside the top 10 overall"
Source: www.formulawindsurfing.org
"2010 Formula Lightweight World Champion Wilhelm Schurmann (BRA-999), Top French Formula Racer Aurelien Le Metayer (FRA-105), and Spanish Formula Champion Fernando Martinez (ESP-71) were all in town for the upcoming 2010 Starboard Severne US Windsurfing National Championships and were on hand to tune and test with the local Cal Cup fleet this past Saturday at the infamous Berkeley Pebble Carpet.
With Kiteboarders Johnny Heineken, Andrew Koch, and Kevin Richards on hand it was going to be interesting to finally put to rest the question of who was faster around the course. With Johnny being one of the top Kiteboarder racers in the country (4th at the 2010 Worlds) and Schurmann a Formula racer of the same caliber it was high noon for the kiteboards. And to end the suspense now todays results proved it’s unequivocal that the Formula boards are faster. Schurmann was sailing his 10.7 Neil Pryde Starboard Kit while Heineken was sailing his 9.0 RRD Mikes Lab set up. Despite sailing a solid race Heineken was just rounding the leeward mark as the top three Formula boards were crossing the finish line. A result that would closely repeat itself across all five races held on the day.
On the Kiting end of things the only one going faster than Schurmann downwind was Heineken. Heineken’s day was like a see-saw; picking up spots on the downwind legs only to give them back on the upwind. None of the kites ever threatened the leaders and most races saw Heineken finishing just inside the top 10 overall"
Source: www.formulawindsurfing.org
Thursday, 15 July 2010
Laird Hamilton is never late, thanks to his Chanel J12 watch
One of the most elegant riders and surfing legend Laird Hamilton just added even more style to his look, thanks to Chanel making him the ambassador of their J12 chronograph!
Friday, 9 July 2010
Just one wave... but what a wave!
A dream wave, beautifully ridden by Belgian SUPer Arnaud Frennet who lives close to the famous Punta de Lobos wave in Pichilemu / Chili. A 90 second ride, on a perfect, glassy, never ending swell. Enjoy!
Source : Arnaud Frennet
Source : Arnaud Frennet
Monday, 28 June 2010
Moonlight ride
Saturday June 26th, we enjoyed a full moon night, calm seas and mild weather. A bunch of friends met on the beach to sip a warm cup of Cremat (made of flambé rhum, lemon skins, cinnamon, sugar and coffee).
Afterwards, we jumped on our SUP and went paddling to the next cale, of Sa Riera, a 40 minutes ride from the base of Club Vela Pals. The sea was so calm that we were gliding effortlessly. We were 7 paddlers (Julio, Paul, Román, Ramón, Javier, Víctor and myself), plus kayak with Laura and Albert, and 2 catamarans skipped by Kiku and Carlos.
One of the hobbie-cats carried a cooler on board, and treated us to a mid-point gin tonic on the beach of Sa Riera, before we paddled back to Pals.
Afterwards, we jumped on our SUP and went paddling to the next cale, of Sa Riera, a 40 minutes ride from the base of Club Vela Pals. The sea was so calm that we were gliding effortlessly. We were 7 paddlers (Julio, Paul, Román, Ramón, Javier, Víctor and myself), plus kayak with Laura and Albert, and 2 catamarans skipped by Kiku and Carlos.
One of the hobbie-cats carried a cooler on board, and treated us to a mid-point gin tonic on the beach of Sa Riera, before we paddled back to Pals.
Tuesday, 1 June 2010
Robby Naish paddling in Venice
Full report in the Italian diary, la Repubblica.
Robby is in Europe these days for Quiksilver: inauguration party of the new European HQ in Saint Jean de Luz, Basque Country / France, and a new Quiksilver Boardrider Club in Italy (Torbole). He took advantage of this trip to experiment a special paddling session in Venice.
More here: www.repubblica.it/sport/2010/05/29/foto/il_surf_come_una_gondola_robbie_gira_venezia-4422403/1/
Robby is in Europe these days for Quiksilver: inauguration party of the new European HQ in Saint Jean de Luz, Basque Country / France, and a new Quiksilver Boardrider Club in Italy (Torbole). He took advantage of this trip to experiment a special paddling session in Venice.
More here: www.repubblica.it/sport/2010/05/29/foto/il_surf_come_una_gondola_robbie_gira_venezia-4422403/1/
Monday, 17 May 2010
My first Defi Wind
(For Spanish version click: http://www.windsurfer.es/2010/05/22/mi-primer-defi-wind-alain-enault/ )
This 10th anniversary edition, with 1000 participants, was blessed by Eole the wind god. We had stronger and stronger winds the 4 days. Stellar organization and safety, a very funny race, the windsurfing equivalent of the NY marathon mixed with BBQ parties, Woodstock style concerts, a must.
Very grateful to Philippe Bru, event organizer, the 150 safety guards on the water and all the staff on land: you work like horses for us to have fun. A nice video link here to give you an idea of the event:
www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=1296889818512&ref=mf
Anders Bringdal: fastest sailor on the 2010 Défi:
The Spanish colony:
Launching:
Back on the beach:
Ruben and me:
Final results: 248 out of 917. Next year's objective: be under the top 200.
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