Ezzy Wave Panther 3 (III) 2011

New Ezzy Wave Panther 3s (III) will be arriving in UK sometime between late december and early January.

It looks like Dave Ezzy has rounded the clew and changed the panel layout, slightly reducing the technora leech panel and increasing the centre scrim (non-clear) panel.

From a handling point-of-view, on the 2011 Ezzy Wave Panther prototype that I tried in Maui in March: this will reduce the apparent weight of the sail (giving a lighter feel in your hands when you are on the water).

There will be 3 new colours available.
Prices to be confirmed.
If you want any more information, please contact simon@2xs.co.uk / 0774 775 8883

Fanatic and North 2011 Dealer trip to Mauritius

Simon Bassett was sent out to test some of the new 2011 Fanatic and North products at the Indian resort in La Mourne, Mauritius -a tough job but someone has to do it.

Simon:
Nik Baker told me before we left that we have all the Fanatic SUPs, North kite gear and Fanatic windsurfing toys available to us to use every day. When we got there it seemed to get better than paradise island -the itinerary seemed pretty good – yoga with Kirsty Jones(until she damaged her leg kiting)- paddle surfing then windsurfing or kiting all day. Then drink as much beer and rum as you could, all on Baker’s tab.

The place is an awesome 15 square miles of warm flat water with side shore, port tack winds. The outer reef, Manawa which is pretty amazing is around 100 meters offshore – a smaller inner reef called “little reef “ which bends round and turns into a fast charging hollow barrel called One Eye.

Not only did we get some decent wind and swell, but we had some of the worlds top riders on hand, On the windsurf frontk, Marcillo Browne, “Brawzihno”, World No1 Victor Fernandez and Klass Voget who were testing new boards and busting the big moves on the water. Sebastian Wetzel the shaper from Fanatic was on hand with North sail designer Kai Hopf.
There was a good crowd of UK dealers out on the trip – Callumn Edge, recent 2010 BKSA kitesurfing course race champion was looking after the kite side of things with the usual suspects at the bar each evening: Jamie Dodds, Jane and Pete Stephens, Craig, Jordy, Bucky the fashion king, Dave, Little John, Rick, Lisa, Matt from the Gower and Mark, the rum lord from Whitstable .
I caught up with Simon Bornhoft who was on a coaching trip on the beach and Wittering regulars Rom and his wife who were enjoying the place.

If you’ve not been before then put Mauritius on the list – great place for kids other halfs and awesome on and off the water.

Pics by Simon Bassett / Jamie Dodds

Inspirational Forward Loop tips from Victor Fernandez (E42)

When it comes to jumping, Victor Fernandez is undoubtedly one of the best windsurfers in the world. He is currently ranked number 1 in the PWA wave fleet after beating Koster at Gran Canaria and just losing out to Kauli Seadi in Klitmoller.

He took the time to quickly give us some forward loop tips at a recent dealer meeting in Mauritius:

What advice can you give to someone who is trying their first forwards?
Just when you feel prepare to do your first try, choose a good day with little ramps,4.5 sail size good power but never power up and try to grab the boom with your hands separated to spin very sideways. I think if you do this you can break through the fear barrier, that´s how it worked for me when I was 11 years old!

How do you spot your landing when everything happens so fast?
A good landing normally comes when you have a good start at the beginning of the move. Having good speed before starting any move for me is one of the keys to land a move properly.

If you were to give 3 tips on landing planing forwards consistently, what would they be?

  • Good speed before getting the ramp to get enough high on the beginning,
  • Move your hands back of the boom to give an extra push an make the rotation more sideways,
  • Once you rotate the move open the sail a bit to stop the spin

And here is the master at ‘home’ in Pozo:


http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xcn8zt_victor-fernandez-pozo_sport

A Short Interview with Marcillo Browne (BRA 105) about Fanatic Quads and Single Fins

Brawzinho (Marcillo Browne) has taken the wavesailing world by storm in the last few years. He is leading the way in combining the best wavesailing with modern freestyle and is incredible to watch on the water.

In 2009 he claimed 4th Place in Cabo Verde (big waves, down the line) and 4th place in Lanzarote (freestyle) – truly an alround genius!

Simon Bassett in a recent dealer trip to Mauritius (such a hard life) and he gave us the following information on these new Fanatic Quads:

Marcillo Browne
Height : 1,88 m

Weight : 86 Kg

A lot of people don’t tune their boards much, do you think it makes much difference to these new quads moving the fins and the mast base?
For sure a big diference, having them on the right place fully changes the performance of the board . It took a lot of time to find the right distance, angles … Etc . But now we have a pretty good set up for all conditions I would say .

How do you like to set yours up (fins and mast base)? Do you change them much for different conditions?
The front fins on our boards are already set in the best position we found while testing . For me i usually have a distance of ” 2,5 fingers ” in betwenn fins. The mast base normally a bit more in front of the center, but depending on conditions i move it around. If its more onshore and smaller waves a put it a bit more towards the back. If the waves are bigger and more down the line conditions i would have it more towards the front .

What do you think these new Quads offer to the average Joe-Punter over a single or twin?
They are great for all levels . With the quads it’s just easier to go where you want in the waves, and also to recover when something goes wrong. Not only on the waves, but also in general they are able with even bigger sizes hold up much more wind than normal singles or twins. For example, it would be easy to sail on a 86 quad even on sizes like 4,5 , the board would still turn amazing and not feel over powered. So people could probably have less boards and still be able to have lots of fun on all conditions .

When it comes to riding, how do the new Quads differ from the twin fins?
The front fins give some extra control and stability to the board and also add lots of drive, allowing better performance on bigger waves . Also, for smaller waves I think it made it easier . Much more control when hitting white water, releasing tail and keep much more speed in the wave . This boards have extra projection so its easier to accelerate with the power of the wave instead of with the wind on the sail . In general i think it makes a bit easier for everything, its just a lot more control .

Do you think the tail slide is going out and the gouge is coming back in?
Oh yes , during the past few seasons the level of riding from everyone has rised a lot . Pretty much all riders on tour are sailing a lot better, people now are reading waves way better, sailing closer to the pocket and also using the rails a lot more . Also with the lastest super high performance production boards everyone has a chance to sail the same boards as the top riders, so also guys that only sail for fun have been improving really really fast .

Are the quad fin boards making much of a difference to your jumping over the twin fin?
The difference is not that big as for wavering, but i think its a bit easier to set up before the ramps, even when coming full speed, to keep that extra control before the jump .

Do you think that the quads are as good as the old trusty single fin for jumping?
I think if we are talking only jumping i would say a single fin is still a bit better. Its for sure a bit faster as it has less drag, and also has more push in the back of the board which helps to go higher.

Is there else that you think people need to know about the new boards?
Humm, i dont know, i just think we have a pretty complete range of wave boards right now . The single fins have flatter rocker lines, they go really fast, amazing for jumping and still turn pretty well, for example Victor and Klass are competing in the world cup with those boards . The quads are the line with more rocker curve, made specially for high performance wave riding but also working on all kinds of conditions, they are my personal choice for the season as well as other riders , have been riding them all around and loving it . The twins are something in between in terms of rocker, it feels pretty fast, still turns amazing and does all the new school tricks.

Thanks Brawzinho

Just take a look at this short clip of Marcillo… double wave taka anyone??:

Double Air Taka attemp from marcilio browne on Vimeo.

Neal Gent is BSUPA SUP Surf 2010 National Champion.


A big well done for Neal for becoming National champion, Bobby and Matt also did very well in the comp. The guys from the Witterings did pretty well at the BSUPA nationals down in Watergate Bay last weekend. With no waves at any of the other events this year it meant Watergate became the Nationals!

The surf was head high in the morning and glassy, but became more challenging through the rounds as a sideshore breeze came up and the swell dropped. We were lucky though, with enough conditions to run right through the comp in one day. It was really noticeable that the average board length has dropped loads since last year- most were between 8’4” and 9’2”, which is about a foot less than last year! John Hibbard had some new starboards down to 7’4”. Even in this really small surf the shorter boards were standout all day. Matt Argyle SUP GLOBAL-2XS and i were both riding Nah-Skwell 8′”8″s which have already shown they can still rip in Wittering mush!! It’s amazing how quickly you can get these boards going and the shorter length and surfboard style outline make decent turns possible even in small stuff. Definitely helped us both make the final! My tactic of waiting further out for the sets rather than surfing lower scoring small inside waves nearly let me down in the final, but near the end of the heat I got lucky and rode a couple of ‘bigger’ sets and narrowly beat John Hibbard for the event win and the national title! Matt didn’t get quite as lucky with his waves and took fourth in the final having surfed well all day.

In the ladies, Bobby Cooper (2XS/Fanatic) narrowly missed top spot taking 2nd, and Claire Blacklock took 3rd, with difficult conditions making wave selection a bit of a lottery. Sunday saw Bobby take the racing silverware as well-having raced in two classes this year she actually managed to place 2nd overall in both for the year!! In tiny but clean waves we finished with an expression session, and my run of luck with the waves lasted one more heat!! About the only decent wave in all three heats arrived twenty seconds after my heat started and i managed enough to get a 7.0 wave score which turned out to win the expression session as well!!

That’s it for the events this year, but it was great to see a load of new riders attend, even if they weren’t challenging for the medals-it’s a great social and if you’re eying a new board it’s a perfect chance to try out some of next years kit!

All pics Bob Berry/BSUPA

Tabou / Gaastra Demo this Saturday 16th October

The Tabou and Gaastra demo will go ahead this Saturday 16th October at West Wittering Windsurf Club.

There is a tonne of kit for you to come and try. The current forecast is for medium Northerly winds, so it should be enough to come down and test some brand new 2011 equipment….FOR FREE!

The following kit will be there for anyone to try out (there is no day launching fee for people trying this demo kit):

Boards

106 Tabou 3S Ltd
Tabou Da Cuvre Quad 85
Tabou Pocket 80 Tri Fin
Tabou Pocket 75 Tri Fin
Tabou Twister 100

Sails
Gaastra Manic H.D 4.2
Gaastra Manic 4.7
Gaastra Poison 4.7
Gaastra iQ 5.4
Gaastra Remedy 5.6

Hope to see you down there

Cheers

Emile

The 2010 WWWC End of Season Party Photos (Crouchers Hotel)

We had our usual end of season bash at Crouchers Hotel. This season was very busy with more than 90 people attending, so it was all set for a good night.

The end of season awards were once again given to the windsurfers and kiters as voted for by the WWWC and 2XS crew.

On the kitesurfing front we had 3 nominees: Jess Napper, Olivia Tayler and John Hamer with John Hamer claiming the victory.

The Windsurfing trophy was between Martin Edmead, Justin Goodwin and Paul Simmons -the winner was Justin Goodwin.

The rippers award for best junior was between 4 riders: James Arnell Smith, Jack Petit, James Andrews and Alex Mckirgan – the winner was Jack Petit.

The food as usual was very good. There was plenty of drunken behaviour and some nice shapes on the dance floor – saw Emile hanging of the beams in the restaurant. Lara got plenty of attention with gold lama stretch tight pants. Lots of people turned up in boardies and DJs- Check the pic of Mike Stewart with his cowboy boots. Good to see plenty of new faces: Andy and Caroline, Mark Way, Danny and Zoe – Plenty of hangovers in the morning!

We must thank Jane who organised it, and Lloyd, Lynn, Carlos and all crew at Crouchers.

Check out all the pics here:

Gaastra / Tabou demo at West Wittering Windsurf Club 16th or 17th October

Gaastra / Tabou Demo at West Wittering Windsurf Club 16th or 17th October

Emile Kott (2XS / ex Boards Magazine tester) and Will Barratt will be at West Wittering Windsurf Club offering FREE DEMOS on the latest 2011 gear from Gaastra Sails and Tabou Boards with help from 2XS and X-Train.

This year, the Gaastra and Tabou ranges have been fully reworked and it is well worth heading to West Wittering to check out the gear and try it out on the water.
We will call the date of the demo as early as possible – we will go for the windier of the two days. We will announce the date on the Boards Forum and the 2XS Blog.
The following gear will be available for you to come and try:
The West Wittering launching fee will be waivered for anyone who wishes to try some gear, so not only will we have the latest gear for you to try, we will have it rigged and ready to go – and all you have to pay is the day’s Car Park charge of £5.
To find your way to West Wittering Windsurf Club, see Google Maps
If you are interested and intend to come to the demo, please fill out this form:

Watergate Bay SUP contest 16th/17th October

Competition Format:

SUP Surf
SUP Distance
SUP Wave Expression supported by
Westcountry Watersports
(Subject to time and conditions)

Entry Fee:
£30 for pre-paid entry (until Fri 15th Oct 6pm)
Last Entry for this will be 6pm Friday 15th October.
Contact Claire Blacklock: claire.blacklock@bsupa.org.uk
£35 for all entry’s on the day. Cash & Cheque Only
All competitors will need to be and hold a valid BSUPA Membership to compete.

Saturday Night
Relax and share the dates competitions with your fellow competitors at the Phoenix Bar Watergate Bay.
£10 a ticket which includes food and first drink.
Its the last competition of the year so come along, bring your friends and join in the fun.

Full schedule of events and times will be published over the next few days along.

Individual questions relating to this event please contact Richard Marsh at masthighltd@me.com