If you wonder what quiver you should have in 2016... Follow this link to see what the pros have choosen:
nor.pwaworldtour.com/Registered_slalom_equipment_korea_2016.htm

Having a very quick look I noticed Finian Maynard is with Gun Sails (no longer with Avanti)? I thought he was one of Avanti's developers and part owner?

Has Josh Angulo registered NP Sails?

Seems like the Starboard men sailors have chosen 87/90, 107 and 134 and the Starboard women gone for 87, 97 and 114.

Interesting link.

Good read l suppose the top sailors go for fastest equipment! I would if l was that good .

Top sailors go for the best sponsorship deal.

Only one aussie in the list and no aussie women.

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Piv said...
Only one aussie in the list and no aussie women.

Its amazing so many good fast sailors in oz .l know its hard to get a good sponsor over here .shame !

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sausage said..
Having a very quick look I noticed Finian Maynard is with Gun Sails (no longer with Avanti)? I thought he was one of Avanti's developers and part owner?

Finian parted with Avanti in July 2015. He spent last season with North Sails and is now with Gun Sails. Do not know why they split with Kaseler. A quote from Avanti:

"In the last couple years, Avanti hasn't had elite PWA slalom results to back its products. Like an NFL team that makes the tough decision to replace their aging starting quarterback, Avanti is charging forward to rebuild and refresh its team. We are a results driven company. Finian Maynard will not move forward with us as we drive our brand into the future.
Everyone in the group is chomping at the bit to inject fresh blood into our slalom and testing programs. When you have the best technology, you want the best riders to prove it. Right now, we are actively pursuing an athlete to become the face of our race program going forward".

Looks like they hired Julien Quentel who took 5th place in what appears to be the only elimination in Korea. Finian did not look good at all in Korea.

(I just bought two Avanti sails, hence my strange interest in the brand ;-)

Wow, this is a very European centric competition. No North or South Americans, one Australian and a handful of Japanese and Koreans. Why is windsurfing so popular in Europe?

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John340 said..
Wow, this is a very European centric competition. No North or South Americans, one Australian and a handful of Japanese and Koreans. Why is windsurfing so popular in Europe?

My guess based on no evidence is that the list would be slight skewed to non U.S as there is also a very strong American Windsurfing Tour.

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NR said..

John340 said..
Wow, this is a very European centric competition. No North or South Americans, one Australian and a handful of Japanese and Koreans. Why is windsurfing so popular in Europe?

My guess based on no evidence is that the list would be slight skewed to non U.S as there is also a very strong American Windsurfing Tour.

And most of the events are head in Europe, less travel for Europeans.

The AWT only has wave sailing and does not have slalom events. So perhapes my question should be rephrased to "Why is windsurfing slalom so popular in Europe compared to the Americas, Asia and Africa?"

Surely having an abundance of inland lakes and not much open ocean would push your sailing style towards slalom rather then wavesailing?

Oh and you can drive across Europe in the same time as Sydney to Brisbane

The only aussie is steve allen and he lives in poland. Europe and usa are different euros race f1, yanks race nascar. We once had a nice pwa slalom event at scarborough but its an awefull long way for them to come and our peak is their off season when they all want a rest. It would be nice to see a few more aussies make the the journey.

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Al Planet said...
Has Josh Angulo registered NP Sails?

My guess is he opted to buy his gear rather than chase a deal. He's often in Maui (where almost all the brands are), probably tested every brand and found the setup that works best for him. This can sometimes be a good way to approach it as you can mix/match your gear a bit to be perfect in all conditions.

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John340 said..
Wow, this is a very European centric competition. No North or South Americans, one Australian and a handful of Japanese and Koreans. Why is windsurfing so popular in Europe?

I think it's been this way for a number of years now. Europe still has a lot of money to put on these big events and there's still huge windsurfing hubs in Europe (ie, on a regular summer's day there's almost 1,000 people out sailing on Lake Garda, Italy) which keep the numbers healthy. For the Europeans it's much cheaper to fly to all the events... for example, Korea is MUCH easier/cheaper to get to from Europe with numerous airlines with friendly baggage policies available whereas from AUS I'm not even sure how I would get there from the east coast with 4 bags of gear? Then the rest of the events are in Europe.