What kind of equipment do the top freestyle guys use during
practice and in World Cup competitions? How do they tune
their equipment? What kind of thoughts do they have regarding
tuning and the development of new equipment? How much are
they involved in this development? Is the kit they use relevant
to competent sailors who want to start learning some moves?
In windy El Yaque we spoke to Ricardo
Campello, current freestyle world champion,
about his freestyle set up.
How does your kit sail?
What all the top freestyle guys want is to have fun,
and have easy kit to practice on. This is how the kit
sails, and I think this is the same as normal sailors
want their kit to sail.
In El Yaque you always use a particular board
and sail. Is that your favourite combination?
No, you might think that, but it’s not so. The wind
here in El Yaque is perfect most of the time for my
Neil Pryde Expression custom 5.0 and the JP
Freestyle 100, so that’s what I use. At night I will
leave that equipment at the hire center and it will be
there until the next session.
And your JP Freestyle 100 is better then all the
custom-made shapes that are available to you?
Yes, in as far as that the production board’s shape
is perfect for me, but the weight isn’t close enough
to the prototype I use.
I had the pleasure to use your equipment and I
have to say it, it was awesome! The individual rig
and board components are perfectly adjusted
and balanced with each other. It was noticeable
that in low to middle winds range (for a 5.0m sail)
you have to shift to the front part of the board in
order to get the best board tuning. And now I see
you with a 5.0 in winds below 12knots.
That’s correct. Sometimes the winds look stronger
than they really are, so I take out the 5.0m, which is a
bit too small, instead of a larger sail. I don’t have any
stickers on the 5.2. If I were sailing around and my
sponsors were to see that I would be in big trouble!
Underpowered sailing is pretty impressive on
your freestyle board; it seems to glide through
lulls really well. The boom feels really high
though; did you copy that from your team
colleague Jason Polakow?
You’d think that, but what Jason needs for riding the
waves doesn’t have anything to do with freestyle
moves. I just like this height because it’s more
comfortable even when just windsurfing in straight
lines. I windsurf with 28” harness lines. I think a
higher boom gives more control when doing the
freestyle moves and that’s really it.
And when do you use your JP custom-made
boards? After all, they seem to get a bit dusty
just lying around the center not getting used!
I use the board prototypes just before and during
the world cup competitions. I need these things for
the contests themselves! I don’t want to break them
practicing moves on them.
What’s the difference between the production
boards and your large custom-made board?
The production 100L board is more stable (Ricardo
falls off the chair as it breaks). That is, I can practice
new moves without constantly having to concentrate
on the landing. The board holds up all my moves,
unlike this chair. But seriously, I haven’t broken a
standard board in ages even though I am on the
water all day, every day, giving it 100%. When I am
out there, then I always push it and go the limit.
And in any case, the production board gives me
what I expect from a board. It basically is “my
shape” and compared to the prototypes it slides
even a bit better. The proto with a lower weight has
better glide characteristics and in contests I can do
my moves even faster and higher. Or, to describe it
differently, I can do the moves more explosively.
Your 5.0m custom Expression sail seems to be
the only one you ever use here at El Yaque.
It’s my favorite sail size, because it’s not too big and
not too small and because this size often feels so
powerful. And, it’s light in weight and good in every
aspect for maneuvers. The only reason that it’s not
in series is that it is not part of the Expression line. I
use the entire sail line from 6.9m down to 4.2m, with
custom Expressions down to 3.3m, the really small
sizes just get used in Gran Canaria and the really
big Expressions perhaps in Bonaire.
I haven’t used other sails from Neil Pryde because
the Expressions are perfect for me, even when
wavesailing. I have a 5.7 made of super light carbon
that might come into series next year. I use the sail
sizes 6.1/6.5/6.9 only in World Cup competition, and
the 5.0 here at El Yaque when the winds are F4-6.
And in most cases I just keep surfing even when the
wind eases up.
How many boards do you hide behind the
surfstation?
Well, first of all the production JP 100 and 91
freestyle boards, and also some custom freestyle
boards, 105, 95, 85 and, uh, I have to think…three,
no four JP Custom Waveboards. I’ve got two for
sideshore conditions and two for side-on-shore
conditions. I use the larger board with 5.3 and
smaller; the smaller board with a 5.0 and smaller.
Once a year I get a new JP production boards and
twice a year I get new custom boards. I can say that
I have a lot of equipment, but in order to have fun
and practice here at El Yaque, I only need one
board and two sails.
The extra boards are just to make sure I have
exactly the right kit for competitions.
Fins?
I only use two fins when freestyling! I’m using MFC
ones as you can see. Not long ago I sawed off
some freestyle fins in order to get better settings. I
really should look after my fins more though.
The former world champion Björn Dunkerbeck
had huge teams that developed new material for
him. And with two titles now you don’t think it
necessary to test new material?
Well, a little bit at least. The experiences with
custom sails and boards flow into the evaluations
for the production equipment.
Speaking of awesome freestyle windsurfing, what
are your favorite new moves?
Hey, wow, just yesterday I landed my first switchstance-
shaka! I can do this one now windsurfing out
against the choppy water. I practiced this move with
Gollito a few times further out.
One last question concerning your “equipment”:
Rumours have it that you have “big wheels” on
your pick-up, because your buddy Cheo had
some before you.
No way, I got those wheels because I think they are
fresh and not because Cheo has some. I choose
my own equipment, not copy others!
