Al Bentley - K301 - Windsurf
New Zealand National Freestyle Champion 2012!
Thursday, 03 January 2013 07:05 | 
Written by Al Bentley | 
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Just back from a trip to New Zealand where I competed in the National Freestyle competition there. Really great event and friendly people. Can't believe how windy Wellington is, definitely a place to visit if you want to sail full power on 4.2m or lower everyday for half the year. The standard was very impressive too as all the locals are so used to sailing in such strong winds, also very good to see a young crowd of sailors which I think we are missing here in WA.
I managed to win the event ahead of Tom Taylor, although it was extremely close! If it wasn't for pulling out a shaka in the final we were matched move for move. The wind gradually increased throughout the day starting from a solid 25 knots up to 40!! The tide also dropped off which meant in the final we were sailing in a tiny strip of water which turns extremely (ankle deep) at the edges. As usual smashed the nose of my board flaming Spock Culos.
Thanks to Eric Torvelainen for organising the event, he did an excellent job. Check out some photos below and apparently there is a video coming.
Article on surfertoday:
Shot of the competition area before the comp kicked off, awesome spot and great for spectators, but it gradually got a lot smaller!!
Me Mid overpowered spock on 3.7m!
Article on Sail-world
http://www.sail-world.com/index.cfm?Nid=104641&refre=y&ntid=118&rid=6
Tom Taylor (2nd) launches into a flaka during one of the heats
Perth Freestyle ArticleThursday, 19 July 2012 04:43 | Written by Al Bentley | | |
I recently wrote an article on the various freestyle spots around Perth, check it out on the link below: http://www.boardseekermag.com/features/travel/western-australia-perth.html The article is also accompained by a video, filmed last summer. We didn't get a lot of wind so the action is not insane, but still shows the spots well (mainly Woodies!) Brazil Video 2010 - Not another Jeri MovieTuesday, 18 January 2011 07:57 | Written by Al Bentley | | |
For those who haven't seen it on C7 here is my video from Brazil. I'm really happy with the final result as I have been planning the video in my head for the last 6 months. The (heavy!) inspiration comes from a section in a ski movie called Refresh by Level 1. I knew I had to do lots of filming of people singing so I loaded the song on my phone before leaving, this meant I was always ready if the moment arose. Anyway enjoy :) Last Updated (Tuesday, 18 January 2011 08:04) |
New Windsurf Forum website set upWednesday, 11 July 2012 08:55 | Written by Al Bentley | | |
I haven't managed to update my website since being in Perth (18 months now!), hopefully in the future I will get some more time to spend on it. One of my many side projects I have been working on is a new website. It is a windsurfing forum (yes its been done before!) with a difference, the main aim was to try and capture the younger generation of sailors and to create a forum that is international as there are already a number of excellent local forums. I decided early on to fully integrate the forum with Facebook, this means you can only login using a Facebook account. There are a number of advantages to this, firstly I feel it helps to grow the community as people are forced to use their real profile, this will hopefully allow people to make more real life connections and also gives a higher level of accountability. Some forums have the problem of posters who constantly pimp/promote a product they have an interest in. On my forum it will be clear who the poster is, so you can easily tell if they have a vested interested or not. There is also integration with Facebook which posts to the users wall when they post, hopefully this will help the site grow and encourage other users to read/ join. The site is called Waiting4wind, check it out below:
Last Updated (Wednesday, 11 July 2012 09:16) New Sponsors and Western AustraliaSaturday, 15 January 2011 15:37 | Written by Al Bentley | | |
Great news - I have two new sponsors!!
I've been using the K3 Masts for the past 3 months, in Brazil and now here in Western Australia. They are working really well with the Severene sails and are great for freestyle being super light and responsive. The top layer is coated white which is super useful for preventing UV damage. Although this isn't usually a problem in the UK.
Silte is a new clothing company started by my good friend Adam Sims. Check out their site as they have some sick stache like the interchangable watches.
In other news I am now in Western Australia with Maeli, have been here for a week now and the place is sick. Will do a proper update soon but for now think warm, windy and wavy. Last Updated (Tuesday, 18 January 2011 08:11) |
