Peter Volwater, How to trim your gear!
It was definitely time for LOCALSAILING.NL to interview a DUTCH top windsurfer. Peter Volwater NED24, one of the best Dutch windsurfers at the moment, took some time for an interview with us and again an interview with quite some detailed information.
Talking about the design changes of the new FANATIC Falcon and sailing improvements. The variety of fins Peter is using and last but not least about MAUISAILS and the modification of next year.
Is he going for a speed record this year?........If you are curious then relax and read it all here!
Hope you like it; Localsailing.nl
LOCALSAILING: Peter, we saw you in the addicted to ride 6 trailer on the, I guess, the new Falcon. Can you tell us about the change, development and design objective of the 2011 model?
PETER: THE FIRST BOARDS I SAILED WHEN I JOINED FANATIC WHERE THE FALCON 86 AND 112. I STARTED GETTING SOME NICE SPEEDS ON THE 86 THAT I NEVER REACHED BEFORE ON A HIGH WIND SLALOM BOARD AND KNEW STRAIGHT AWAY THAT THIS IS A VERY SPECIAL BOARD. I TOOK THE 112 TO AUSTRALIA AND WON THE LANCELIN OCEAN CLASSIC IN FRONT OF BJORN AND STEVE WHO WERE ALREADY ON THEIR NEW SAILS. SO I KNEW THAT THIS BOARD IS A KILLER TOO. BY MARCH FANATIC SENT ME THE FIRST 2011 PROTOTYPE 112 AND WHEN I TESTED IT I WAS BLOWN AWAY BY THE PERFORMANCE . BASICALLY SEBASTIAN GOT RID OF THE OPENING V, TO HELP TRIM THE BOARD AND TO ALSO MAKE THEM ACCELERATE BETTER. SOME OTHER CHANGES IN THE BOTTOM SHAPE, SLIGHTLY FULLER RAILS AND A LOWERED MAST TRACK RESULTED IN BOARDS THAT MEASURED AVERAGE 2 KPH FASTER, SAIL MORE COMFORTABLE ON A NATURAL SQUARE REACH WHICH IS THE COURSE THAT PEOPLE GENERALLY SAIL AND GIVING A MORE COMFORTABLE STANCE FOR THE FEET DUE TO THE CURVE IN THE RAILS. ALL IN ALL I'M CONFIDENT THAT THESE NEW SLALOM BOARDS ARE ROCKING!!
LOCALSAILING: Can you explain to us how a new board development process works with the Falcon and Ray for example? Have you been directly involved in the development and what is your input as team rider?
PETER: I HAVE BEEN GIVEN THE RESPONSIBILITY TO TEST THE BOARDS AND I MADE SURE TO TRY THEM IN DIFFERENT SPOTS IN SEVERAL CONDITIONS AND GAVE THE SHAPER AND TEAM MY FEEDBACK WITH TEST REPORTS. I WAS VERY CAREFUL TO EXPLAIN THE DETAILS OF MY EXPERIENCE ON THE WATER ONLY WITHOUT GOING INTO THE NUMBERS AND SHAPING DETAILS, WHICH IS SEBASTIAN'S SPECIALITY. I'VE TRIED TO BE VERY SPECIFIC HOW THE BOARDS PERFORM AND WELL, WAS IMPRESSED WITH THE IMPROVED SHAPES THAT SEBASTIAN DESIGNED! THERE IS MUTUAL RESPECT WHICH IS IMPORTANT I GUESS.
LOCALSAILING: You changed last year from F2 to Fanatic, it looks like you are pretty comfortable with that change. What are the main differences with Fanatic?
PETER: I AM SUPER HAPPY WITH THE BOARD RANGE, THE BOARDS ARE REALLY GREAT ACROS THE RANGE WITH ALSO EXCEPTIONAL WAVE BOARDS! THE SHAPES ARE SUITABLE IN A WIDE RANGE OF CONDITIONS.
THE COMPANY IS RUN PROFESSIONALLY AND I THINK THAT FANATIC HAS A REPUTATION OF QUALITY AND RELIABILITY.
THE GRAPHICS FOR THE 2011 BOARDS ARE A DIFFERENT DIMENSION, I USED TO SAIL THE MAMBA, RAT AND CAT IN THE OLD DAYS AND THOSE GRAPHICS USED TO BE A LEVEL UP FROM THE REST ALREADY.
LOCALSIALING: Did you already had the opportunity to test any new TR (X )from MauiSails, can you reveal what they are up to for 2011?
PETER: I HAVE NOT HAD THE OPPORTUNITY TO GO TO MAUI AND TRY THE FIRST NEW PROTOTYPES BUT I HAVE SENT THE GUYS ON MAUI LOTS OF FEEDBACK AND REPORTS AND I HOPE THAT THIS INFORMATION WILL HELP TO LEAD TO AN IMPROVED AND MORE COMPETITIVE RACE SAIL. THE SAIL WILL HAVE A SHORTER LUFF LENGTH AND A CLEW CUTOUT. THE AIM IS A STABLE AND POWERFUL BODY WITH A PROGRESSIVE TWIST AND A LIGHT HANDLING THROUGH CHANGES IN LUFF CURVE AND SHAPING.
LOCALSAILING: Which slalom boards and rigs (sizes) do you use during the PWA tour with the 6-3 rule? And why those in particular?
PETER: I REGISTERED THE 86 / 112 / 145 L Falcons and TR-6: 5,5/6,3/7,0/7,6/8,4 XT/9,2.
THATS WHAT I PREFERRED WHEN TRYING ALL MY GEAR AT THE START OF THE SEASON AND COVERS THE COMPLETE WIND RANGE AND CONDITIONS.
LOCALSAILING: The PWA slalom tour is now approx. halfway. With the knowledge that you have now, would you change anything to the choice of these board sizes and rig sizes?
PETER: I KNOW THAT I MADE A GOOD DECISION REGISTERING THE GEAR I HAVE HAD TO CHOOSE FROM AND I COULD NOT CHANGE ANYTHING.
LOCALSAILING: What are your secrets of trimming and tuning your gear in relation to wind force, water (wave)conditions.
PETER: I WILL MOVE THE MAST TRACK BACK AS FAR AS UNTIL THE BOARD STARTS FLYING . WHEN I NEED MORE CONTROL BECAUSE OF ROUGH WATER I MIGHT MOVE THE BOOM DOWN A BIT. FOOT STRAPS FORWARD WILL GIVE YOU MORE CONTROL IN HIGH WIND ALSO, BUT WHEN IT REALLY GETS ROUGH, IT IS ALL ABOUT LENGTHENING THE HARNESS LINES AND MOVING THEM FORWARD.
LOCALSAILING: What are the main differences in sail trim when you rig a large sail for light wind conditions and a small sail for heavy wind conditions? What about your stance?
PETER: BY PULLING MORE DOWNHAUL YOU GET THE NOSE OF THE BOARD OUT OF THE WATER AND THE BOARD MORE ON THE TAIL. RELEASE THE TENSION TO KEEP THE NOSE DOWN FOR MORE CONTROL. ALL IN ALL IT'S ABOUT TUNING AND FINDING A NICE BALANCE. MY FOOT STRAPS ARE USUALLY ALL THE WAY BACK UNTILL IT GETS WINDIER I WILL WIDEN MY STANCE AND PUT THE FORWARD STRAP FURTHER FORWARD.
LOCALSAILING: You are not bound to a fin supplier which gives you the flexibility to try and use whatever you like. But how do you select the right fin since there are so many fin suppliers?
PETER: I LIKE MY C3 FINS, IN WEST AUSTRALIA I WON THE LEDGE TO LANCELIN IN THE BEGINNING OF THE YEAR ON THE STING WHICH IS THEIR LATEST SLALOM VERSION AND I'VE BEEN USING IT THROUGHOUT THE YEAR. ITS STABLE AND RELIABLE AND HAS PLENTY OF POWER. THE HURRICANE FINS ARE ALSO REALLY GOOD AND I LIKE THEM IN THE BIGGER SIZES. YOU DON'T KNOW UNTIL YOU TRY THEM WHICH ONES FIT YOUR BOARD BEST. BOARD, FIN AND SAIL NEEDS TO BE A GOOD COMBINATION.
LOCALSAILING: What fins and sizes are you using with your Falcons?
PETER: 30-32 CM IN THE FALCON 86, 36-40 IN THE 112 AND 45-48 IN THE 145
LOCALSAILING: How do you develop your race strategy before the race? Can you explain how you figure out what the best spot is on the starting line?
PETER: YOU TRY TO BE AGGRESSIVE AND OBSERVATIVE, AND BE COMPLETELY FOCUSSED IN THE MOMENT. THERE ARE A LOT OF THINGS THAT DETERMINE WHERE I WILL START. FIRST OF ALL THE WIND DIRECTION TO THE START LINE AND FROM WHERE ITS MORE FAVORABLE OFF COURSE IT IS NICE TO START AT THE PIN AND ARRIVE TO THE BUOY ON THE INSIDE. BUT WHEN ITS TOO CROWDED THERE AND YOU ONLY HAVE TO QUALIFY, GETTING SOME CLEAN AIR IS NICE TOO WHILE YOU LET THE OTHERS FIGHT AND ONLY ONE OR TWO GET AWAY CLEAR. THE MIDDLE OF THE LINE CAN BE THE SAFEST BET SOMETIMES. IF YOU START WITH SPEED ON TIME COMING DOWN WIND OVER THE LINE AND YOU DON'T HAVE TO DEAL WITH ANYONE, YOU ARE USUALLY LOOKING PRETTY GOOD.
LOCALSAILING: What do you think, are we going to see Peter Volwater chasing any speed record in the future? What are your personal goals for the future?
PETER: LAST YEAR I CRASHED REALLY HARD HITTING A SANDBANK AT 75 KMPH AND GOT BADLY INJURED. I STILL LIKE GOING FAST ITS ADDICTIVE! FOR NOW I WANT TO CONCENTRATE ON SLALOM AND PWA AND KEEP WAVE RIDING IN BIGGER WAVES WHICH IS WHAT I LIKE TO DO EVEN MOST! I DON'T HAVE THE TIME TO COMMIT FULLY TO CHASING RECORDS, BUT WHEN THE CONDITIONS ARE THERE, WHY NOT?!
LOCALSAILING: Thanks for the interview and we wish you lots of good windsurfing conditions and succes in your windsurfing career. We hope to hear from your soon in the rankings.