You are known for being a minimalist on your gear in Slalom – for someone looking to keep gear costs down – give us a
breakdown of your quiver
TF – My Quiver would be as follows
with 4 sails and 3 boards…
Sail: Gaastra Sails: 8.6, 7.9, 7.1, 6.4
Board: Starboard iSonic 120, 107, 87
iSonic120: fin size 44
iSonic107: Zfin – size 38
iSonic87: Drake Slalom DW Ready to Race – size 34
and for 3 sails and 2 boards…
Sail: Gaastra Sails – 7.9 7.1 5.6
Board: Starboard iSonic 110, 97
iSonic110: Zfin – size 42
iSonic97: Drake Slalom DW Ready to Race – size 34 / 36
With these two quivers I can cover any wind strength from 30 plus knots, down to 12 knots. You can minimize most of the cost when you know the exact amount of gear that you’ll need. It stops you buying certain boards, sails, and fins that you will just never use. The money you spend on windsurfing should go towards kit you’ll actually use and not just kit that will lie around your house.
What are your top tips for going fast and gybing round a slalom course.
TF – I’ve always been told the bigger sail the faster you will go, and the taller and heavier you are the faster you’ll go too. But actually I never believed in this, that’s why I put myself up to challenge the world’s best in Slalom. With my mind being open, anything is possible. I choose my slalom quiver carefully and always use a size smaller sail and board then my opponents. That way I have the advantage of going faster as my board and sail will suit my body weight and height. I can jibe and be in control of my gear in all situations. If you can handle and control your gear, you will always be faster. Having smaller gear makes jibing faster and will also help you get out of the jibe quicker too, whereas the bigger guys with bigger sails and boards need more time to do all that. I always try to get as much power off my fin, that’s why I always use a bigger fin size. When the wind gets lighter I can always use the fin power to get through the lulls. It’s basically about tactics. My jibing style comes from all the freestyle I do, but also when I first started windsurfing I used to do a lot of Long Board “IMCO” sailing and we used to train a lot. I guess all that time on a long board and also freestyling made me a good jiber.
