STEVE FARTHING / ENGLISH VERSION

STEVE FARTHING / WORLD KAYAKSURF MASTERS HP CHAMPION



Name: Steve Farthing
Age: 43
Address: Brisbane Australia
Occupation: self employed
Paddling since: Kayaks 10 months, Waveskis 30 years
Gear: Random Kayak, Blades Paddle, Gath Helmet Nookie spray deck and wetsuit, Wavemaster waveski
Sponsors: Random, Wavemaster, Gath and Nookie

Sportive achievements: Waveski - world top 15 for many years, Kayak - Current world masters champion HP and 5th Open HP
Favourite break: Southport Spit on Queenslands Gold Coast

Your opinion about the Worlds in Portugal:
Unreal, best competition I've ever been to.

Your favourite destination for the next Worlds:
I now know its in the US but would prefer to have it in Australia

Your personal vision about the Ocean Spirit Festival:
Hold the next world waveski titles there

How do you see the evolution of kayaksurf in the near future:
Design improvements to get waveski like performance

How is kayaksurf in Australia:
Small but we're keen to make something happen here. I think you'll see a few waveski surfers take it up.

Personal objectives in the sport:
win the world open HP title and back up the masters title

Personal thoughts about Portugal:
great surf and great people I want to come back,

He won in the Portuguese Kayakurf Worlds the title of Masters HP. Weeks later, went home to participate in the Waveski World Titles. Steve Farthing is the right man to give us a small balance of both events. Check out the answers:

Hi Steve. You were this year in two World Championships - kayaksurf and waveski. What will you remember about this two events?

Both were terrific well run events. Kayaksurf being associated with Ocean Spirit did have the edge though with the massive infrastructure, music festival and crowds as well as exposure to other surf disciplines. Apart from the competitive side of things I really enjoyed meeting new people with a common interest and now I have a bunch of new friends living on the other side of the world. From a waveski perspective we had great surf, I got to catch up with all my old mates and had a ball behind the mic. Didnt have the best of competitions in terms of results but had some great freesurfs and landed some of the biggest aerials of my life.

Differences and similarities between the two experiences...

Waveskis have more than 30 years of competition and design behind them hence there are more guys doing bigger moves and we saw them at Coffs Harbour (just check out http://www.subgraviti.com and http://www.peniorphotography.com and http://www.kayaksurf.net/reportagem.html) . When I look at Surf Kayaks in particular the Random Evolution which was designed around a waveski I can see the gap closing particularly if you can get a few of the top waveskiers on board. They're both really fun sports with great people involved and I really think we have an opportunity to merge both disciplines, I'm hooked on both and cant wait till the next event.

Last words: I'm totally addicted cant wait for my new boat.

ALL THE PHOTOS HERE:
http://www.kayaksurf.net/SteveFarthing.html

XAVER WALSER / ENGLISH VERSION

The director passionate about waveski



Xaver Walser: Director. Born in South Africa but somehow made his way to the Alps and nowadays snowboarding in Switzerland. Xaver runs a production company in St. Moritz where he supplies news and current affairs to broadcasters from around the world.

Age: 36
Occupation: Filmmaker
Paddling since: I was 17
Gear: KS Designs
Website: http://www.subgraviti.com/
Sponsors: KS Designs, Worldriders Clothing

Hi Xaver. What can I say... you've done an excellent work with subgraviti.com !! Remind us how all started...
I started Sub Graviti as a production company with my first waveski video (then still on VHS) called Open your Mind. It was about 3 years travelling around the world with a small simple video camera 15 years ago. www.subgraviti.com went online in 2003 so that I could distribute and market my films to a worldwide audience. That was the one half of my motivation. The other 50% is just purely out of the love for the sport of waveski and seeing it grow and leaving a legacy behind.

B-Sides, Gateway to Sorga, SGP News... lots of movies. I know that they all are important for you but, what video production would you like to highlight from all these?
Its actually now my 9th video that I am working on for waveski. Open your Mind, Mutual Addiction, Cryptic Meanings, SGP News Vol 1.0, KaziLines, Amaza Africa, Gateway to Sorga, B-Sides and now Project P10.
My favorite would probably still be my first one Open your Mind. Just because it was complete freedom with very little worries travelling the globe with my brother. Chasing empty waves, experiencing different countries and its because of that film that I am doing what I am doing today.

Now about Project P10. Present us this new adventure...
Project P10 was just the name that I used to hide the film project while I was still searching for a name. It will be a combination of 5 different destinations all in one film. J-Bay South Africa, Australia, La Reunion Island, France and now Portugal. I wanted to do something very energetic with very young riders to set this film apart from anything that I have done before.

Who are the "stars" of this project?
There will be a few of the usual suspects and then the new young generation. Usual Suspects: Mathieu Babarit FR, Rees Duncan AUS, Caroline Angibaud FR, Malan Calitz RSA, Travis Best AUS and Neal Stephenson RSA
New kids: Tyler Lausten (22) HI, Lionel Angibaud (23) FR, Chris Hobson (21) IRL, Mathieu Jonneaux (17) FR, Coralie Jousset (23) FR, Virgile Humbert (18) GUAD, Arthur Schott (16) RUN, André Burger (22) RSA

Is this a project mainly done due the Worlds in Portugal?
It was partly my motivation since we will use Worlds 2011 together with the Ocean Spirit Festival as the official world wide premier for the new film (we are working closely together with the organisation of the Ocean Spirit to ensure a spectacular world wide premier at the festival). But mostly since I was super impressed with what Watertech was doing in Portugal and seeing so many good things happening for waveski in Portugal that I wanted to bring the worlds best here to show and motivate the Portuguese waveskiers. Then lastly since Portugal has got so many amazing uncrowded waves and it was about time that I did another visit to this great country.

What are your expectations regarding next Worlds?
I believe Bruno Melo knows what he is doing and that Worlds is in excellent hands for 2011. Its a great privilege for waveski to have guys like Bruno and Rui Calado as part of the sport. To see such a lot of motivation and always finding a solution to any problem is refreshing and motivates people like myself to do more for the sport.

How do you see waveski and kayaksurf evolution in the world?
This was another huge motivation why I was all amped to work on P10. Seeing Dave Speller (Surf Kayak World Champion) ripping it up this year at the European Waveski Championship in France made me realise that surf kayakers are hungry for more speed on the waves. To see what Chris Hobson (famous surf kayaker from Ireland) was doing after just 2 weeks of waveskiing in Portugal was just mind blowing. He struggled to paddle, but when he got on the waves the sky was the limit. Then, when you see whats happening coming from the kayak manufacturers side is another exciting development.

To my knowledge Rotomod Kayaks started it with the Slide waveski and now the Mathieu Babarit Pro model waveski. WaterTech is also making waveskis and started now the production of their beginner Easy board. Mega made their first waveski. Future Kayaks is starting to make waveskis. Its really a good thing to have so much competition since this will push the manufacturers to make better boards faster and provide the riders with the best equipment so that we can take the sport to a new level of riding and filming.

You have an incredible trip experience worldwide. Which are your favourites surf spots?
The best waves I have ever surfed was the Mentawais. I believe it does not get better than this. I did not know waves of that quality could exist. I have been many times to Indonesia but the Mentawais are in a league of their own. After that probably the west coast of Australia.

And about Portugal... did you already knew it?
I have been in Portugal 15 years ago hitchhiking through the country with my waveski and tent. It was a very hard 3 weeks in November with the worst storms Portugal experienced in 20 years. 23 people died during those 3 weeks and I was in a tent. Was a life changing experience but that I would not want to change for anything.

Did you knew kayaksurf.net?
I have heard a lot about Kayaksurf.net and think its great what Luis Pedro is doing for bringing the sports together. He motivated me to bridge the gap more between the Kayaksurf and Waveski. Its the future and I believe 100% in it.

"This success story is dedicated to the norm. The norm that pushed me to where I am today. Thanks to them I proved the un-imaginary for my life." - this is a great line... explain us...
Well this line says it all for me. I am not following the typical path the world wants us to follow, but thats also why I waveski and waveski gave me everything my heart could ever desire for.

Last words...
I am looking forward to the next year and the build up towards Worlds 2011. I am positive its going to be a big show and amazing things will come out of it from riders to manufacturers.

Thanks a lot Xaver! Meet you in Ocean Spirit ;)

ALL THE PHOTOS HERE:
http://www.kayaksurf.net/XaverValser.html

JAMES HAWKER / ENGLISH LIGHT VERSION

James Hawker / Waveskis and surfkayaks manufacturer



Name: James Hawker
Age: 28
Occupation: Composites Structural Design Engineer, Waveski and Surf Kayak Manufacturer
Address: Torpoint, Cornwall, UK

Competition records:

HP and IC finalist World Championships, Ocean Spirit, Portugal, 2009. IC British Champion 2006 & 2009. 2nd place British Championships HP 2009. IC Silver Medal 2005 World Championships Costa Rica and Finalist HP.

Paddling experience:

Competing internationally since 1996

Gear:

Future Kayaks Random Evolution HP, Future Kayaks Waveski, Murky Waters Salsa IC

Sponsors:
http://www.futurekayaks.com/ / http://www.gathsports.com/

England Team Sponsors:

http://www.chillcheater.com/ / http://www.buffwear.co.uk/ / http://www.saltrock.com/ / http://www.surfkayaks.com/

Personal Website:

http://www.futurekayaks.com/

Hello James! This new chat is about your new factory. How are things going?
Earlier this year I made the decision to leave my full time employed job and start making kayaks on a full time basis. Prior to then I was responsible for technical engineering within the Composites Technology Group at a large UK engineering firm, but in April I finally made the jump and decided to become self-employed. As well as making kayaks I continue to work as a freelance composites engineer, which helps to pay the bills while the kayaks become established.

It has been really busy setting things up full time, and I haven’t had a single day off (excluding competitions) for a couple of months now and I’m consistently working 12-14 hours a day. I’m enjoying it though and the feedback from pleased customers makes it all worthwhile. Hopefully I’m getting on top of the workload now and organising the factory more efficiently so I should have a bit more time for surfing!

Things seem to be building gradually at the moment as the boats are being seen and tested by people. Everyone has been really positive about the quality of the kayaks and I think that now I just need to get the boats seen by more people.

What models are you producing?
Mostly I’ve been manufacturing the Random Evo so far which has been really popular. Everyone that has been in one loves it!

I’m also still making my own designs and I will have a surf kayak design for larger paddlers as well fairly soon. I will also have an IC design in the near future. As the company grows, I’ll keep adding models to the range.

And about this new collaboration with Random...
On the trip back up from Ocean Spirit last year I was travelling with Pete Copp, who had purchased one of the Evos brought over to the event from Australia. I paddled it for a couple of hours and loved it immediately. I contacted Darren (Bason) and Terry (Petch) and arranged to manufacture it under license in the UK and Europe.
Darren had seen the build quality of Future Kayaks and was happy to know that they would be made to a very high standard here, and the collaboration has been growing since then.

You have a great experience in shaping but also on competition! Have you competed lately?
The last competition here was Llangennith in Wales, which I finished 1st IC and 2nd HP. Unfortunately I couldn’t go to Mundaka or Ocean Spirit this year because of setting up my factory, so it has been UK comps only. I will be travelling to Portrush for the Home Internationals in October though, which I’m looking forward to. Last time we had really good waves!

How do you see the evolution of this new era and brands of surfkayaks?
I think that designs will still progress much further, as well as construction. The whole composites industry is expanding quite quickly and there are new developments and products coming out all the time, which is enabling more sophisticated construction to be affordable and possible for kayaks.

For a customer it is good to have the amount of competition there is at the moment, the last few years have really pushed things on with the designs and more recently with the construction.

This year I am paddling a kayak which weighs only 7.3kg, which is significantly lighter than anything else I have ever seen (until I made one even lighter for a customer last week!).

The performance gain from a lighter kayak is considerable. Future Kayaks team member Dylan Petherick has won both junior competitions since getting his lightweight Evo, and everyone has seen a marked improvement in his surfing, just by changing to a lighter kayak. Dylan can now push his boat harder and get more from it, showing what he is really capable of.

And about waveskis... I see that you also have some projects in this area...
I think that Waveski might make a comeback over the next couple of years. The performance is much higher than kayaks and the top level of surfkayaking is such a high standard now that paddlers can make the transition to a ski fairly easily. I now paddle a ski almost all of the time when I’m freesurfing. I enjoy shaping the custom skis and I will be constructing a purpose built shaping room in my factory fairly soon.

The photos show a couple of custom skis I made recently, the 7’4 swallow tail weighs 6.4kg and the 7’1 square tail weighs just 5.6kg! They are both pretty low volume high performance boards.

I am also making a couple of moulded ski shapes for paddlers making the transition across from kayaks who want a more robust ski whilst they are learning. The moulded shapes are much higher volume with lower seat positions to make them easy and comfortable to paddle.

Now about last Kayaksurf Worlds (where you reached both finals IC and HP!!)... best memories...
I really enjoyed the World Championships last year, the weather and waves were great and a few of us spent some time camping and surfing at a few spots on the way down through Spain and Portugal. I can’t wait to do it again.

I had a good event personally, and the England team also paddled really well. We are fortunate to have a strong competition scene in England and we have a lot of good paddlers. The team spirit has been really good and we are lucky to have a good team manager who makes sure things run smoothly all the time.

I intend to travel down to Ocean Spirit next year for the Waveski World Championships, so hopefully the event will be fortunate with conditions again!

Last words...
Thanks to my sponsors and the England Team sponsors for their help. Thanks to everyone that has been supportive with setting up Future Kayaks, the early stages of a business are a challenging time and the support has been really encouraging. Finally, thanks Luis for doing an interview to help spread the word!

Thanks a lot Andrew and all the best ;)

FULL INTERVIEW HERE:

http://www.kayaksurf.net/JamesHawker.html