Peter Ifju Interview  by Rick Randall

 After the Windfest, I sat down with Peter to find out more about the man who has really come on strong in the Florida Formula scene in the last year.  And to get some of the scoop on his secret weapons!

 

Rick Randall:  So Peter, tell me about the first time you learned to windsurf.....

 Peter Ifju:  It was back in.............1986, in Blacksburg, Virginia on a really small lake while I was a graduate student at Virginia Tech. 

RR:  Wow, Blacksburg!  It must have been a small lake!  When did you get your first board?

 PI:  Right after that, it was a Tyronsee 10.5 plastic board with a Neil Pryde sail.  I sailed it a lot on the New River in Virginia, on a place between a class 2 and class 3 rapids.  Sometimes I would sail it in the rapids, hitting the rocks with the plastic fin!

 RR:  I would bet you would not try that with one of your new fins!

 PI:  Definitely not!

 RR:  What was it about windsurfing that really grabbed you and made you want to do it?

 PI:  Just getting back and forth, connecting with the elements.

 RR:  When did you get into short boards and racing? 

PI: I used to go down to Cape Hatteras, to Salvo / Rodanthe, and I got a Seatrend 9'2" in 1990.  I never really wanted to compete in windsurfing at that time though.

 RR:  Cool, a Seatrend from Rodanthe, must have been from Barton Decker?

 PI:  Yep, the original shop not the new one.

 RR:  I remember that place, he kept all the boards stashed under the front porch!

 PI:  That's the place.

 RR:  So, when did you get into racing?

 PI:  Not until Formula came around.  I never wanted to race long boards due to my size, they were for the lightweights.  They were too size dependent.

 RR:  So where did you first try a Formula board?

 PI:  Well I got a Berky that was really wide for the time and had a 8.3 sail, that was the beginning of it.  Later I tried a Exocet Speed Slider that was like 77 wide, with a 8.5 that John Ingebritsen had, it was the best feeling I had ever felt up until that time. 

RR:  And the first true Formula board?

 

PI:  2001, I sort of had a midlife crisis, I was up to 194 lb, my High School reunion was coming up, and I wanted to get into better shape.  So, I decided to break my promise to not compete in windsurfing, got a Formula board a gear and started to race.  In 2002, I bought some used gear, some Starboards along the way.  I have had maybe 5 different boards since then.  I think buying used gear is a great way for people to get into Formula. 

 RR:  It seems that in the last year you have really made some huge improvements, and the results have shown that......

 PI:  Yeah, lots of time on the water, concentrating really hard on tuning the equipment, physical fitness.  And about a year ago, I broke my Kashy fin, and thought, hey I can make one of these, so I started working on that.  Since January, the fins have been coming out really good, and the last 5 weeks, I really put it all together.

RR:  OK, tell me about the fins!

 PI:  Well, I looked at what Dave Kashy had been doing, and he had really taken the performance level of the fins up, especially in the area of craftsmanship.  But, I had some ideas about how they could be better. 

RR:  Yeah, I think you once said that you gave your students some homework......?

 PI:  Well, I am a full professor at the University of Florida, and so I asked 2 or 3 of my students if they would like to help me out with this as a learning exercise.  They had some great input, and we reverse engineered some of what Dave had, and added some new ideas.  I listened to what a lot of the top guys had to say, like Gonzalo, Ron Kern, and Mike Zaijchek.  In fact I made a cnc mold for Mike, and we have been trading ideas back and forth since then.  There are lots of ideas that I would like to try yet. 

RR:  Well the next question is, how long is the waiting list?

 PI:  Now, maybe a month.  My goal is 100 fins a year.

 RR:  Some parting thoughts?

 PI:  Formula sailing is incredibly fun, incredibly challenging and incredibly rewarding.  It gets a bad rap from those who have not tried it, and especially from the windsurfing media who seem to shun it, they do not even want to acknowledge it exists!  Formula has the excitement of slalom, it takes experience, great fitness and knowledge in order to do well.  You can never be good enough, you have to always push yourself, unlike something like jet skiing!

 RR:  Thanks Peter, put me on the list!

Review:  Hot Sails Maui Sails/ Giant slalom.

 

Few weeks ago thanks to gracious loan from one of Ft. Lauderdale rippers, Dave Walsh, I got to test new proto of Hot Maui slalom sail, GPS 9.7 m2, The design is outside the convention, so it was very interesting to see how it performs. At first glance:  it uses RDM 490 mast+ 40cm ext. - that’s all! (530 luff), and Hot Rod RDM 490 looks indestructible, boom length 237 also super short,

moderate wide luff sleeve, 3 cams, not rollers but with some soft webbing, construction looks very good, the rest is standard. Rigging: slide the mast in without cams, downhaul as recommended, attach boom, outhaul, snap cams on.Very easy, no excessive downhaul, cams snapped easy and stayed in place. On the water:  very compact feel (as it should), response extremely well to pumping, and adjustable outhaul trimming,  cams rotation is very smooth, the rest is about normal for a slalom sail.

 

Pros: easy rigging, compact size, ‘indestructible’ RDM mast Cons: heavier mast comparing to 100% carbon race masts, less response,

Shape not as full, so for formula race sailing might not be enough power, especially downwind. My recommendation: for recreational freeride/slalom windsurfer looking For compact large sail with dependable mast, and easy rigging

 

Disclaimer: this is just one windsurfer’s opinion  SERGIO KAPUL

From overpowered to underpowered in less than a week.

 As Vincent Vega from Pulp Fiction say so eloquently below:

"A lotta the same shit we got here, they got there, but there they're a little different."


Example- the Dutch aren't blessed with the great sea breeze like San Francisco Bay.

So- rather than not windsurf at all – they get their RIBs to push them down the lake- till they build up enough speed to make it over the ramp.

(see video below of the 2007 Mission)

http://www.myhuck.com/view_video.php?viewkey=5a96a7da4d1105d584dd

Yes ladies and gents- this is lake sailing in Holland.

The same but a little different!

After a bit of adjustment into the new Dutch life- I attempted my first regatta- the Dutch Formula and slalom champs in Almere on Sept 6-9- just outside Amsterdam where we're living. Now normally this wouldn't be a big deal (as a seasoned international competitor) but there's something about being out of your normal environment that makes life a bit harder to deal with.

Sometimes having all the comforts of home (like a toolbox, cell phone, supplies and a car) makes it easier to cope with the small breakdowns and trials of a regatta. But coping- nonetheless- is something everyone has to do and those that do it the best- come out on top!

Being out of my usual element really put on the pressure: how to understand what's going on at the skippers meeting (in Dutch); getting the start count down (in Dutch); and how to make an 11.0 work in 8 (Dutch) knots.

The same but a little different!

The regatta started as most European regattas do- with the postponement flag up- waiting for the breeze to fill. The Dutch do things a bit differently than us Yanks.

They begin to race formula in 7 knots and continue up to 15k. At that point- they switch to slalom racing. Back in San Francisco- we hardly begin to think about racing till it gets to 15k- knowing quite well if you wait till 2pm- the 20k+ sea breeze kicks in and you'll be wound on a 10.0m2 rig.

Here you need one sail to stay powered from 7-15k- the 12.0m2 rig

With an 11m2 rig as my largest sail- I was struggling the whole regatta for speed and angle. I was just getting killed upwind and off the line.

To say the least- this was going to be a tough transition from being overpowered most of the time to being underpowered most of the time.

I did my best to take the flogging humbly- as they say – you can tell more about a person's character in how they handle defeat than how the handle victory.

I searched to find the small lessons out on the water and figured out a way to sail again in an oscillating lake breeze. (Tip- banging the right side usually works 50% of the time- but it also fails miserably the other 50%)


The Dutch have a great Formula racing scene with several World, European and Olympic champions in the fleet. More impressive was the youth fleet with several young sailors in the top 10. 

The regatta was run over 4 days with 15 races- in what seemed like back to back light-wind conditions- ranging from 8-12k.  2006 RSX World Champion- Casper Bouman (NED 54) won regatta with a close push from Dennis Little (NED 13);Dorian van Rijselberghe (NED8); Adriaan van Rijselberghe (NED 2); Adri Keet (NED 34); Dirk Doppenberg (NED 51); Markus Bouman (NED 6) ; and Sean O'Brien (ASU 120)

Here are some photos from the event


With just over 2 months before the Formula Worlds I Brazil- I'm looking forward to my 12.0m2 rig arriving via container and really getting into the racing here in Holland.

Until then you can read my regatta reports online at www.stevebodner.blogspot.com

Steve Bodner

USA 4

Road trip by  RON KERN    august 2007

I got to sail yesterday first time since Nationals and had an awesome session.  Where I sailed was Grant Lake between Mono Lake and Mammoth Mountain, California, east of Yosemite.  We ran into a time warp of a half a dozen windsurfers, who are ski instructors and patrol, trapped in vintage 1980's gear and wetsuits, but they were fun, enthusiastic and very welcoming.  When Sue & I showed up at Grant Lake we were greeted by two locals, Van & Chris.  Van reminded Sue & I of Skip Hutchison, maker of Rasta Board windsurfers & surfboards, because of his enthusiasm, gestures and language.  He spoke fluent dude and was very cool, like Skip.  A bit later more guys showed up.  I sailed my Formula board, 9.8m, 67cm fin, powered up in winds averaging 18mph, 10-25 mph at Grant Lake at 7,200' elevation.

 
Sue thought it was as if I was an alien that had been dropped into the scene sailing hi-tech windsurfing gear from the 21st century.   Van said they felt like cavemen after seeing how the new stuff went on their lake.  They spent 85% of their time slogging along and couldn't get going in the lulls at all.  I was powered up and blazing along the whole time.  It was quite windy at times and I had a bunch of 200-500' runs on my GPS of 30mph.  I had max speed reading of 33.1 mph once and 32.8 another.  They had a bunch of questions and I helped tune one guys Sailworks Retro so that it looked a bit better and he was going better on it.  I definitely had an effect on the locals.  I didn't follow the Star Trek directive of not altering the culture.  They were probably perfectly content doing what they were doing until they saw the potential of the big gear on their local lake. 
The lake was small, 2 miles long by .7 mile wide, water was 1' close chop and the scenery is breathtaking.  Very fun day.  Sue enjoyed it a lot too.   Meeting up with a bunch of enthusiastic windsurfers is definitely a stoke!
 
Later,
 
Ron & Sue
Sunday, March 25, 2007
Beach sport? Yachting? Both!

Windsurfing mag has a feature on power sails this month. Looks like
the Hucker got some good press - for good reason, I'd say.
Interesting to me, however, were some of the comments made by the
sailmakers (this is only available in the print edition, not on the
mag's web site). In his blurb, Dave Ezzy says something to the effect
that Formula was this big diversion - huge sails for going
upwind/downwind, and the average sailor, he contends, got 'reamed' by
that development.

Which begs the question - how exactly does the average sailor
get 'reamed' by a small segment of the market going off and doing its
own thing? I race Formula and think it's awesome, but I don't have
any illusions about this being something that's applicable to
everyone. What's learned in the process can and does filter down to
the rec market, though - you can't tell me that all the stuff
sailmakers learned in making these huge sails rock solid didn't play
into what they did to apply rig tension to smaller sails in ways that
allowed more low-end combined with good stability at the hairy edge.

Instead, this to me looks like more of the old "that's not really
windsurfing" attitude I see a lot. There's this apparent division
between people who think windsurfing is a beach sport (something to
be enjoyed only if planing on small gear, with an emphasis on waves
and Bump & Jump), and those (a much smaller group, I admit) who think
of windsurfing as sailing in the yachting sense (racing on
upwind/downwind courses, sailing big gear in light winds, etc.)

To the beach sport crowd, sailing in 8 knots is a way station -
something that needs to be done to learn how to windsurf in the first
place. Later on, when skills have advanced, they'd consider 8 knots
time to play volleyball on the beach, have a beer, and bitch about
the lack of breeze.

To the sailing (yachting) crowd, 8 knots is an invitation to play -
be it on longboards (for those who just want to cruise around and
enjoy the gliding sensation), or be it on Formula gear (for those who
have the racing and performance bug).

If you live on Maui, it's easy to see how you would fall exclusively
into the beach sport camp. With ample breeze most of the year and
tons of wave action, that seems natural. Dave Ezzy lives on Maui. He
certainly has proven to be a very capable wave sailor, and he's
passed on the stoke (those pics of his son Graham ripping it up with
the pros are truly inspiring). Good on him! What he's apparently not
getting, though, is that there's a world where reliable 20 knots and
waves don't happen. In that world, you're dealing with 8 knots and
flat water most of the time. And even in places where you do have
lots of times with lots of wind (think San Francisco Bay or the
Gorge - noone's ever complained about those not being B&J
friendly...), there are lots of people who, because of work or
familiy commitments, or traffic etc., can triple their time on the
water easily (not to mention lengthen their season to year-round) by
finding a way to enjoy 8 knots of breeze.

There are different ways to enjoy 8 knots. If you're on Maui, you get
one of the new SUP-inspired long boards, slog out through the surf,
and basically get to go surfing without needing to paddle. Cool. If
you live near flat water, you can putter around on a longboard in sub-
planing mode. Or, you can go for the high-performance option and sail
Formula gear. If you're a competitive person, you know which one
you're choosing.

So there's an option to have a rewarding, high-performance, exciting
sailing experience in 8-12 knots. It's called Formula, and it works.
I know, you can plane on big slalom gear in 10 knots these days - but
nursing my plane in hours of ho-hum BAF sailing isn't really doing it
for me, and I like to range around and go places - Formula will get
me there in a way nothing else will (not even the highest-performance
racing longboards).

So exactly how providing a high-performance option for those 8 knots
and up means the average sailor gets 'reamed' is beyond me. Maybe the
mag can get Dave Ezzy to clarify that - I simply don't get it. You
could argue it's because everyone now thinks they have to have
monster sails and boards and buy stuff that's not appropriate for
them. Hmmm.... - coming from the wave-camp, I'd be careful with that
one, lest someone might seek to place blame for the thousands of flat-
water inland sailors getting skunked at their home spots every
weekend because the conditions aren't right for their small wave or
freestyle gear...

The cool thing about windsurfing is that it's not just a beach sport,
and it's not just yachting. It's got the best of both worlds, and it
spans a tremendous range. All of it's fun - as long as you're not
hung up on what someone else tells you is proper windsurfing. There's
lots to do in this sport, and lots of people get different kicks from
all kinds of things. Racing (small gear or large; downwind or on
UW/DW courses or long distance), wave sailing, freestyling, B&J
sailing, longboard racing or cruising, tandem sailing - it's all good
stuff. What the sport needs is stoke, and fortunatly there's lots of
that around. What the sport doesn't need are judgmental attitudes.
Nobody's getting reamed if we on the lunatic fringe go off and race
formula gear UW/DW. Nobody's getting reamed just because magazines
show inspirational (and aspirational) shots of sailors ripping it up
on Maui. There's no need for that kind of rhetoric - just get over it.

http://g-42.blogspot.com/

Formula Windsurfing

Formula has been around for quite a few years now, and the number of sailors who have discovered the joys has increased as well.  The following information will show you some of the reasons that it is a fun type of windsurfing, and how to tune your gear to enjoy it more.

The main reason that Formula has taken off is the incredible range of the gear.  It can be used from 7 to 30 knots, which are the conditions that most sailors in the world face.  It is particularly fun when the wind is 7 to 18, which are the real world conditions that working windsurfers see every day.  And while the racing aspect of Formula is what most people think of, the recreational possibilities are really the most exciting.  The ability to be out on the water ripping along when there is barely a breath of air, covering miles of water, and experiencing the natural world around you are what makes it so much fun.
 


So, please read the chronicles that follow to discover the joys of Formula!

Rick Randall