It is that time of year again, where the UK agents are showcasing the 2011 gear, and today we had a visit of Chris from Cabrinha.  He brought with him plenty of toys for us to lust over, including the new 2011 twin tip range, 13m Switchblade and the  new Race board and Surf boards.  Take a look!

This slick looking board is for all the ladies out there!

For all those wave riders out there, take a look at the new range of surfboards that will soon be availible from Cabrinha.

New in is their Rasta colour.  Perfect, now all you need are braids and a guitar and you’re set to go “jammin’”!

So like I say, we’re fully stocked and have more colourways than you can shake a stick at so grab them while the summer’s still here!  See here for our full range.

The two new racks we have allow you to store your boards, windsurfing, kiteboards, snowboards whatever boards you like!  You can either store one horizontally if you feel like gorping at your boards, or you can store a couple on the vertical rack to save space.  Check the vertical racks out here and the horizontal here.

Our changing robe has to be the first of its kind.  In that you can wear it while you change, it keeps you warm and gives a bit of privacy too.  Check the robe out here.

The bulldog roof racks are non-inflatable and simply just tie down onto your car – really easy to do.  Ideal if you’ve got a wife/girlfriend who doesn’t want to sit in the back of the car!  Check them out here.

Finally as dull as it sounds we’ve got some new tape in stock, not just any tape though – “Tenacious Tape”!  The tape is different from standard mylar repair tape in that it can be stuck to anything!  Not just watersports gear but tents, sleeping bags, backpacks, jackets, rain gear and a whole host of other stuff.  The tape leaves no residue either.  Ideal for stopping tears.  Check it out here.

It’s all new stuff for us and the market so grab them while you can – order up for delivery within a couple of days!

This is such a rare opportunity for a world class instructor to come this far up North.  Infact I remember last year he said he had never delivered a course this far north!  He obviously thinks we need the help though, so hes making the trip up on the 1st of August 2010 to Derwent Reservoir, where the course and evening session will be delivered.

Last year I (Jamie) joined in both his course and his evening session – massively helpful!  Taught me to duck jibe in one day – epic!  Simon went through everything from rigging correctly to forward loops and tricks, so whatever you want to learn he’ll help you out.

So to find out more about what he’s planning for us all visit here – http://www.windwise.net/component/content/article/42-catslwi/105-uk-days-2009.html.  If you’re interested book up, as there’s only a couple of spaces left at Derwent!

enjoy the good weather and long awaited South West/Westerly breeze.

Over on the ‘westside’ in the Lake District, Ullswater Yacht Club was holding their annual Lord Birkett memorial race, over the Saturday and Sunday.  The race is only open to dinghies although in the past it had allowed windsurfers.  The race takes 2-4 hours depending on how quick your boat is, and John Mac was man enough to compete in a K6 with a hangover from a heavy wedding the night before.  We’ll not tell you his results…

I also took a trip over there for the weekend as my dad was competing.  Obviously with the forecast as it was I couldn’t resist taking some gear and leaving my girlfriend on the shore (I Joke!).  So ended up with quiver from the shop including a 7m NCX, 6.5 NCX Pro, 6m Gator, 5.6m S1 and a 4.7m S1.  Boards were John’s Futura 122l Wood Carbon and a 94l Kode Wood.  Along with a couple of NP Booms and Severne masts.  All epic in their own right!

The Saturday was epic with a moderate (20/25mph) South Westerly running cross shore to the club, I’ve been told - the place to be.  I rigged the 6.5m NCX Pro and Starboard Futura 122l and set off for a couple of hours with the GPS on.  An electric session, really windy and well powered with the gear feeling superb, controllable and super light.  The super light gear made for good jumps off the ferrys 1m wake!

The Sunday was extremely windy, over at Ullswater it was chucking it down too.  With the day’s racing cancelled, the tent to take down and the boats to pack and put on the trailer… It’s safe to say we were wet by the time we set off.  Meanwhile over on the East coast it was going off – both Mike and John were out on their tiny gear.  John on his 76l baby Kode with a 4.3  and Mike on a Starboard Quad which was found in the back of John’s van after a weekend away… Nice!!!  They were both stacked too over at Redcar!

Remember a few years back when Aeron revolutionised booms with their rounded front end?  Well they’ve been innovating again, here at Surfstore we can now present to you their latest idea.  The V-Grip (Store link). See Aerons web page here.

What is “V-Grip” I hear you ask?

V-Grip is their latest range of booms with a twist, well a V to be specific.  The booms feature an interesting ergonomic “V” shaped grip, which according to Aeron reduces arm fatigue by 40% compared to your average tubular boom, and also improves rig control.  Meaning more time out on the water and better sessions too!

Lets Get Techy

The V-Grip is also extra stiff due to the additional void in the tube.  The extra stiffness gives you a direct comparator to the carbon series of booms.  If you were to compare stiffness you wouldnt be able to notice the difference in the smaller two of their V-Grip range.  This is also partly due to the newly forged rear end of the boom.  Forging, rather than traditional extrusion gives a much stiffer end product and when combined with heat treatment (which the Aeron boom will have undergone) will add to the stiffness due to the newly crystalised structure of the aluminium.

We’ve only had these in a day and allready they are going, so grab one while you can!  John Mac from the store managed to get out last Sunday at the Aberdovey demo on one of these and has found that it really does make your sailing more comfortable and rates them highly!

Sizes available are: 140-190cm, 160-210cm, 180-230cm and 200-250cm.  All aluminium & come with RDM adapters.   Order them up to be with you within a couple of days!  See here.

Neil Pryde 2010 Booms

But remember, Aeron arn’t the only ones who have been innovating.  With the introduction of Neil Pryde’s 2010 range of booms, they also bring increased stiffness without the cost of carbon.  They have introduced two new features, one standard and one optional.

The new standard feature is their “pressure flow forged” boom head.  Totally eliminating their own continious front end boom innovation, they have forged an ultra stong front end and then inserted the boom arms into it.  This makes for a whole new stiffness for alluminium booms and never-before-seen stiffness for carbon booms.

Their optional feature is the “S-Bend – New School” or “wide” as it is called on our website.  The “S-shape” follows “simple physics. It’s simple really; as wind pressure increases, a straight or convex boom effectively becomes shorter as it bends in response to increasing sail load, makingthe sail fuller, less efficient and harder to manage.”  Says Neil Pryde.

I myself actually own two of the smaller X3’s, and rate them!  They are seriously stiff compared to any other aluminium boom on the market (except for Aeron’s “V-Grip” which I think is just as stiff).

Neil Pryde do a range of booms, X3 (aluminium), X6 (Aluminium front, carbon rear end) and X9 (carbon throughout).  See here.

But dont worry if you’re not up for all this future stuff, we stock a full range of most booms too which are futureproof.  See here.

We’ve just received our latest order of Severne race sails today – both the Reflex and Overdrive of all sizes!  Snap them up while you can – contact us for more information.

Severne Race Sails – Sails for the revolution

Reflex – Slalom or Formula.

Designed with development input from Bjoern Dunkerbeck, endless hours of testing and analysing data are now reflected in this pro slalom sail range.  With sails from 5.1m up to 9.6m in the slalom range and 9.7m to 12m in the formula, these are the sails that will push you further.  With 4 and 5 cams throughout the range you can be sure you are getting a professional sails designed to provide top performance which can only benefit you out on the course.

Overdrive – user friendly without compromising top speed for everyday use.

From 4.8m to 11m each with three cams giving you a full wind range of easy to use – performance sails.  With 9.7m and 11m designed for Formula Experience.

We’ve got a brand new Thommen in stock – a Cross X97.  The perfect crossover board for all out comfort, blasting and gybing.

“The funboard is re-invented” say Thommen and Boards magazine seem to agree – “strongly recommending it for both advancing intermediates and advanced sailors.”

Specs:

• Bamboo & Carbon construction
• 97l
• 244X59
• 4.4-7.4m Sail Range
• 30cm Fin
• Includes tailor made heavy duty board bag.

See our store page for more info

“Shox XTR”

An extension from the future!  The rightly named “Shox” features an adjustable shock absorber. Here’s what North say…

These advantages of the new SHOX.XTR count for any of range of use and all disciplines:

– Be it speed, racing or freeride, with the SHOX.XTR you can finally appoint on a dead downwind course without fearing any control problems. Makes every rider 1-2 knots faster, immediately.

– In the waves, firstly the SHOX.XTR dampens landings and delivers a new level of board control when going down-the-line.

– Supports the pop in Freestyling by the rebound. In addition the damping improves reception on landings.

Thanks to a level adjuster the travel can be varied between 60 and 80mm, with longer travel for tougher conditions and higher waves.

Of course we have integrated the POWER.XTR ratchet mechanism for SDM as well as RDM masts. And all of this is achieved with only 100g of additional weight compared to a standard Power.XT extension.
SHOX.XTR – get ready for an unprecedented riding sensation.

– SDM : L = 2 – 42 cm
– RDM : L = 4 – 42 cm

Better still we have a couple in stock!!

Another revolution in windsurfing design.  So you’ve heard of the immobile one piece and the lengthy two piece which both have the odds stacked sky high against them – enter the three piece.

Easier transportation

due to shorter packaging length (up to 25%). Fits even into small cars now. Ideal choice for frequent flyers

Improved bend curve:

The two plug-in connections result in a harmoniously flexing middle piece creating a more harmonious bending curve in the most critical mid-section.

Make 3 out of 1

due to interchangeable center pieces (patent pending)

Greater value for money.

Instead of buying a whole new mast, you simply exchange the center piece

The base section comes with white polyamide coating to prevent scratching, abrasion and thermaloverstress.

The best thing is, you can change the centre piece to extend or shorten the mast, saving you from buying a number of masts and it’ll be hard to find a car that the three piece wont fit into.  We sell both the SDM & RDM Silver series along with the centre pieces too.