flying-frenchman

Great minds inventing new toys

2013-06-10T08:12:00.000-07:00

The sound track is in French, but you'll be able to enjoy the vision of these inventors. Put you boardshorts on, and let's go:

Great new watertoys!!!

Robby Naish turns 50

2013-04-22T20:04:00.000-07:00

The champion that inspired me to start windsurfing back in 1977 turns 50, 2 months after I just did. Still an inspiration today as to how living successfully. Happy birthday to you, legend!

So-far-so-good-robby-naish-at-50-interview

Philip Koster, 2012 Wave World Champion PWA

2012-09-19T10:47:00.000-07:00

Philip Koster won the first 2 events of the season, in July (Pozo and Tenerife).

The super-final of the KIA Cold Hawaii in Klitmoller PWA, the third event of the season, is set to be sailed tomorrow. But in any case, having secured at least a second place in this event, if he loses to Thomas Traversa tomorrow, Philip Koster has already done enough to win a second world title, after the first he won last year.

And he is only 18! And he is perfectly capable to win the event tomorrow to celebrate his second title in style (his last defeat was... 2 years ago).

Congratulations to the Champion.

Short trip to Biarritz

2012-08-18T05:48:00.000-07:00

I was lucky to be invited by some friends with a house near Biarritz, in August. I had a window of 3 days, so I loaded my SUP Gong Shake 7'4" and off I went. It was my first "true" experience of "real" ocean surfing, with much more powerful swells and clean faces than what I usually enjoy at my home spot in the Mediterranee. The Gong Shake 7'4" proved to be a fantastic toy to surf on those waves. I shot a quick on-board video with my GoPro:

I hope I can go back real soon!

Rescue tip

2012-07-09T02:17:00.000-07:00

Please watch this short video, on how to "load" an unconscious surfer on top of your board. It isn't done the way you might have thought, so it's good to watch and have it in mind (better still: practice it next time you are at the beach, with a friend):

the "other" flyingfrenchman

2011-12-08T09:36:00.001-08:00

It turns out there is another flyingfrenchman out there, who enjoys surfing and related sports too. Please note that the "other" is in one word, while I spell my nickname like this: flying-frenchman

Although he can't possibly as good, as nice andas handsome as me, if he picked up such a nickname he has to be a nice person, so it is with great pleasure that I post this link to his site. Best wishes of success in business:

flyingfrenchman.fr

Philip Koster, 2011 PWA Wave World Champion

2011-09-14T07:45:00.000-07:00

A meteoric climb to the top of the world for this young and extremely talented windsurfer, congrats!

Tough luck for the rest of the world, Philip may stay on top for a long long time.

The event news, from PWA:

http://www.pwaworldtour.com/index.php?id=35&tx_ttnews[tt_news]=2147&tx_ttnews[backPid]=29&cHash=73aaa0834b

A video where the new champ' displays his talent:

Laird Hamilton's SUP board with PUMA

2011-07-29T23:17:00.000-07:00

Laird Hamilton will be a crew member of the PUMA Volvo Ocean Race 70 foot boat. Laird extended his partnership with PUMA to include a special line of SUP boards. These limited edition boards, hand made in the USA, will be available at a PUMA store near you.

Click here for photo

Get ready for lift off

2011-06-15T09:19:00.000-07:00

My friend Casey Hauser jointly with the epicsessions.tv team, with the support of Red Bull, selected a group of 16 windsurfers, for a new form of event in Gran Canaria on June 24th. This is a jumping contest, where participants carried a very special kind of GPS to record and broadcast live the very details of their jump (flight would be a more appropriate word).

3 categories:
- highest jump
- best trick
- biggest wipe-out (ouch...)

A video summary of the event:

More info here:

http://www.redbull.es/cs/Satellite/es_ES/Red-Bull-Rockets/001243025914428

Adios Spain, I'm moving to Amsterdam irrestible waters

2011-05-27T06:44:00.000-07:00

Who wouldn't with such an irrestible watersports play ground?

Foils are the way to go?

2011-03-02T07:26:00.000-08:00

Little by little, the developments of hydrofoils make those a viable option for windsurfers and kiteboarders. When the equipment becomes more affordable, no doubt we'll foil-equipped riders at our local spots.

A recent demo at the Wind Mag sponsored Dakhla festival:

Surfing in your garden

2011-02-15T13:56:00.000-08:00

Wavegarden is a cost effective and environmentally friendly wave generation technology that is now available to the public. For the first time Wavegarden makes economically-viable inland wave sports and lifestyle facilities possible.

It is also a great tool to teach surfing.

Marisa Miller's SUP

2011-01-21T09:01:00.000-08:00

In our celebrities series, we now introduce top model Marisa Miller endorsing her SUP board... and some flattering outfits to go out on the water with it.

Enjoy:

Good morning Richard!

2010-12-20T04:37:00.000-08:00

In our series of high profile personnalities endorsing watersports advertisements, Sir Richard Branson raised the bar up to out-of-reach levels for us mere mortals. Fun little movie:

Robby Naish, the advertisement star

2010-12-05T15:02:00.000-08:00

I was just recovering from seeing Robby windsurfing all dressed up in elegant Tommy Hilfiger business suits, now he's doing a stint for Porsche. Well, Robby has always been fond of cars, so it should be no surprise:

Kelly did it: 10x world champ10n !

2010-11-06T10:47:00.000-07:00

Amazing career and achievement for the king of surfing:

http://www.aspworldtour.com/2010/11/06/kelly-slater-clinches-historic-10th-asp-world-title-in-puerto-rico-3/

Forget Nespresso and George Clooney, here comes Laird Hamilton's coffee!

2010-11-02T01:40:00.000-07:00

If George's Nespresso is too posh for you and you're in the hunt for a real coffee for real men. Or if you want to live the surfing way of life all the way to your kitchen, Laird Hamilton's coffee is what you need. Sip and enjoy:

http://www.lairdhamilton.com/index.php/2010/10/30/lairds-italian-espresso-roasted-in-maui/

World record smashed, first wind powered man at over 100km/h on the water

2010-10-13T04:32:00.000-07:00

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:

I want my SUP served small, please

2010-09-14T06:54:00.000-07:00

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

Whales!

2010-09-06T05:20:00.000-07:00

Check out the photo reporter's web site, worth visiting:

http://images.michaelpoliza.com/p920094955/h3c5571a2#h3c5571a2

Cavemen!

2010-08-23T11:29:00.000-07:00

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.

Formula Windsurfing way faster than kite-sailors around a race course

2010-07-22T04:34:00.000-07:00

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

Laird Hamilton is never late, thanks to his Chanel J12 watch

2010-07-15T12:21:00.000-07:00

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!

Just one wave... but what a wave!

2010-07-09T04:02:00.000-07:00

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

Moonlight ride

2010-06-28T05:58:00.000-07:00

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.