What a winter, eh? Seems hardly a week’s passed
without at least a couple of days of Force 5+ (often waaay
more!) and air temps at or above 10°C, while the sea’s only
recently dipped below double figures. Plus our fair share of sun,
with waves in all the right places too; it’s a fine time to be a
British windsurfer – just check out the How
Was It For You? section of our Online
Forums for testament to that. Let’s just hope 2007 gets windier
and warmer from here on in.

Issue #229
The March 2007 edition of BOARDS Magazine is out this
week – and it’s packed full of motivation to see you through
’til spring…

But what does that mean, exactly?

Let’s kick off with the inspirational – Tristan
Boxford recounts his Perfect Day at Backyards
on Oahu’s North Shore in the company of Naish, Polakow and Volwater
(and providing some of the most epic waveriding pix we’ve printed
for a fair while). Elsewhere, Gregg talks to this issue’s meteoric
Best of British success story – Jamie Hancock.

Then the aspirational – Challenge Gregg
returns with our brave boy Dunnett taking up the gauntlet of Learning
to Cheese-Roll. And Jem Hall’s Wannabe a Wavesailor?
continues with Getting it Together; kit choice, set-up
and tuning for the waves.

The educational – technique-wise, Simon
Bornhoft’s QuickTips explore how to get more than water
up your nose from a wipe-out, and we present a page on how to carry
your kit on The Long Walk Home. Also, do you know
the difference between Freemoves & Freerides?
Our Test Team certainly do now, having pitted 16 such 62-66cm
/ 100-110L designs head-to-head in El Tur. And while we’re
asking the questions; How Big is It? The wave on the
cover above, that is. Despite being well over mast-high, the correct
answer’s probably "6 foot"! Discover why in this
month’s issue.

The celebrational [sorry, am I taking this too
far?] sees us publish the Top 100 Boards EVER,
as voted for by you, and feature some action from surely the mildest
and windiest UK Winter in living memory.

And, of course, the vacational [OK, OK –
travel…] as we visit Sicily with Jean Souville,
Vietnam with Chris Pressler, and the hot new speedsailing
destination of Namibia with Dave White.

Not forgetting the conversational – Startline,
News, Post, Diary of a Young
Gun, our new Blogs from the Bogs, Readers’
Pix…

BACK TO
SCHOOL?
As spring gathers pace, what better time to brush up
on your technique? Our Online
Shop boasts 3 new offerings on DVD to suit most ability levels…

Jem Hall’s Beginner
to Winner is our top pick this month – 4 hours of coaching
from one of the best in the business on every aspect of technique
from your first uphaul all the way to one-handed jumps and duck-gybes,
with seemingly everything in-between. Less a film, more an encyclopedia
of windsurfing for entry-level to intermediate sailors…

Guy Cribb’s new INtuition:
Gybing & Core Skills might, at first glance, seem a bit
specialised. It concentrates on that most elusive of benchmark manoeuvres,
the carve gybe; something that acres of magazine pages and miles
of tape have been devoted to before. But Guy’s style is fresh and
genuinely brings something new to the party; everyone from early-intermediates
to competent gybers will learn something from this one.

Meanwhile, for all you wavesailors (or – with
apologies to Jem – wannabe wavesailors), Sam Ireland’s
Pro
Secrets: Real World Waves is that little bit different. Focussing
exclusively on onshore wavesailing, it’s described as a "peer
to peer DVD". Canadian PWA sailor Sam has basically recorded
the thoughts and deeds of some fellow World Cuppers alongside top
designers on the subject of onshore wavesailing. The result is an
audience with Robby Naish, Josh Angulo, Scott Mckercher, Levi Siver,
Keith Teboul, Richard Greene, Robert Stroj, Jason Diffin, Peter
Volwater, Jesse Brown, Tristan Boxford, Anne Marie Riechmann, Daida
Moreno, Matt Pritchard and Jason Polakow on the technicalities and
minutiae of ‘real world wavesailing’, combined with footage of the
stuff they’re talking about. Not something you get a chance to do
every day, unless you live on Maui of course…

BOARDS CLASSIFIED
ADS
If you’re wondering where to advertise your windsurfing
kit, then wonder no more. The BOARDS ONLINE classifieds ads section
is now better than ever, with the boards section now connected in
to our awesome online database of production boards, listing every
board produced since 2000 (now
updated for 2007), and our test database. So now it’s that
much easier to find out about kit that you’re considering buying.

        Better still, we’ve
introduced a new grade of classified ad. Online-only ads are still
free, but for just £5 you can now go for the ‘Priority’ ad,
which allows you also to upload a picture, ensures that your ad
will appear at the top of any relevant searches, appears on the
ad main page and the main site home page, AND gets a free listing
in this magazine. Check it out at www.boards.co.uk/classifieds

BOARDS e-Zine
BOARDS is also available as an electronic magaZine.
Every issue in its entirety, containing all of the same top-notch
editorial as the print version, but delivered as an e-mail download.

Members of the BOARDS ONLINE SUBSCRIBER PRIVILEGE
CLUB are entitled to receive the BOARDS e-Zine
at no extra cost. To indicate that you would like to receive the
next issue, please go online (by the 15th of the month before publication)
to the BOARDS website at www.boards.co.uk,
go into your account
settings page (click on your name, at the top left of the screen),
and check the relevant box. Be sure to check also that your e-mail
address is correct, and the same as the one you use to register
with Zinio.

Convenience like never before, and check out
these added benefits:

Immediate Access – Get your issues
as they hit the newsstand, then read them anytime.

Easy Navigation – Search keywords in seconds, plus
quick links to specific content.

Paperless Archive – Keep back issues on your computer
for fast reference and easy storage.

Added Content – Enjoy embedded movies, animation,
sound … and click on hyperlinks to jump direct to websites.

Click here
or below to buy the March 2007 issue.

Free BOARDS
Desktops
Available to download from BOARDS Online, March’s BOARDS
Desktops feature Henrik Fahlen sailing at Varberg in Sweden
… on a 2.2m Naish Ripper in 80 knots of wind! Pic by Mathieu Turries
– www.alohaphoto.nu

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See you
on the water…

Best wishes from [email protected]
and the whole BOARDS team:
Bill, Ian, Simon, Gregg, Gary, Fred, Claire, Shelagh,
Tom and James