COMPARISON
As Roger and Ken meticulously work their way through the sails, rigging and checking every detail in the process, he comments to me that he likes to compare the Tushingham in car terms as the VW in the market. “VWs are superb quality and do exactly what they say on the tin. We feel Tushingham do a solid job for the windsurfer on the street – just like a VW!” Utilizing the talents of world-class designer Ken Black, Roger has no qualms that they can match the performance and quality of any other brand in the market. He’s not ashamed to admit that Tushingham are not a Ho’okipa or World Cup race brand, but in the past that has proved an advantage, because Tushingham are more connected with recreational sailors. Emphasising this fact he adds “Normal windsurfers don’t need a World Cup race sail. We tried to rig one up the other day and really struggled, believe me – and we know what we’re doing! Our aim is to make sails that are easy to use, durable, good value, well balanced and with a wide range of use. When windsurfing boomed in the 80s it was very simple, so I think we need to move back in that direction.” By late afternoon the last details have been checked over, Roger has to rush off and catch the next ferry, he’s headed to Warwickshire to pick up a new engine for his motor bike – but that’s a whole other story …