Click on the picture to check out any of these windsurf clips on our Vimeo channel. Our favourite? Josh at home. Or no: Graham Ezzy goes down south. Did we say Graham Ezzy, no we meant 2 Days in Morocco, for sure 2 Days in Morocco! Or actually… maybe you’d better check for yourself.

Click here to view the embedded video.

If you can understand Spanish you will notice Alex says he won in Gran Canaria when he actually won in Sylt! I guess fame and doing TV interviews takes a bit of practice…

In whatcha ridin we’re checking out what the umi boys are riding and why. Third in this series is three times PWA wave world champion Kauli Seadi. In 2007 Kauli paved the path towards multifin boards when he first introduced his twinzers at the Cabo Verde world cup. A year later almost all riders were using twinfins and now most brands have a twinfin range in their production line up. Time for Kauli to take it one step further: from twins to quads. We asked him about his different boards and the latest developments.

You seem to bring more boards with you on tour than any other riders.
‘I am always working on my boards, looking for the ultimate shape to implement my surfing style into windsurfing. The development of boards is where my passion lies. This is where the possibilities to improve the level is so I push it hard.’

Your boards look different from the JP production boards, why is that?
‘Of course since I am developing the boards, I will try out different shapes. I try out different outlines, tail shapes, I move the fins around to see what works best. If I would just use the boards we already have we wouldn’t be able to make any progress!’

You have all sorts of boards, let start with the single fins, what can you tell about those?
‘The single fin here I made last year for the world cup in Sylt. The rocker is a bit flatter and the board is quite wide and long so it goes through the white water really well. It is really Sylt oriented: the board measures about 57,5 cm wide and has a bit of a winger, I tend to use a lot of back foot at some point and if there’s too much area in the tail it doesn’t turn so well. With the quads I have been able to open the width point of the board and with the fins near the rail you can still use the rail with the wider tails but with just one fin in the centre the board is too wide and it was not really working. In the last Sylt event I used this single fin in the expression session at the last day. Dead onshore, walls of white water, it just works better then cause it gives me more speed.’

What can you tell us about your quads?
‘The quad was something that I designed to follow the same philosophy of a twin. I wanted to improve some of the things that I missed from a single fin and combine it with the things I loved about twins. Twins are manoeuvrable boards and you can mix back foot riding with rail riding. Quads are a bit more stiff but still have the feel of using the rails like twins have, these boards are almost all the time rail oriented for a true surf feel, which really suits my style.
‘I have been experimenting with the quads for over a year now. At first we had a flat tail, but with the fish tail it seemed to work a bit better. I had a winger in the tail which enabled me to get a straighter line through the foot straps to get a bit more projection in the turns. The first quads I played around a bit and now after many prototypes I have gone back to a more traditional rounded pintail with slight wingers.’

When do you use your quads?
‘I use the quad for most conditions now, but specially for side onshore wave riding they are nice when there are good size waves. My quads are like twinzers with stabilisers in the front. It intensified the transition from a single to a twin: the single was like a fast board on which you couldn’t really use the rails. Then with the twinzer you could already use the rails much more. The quad is like two times more: you can really use the rails. You can still feel a bit like a twin, you keep the loose feeling. The quads do longer turns, they are more drivey. At the same time if you step hard you can do short turns like on twins. In the Sylt contest with pretty onshore conditions I used my 57 cm wide quad in the first single elimination, which for me is a really big board. The wind was super strong: 4.5 full power and I was still riding easy with a lot of control.’

Is there still space for twinfins in your boardbag?
‘Yes of course! When I get stronger winds I prefer the twinfins to the quads. With a quad you need to do proper turns, with twinfins you can do snappier turns on the tail. For that a twinfin works better. The twin is a bit more agile and manoeuvrable , the quad tend to draw a bit longer lines. The twin fin make you use more of the rail and they give the rider that fluid style… more lose and connected to the wave.’

What about the bottom shape of your boards?
‘All my boards have concave to double concave and a bit of V through the middle around the mast track to improve the rail to rail qualities. We keep that same bottom shape on all the boards as it works very well.’

What’s with the outline of the boards?
‘The outline of my twinfins used to be a bit longer and straighter than my quads, but I now work with the same outlines for my quads and twinfins. The biggest challenge was to find the right fin position for the quads. The setup is very important and it took me a very long time to find out the right combination.’

Quad surfboards usually have the bigger fins in front, why did you choose to have the big fins in the back?
‘Surfboards get speed from the wave, windsurfboards run on the flats as well so you need something to give you speed, otherwise you will be too slow. Since back fins give more projection and speed, I chose to have the bigger fins in the back. I tried many different ways and in the end I found out the best setup was with the back ones closer together, and the side ones closer to the rail. When the fins are too big in the front I get the feeling that I get stuck too much in the rails, you cannot go rail to rail very easily.’

The final question to clear it all up: what’s for when?
‘For side-onshore wave riding conditions I use quads now. They really draw lines and you have good control. With twins you lose a bit of control, but in onshore conditions with smaller waves, when you want to be turning a bit more I think a twinfin is better. Single fins I only use when it is really onshore and the riding is mostly backside.
‘I think for someone who has always just used single fins it is better to first learn how to sail a twinzer waveboard. Learn to use the rails, to lean the body more forward and then move to a quad. With the quad I make most of my turns with the rails, that’s how you manoeuvre. This is also why it is good to have the small fins close to the rails, as they provide just the amount of grip you need.’

© all photos taken by Divulgacao Destino Azul, John Carter/PWA, Mitchyll Ferris. umi 2010

The February issue of Windsurfer International has an 8 page article on Jamie Hancock in it. Check out our favourite freshman here!

UK wave sailor and umi editor Jamie Hancock is currently in Cape Town training for the coming PWA and UK wave tours. He proves that with the right attitude Cape Town offers sailing conditions pretty much every day, even when the wind is off… you just have to put in the miles!

It’s a really strange season out here with lots of low pressures and unusual wind patterns. I’ve been staying with Benny van der Steen this year which is pretty much little and large – his high wind board is 93 litres and I think my biggest sail (4.4m) is his smallest! With the dodgy wind patterns there is usually one spot that works at a time instead of when the usual trade winds blow which seems to spread all the windsurfers about a bit across the beaches. Nevertheless we’ve been getting as much time in the water as possible. So far it has been pretty sick, but not without its disasters and putting in the miles!

About a week ago the forecast looked reasonably good for Elands and as nothing was happening in Cape Town we decided to drive out there. On the way we tried to find Swartriet to get some pics for the trip but got lost on some very ‘local’ lady’s farm. After finally making it to Elands we ended up still waiting for the wind to kick in with only two hours of light left in the day – so we made the call to head back to Paternoster which had reports of a little wind. Fortunately we managed to make it out before dark and catch a few logo high waves which ‘just’ about made the 500 km worthwhile.

The next day was down to Cape Point with northwest winds (starboard tack) from a passing low pressure storm.  It was somewhere I have always wanted to sail in a north westerly wind but I never really made it past Witsands or Scarborough. There were reports from the new RRD head honcho Mr John Skye that it had been good there so we decided to join him and Flo Jung at the Cape peninsula. This was probably one of the best days since I have been here so far: cross off, clean waves and not mega busy.

After a few days with light wind evening sessions at Sunset Beach, we decided to gamble on sailing a bit further down the coast in front of the shipwreck to get away from the standard crowds and take some photos. It ended up being much better than we expected: the swell picked up and with just me, Skyeboy, Ross Williams, Flo Jung, Peter Volwater and Mart we could pretty much get any wave we wanted. It was also a pretty cool view whilst out sailing with the shipwreck and table mountain in the background. Definitely another one to chalk up on the board as a classic day sailing with chums. The forecast is looking pretty good too, a much more normal looking one – joy.

© all photos by Femke Hoogland – Tot en met ontwerpen

Here’s a cool shot of Jonas Ceballos enjoying some rare sideshore action at Pozo and showing off the umi logo perfectly! Cheers man, you’re a legend. It will be interesting to see who signs him up this year –  Jonas has been really consistent over the past years and with the tour being totally port tack this year he has to be a strong contender for the final podium…

Thanks to Dani at Cutre for the shot.

I am sure we have all seen or read about Dany Bruch’s epic big wave sessions along the north Tenerife coastline. I have been dying to get over there to check and film the action for myself and luckily enough this winter things came together. As usual it was a crazy little trip organised at the last possible moment after a couple of forecasts turned bad, but we managed to get two days of filming in excellent conditions. Filming big waves is really tough as they break so far out and often the rider will be on a wave behind another wave covering the view; it can really make you feel like you are in the wrong place at the wrong time! When you do get the action though, it is something else. One thing I will always remember about this session – and I am not one for having much sympathy with pro windsurfers (let’s face it they have a pretty good job), is the launch from the rocks. Definitely the worst I have ever seen. Kudos boys!

What?
Dany: ‘It was the end of November after a few fresh first winter swells. I was sailing with Alex Mussolini and another mate from Tenerife, just some friends in sick conditions, having a lot of fun racing down some good walls.’

Where?
Dany: ‘It all happened in the North of Tenerife, one hour driving away from El Cabezo on a very well known surfing spot. We can’t tell the name, as locals are pretty ‘bad boys’ and would not allow windsurfing crowds starting to appear in the future. We’ll keep it as our home secret playground.’

Click here to view the embedded video.

Conditions?
Dany: ‘The conditions were pretty strong wind for a light forecast really. On the first day we had 20 to 25 knots starboard tack sailing. The wind was side to side-off shore and we had logo to mast and a bit high waves. The second day was less strong with a bit more swell on the sets. I would say mast to mast and a half… maybe sometimes a bit more?! We had amazing fun out there, just the three of us loving life. The second day I went alone, but I ended up sharing waves with some other friends that were doing tow-in surfing… pretty nuts what these guys do during the winter here on the north shore. Sometimes the goods are not so far away from home, you just need to open your eyes to see them!’

© Photos by CMD – umi 2010

With it being the time of year that every man and his dog hits the beaches around Cape Town it seemed a good idea to make this month’s slideshow about this popular winter destination. I had a great time on this trip with British wavesailor John Hibbard back when I was just taking photos. John is a really laid back guy off the water and a total professional to work with on the water – ideal for a good photoshoot. Cape Town, however, isn’t a great place to take photos as you shoot into the sun pretty much all day so we decided to really work on mastmount shots. I wanted to get more than the standard backloop shot with the ultimate prize being a mastmount shot with Table Mountain in it. The mast housing I used was made by the legendary water photographer Rick Leeks who is based in Maui and whilst it looks like something made by a mad professor, it’s a brilliant bit of kit.

We had a good few memorable incidents as you usually do when you get out on a trip. These two both involve the wonderful wildlife of South Africa but thankfully no Great Whites…

We did really well out of this trip and this has as much to do with the professionalism of John as it is to do with any skills I may have behind the lens. I can’t really remember all the exposure from it but I do relish the three covers we scored including one from Japan.

Here’s a cool sequence of Musso working on his wave 360s – thanks to Windsurfing Tenerife for the shots. Given the tour’s port tack bias this year it seems as though moving to Tenerife might have been a smart decision for Musso.

Keep watching the site as we have a great video of Alex and Dany Bruch ripping up a mythical big wave spot coming soon!

The British wave sailing champion of 2009 and umi editor Jamie Hancock has joined the international team of Tabou and Vandal Sails. He will compete in the PWA wave events, that is if he has enough time off from putting together some sick vids, and will also take part in all the UK based events. A quick interview with the 25-year-old rascal.

How did this move to Tabou/Vandal come about?
‘I used to be with Gaastra/Tabou on a national level sponsorship a few years back. At the time I had already been talking with Gaastra/Tabou chief Knut Budig and Matt Pritchard about a possibility of representing a new sail brand called Vandal – just at that time it was simply an idea. So it has always been something that was on the cards, perhaps just a bit delayed.’

Do you think your success on the British wave tour helped you sign this deal?
‘Yes I think so. Winning the British title last year was incredible with probably the best conditions in UK competition history. But aside from that, I always had a good relationship with the guys at Gaastra/Tabou and worked hard getting exposure for them as well as winning a couple of events previously. So we have just picked up from where I left off, but this time as an international rider.’

International, so you’re in the money now!
‘Haha, no not quite, but I have much more opportunities to do more in windsurfing which I’m really grateful for.’

Have you been able to try out your new kit yet?
‘Yes, I tried it for about five minutes before my hands froze and the wind died. I’m in the UK at the moment and it is freezing! I’m pretty confident I will like it though, I always loved the Tabou boards and they suit me perfectly as I am a similar size to Thomas Traversa and the boards always work for lighter sailors. For the last two years I have been using customs shaped by Keith Teboul and have kind of missed out on the introduction of multiple fins in production boards. I know that Thomas and Tabou shaper Fabien Vollenweider have worked closely on developing the twin/quad fins for years but I was really surprised how well this year’s production Da Curves worked. They feel surprisingly close to how my custom boards worked and turn amazingly well. Well, at least for five minutes they did! The boards really show how good Thomas and Fabien’s partnership is and it’s great to be with a brand knowing their production boards are the business.
‘The new Riots are simply amazing, like nothing I have ever used before. They are compact and very light. They have four battens and seem to work on less downhaul than normal. I’m not quite sure how they work so well yet, but they just do, and better than anything I have ever used before.’

What are your plans for this year?
‘I will compete on the PWA wave tour and perhaps be able to attend some of the Wave Classic events that Thomas helps to organise. I also want to work with umi on producing better and better film projects. Basically combining the two and doing as much as possible.’

Any plans going abroad?
‘I leave for Cape Town in a week and will meet up with Alex Mussolini and Ross Williams to do some port tack training for this year’s tour. I’ll also be heading to Maui to meet up with Matt Pritchard, check out the new boards and hopefully get some decent conditions.’

How do you think your chances lie on an international level?
‘I really don’t know. It is hard to know how the pressures and nerves will be a few minutes before my first heat. I also think that sailing with people at the highest level will definitely help me to improve, that is something I think I have lacked over the last few years.’

Move wise, do you think you can keep up with the top guys on tour?
‘Well, I prefer jumping on starboard tack to port which is not so great for this year’s world tour. But it’s no good being good on one tack so I like the challenge to try and ‘catch up.’ I can probably keep up with some of the top guys with wave 360’s, taka’s, tweaked pushy’s and doubles, but it is the consistency of these guys that I definitely will need to work on cause that’s what wins heats!’

Apart from the cold, what else is keeping you off the water?
‘Well, with the worst weather to hit the UK in 30 years, I am locked away in my editing room finishing some clips that will be released by umi while I am in Cape Town. There’s some big wave stuff from the Canary Islands coming along as well as a special project we did with Thomas and Alex called Just Like That, which I think is pretty exciting.’

Finally, is it true that you will be doing some slalom and formula events as well?
‘Haha, no way!’

© Photos by John Carter and Brendan Pyatt – umi 2010