 |
John Bald
Age: 28 Weight: 185 —School teacher John Bald lives in Frankfurt, Michigan. He’s an expert bump sailor who frequents Crystal Lake and Lake Michigan beaches.
BOARDS OF CHOICE:
Mistral Explosion 295, Mistral Flow 284, Drops Freeride 299
SAILS OF CHOICE:
Naish Noa, Naish Alana |
 |
Karen Bulger
Age: 37 Weight: 130 —The Windsurf Village in Aruba is second home to Karen and first home to Karen's windsurfing equipment. A native of Toronto, Canada, Karen works as an airport safety specialist. This gives her liberal airline perks and thus frequent opportunities to exercise her expert shortboard skills in Aruba.
BOARDS OF CHOICE:
Mistral Explosion 295, Seatrend Allstar 58 AVS
SAILS OF CHOICE:
North Sails Sting, Neil Pryde SuperNova |
 |
Karen Gillham
Age: 50 Weight: 105 —As a flight attendant for TWA, Karen has frequent opportunities to windsurf in exotic places. Her home waters, however, are those of the St. Petersburg area, where she works on improving her waterstarts and jibes.
BOARDS OF CHOICE:
Mistral Flow 284, Drops Freeride 299, AHD Free Race 299
SAILS OF CHOICE:
Neil Pryde SuperNova, Sailworks Retro, North Sails Pyro |
 |
Andy Graham
Age: 29 Weight: 225 —Silverthorne, Colorado is Andy Graham’s home, where he works in sales for a footwear company. He’s an expert shortboard sailor who sails reservoirs and lakes – Crystal Lake, Bear Lake – as well as more open waters like Lake Michigan.
BOARDS OF CHOICE:
Mistral Explosion 295, Fanatic Bee 289
SAILS OF CHOICE:
Naish Stealth |
 |
Margaret Hepper
Age: 38 Weight: 140 —Attorney Margaret Hepper lives in New Jersey and sails the waters of Long Island in the summer. She's most comfortable in flat water and chop, and her specialty is beating up on guys in drag races.
BOARDS OF CHOICE:
AHD Free Race 299, Drops Aguera 9’6" 2, Mistral Flow 285, Seatrend Allstar 58 AVS
SAILS OF CHOICE:
Neil Pryde V6 FreeRide, North Sails Pyro, Sailworks Retro |
 |
Roger Jurriens
Age: 32 Weight: 165 —Former Aruba slalom champ and Aruba’s Olympic competitor, Roger now owns and runs Roger's Place, a windsurfing resort just down the beach from the Windsurf Village. He's a pro-level sailor but stays close to home these days.
BOARDS OF CHOICE:
AHD Diamond Race 72, AHD Diamond Race 67, F2 Thommen 295 II, Mistral Flow 284
SAILS OF CHOICE:
Hot Sails Maui Sonic, Naish Hawaii Noa III, Naish Hawaii Stealth |
|
 |
Travis Lester
Age: 36 Weight: 105 —Travis Lester lives in San Francisco and works as a freelance graphic designer. An expert windsurfer, she sails regularly at Crissy Field and makes frequent trips to coastal wave spots like Stintson Beach, Davenport and Waddell.
BOARDS OF CHOICE:
Drops Freeride 299, Seatrend Allstar 58 AVS
SAILS OF CHOICE:
Aerotech Ultimate Slalom III,
Neil Pryde V6 FreeRide, Neil Pryde SuperNova, North Sails Pyro, Sailworks Retro |
 |
Nancy Messer
Age: 38 Weight: 115 —Nancy, who lives in New York City and sails off Long Island, is an excellent banker and terrific person but just a so-so windsurfer. She gave us good insight into the needs of a relative novice to shortboard sailing.
BOARDS OF CHOICE:
Fanatic Bee 289
SAILS OF CHOICE:
Neil Pryde SuperNova |
 |
Nevin Sayre
Age: 37 Weight: 190 —Former national champ and number two in the world at downwind slalom, Nevin Sayre is still a top-flight racer and equipment expert. Though he's traveled the world on the pro circuit, nowadays he mostly sails in the Cape Cod, Massachusetts, area.
BOARDS OF CHOICE:
AHD Diamond Race 67, AHD Free Race 99, AHD Free Speed, Drops Freeride 299, F2 Thommen 295 II, Seatrend Allstar 58 AVS
SAILS OF CHOICE:
Neil Pryde V8 StreetRacer |
 |
Mark Stumpp
Age: 46 Weight: 180 —Mark is an institutional investment manager who lives in New Jersey and frequents spots like Barnegatt Bay. A second-time tester, he’s an expert shortboard sailor, particularly in flat-water and bump conditions.
BOARDS OF CHOICE:
AHD Diamond Race 72, F2 Thommen 295 II, Fanatic Bee 289, Mistral Flow 284
SAILS OF CHOICE:
Aerotech Carve, Aerotech Ultimate Slalom III |
 |
Ilona Stumpp
Age: 40 Weight: 130 —Ilona lives in New Jersey and sails the bays near the coast. She's an advanced shortboarder in real life, but plays an economist at work for AT&T.
BOARDS OF CHOICE:
AHD Diamond Race 72, Drops Freeride 299, F2 Xantos 295 II, Mistral Explosion 295, Mistral Flow 284.
SAILS OF CHOICE:
Aerotech Carve, Aerotech Ultimate Slalom III, Neil Pryde V8 Street Racer. |
| Ok, so we had only a trickle of celebrity windsurfers passing through this test session rather than the flood that hit us on Maui. But these celebrities were the kind that work with regular recreational windsurfers daily, not the kind that jet across continents and oceans weekly. Nevin, Roger, Mark, Andy and Mac were exactly the kind we wanted in Aruba. They fit the Aruba test theme: Windsurfing gear for the real world. |
|
