As one of the very few lightweight slalom riders on tour how do you keep up with the big boys?
TF – It’s hard to keep up with the bigger boys truth said, but I always believed that there could be a chance to beat them, and I know I have the will, courage and hunger to do so. I think in 2007 I competed in Slalom in Pozo and finished 9th using the SuperX Starboard S-type 94 litre. That motivated me more to keep up slalom sailing and it made me believe that actually light weight sailors do have a chance to do good or even win in Slalom. Weighing 70kgs and finishing top 10 in Slalom pissed off a lot of guys. I also got disqualified for the most ridiculous reasons because I was always jibing on the inside cutting them off and making them lose places, so thank goodness they took that rule off, oh yeah ! As far equipment setup, I always try to get the most power from my boards and sails. I always put my foot straps all the way in the back strap inserts and have my sail down-hauled as much as possible. My boom is at chin height in light & strong winds but my lines are at 28 cm in light wind and 30 cm in high wind. The fin to me is the more important part. I never go smaller unless I really have to, so I always stick to the same fin size even in light and strong winds. I do however change down to a smaller sail, because then in my mind I know I will always have the same board feeling and board control and the sail is all I need to worry about. This gives me a better feeling and less to think about. It’s maybe because I am freestyle windsurfing so much that I have developed this technique. It definitely helped me during my progression into Slalom.
How do you tune your gear when your training is mostly done by yourself?
TF – The fact is every Professional or normal windsurfer has their own way of windsurfing, tuning, and feeling the way their gear is working for them. All my Slalom gear is tuned and tested by myself and I really don’t like someone telling me that you need to pull more downhaul, you need to have more outhaul, or the fin is too small or too big. I rig my gear the way I feel comfortable with, which is all that matters. I love my gear setup. Nowadays I just look at the specs on the sail and rig them accordingly to the downhaul spec, but I usually go 2cm less on the outhaul to have a deeper profile.
