Windsurfing has always been a highly individualistic activity. It is very hard to share our sensations; many even refuse to share their wave! We felt that windsurfing as part of a team, sharing our joy and our problems could bring a new dimension to our sport. I started it nice and easy a few years ago with Régis Bourdon, doing the Défi Wind together on a tandem. I then welcomed a third crewmember, Matthieu Vinceneux, on an even longer board and confirmed that the motto “the more the merrier” can also be successfully applied to windsurfing. So why not push it a bit further hey? The idea of the Quadem was born.
The SCIENCE
The Tridem had transformed the way we conceived windsurfing as a team and offers nothing comparable to riding on a tandem. Building the board was a technological challenge that Pierre Bracar successfully faced, but what a stress it was. Since we wanted to go fast, we forbade ourselves to train with less than 40 knots of wind… probably not the best option overall. The sailing also got extremely tricky and technical, synchronizing the action of three riders becoming a serious headache. We spent a lot of time training last autumn, discussing at length after each session the potential of our Beast and our dreams of speed records. The main idea was pretty simple. We started from the scientifically accepted fact that the speed of a sailing vessel is defined by / depends on the total sail area, the overall weight and the total wetted area on the bottom shape. After many calculations that kept us all very busy during our winter evenings, we came up with the conclusion that we had to get a fourth rider. In our eyes, it was then clear that the Quadem would become the fastest sailing vessel of all time.
Xavier Huart, ex pro rider of world class level in waves and slalom and now based in the Pays Basque, was dreaming of making a comeback onto the windsurfing scene – and not just any sort of comeback – but with a performance that would blow everyone away. The new team was complete and we were already starting to dream about standing on the highest step of the Défi Wind podium and taking the trophy away from Pierre Mortefon and Antoine Albeau. The Tridem was well and truly buried in our minds and we now needed to find the ultimate dream team to help us build a revolutionary 4-man board like nothing ever made before.