EXPERIENCE
There are a few young guys like Pierre and Matteo that are kicking our arses at the moment but myself and the other more experienced racers have evolved with windsurfing. In this day and age it is easier than ever to race and find the best equipment and tune it well. In the old days it was much more secretive and the equipment played much more of a role. There used to be no way to access the very best equipment but now it is all available to anyone. The new guys can pretty much go and buy similar gear to what we are riding. This is a wonderful thing because it makes the fleet much more competitive and much more even. In a way the old guys have lost a little bit of advantage so now we just have the experience on the water instead. With the equipment tuning the experienced guys get what they want in a shorter time. If I see a problem with my gear I know instantly what is wrong. I don’t need to waste time for too long, I see a problem and most of the time I can fix it. I know the remedial options and what to do.
TESTING TIMES
With Neil Pryde I am now their main guy for testing their racing sails. It involves constant development year round. I have to go to Maui which is the best part of it. I work with Robert Stroj who is an incredibly smart guy and a great human being. I feel very fortunate to be able to develop the sails with him. I won’t become a millionaire from it, but it adds a bit more security to being a racer. With windsurfing there is no job security but the design side is something that I have to do and I want to do to be able to continue to compete.
I also work for RRD and I am the head tester for their slalom boards together with Andrea Rossati and Enrico Marotti. I work a lot with Antoine Albeau since we are both on the same sails and boards. Antoine is always involved in the final decisions on the sails, he always tests the sails and he is a very cool guy to work with. On the outside you might think that he is scary but once you get to know him a little bit better you realize he is not a selfish person. I find once equipment is working well for me, it works well for everyone. Antoine might need a bit more power because he is a big guy but that is about it. He would like maybe a bit of a stiffer mast than a lighter guy or a bit more powerful sail but at the end of the day he is also thinking about what is best for the brand. That is the way it works, it is very balanced. I have got to know Albeau quite well now and I really like him, I think he is a worthy champion.
ISRAEL
With travel I have no problems at all being Israeli. It seems like they have a good relationship with many countries. I can’t really go to Arab countries but in the realms of my travelling I don’t need to go to these places. The rest of the world is fine and easy for me to travel to. When I go to the USA I get a 6-month visa straight away, which is more than Europeans do.
Becoming a pro windsurfer from Israel was very hard as there was no one to really pave and lead the way so I had to learn everything alone. Apart from that I always must have results in the excellent range to be able to keep industry sponsors as the market in Israel is small and doesn’t justify sponsorships. I have made myself very international over the years to cover for that. On tour I quickly found great friends and personalities; so yes I was always a bit sad to be the only one from Israel but with such cool people around it is not such a big deal. Today I feel unique and proud that I’m the only racer which ever made it from my country and I hope more will come. There are some talented freestylers from Israel – Yarden Meir and Adam Gavriel, which I hope to see more of on tour.
The problems in Israel are a very complicated situation and very hard to explain. Problems of land and religion are always hard to solve. At the moment we are stuck in one place due to stubbornness and fear of leaders from both sides. I truly hope we will find a leader which will be brave enough to lead us to peace. At the moment we don’t have one in sight.
