FSwP

Maasvlakte

2009-01-31T15:16:00.001+01:00

Ice Surfing

2009-01-31T14:35:00.004+01:00

Some of my mates went ice-skating. Looks quit fun but still way to cold :)

Steven

2008-12-14T15:35:00.002+01:00

Steven Van Broeckhoven has a new website :) He's going to Tarifa next week for six weeks to prepare himself for the coming PWA 2009. His first year !!

I'm curious if he's going to provide us the same surprise as he did this year in the EFPT (also his first year) by ending 4the overal!

On his new website will be able to follow his training so be sure to check it out from time to time !

Yann Sorlut - Waiting :: part 2

2008-11-30T11:03:00.001+01:00

I don't know if you remember some time ago the movie of Yann Sorlut, but they have made a longer version of it with some crazy guys and some wonderfull effects :)

Check it out!

Hit the lip !

2008-11-28T07:47:00.001+01:00

Looking windy :)

2008-11-18T08:46:00.002+01:00

Although freezing cold and kinda rainy, it still looks like a very windy weekend :)

I hope i can make to the water and surf a bit longer then 15 minutes before freezing blue... :):):)

All and all, it was OK

2008-11-09T22:51:00.002+01:00

Today i had a mixed session. The wind was coming late and was not so strong as predicted, but still it was a nice handful for the 6.4 AirX. Although they predict for tomorrow some nice winds, i doubt that i can make it, because again it is coming quit late...
Tuesday (thank god for public holidays) it's going to be 24 knots, a bit of rain but still some nice temperate for this time of the year (10-11°C). There are some photo's taken, but i don't know if they ok enough to publish, i'll see...

Finally some riding again

2008-11-02T13:01:00.002+01:00

Although it is almost a week ago, i had a relative nice but short session last week. The wind was flaky, not to strong, nearly not long enough (only 2 hours worth mentioning) but i enjoyed totally. It was almost 2 months ago that I've been on the water.. i hope that we will get some more windy weekends because until now it has been very sad..

Still didn't buy a new wave board, still a bit doubting what will be the best for me. But some good news, I've ordered Tricktonary II but i can only open it when it's Christmas.. :(
Polakow movies are on their way to, can't wait to see them !!

Surfing Rat

2008-10-19T16:11:00.002+02:00

I just read a funny article. It's about a fourteen year old who's teaching his rat to surf :)

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/worldnews/article-1078449/Pictured-The-incredible-surfing-rats-taught-ride-4ft-waves.html

New Wave board

2008-10-15T20:19:00.002+02:00

What should i do, what should i do... since my mates are more and more into wavesurfing (and i always loved it) i'm doubting to buy a new board. But i can't decided which one... Who can help me?

I think i'm going for the Kombat Technora 07, 87 liters because this one give me enough pleasure with light and high winds... but still not sure yet..

Yann Sorlut - Waiting

2008-10-09T19:40:00.003+02:00

Definitely worthy of looking at. Very nice movie (a bit short) and super smoothly edited!!

http://www.riders-contest.fr/site/member/?id=553

My first wakeboard session.

2008-10-02T21:41:00.002+02:00

Since there was no wind for quit some time and the weather was outstanding (a lot of wind would have been better of course, but still) I decided to join my work colleague Stepan Wagenknecht to join him on his wake board session somewhere in Holland.

I must say, I had a lot of fun and it is a lot physical tougher than first presumed. But definitely a do again. For a first timer, I didn't do it that bad... by the end I was able to go halfway the full lake, which was a bit more then I suspected to achieve :)

Stepan in full action :)

So Stepan, thx again and see you on the next session :)

Second Part of Domburg

2008-09-20T19:35:00.001+02:00

The second part of the 'photoshoot' is on swell.be !!

Be sure to check it out!

New Domburg photo's

2008-09-13T17:58:00.004+02:00

At last I managed to get some photo's online of our super trip to Domburg.

Enjoy!

More follow later on (and this time it won't take as long as before :))

Stacked

2008-08-25T21:19:00.002+02:00

Just a quick post. I know, I know, I still have to post the photo's of Domburg but i didn't had the time, yet..

In the meanwhile, check out this awesome vid of Gollito and Paskowski!

Domburg vacation

2008-08-15T14:42:00.004+02:00

It is a real real real shame on me that it took so long. But here is the first photo :)

The others are coming soon, including a more travel like story with it.

Domburg - Holland

2008-06-23T19:52:00.003+02:00

Well, it's decided. We're going to Domburg. It's not as extreme as the previous choice, but looking @ the current forecasts the better one. Not as far away is a bit of a plus to because we can get an evening session on arrival and stay longer on Sunday's...

Hoping for lot's of wind in combination with glazzy waves so we can both windsurf as surf.

Blancs Sablons - France

2008-06-18T19:58:00.004+02:00

We are thinking about going to Blancs Sablons @ France.

Judging from the pictures it can get pretty epic !!

We'll see how it will be.. it looks pretty fine, but it's well over max. distance of 600km

Last minute weekend

2008-06-17T12:40:00.004+02:00

Yesterday went for bike ride with Gino and somehow we decided to go on a 4 day windsurfing trip next week. We don't have a location yet, but it should be somewhere @ mid/north France or north Netherlands. Reason is fairly simple, we can't drive much further otherwise we don't have any surfing time left. But we want some wind or @ least wave security so that we can either windsurf or golf surf.

So if anyone has suggestions, please share it :) Very mucho thanx !! You're always welcome to come along also.. i've heard that Jelle C. is interested to :)

Steven Van Broekhoven

2008-06-11T11:17:00.004+02:00

UPDATE: Steven took the 4the place in the double elimination @ Milos beach. He has secured his 4the place in the overall results. Congratz dude !!
-------

He did a great job @ Lefkada, Vassiliki. He became fifth (shared spot) which has allowed him to step up on the overall ladder by becoming fourth overall. Not bad for a first timer he :)

Next stop is in the north of the same island. Hoping that this time their will be enough wind throughout the whole competition so that at least this time the doubles can be finished.

Check this movie out! It's a Dahab compilation from Gollito and Paskowski with some truly amazing awesome freestyle action !!

Two rookies surfing

2008-06-06T09:33:00.005+02:00

Like i told you guys earlier on, i was editing some footage from our first surfing session @ the Maasvlakte - Holland. It was a fun, enjoyed the weather and the sea very much. Conditions were not bad at all for two rookies enjoying themselves.. The best replacement for windsurfing when it's not windy if you ask me :)

So here it is, our first surfing movie :) If you got some tips to improve our style (very much needed) then don't hesitate to let me know..

Now for those of you who want the see some real action, check this. Real cool photo's, look likes an awesome spot to me !

Check this link out for sure dudes, real massive wipe out's. Some real crazy stuff! Glad that it wasn't that bad with us...

Belgium Riders

2008-06-03T18:48:00.003+02:00

As the title gave it away a bit, i'm gonna promote 2 Belgium Riders today. First Roeland De Rycker. He's posted a new movie about an after school session on Grevelingendam - Holland. It's really well put together. If he keeps this commitment and level raising, it won't take long before he joins Steven on the EFPT trips.

Speaking of.. tomorrow starts the EFPT @ Greece and the conditions are looking better then last time i checked. If it stays like this, were gonna see yet another great EFPT show.

http://www.swell.be/swell.tv/play_349.html

While Steven Van Broekhoven is preparing himself in Greece, several story's are publicized about him. The one thing that always comes back is "Most improved Sailer" or "Most impressive Sailer" and they are right about it :)
Check his reports @ teamthebunch (site is in Dutch though), unfortunately his forgotten his cable so he can't send us pictures for the moment..

Source

Prokids 2008 :: video report

2008-06-02T12:42:00.003+02:00

As promised, a short video overview of the Saturday (very) low-wind freestyle ProKids 2008 contest. Enjoy!

Vassiliki Freestyle

2008-06-01T12:12:00.003+02:00

Wednesday 4th June, start of EFPT Vassiliki Freestyle @ South Lefkada, Greece. Club Vass is hosting the first time this great contest and just they are, i'm pretty exited to see what's going to happen. Hoping that the wind will pick up because right know, it's nowhere to be seen :(

Steven had broken his big toe @ the ProKids weekend (2 weeks ago) but is now practicing his moves at Greece. He's there together with Maarten van Ochten and it seems that he's fully recovered. Will see in a couple of day's if he is right about it...

pic from hauft.at, PWA Podersdorf

Current week

2008-05-30T12:30:00.005+02:00

Not much posting time this week, so just a quick update. I've viewed the Brazilian Search from Club Ventos and it has delivered what it has promised. I'm sure that anyone who had read their website will agree... it's a relaxed movie, pure Club Ventos style. (remember their monthly diary videos from 2007) Clean and hard action when the wind blows but mostly more background information about the riders and spots. Let's not forget, it is a movie about the search of a new spot for Club Ventos.
Off course, a bit more windsurf action is always nicer but if the wind only blows 2 of the 8 days then... you know..

Anyway, my next movie to watch will be 7 Sons of Freestyle from ContinentSeven. Just arrived this week and really looking forward to watch some kick-ass freestyle action! Off course, a short review will be posted :)

Short movie about Prokids low-wind freestyle action will be posted short after the weekend with another short movie about my first surfing action @ the Maasvlakte - Holland with some bonus material ;)

the Brazilian Search...

2008-05-23T10:01:00.002+02:00

Get the biggest surf adventure of the year on your screen, today!

This DVD shows what happened during ClubVentos Beach Search, when Kauli Seadi, Kevin pritchard, Marcilio Browne, Andre Paskowski, Baptiste Gossein, Robby Swift and seven other PWA riders helped us to search for a new beach to open our second windsurfing center. It turned out to be the biggest surf adventure of the year, and its now time for you to discover what happened, and what they found... Download from ClubVentos for Free!

I'm already waiting on the finishing sound of my download, i will let you guys as soon as possible know what i think about the movie, although a free movie about windsurfing can't be bad. Please don't hesitate to give you're opinion.

BK Freestyle - Grevelingendam

2008-05-21T15:45:00.003+02:00

I deeply hope that finally some wind will kick in this weekend. It's, if i'm not mistaking, the first real BK Freestyle this year. The go or no go can be viewed @ the Belgium Surfforum.

The contest will be held at Bruinisse, Grevelingendam and i will be there, probably as judge and other wise as film / photographer. (Also i'm a bit hoping to get some surf myself to)

In the mean while, here's a little video you can enjoy from Maui with Naish, Levi, ...

Prokids Brouwersdam

2008-05-20T11:32:00.004+02:00

The weekend of 17 and 18 may was the weekend for the Prokids contest. I went for a quick look and was hoping to get some surf myself later on.. what a bummer!!

Although it was fun to watch our Belgium Pride to compete in the marginal low-wind conditions it still sucked. With the exception of a couple of gecko freaks (witch by the way gets boring if you only keep repeating the same move) the only other moves where buddha's, splits for the girls and some flip trics.

After i while, i got so frustrated of the lack of wind i went back home. Saturday was kind of a boring day. I've heard that the wind kicked in Sunday, but it was a bit to late since i had all kinds of work to do... so i was even more frustrated :(

I filmed a bit, perhaps i'm going to edit and post it or perhaps i don't... will depend on how much spare time there is left.

Current weekend doesn't look very good either, i hope it changes because this weekend is also the very first BK Freestyle. Probably without Steven van Broekhoven, because he has broken toe from last Sunday.

Newly arrived AirX

2008-05-12T12:30:00.003+02:00

Last week my new sail arrived!! It turned out to be a real beauty, i just love the red color!! Can't wait to test it out on the water, i'm just waiting for my boom and more important some wind. A bit of a bummer. Last 2 weekends were without wind, not even enough for my newly 6.4 :(

Although i can't say much without having sailed the sail, while rigging it felt really light, even slightly lighter then my 5.8 search... can't wait to test it, it feels like the moves are going to be there without time!! man, i'm stoked !!

Penguin wetsuit

2008-05-10T11:51:00.000+02:00

Although it ain't about windsurfing, the following is slightly related :)

Found an article about a sad, lonely and cold penguin, called pierre.

Penguin Pierre was a bit ashamed about his boldness and was left out by the group. Oceanic Worldwide had decided to take the challenge and made a really cool fitting wetsuit for him to feel better. And it worked! He isn't left out any more and he even gained wait again :-)

Oesterdam

2008-05-06T16:27:00.002+02:00

30 April 2008, what a day! A bit discouraged i went to the Oesterdam. It was the only day they predicted some wind for the whole week and with some i really mean not much, a lazy 12 knots. But man oooh man, was i happy when i arrived @ the spot. Although i don't have a windmeter, i'm pretty sure it was @ least blowing 17 knots.

I got my 5.8 and Twintip combo and got on the water, it was even more then presumed, it had to be 20 knots. So rather overpowered i surfed a couple of racks before Tommeke Peeters arrived. Then we treed to practice some styling :)
Did some major crashes, one even so hard that it ripped up my harness. That was very very though cause i didn't had a spare one and stopping is word i don't know. Surf until you drop was this time what kept me going for real ;)

In my resting period i did take some pictures. For the ones asking themselves, why are there so many of Roeland? Simply because he was the one practicing the hardest!

Update: PWA - EFPT Podersdorf

2008-05-04T16:11:00.002+02:00

As you all could read on the PWA website, due to the very light wind conditions only one single elimination could be preformed.

Kenny was unfortunately not strong enough to beat local Sammer, but Steven managed to pass by Chico and even Kevin Mevissen. But in heat nine he got stopped by Tonky Frans (who ended up 3 in the event). Which means that Steven is currently on the 9 spot on the PWA list !! Not bad for a first timer!!

In the EFPT ranking he's currently moved to the 5 place, because of M. Brown who did again a splendid job by becoming 2 in Podersdorf. I'm not sure why Brown, who's a Brazilian dude, is listed in the EFPT list... if somebody's knows, don't hesitate to post some comments.

To sum up: conditions where very marginal, the moves super and congratz to Steven for his super performance!

Pictures taken from the PWA site.

PWA - EFPT Podersdorf

2008-04-29T16:26:00.003+02:00

Although there aren't much news updates on the efpt or pwa blog's, today is the official start of the PWA-EFPT Podersdorf freestyle surf cup. From the Belgium soils are present, number four on the EFPT list, Steven Van Broekhoven and Kenny Janssen.

I wish them all the luck, wind and sun they need to give the world another treat of excitement and blown the competition away!

Picture taken from efpt.net

Low-wind weekend

2008-04-24T12:25:00.005+02:00

The past weekend (19-20 april) was a very low-wind weekend. Some of the weather models had predicted a immature 5 bft but the peak's were at max a messy 4 bft. But i just couldn't stay on the sideline, i had to get at least my gear wet, it was just to long ago.. but i wasn't alone on the water. Many of the BK riders where on the spot, which was by the way the Punt - Holland, for practicing some low-wind freestyle.

One of them was Steven Van Broeckhoven and it was just awesome to see that even with really marginal conditions he could pull out perfect ponches, grubby's etc., i was just floating for crying out loud! To bad i couldn't get good pictures..

But the party Saturday night made up for the wind. We went with a couple of windsurfers to a dance café in Ouddorp. It was a blast! Especially Jelle was in the mood to get party started! (Photo's will follow as soon as i get them)

Sunday was a bit better on Grevelingendam, although it was a just a little 4 bft we could at least get some windsurfing done. I was mostly training on the Gecko. I must say, i was really tired afterwards but hell yeah, had a lot of fun with my mates!

Thanx to Gino Joskowski for taking the photographs!

Jakub Kosmowski

2008-04-23T17:10:00.005+02:00

POL288 Jakub Kosmowski with some powerful freestyle action and a little bit of wave @ Cape Town. Really like his powerful style, it makes his moves look far more beautiful to watch!

You can view the video on his blog to.

BK Freewave 2008 - Surfers Paradise

2008-04-22T14:16:00.003+02:00

As promised, the video of BK Freewave @ Surfers Paradise.

I've noticed that for some reason the last 3 seconds are cut off, so just for the record:

Riders:
B25 Robin Van Hoof
B34 Kenny Janssens
B35 Dieter Van der Eycken
B67 Roeland De Rijcker
B72 Steven Van Broeckhoven
B123 Jordi Verschoten
Dirk Van der Eycken
Luc Caers
Luc Van de Ven
Robin Janssens

First BK Freewave this year

2008-04-16T11:21:00.008+02:00

The First BK Freewave (Belgium Championship) was great, although a bit more wind would have been nice. We could finish in total 5 heats (one was canceled), enough to get results for the Kids and Masters.

First i want to say thanx to all the sponsors and Patrick Rooze for organizing everything.

Results C-power BK Freewave Surfers Paradise:
Kids:
1: Robin Van Hoof
2: Yentel Caers
3: Liesbeth Janssen
4: Janssens Robin

Masters:
1: Luc Caers
2: Dirk Van Der Eycken
3: Patrick Rooze
4: Luc Van de Ven

I enjoyed especially watching the masters. It was a very close call between Luc C & Dirk for first and second places, but in the end the overall impression and effort made us decide that Luc C deserved it.

The Young Guns and Open Categories were also fun, but you could see that a bit more wind would have been nice. In normal conditions we know some of the guys do Spocks and Chachoo like nothing but now it was hardly a good AirJibe and lots of low wind sail tricks.. perhaps the pressure (although i seriously doubt that).

During practice and warm up sessions we could see some beautiful actions from Steven Van Broeckhoven, Dieter Van der Eycken and so on... I've been filming a bit and i caught some action :) When i'm done editing you'll be the first to know :)

During the weekend we could all test boards from ADH and F2.

In the evening there was a real, real nice barbecue :) I must tell, i really had eaten to much. Afterwards there was free beer and that was enough to get the party going :) I must say, i really love the way how riders get along here. There's nothing, not a tiny bit of rivalry present. Everybody cheers for everybody and even you do the most easy move like a helicopter tack they shout like if you were doing a pushloop into forward. Just a great feeling to experience!!

Then i had to go @ home because of the lack of wind, there wouldn't be any heats for me to judge and i had to go to a christening of the first child from my sister in law. But i heard afterwards that it was a great, sunny day and they did a volleyball game instead.

Here are a few more pictures. Our warm watch point.. the judges car :)

Price giving for the Kids:

Mighty high Yentel Caers overlooking the scene :)

Some special thanx goes to Rolien for charing her pictures, who by the way got a new brand new, easy to remind domain name. Checked it all out on http://www.rolien.be

Other pictures can be viewed on swell.be. Mister Verschoten & sun had promised as well some pictures, so be sure to stay tuned for the next updates!

Giampaolo Cammarota

2008-04-10T11:30:00.006+02:00

For the ones who read the awesome Maui Surf Report blog, this will be kind off a repost but he's fully deserving it!

Cammar is the working beast behind Maui Surf Report, an addict to the most beautiful, ass kicking, extreme sport in the world. With almost every day an update with his own material (not like me, ripping of from some else until i have the chance to post something from myself), he's my number one blog!

He has a keen eye for all the beauty surrounding him:

Has a great sense of humor:

Knows how to shoot great footage:

Stands up for his believes:

And likes to show off from time to time with his Hot Sails :)

THANX GIAMPAOLO FOR THE DAILY UPDATES AND KEEN REPORTS!
Be sure to visit http://mauisurfreport.blogspot.com because it's worth the surf trip ;)

Team The Bunch :: Bonaire 2008

2008-04-08T20:34:00.014+02:00

Team The Bunch went for training @ Bonaire to get in shape for the season. This is the resulting video :)

Although it's pretty low web quality, it's still some great footage to watch!

:: Update: quality is a bit improved :)

Brouwersdam

2008-04-05T10:19:00.003+02:00

I went Tuesday, first of April to Brouwersdam (Kabbelaarsbank - Holland) for a quick surfsession. I was immense happy about the conditions, wind enough for being full powered with a 5.8 and warm enough to surf only with a wetsuit.

I was training on the duck jibe and air jibe and i think, with a few more practice session i will stand them !!

Thanx to my girlfriend i've have some picture worth showing you guys!

As you probably noticed, i've also updated the blog layout. I hope you like! Don't hesitate to give you're opinion.

Final Report :: EFPT Toro, Andaluz

2008-04-05T09:52:00.005+02:00

Victory for Normen Günzlein but man of the event is undoubtedly Steven van Broeckhoven.

@ the single elimination, Steven had to acknowledge (although it was a close call) André as the better one in his heat. He was stopped already on the second heat, a bit of a bummer for the Belgium supporters. But not for long. As the wind picked up again next day the double elimination could proceed and that was the moment where Steven could show of his unbelievable talent!

Steven won 6 heats in a row, beating riders like: De Rycker, Souza De Pedro, Niklas Strahlen, Remko De Weerd, Egor Popretynsky, Michi Rossmeier and in the end he lost to a Lanzarote local Anxton Otaegui.

ENDRESULT of the EFPT Toro Andaluz 2008:
1. Normen Günzlein
2. Kevin Mevissen
3. Antxon Otaegui
4. Steven van Broeckhoven
5. Michael Rossmeier

The Meev, doing a great job being second with no freestyle practice whatsoever for almost half a year.

Update

2008-03-27T12:28:00.001+01:00

:: UPDATE - its working now!!! first start at 13.15 !!! ::
Be sure to keep an eye on the EFPT site or keep reading this blog :)

:: Update - wind still below 13 knots ::

Although yesterday the wind was pretty nice, it's letting us down a bit today. We can just hope that it will pick up soon, so that the battle can begin !!

Photo of Paskowski yesterday

EFPT: Toro Andaluz

2008-03-27T11:57:00.006+01:00

Today started the first EFPT event @ Toro, Andaluz. 35 riders are ready to compete and to give the audience a super blasting awesome freestyle show! Can't wait to see that footage!!

My interests and especial good luck wishes goes to the Belgium delegation. With Steven Van Broeckhoven as most promising talent here in Belgium, i'm literally on the tip of my chair of excitement to see if his practice in Bonaire is going to pay of.
His first heat is with our lovely Rolien Caers, André Paskowski and Stefan Kruse or Rafael Cervero although depending on which system their gonna use, the real fight with André is going to be postponed to the next heat.

Also i'm curious about our youth talent: Dieter Van der Eycken, Roeland De Rycker, Kenny Janssens and Jelle Caers. I'm sooooo excited :)

Take off @ 12u so it should start by now.. i wish i was there..

I'll keep you posted.

Tandem Surfing

2008-03-24T13:41:00.005+01:00

On a dark day without wind i was thinking about how to get my girlfriend windsurfing. After a while i got it, why not take here with me on a tandem trip? That way, at least the fear of being alone (?) on the water should go away. Now, i've still a pretty big boat of a board from the late 80's (i guess), aka the windglider. While surfing the internet searching for example's on how to turn that big floaty board in to a decent tandem i came across of the next video.

I was pretty amazed on how they do their tandem surfing...

Rico & Sarah Tandem surfing (Teaser)

Waterproof GoPro camera

2008-03-20T00:53:00.003+01:00

:: update, the movie is also viewable on swell.be ::

The first of March 2008 was a great day for windsurfing. As mentioned in a previous post we were testing my newly bought waterproof GoPro camera. With we, i refer to Jelle Caers, who's a much, much more better freestyler then i am.

Although the web quality really sucks, i'm pretty happy with the results. It gives new perspectives for the upcoming videos :)

Enjoy!

Pritchard brothers

2008-03-19T15:10:00.003+01:00

http://kevinpritchard.blogspot.com is dead, long live http://www.pritchardwindsurfing.com/

Kevin and Matt Pritchard have decided to join forces and start a fused site about their live passion, windsurfing. You can still read the blog of Kevin but now you can learn the techniques for becoming a master windsurfer from his brother, with as first technique: Pre-Windsurf conditions.

Although it's general a bit to dark for me, it's again a great stylish design like we're used from Kevin.

Be sure to give them a visit!

2 For 10

2008-03-17T09:44:00.002+01:00

2 For 10, 2 Riders (Gollito Estredo and Andre Paskowski) in 10 minutes Action. You'll probably heard all about it and now it's online!

I've watched it about 10 times now, it is a real have to see action. Nice editing, nice music, kick ass action, really loving it !!

Thanks Andre and don't wait to long to shoot another one! :)

2008 PWA Cabo Verde Video Update

2008-03-15T10:41:00.005+01:00

After 7 days, it's about time to give you guys some action! All the video's can be viewed on ContinentSeven or on the official PWA website. Enjoy!

PWA Cabo Verde: Day 6

2008-03-14T00:07:00.003+01:00

Still waiting for wind. Luckily they have beautiful locations on Cabo Verde :)

The final riders left in the double elimination are:

• Kauli Seadi (JP / NeilPryde)
• Josh Angulo (MauiSails)
• Jason Polakow (JP / NeilPryde)
• Robby Swift (JP / NeilPryde)
• Kai Katchadourian (Quatro / Simmer)
• Marcilio Browne (Mistral / Gaastra)
• Alex Mussolini (RRD / NeilPryde)
• Thomas Traversa (Tabou / Gaastra)

Now it's just up to the wind for the final battle!

PWA: Cabo Verde, Sal

2008-03-09T16:25:00.005+01:00

The first PWA contest of this year has begone yesterday and their having some great conditions!! Not as epic as last year but nevertheless some ideal conditions to show of their polished or new skills.

Kauli Seadi has won the single elimination today ahead of Local favorite Josh Angulo. So far we're in the second round of the double elimination.You can follow all the action today using the PWA's LIVE EVENT TICKER.

Kauli Seadi
Josh Angulo
My hero Polakow
Vertical Jason Polakow

From heavy to light

2008-03-04T18:52:00.006+01:00

:: update, a few more photo's can be found @ swell.be ::

Saturday, the first of march was a splendid windsurfing day for Belgium and Holland! The wind was massively blowing and i don't know what the exact temperature was, but i guess it would be around 11°C which isn't cold at all for Belgium standards.

Normally Gino and i would go out for some kick ass wave sailing but when we got at Ouddorp in the morning the sea was closed due security risks so we had to surf on the other side of the dam. Time for some freestyle action!

I was pretty excited as it has been a long time for me to surf on my smallest stuff, 80l tiga wave board and a 4.5 search (sorry Aerotech), although everybody else was surfing with a 4 max. Around noon the wind dropped drastically, even to the point that i couldn't surf at all. That's the moment i took my camera out. Then around 15u the wind picked up a notch, and with my 5.8 search and twintip 105 i was back in business!

Enjoy the pictures!

This is Jelle who did the first Go-Pro camera test, the video will be online as soon it has been edited :)

Great week coming up

2008-02-29T09:33:00.002+01:00

I'm jumping up and down since yesterday when i found out what great conditions are waiting for us. Although i can only surf in the weekends, the whole week looks just awesome!!

Look @ this !

Saturday i'm going out surfing @ Brouwersdam (Holland) with my surfbuddy's and i will bring my camera etc with me, so you can accept some kick ass action in a couple of days :)

JP Winter Podcast

2008-02-26T11:09:00.002+01:00

It's almost a month online so perhaps you'll all already saw it, but still.. it's some pretty descent wave action!

Source: Robby Swift

1st El Yaque National Open & 9th Vietnam Fun Cup

2008-02-26T10:41:00.003+01:00

The first competition of 2008 is finished and it look likes its going to be a crazy season. I was most impressed by the talent of the fresh juniors.

Quote: In the juniors elimination the fight was much harder and Deivis Paternina, he just started windsurfing 13 months ago, impressed with Switch Stance Chachoos, Flaka Diablos, Eslider and won his first contest.

I mean, common!! After just sailing 13 months he can pull out Switch Stance Chachoos, Esliders, etc...

Ricardo Campello

RESULTS:

Freestyle Men
1. Gollito Estredo (Fanatic/ North Sails/ ION)
2. Cheo Diaz ( RRD/Simmer)
3. Andre Paskowski (Fanatic/ North Sails/ ION)

Freestyle Ladies
1. Yoli de Brendt (Fanatic/ North Sails/ ION)
2. Rosmary Rodriguez
3. Zoe Najim

Freestyle Juniors
1. Deivis Paternina
2. Luis Carillo
3. Douglas Edoardo

Slalom Men
1. Ricardo Campello (JP/Neilpryde)
2. Gollito Estredo (Fanatic/ North Sails/ ION)
3. Andre Paskowski (Fanatic/ North Sails/ ION)

Report and other pictures can be read on Continent Seven.

Ceasar @ Bonaire :: part two

2008-02-05T23:53:00.000+01:00

As you could see in a previous post, Ceasar is a real pro in non-planning freestyle action. PeconicPuffin had promised us that there would come a second part and guess what.. he did keep his promise! Check it out on his website, because it's again some real kick ass action!

Andre Paskowski in Jeri

2008-02-04T00:46:00.001+01:00

A short training session with Andre Paskowski and a real awesome capoeira dude.

Crazy days

2008-01-29T15:31:00.001+01:00

Looks likes some real kick ass wind report to me! And i'm gonna enjoy it from first row!!

Victor Fernandez Lopez : E42

2008-01-26T21:24:00.000+01:00

Just saw an amazing double loop from E42 on Continent Seven, one of the cleanest double loop's i've ever seen !

Moments

2008-01-17T10:36:00.000+01:00

It looks like that Lars Petersons (Feed Your Soul) and his crew made yet another great movie that shows us what true windsurfing means. Can't wait to see this one !
The trailer and more info can be found on their website: http://www.fym-productions.com/moments

Life is defined by unique moments. Dropping weightless down a perfect wave face, a carving turn, the feeling when you hit the lip with split-second perfection. The search for these experiences is what drives us. We will take you on a journey in pursuit of these magic moments, when the ocean invites you to play.

On the way we’ll hook up with Alex Mussolini in his hometown of Barcelona, for an extensive portrait of one of the world’s most radical riders.
Then Denmark, where Lars Petersen invites you to his home, with an exclusive guide to Klitmøller AKA ‘Cold Hawaii’.
Follow Lars and friends on an adventurous trip to Chile, a country emerging as one of the next great wavesailing destinations.
Then in Maui witness the JP team smash the boundaries of windsurfing. This truly radical group of riders go ballistic in the no.1 windsurfing arena in the world.

We have captured all these moments for you to enjoy!

Hookipa 2008 Debut Part Deux

2008-01-15T10:44:00.000+01:00

Here's part deux of the opening day of the 2008 wave season at Hookipa. Featured riders in this one include Robby Naish, Kevin Pritchard (probably the last video you'll see of KP on a Maui Sails sail, since it was announced today that they're splitting up), Levi Siver, Michi Schweiger, Kai Lenny, Leo Ray and Francisco Goya.

Again another great movie from Maui Windsurfing.

My first real sponsorship !

2008-01-12T18:24:00.000+01:00

2008 will be a great year. I've got for the first time a real sponsorship deal with nobody less than the great sails maker Aerotech ! So what a way to start the new year, isn't it :) You can view my teamriders profile here :)

Unlucky for me i've to deal with examen's first before i can start ripping on the water with my new sails.

My goals for this year is to sails much much much and much more than last year and to blast everybody away with new freestyle tricks ! I'm also gonna focus more on the waves so i hope this year the wind and waves will be better than last year.
I hope that i can amaze everybody this year, but i'm sure with the support i'm getting from Aerotech, and my girlfriend, it will be blasting and more important super fun year !

ACCEPT NO LIMITS

Tarifa Windsurfing Festival

2008-01-05T12:21:00.000+01:00

Last year, several days ago, there was the Tarifa Windsurfing Festival and the Belgium Freestyler's were great. All the locals were amazed by the moves and the very high level of the Belgium surfers. They got a real champagne shower to proof there greatness.

Results freewave (expression - session) MEN

Steven Van Broeckhoren; B-72; F2, Swatch, Q8, ONeill, Globe, Redbull, Adidas, Eyewear, Canon
Aleix Sanllehy Gonzalez; CAT-555; F2, North Sails, Fausto, Girocat, Style Arquiteatura
Dieter Van Der Eyken; B-35; Starboard, Severne, chosen, Surfing Wijnegem, Sola

Congratz to you all !

Tarifa Windsurfing Festival 2007 from Marcin on Vimeo.

Christmas

2007-12-25T16:37:00.000+01:00

Happy Christmas to you all!

Although i'm not an Christmas lover, there's one thing i always enjoy besides the presents :) Indeed, the great food (and mountains of it)!

My Christmas present's were great !! The windsurfing movie !!

If you haven't seen it yet, you should !! It is an magnificent, brilliant movie !

The other present was a real big one ! From now on, i'm a teamrider for Aerotech ! But more info will follow soon.

Freestyle @ Madagascar

2007-12-14T16:49:00.000+01:00

Some nice action going on @ Madagascar !

WINDSURFCHALLENGE

ACCEPT NO LIMITS

EFPT

2007-12-12T14:21:00.000+01:00

The EFPT has released their calender for the 2008 season. And it looks like their gonna hit Belgium again :)
This time it will be from 6 until 9 august @ Twins - Bredene.

I hope sincerely that the wind this year won't let us down like this year (2007). Because naturally it's more fun for a judge to get some actual judging :)

Also, from this year on, our Freestyle hero Steven Van Broeckhoven will be competing!! I'm pretty sure that he will do an excellent job, so watch out Paskowksi :D

SISP - IINDIAN BENEFIT @ BRUGGE

2007-12-10T16:37:00.000+01:00

Saturday 15 December, 19u - 8 euro!

Although this is a Belgian Benefit, you to can help SISP! Check out their website and be amazed by all the work that has been done SISP!

Non Planning Freestyle

2007-12-04T16:20:00.000+01:00

Some guy's are real acrobatics on the water. For example, non-planning freestyle addict Oscar "Ceasar". I've you thought you could flip you're sail perfectly, think again !

Watch this video and be amazed by the flip overs of this little chap in Bonaire. My favorite move comes around 2:18. It's just another proof that freestyling is really the best sport in the world, no matter what the conditions are !

ACCEPT NO LIMITS

What a great day

2007-12-03T21:42:00.000+01:00

Last sunday (2/12) was a super day for windsurfing!! It was a long time ago since i was overpowered by a 4.5 and i will cherish every moment of it. Although it wasn't very warm (about 10° degrees), the weather was doable apart from some rain (that really felt like hail).

Because it was so long ago for me to actually windsurf (and not windskate) i never stopped or got some rest which resulted in unfortunately no photo's or movies.. The good part of this though is that it's probably the first time in such extreme conditions i have not a single sort of damage, neither on my material or myself.. what a glories day ! :)

Now something else, my good deed for this year :) I've bought for me and my girlfriend an Charity String for SurfAid.
The FCS strings for charity are a high quality functional leash string of which 100% of FCS profits go to SurfAid International. The strings are bright blue as a symbol of your support to SurfAid.

Vote for your favorite windsurfers of 2007

2007-12-03T20:53:00.000+01:00

The German Windsurfing Association (DWSV), the organizers of top exhibition BOOT in Düsseldorf, and SURF, the windsurfing magazine, want your votes for the best athlete on the water this past season.

The PWA stars nominated are:

Men:
Kauli Seadi (Quatro / Naish) – Wave Sailing World Champion
Antoine Albeau (Starboard / NeilPryde) – World Slalom Champion
Marcilio Browne (Mistral / Gaastra) – Freestyle World Champion
Bjorn Dunkerbeck (T1 / North) – 3rd Overall Slalom
Jose 'Gollito' Estredo (Fanatic / North) – Freestyle runner-up
Victor Fernandez (Fanatic / Simmer) – Wave Sailing runner-up

Women:
Valerie Ghibaudo (Tabou) – Women’s Slalom runner-up
Karin Jaggi (F2 / North) – Slalom World Champion / 3rd overall Wave Sailing
Iballa Moreno (North) – Wave Sailing World Champion
Daida Moreno (North) - Women’s Freestyle World Champion / Runner-up Women’s Wave Sailing

The German Nationals competing on the PWA nominated for the German vote are:
Klaas Voget (Fanatic / NeilPryde)
Bernd Flessner (F2 / NeilPryde)
Norman Gunzlein (JP / NeilPryde)
Andre Paskowski (F2 / North)
Oliver Tom Schliemann (starboard / Naish)
Steffi Wahl (F2 / Gaastra)

I've done my work, Marcilio and Paskowski are getting my blessings :)
You can vote for your national and international favorites right here.

The winners will be honored at the Beachworld section of Düsseldorf Boat Show on January 19th, 2008.

FreeStyle With Progress - Part 3

2007-11-21T22:23:00.000+01:00

As promised, the movie of last sunday :)

FreeStyle With Progress - Part 3

ACCEPT NO LIMITS

Jeri - Part 3

2007-11-21T15:31:00.000+01:00

Part 3 from the jericoacoara video-diary is already out. It looks like they are pretty stoked on making video-diarys ;) This time it has some really nice freestyle actions included. Also the current EFPT champion, Andre Paskowski, get his share of attention. Although it isn't much worth, you can't see him in action on the water which is a real bummer..

Anyway, enjoy the movie and make sure you don't forget to pay a visit to Club Ventos

A great windskate session

2007-11-19T20:53:00.000+01:00

On Sunday 18 November there wasn't enough wind to surf in a cold weather of 4 degrees. So i went for a nice dirt session with Gino Joskowski. Gino spotted a nice industry parking on the Rijksweg in Willebroek (or Puurs, we don't know exactly) so went to check it out. Although the wind was slightly to much West it was still a magical spot !! But not only for the conditions and the lovely warming sun, but because i've done my first spock, eslider and switch stance air-jibe !!
Gino on the other hand perfected his flaka's and his special kind of chacho !!

New even better, because you won't believe me otherwise :), it's all on photo or on movie. I've posted some photo's below so you can start enjoying. The movie still needs some editing, but i will post it asap!

When i got home i saw a peacock on the roof of our neighbors and even for Belgium, that's a strange place for staying..

Ow yes, almost forgot to mention, about 2 weeks ago i had a little windskate session with Tommeke Peeters. Not many photo's but it was a lot of fun!

And know for the actual day i talked about.

Al the photo's are viewable right here :)

ACCEPT NO LIMITS

Nice waveriding

2007-11-19T18:41:00.000+01:00

Hookipa (Maui) had this month some great waves. Maui Windsurfing is showing of with there recent 3-part movie about those days. Just to keep us reminding that Hookipa is THE place for waveriding! ;)

Enjoy the movie.

Windskate.fr

2007-11-16T00:52:00.001+01:00

A French windskate movie i found recently (although it's 6 months old). I thought i would share it with you guys, cause it's a really nice one !! (nice intro to)

ACCEPT NO LIMITS

Sunday 11-11

2007-11-12T23:08:00.000+01:00

What a great day !

YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES

2007-11-04T19:57:00.000+01:00

I know it isn't very professional but hey, i'm so happy i really don't care... why ???

My airjibe (with dirtsurfing) is finally working!!!

YEEESS !!!!!!!!

Although i haven't proof for the moment, i'm working on it :)

Next step is now spock and grubby. And hopefully next weekend doing it on my surfboard! (But that will probably be a whole other story)

ACCEPT NO LIMITS

Windskate progress :: Part 2

2007-11-03T14:16:00.000+01:00

With no wind @ all, i have no other option then practicing my dirtskills. The airjibe is almost working but still doing something wrong. If you see it, don't hesitate to tell me !!!
I'm working also on a new move i've seen on the riders movie from Buhala. Don't know how its called, but it looks great. The only thing i can do so far is crash my ass of :-)

But for this session i had a little helper for getting my speed up. See the video for you're self and any comments are appreciated.

Music: Gold Lion - Yeah, Yeah, Yeah

Stay tuned for the next one.

ACCEPT NO LIMITS

Jeri - Part 2

2007-11-01T12:06:00.000+01:00

As promised, part 2 of the Jeri video-diary. This time the special is about 4 lovely windsurfing girls who are freestyling pretty nice.

ACCEPT NO LIMITS

Depressed

2007-10-29T11:18:00.000+01:00

Remember my previous post about the excellent windforcast? This is what's let over..

I'm truly depressed..

Today's fun session

2007-10-27T20:13:00.000+02:00

Because there wasn't any wind, we (as in me and my brother Seppe) went today out on a fun training session on our dirtboard. After an hour of real practice (for me at least) on my one-handed flaka and airjibe we were up for some real fun and slightly crazy experiment. But i'm gonna tell you about that later on, when the edditing of the movie is done. All i can tell for know is that you will need a good bike for this kind of fun :)

In the end it was a fun and various session. It delivered some nice photo's too.

I don't know if you see it, but it is a no-handed flaka. I'm pretty proud of it!

After a while my brother decided to try some jumps.

May the surfspirit be with you.

My first experience with dirtsurfing

2007-10-27T11:49:00.000+02:00

The blog is about progress and freestyle, so it's about time that i'm gonna to post something about my current state of technique. This little video (57 seconds) show very quickly the moves i've mastered so far (meaning after 5 hours of exercise) on my new Pro Freestyle Buhala board.

As you can see on the video, the editing needs also some improvement but hey, it's work of progress :)

Music : Toshiro Masuda - The Raising Fighting Spirit

You are free to post comments on my style and mistakes. The more feedback i get, the faster my progress will become (hopefully :))

I'm also thinking about making a site about dirtsurfing. With lot's of pictures and video's but perhaps more important some kind of tutorial for every move you can make (or at least every move i know or gonna know) on a windskate. I'm not sure yet if i'm gonna make a separate site dedicated to dirtsurfing alone or that i'm gonna put everything in here. Again let me know what you think what's best and if it's worth the effort.

May the surfspirit be with you.

Found by websurfing

2007-10-25T12:52:00.000+02:00

While surfing through the World Wide Web, an article on Continent Seven caught my attention.

It seems that Club Ventos have just launched a video diary, called "Jeri Diary". The reason is as simple. They want there dreamspot Jericoacoara to get more attention. Not only the windsurfing part but also the chica's and locals, the small fishing village, and so on...

I think it's a great idea to promote you're spot trough stuff like this. It gives you a more accurate picture of the spot and it's just fun to watch!

The first diary shows a bit of windsurfing action combined with shoots of Club Ventos and the people living there. Not super radical, but some nice wave riding and clean freestyle moves like flaka one handed, spock, some loops and almost a double front loop!

You can also see the movie on their website. My goal is to post every new diary here on fswp, so stay tuned for the next diary!

May the surfspirit be with you.

At last - some wind is coming to us !!!

2007-10-23T13:56:00.001+02:00

Finally !! Although is very early to be sure, it is somewhat great to have finally something to look forward to. Windguru is giving some pretty nice windforecast for the coming weekend and the week after.

Hopefully they come true (or get even better) ! At last i'm gonna get a change to get my dirtsurfing training from the past month to the test on the water. I'm quite curiose about how it's going to be. Will my flaka turn succesfully and what about the gozzada ??
Stay tuned because we're gonna soon find out !

May the surfspirit be with you.

Welcome on FSwP

2007-10-22T09:27:00.000+02:00

Let me start with saying ieps to you all !

I hope that you will like what you're gonna read and see on this brand new FSwP - FreeStyle with Progress blog. Perhaps first a little introduction on why and what FSwP is or should be meaning.

The what is fairly simple. It should all be about the greatest sport on this planet, SURFING !!! More specific about my personal experience around this mindblowing sport. You'll see (hopefully) my progression as i train to be a good wind- and dirtsurfer (or windskater, don't really know what's the best description for this kind of surfing). But it's not gonna be all about me. I'm going to try to post about everthing i find, see, experience and so one... probably you're gonna see some stuff from my dearest friends in the surfworld. Gino Joskowski and Tommeke Peeters who are super freestylers ! (or at least, compared with my skills for the moment :))

Now, for the why part... actually i'm inspired by the Maui Surf Report blog. I like his kinda relax style of blogging and sharing. Especially his personal "how-to" videos like the one about mounting points for a camera !!
A second reason is rather a logical one. I like to shoot pictures and film and stuff and it would be a bit of a waste to keep it all for myself or at least that's what i think.

So that would be it, the what and why at least :)

In the coming day's i'm going to try to post some photo's from a while back. I haven't photo's from the present because of the lack of wind !! :(
Because i'm still a student, i haven't much time in the week so al my hope's are on the weekend, but so far i haven't luck.

Ah, and last thing. As you probably noticed, my English is full of mistakes! Be a sport and don't make a big deal of it. I'm trying hard :-)

May the surfspirit be with you.