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unkown & overpowered
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Columbia River Gorge
www.river-rippers.net the global network for river windsurfers
Not everyone lives near an ocean or a lake, so why not going for Windsurfing on a nearby river?
There are maybe hundreds of rivers worldwide, a few of them have already been discovered by windsurfers and are offering perfect conditions.
Depending on the wind force and the rivers characteristics, you will find everything from flat-water, to bump & jump and wavelike sailing conditions.
The current is part of what makes Windsurfing on a river so great. With the current driving you down the river and the wind pushing you up the river, you can sail downwind all the time.
Especially for freestyle windsurfers, rivers are a perfect playground to improve their skills!
We are always on the lookout for great shots, cool stories and good people, so let's make this site a reality...
Here is a pretty innovative new concept of a boom front piece by North Sails, the 2009 iFRONT. They call it "the fastest and most comfortable boom front piece with unique trimming and tuning opportunities".
"We have known for long that the boom construction, and in particular the head, has a decisive impact on rig performance.
We carried out extensive comparison tests on flatwater, on Gran Canaria and Maui, eventually proving that rigs are extremely fast
when they remain steady in the rider’s hand, allowing for controlled rig steering.
Albeit the two spots are so different, so are the conditions that present individual challenges for the ideal boom.
While wind and water conditions on flatwater are mostly calm, calling for larger sails, exactly the opposite prevails
on Gran Canaria. Actually, in order to achieve optimum propulsion at both spots and tireless windsurfing especially on Gran Canaria,
one would need two heads of different stiffness or attenuation. A very rigid, direct front piece for flatwater, and an attenuated,
more flexible head for harsher conditions. This is an effort that only professional regatta pilots will not shun,
but which otherwise makes windsurfing excessively complicated. Yet who would willingly forsake the extra performance
and the additional comfort? This is exactly what we focused on."
The knowledge acquired by our development team helped it devise the following easily understandable formulas:
Low wind = calm waters = large sail, long boom = less rig movement
ideal solution: inflexible, rigid head
High wind = choppy waters = small sail, short boom = nervous rig = jumps
ideal solution: easily flexing head
Review of a 5 day trip by Arnie and Rich to the Gorge mid-july 2008 by www.pappasrock.com
check the river-rippers T.V. section for more hot river windsurfing video clips !!!
Gorge Freestyle Frenzy Results 2008
August 9, 2008
HOOD RIVER, ORE.—Several of North America’s top freestyle windsurfers descended on the Columbia River Gorge in July for the 2nd Annual Gorge Freestyle Frenzy, the nation’s largest high-wind freestyle windsurfing event.
Tyson Poor of Orinda, Calif., claimed the crown in the "Super Frenzy" division—the professional division allowing the most difficult tricks—wowing the crowd with double-forward loops and other advanced maneuvers.
With classic Gorge winds reaching 35 mph at the Spring Creek Fish Hatchery, the day featured impressive windsurfing action on the water and a big crowd of spectators all along the shore.
Along with Poor, other first-place finishers were: Men’s Division, Jake Miller, Makawao, Hawaii; Women’s Division, Ingrid Larouche, Bingen, Wash.; Master’s Division, Peter Najim, Hood River, Ore.; and ProKids Division, Jordan Reid, Pleasanton, Calif.
Because of his top finish in the ProKids division, 15-year-old Reid automatically qualified for the ProKids Worlds in Bonaire.
Complete Frenzy results are listed below.
Just in its second year, the Gorge Freestyle Frenzy has been covered by a variety of national media, including a two-page article in the July issue of Men’s Journal magazine. The Frenzy is a locally produced event, founded and organized by Royn Bartholdi of Hood River, with the help of volunteers from the community.
This year’s Frenzy drew 45 competitors from throughout North America, and showcased why the Gorge is one of the top recreation destinations in the world. For more information on the Gorge Freestyle Frenzy and participating athletes, visit www.gorgefreestylefrenzy.com.
Women
1st - Ingrid Larouche, Bingen, Wash.
2nd - Zoe Najim, Hood River, Ore.
3rd - Katie Crafts, Hood River, Ore.
4th - Roxanne Christensen, White Salmon, Wash.
ProKids
1st - Jordan Reid, Pleasanton, Calif.
2nd - Jonathon Poore, Santa Cruz, Calif.
Men
1st - Jake Miller, Makawao, Hawaii
2nd - Mitch Gingrich, San Diego, Calif.
3rd - Sean Aiken, Hood River, Ore.
4th - Patrick Bergeron, Haiku, Hawaii
Masters
1st - Peter Najim, Hood River, Ore.
2nd - Sofien Sehiri, Berkeley, Calif.
3rd - Dan Thompson, Freelton, Ont.
4th - Derek Rijff, Carrying Place, Ont.Â
Tricktionary 2 - book review
by Frank Bingel
August 04, 2008
It is now almost 2 years since Tricktionary - The Ultimate Windsurfing Bible hit the shelves. Developed as a windsurfing training book for all levels, containing all possible moves and jumps and available in 4 languages, Â the book instantly became an international best seller.
We previously introduced the first edition in a review, so now let’s take a closer look at the 2nd edition.
Michael Rossmeier from Austria, PWA sailor and freestyle addict is the person behind the Tricktionary. Together with professional photographer Sandra Schennach, the two did work hard on a revised version of the Tricktionary containing  the following new features
for beginers: a complete basic windsurfing course
equipment tuning & rigging guide
revised fitness & health part (supported by Dr Aly Sabri)
how to get fast - speed/slalom sailing - using GPS
completed wave section (by John Skye)
all the latest freestyle moves for expert freestyle windsurfers
For a better navigation through the maneuver jungle, you find a helpful well arranged table of all maneuvers categorizing each by their relative level of difficulty.
Freestyle Windsurfing can be a complex sport depending on the level you would like to reach. It is essential to learn a selection of basic freestyle moves before you can advance to more complex and advanced moves.
Thus the concept of the tricktionary is to guide you step by step from the very basic to the most difficult maneuvers.
This has been achived by structuring each maneuver as follows:
short maneuver introduction
step by step explanation of the maneuver shown in a numbered photo sequence
(max. of 16 shots per maneuver)
shortcuts: brief summary of the maneuver's main points
problem and solution examples
suggested pre-exercises
pictograms showing recommended wind and water conditions
Beside an update of the latest hardcore freestyle moves (spock 900, Puneta 900, Gozzada etc.), the Tricktionary 2 got its major update in the Wave chapter.
While the 1st edition of the tricktionary only had a rough introduction to wave sailing in 6 pages, the new edition now covers all aspects of modern wave sailing in 66 pages. The section was written by Co-author John Skye, an experienced PWA sailor from the UK.
conclusion
Concept & presentation of the Tricktionary2 is totally convincing.
It now covers all aspects of Windsurfing from beginners, to speed sailors, to freestyle addicts and to wave gurus. Everyone will find a challenge !
Because of its efficient and promising maneuver documentation, a quick learning experience  should be guaranteed. Â
We strongly recommend the book to everyone.
quick facts
292 pages
150+ windsurfing maneuvers
Detailed explanations and tips for each maneuver to help acquire the right technique
Recommended wind and water conditions for each maneuver
Book in A4 format, solid paper back
Very colorful illustrations
Available in 6 languages: English, German, Italian, Russian,Spanish,
French
(1st edition)
Last month we introduced Laurent as ripper of the month , he is editor of funboard.rhone.over-blog.com, a french river windsurfing related website.
In return
Frank, editor of river-rippers.net, got interviewed by Laurent and talked about his project river-rippers.net and windsurfing on the Rhine River in Germany:
Please tell us a little bit about yourself where are you from and how come you started river windsurfing?
"I'm living in the heart of Germany near Frankfurt far away from the ocean.
My windsurfing career started on a nearby lake where I got into the sport.
After several years and getting onto a shortboard I decided to try river windsurfing on the Rhine.
Depending on the wind direction I have to drive between 20 and 60 minutes to find a suitable site where the wind blows against the current."
Frank Bingel ripping at Bingen at sunrise(c) helge hoffmann
You are publishing "river-rippers.net", a website deticated to River Windsurfing in general. Can you introduce your website in a few sentences ?
"Back in 2002 I decided to create an online community for Rhine River Windsurfers where people can chat about their latest & greatest river windsurfing sessions, the idea behind river-rippers.net was born.
After one year of developing and designing the website I launched it in early 2003. I quickly noticed that people from other countries are also taking advantage of rivers and calling it their local playground.
So it was just the logical consequence to transform it into a global river windsurfing website. Site guides for Rivers like the famous Columbia River Gorge/USA and Sacramento River/USA followed very quickly and even more rivers were added in the last couple of years.
RhĂ´ne River / France and St. Laurence River/Canada are the latest additions. We are still looking for people to provide site infos on those rivers for publication on our site. So if you are interested to write a site guide and add your local site to our google map of river windsurfing sites at http://river-rippers.net/modules.php?name=Content_Guides
feel free to contact us !
One of our latest features on river-rippers.net is probably the most complete gallery of river windsurfing shots out on the web with already more that 1200 images from all major rivers.
We spend lots of time during last winter to come up with a fancy web 2.0 like gallery that allows river rippers to share images and organize those in their own albums related to their home rivers.
An additional featured called pictures of the day (P.O.D.) shall motivate people to send & view shots from recent sessions using a simple upload interface."
river-rippers gallery
Tell us a bit about the windsurfing community alongside Rhine River and the typical windsurfing conditions you have?
The Rhine windsurfing community in my region counts about 100 windsurfers and takes advantage of about 10 different Rhine windsurfing sites.
Most of the sites are located in the Rhine valley near Frankfurt.
Please check our site guides to get a good idea where the sites are located.
You find various conditions from super flat water to wave like swell depending on the location and wind force. All sites but one are working on typical low pressure systems where the wind funnels through the Rhine valley.
One magic site is located at Bingen where warm thermal winds are blowing around sunrise in summer time. Those are the most epic windsurfing sessions you can probably imagine !
A typical setup for ripping Rhine river are wave/freestyle sails from 4.0qm to 6.0qm and wave/freesytle boards from 70 up to 110liters depending on the riders profile.
The current is moderate to fast depending on the site. The rider must be experienced , waterstart is a must !
Did you know that traffic on the Rhine is the most heaviest on all waterways over Europe?
You see barges cruising up and downriver all day long , so you must time your maneuvers very precisely and keep your distance."
Are there any regulations alongside the river that prevent people from sailing at specific sites or can you basically sail wherever you like to?
"Since early 2007 we are faced by a windsurfing prohibition at various sites.
The barges captains complained about the danger caused by us windsurfers who sailed at a too short distance in front of their vessels.
Imagine a windy day, 30 sailors ripping in front of a barge heading downriver at full speed. Too many sailors violated the most important rule to keep an appropriate distance to crossing vessels.
The consequence was brutal for us, we were simply banned from our beloved & favorite playgrounds.
The core Rhine sailors decided to establish the Rhine River Windsurfing Association and invite people to join with the primary goal to save the sites where sailing is still tolerated.
As a first measure we defined river windsurfing rules that each and every Rhine windsurfer shall follow and to demonstrate that river windsurfers are well prepared to sail on a dangerous river.
We still have hope that one day we will regain the right to sail at those prohibited sites, now that people are well more prepared then ever before and will respect the right of way."
banned sites
Is freestyle windsurfing big at the Rhine ?
"Well first of all rivers offer perfect conditions to practice freestyle windsurfing due to the fact that you sail downwind all the time and concentrate on your moves.
The current and the wind blowing against it makes river windsurfing so unique. Most sites offer flat water conditions where people can get into freestyle very quick.
The average age of a Rhine river ripper is approx. 30+ years so shouldn't expect people to show the latest hardcore moves but lots of sailors are showing the very freestyle basics like volcans & grubbies.
Of course we hope to see more young & talented freestyle windsurfers on the Rhine even if Windsurfing isn't as popular as before. Freestlye Windsurfing is probably the most potential windsurfing discipline that will attract young people to get into the sport."
Andy Pusch, ripping on Rhine River(c) geisselnrecht.biz
The most radical Windsurfing site at Rhine River ?
"Definitely at a site called Budenheim
where very strong winds produce the most radical swell on the Rhine.
I've seen days with almost Gorge like swell...well let's call Rhine the little brother of the Gorge :)
Your latest magic moment sailing Rhine River ?
Well this early March we've had a massive storm crossing Germany right above one of my "secret" sites alongside the Rhine.
I was banned ashore for about 2 hours when the storm was blowing at full force upriver and the water was flying as I did never experience on any Rhine River session before.
When the wind finally dropped to ridable conditions I decided to head out on my smallest sail a 4.0 totally out of control and out of mind ;)
Afterwards I was simply stoked and overwhelmed that I won a fight against the elements."
Marcus Engel - airtime at Budenheim - (c) Thomas Streng
source: http://funboard.rhone.over-blog.com
P.O.D. (Picture of the day)
May 22, 2008
Now that the new season started we would like to motivate YOU to take some photos of your upcoming river windsurfing sessions....
Whatever comes in front of your lense, radical action on the water, amazing river landscapes or funny moments, share it within the river rippers community !
You can send your shot(s) by a simple upload interface (no registration required).
Once uploaded, photos are displayed in the gallery P.O.D. section and on the front page of river-rippers.net
About the river-rippers gallery
It's our intention to offer people a place to share river windsurfing related photos and view the work of others.
The photo gallery already includes 1000+ photos from various rivers like the famours River Gorge(USA)
, Sacramento River(USA), Rhine River(GER)
and much more.
www.river-rippers.net 
Gorge Freestyle Frenzy Results 2008
© photos: Vladao Sklenar
an interview with river-rippers 
Please tell us a little bit about yourself where are you from and how come you started river windsurfing?
