“There is no magical set up here in Fuerteventura! In windy conditions the technical skill and level of the rider makes the biggest difference, it is much more important than in light winds. That is why I, Ross, Pierre and Matteo have done well. Cederic Bordes and several of the French guys sail strong when it’s very windy because they sail in those conditions at home. A lot of riders train too much in the light winds. We mostly compete in light winds but for me this is the real racing I enjoy. In light winds if you don’t have the best equipment it will be very tough to win. In the high winds I rode the 98 RRD and the Neil Pryde 5.6. Arnon helps test the boards, he is trying to make them easy to gybe and also to go fast on the reaches. In Fuerteventura the first reach is always quite long and it is important to be first at the mark. You need a lot of control and you need the board to fly over the chop. The hard part is the balance between speed and the gybe. The tail and the shape of the rails are vital. If the rails are too square then it will be more difficult to gybe. Rounder rails are easier. I can use this board with a 5.6 but can also use it with a 7.8, which it is more comfortable with. This year with the sails we have switched to skinny masts, which makes the sail a little bit softer. It is easier to ride. I don’t use very long harness lines in the high winds. I saw some people with very long lines but I don’t like them long, I have been using 28-30cm lines. If you get used to the long lines I think they can work. I have adjustable lines so I can trim the gear while I am sailing, I just want to be comfortable, and I don’t care how long the lines are! At this event I used a waist harness. Normally in the contest I use a seat harness but now I am trying the waist harness to see how it goes. I use a normal 32 fin like everyone else. You can’t go smaller because the boards are pretty big for high winds and if you have smaller you will lose some grip and crash! The colour of the sails is very nice! When the weather is grey, the fluorescent colours really show up! I work a lot with Arnon, Enrico, Malte and Sebastian on all the Neil Pryde sails and we do our absolute best on the development. This work pays off. The light wind side of the sport is the most competitive. Everybody is working hard on the bigger sails so it is difficult to gain any advantages. In the heavy winds our 6.4 and 5.6 are machines and I think they are extremely fast sails. The key for winning races is to be comfortable. I did not have time to try my 5.6 and 6.4 prior to the racing in Fuerteventura. I arrived a few days before and I was lucky and managed to use them both for a testing session. The sails turned out to be great, I am super happy with them!”
