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News from The Loft -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- [ order The Loft Newsletter ] | |
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#October 10, 2005 Wind Magazine 2005 O2 Freerace 8.4 test... "The art of applied design in a freeride sail" Our 8.4 nails Winds' freeride test, see the results for yourself... more >>  #September 294, 2005 ROELAND DE RYCKER IS THE 2005 BELGIAN FREESTYLE CHAMPION (YOUNG GUNS)  We are proud to announce that Roeland De Rycker won the 2005 Freestyle Belgian Championship (Young Guns)! Roeland competed with the Lip Wave Concept 5.7 - 4.7 - 4.3 and 3.9. Roeland is one of the most talented freestylers in Belgium. Not only Roeland had excellent results with the Lip Wave... Jelle Caers, also 15 years old, finished 3rd overall. It is the first year Jelle is competing with Loftsails: the Lip Freewave 6.2 and the Lip Wave 5.2 - 4.7 - 4.3 - 3.9.Roeland interview: Question (Q) You won the 2005 Belgian Freestyle Championship (Young Guns). Was it hard? Answer (A) I always did the best I could. Sometimes I had a bad heat, but it was very good. (Q) What do you like in The Loft Sails? (A) Everything!!! They are the best sails all over the world!!! (Q) What are your plans for 2006? (A) I hope I can become again Belgian Champion in the younguns division. I also would like to compet with the older guys... (Q) What is your favourite manouver? (A) My favorite manouver at the moment is a flaka... (Q) What is your best remembrance for 2005? (A) My victory at Bredene last week.... (Q) What is your favourite spot? (A) My favorite spot is Grevelingendam! Or Tarifa is also very good, but that's only for holidays. Jelle interview : (Q) Your 3rd place this year is certainly respectable... are you happy with your result? (A) Yes, because it is an improvement as last year I ended up in forth place. (Q) What do you like about Loftsails? (A) They plane quickly, are easy to make moves, feel light and I can hold them far into the upper wind rage, so you do not need to change the sail size as often. The quality is good and they look like new after a year surfing. (Q) What are your plans for 2006? (A) I want to surf as much as I can, learn more moves on both sides, and hope to have good results on competition next year. (Q) What is your favourite manouver? (A) Spock 540 and Flaka. (Q) What is your best remembrance for 2005? (A) My first spock and Loop (Q) What is your favourite spot? (A) Leucate and Brouwersdam, but I hope in the futher to go to other spots in Europe. Roeland sponsor are: The Loft Sails, Sailboards Tarifa, Atan, Camaro, Windsurfshop.be. Jelle sponsor are: The Loft Sails, AHD, Atan, Camaro, Windsurfshop.be. #September 14, 2005 The Loft International Team Expands  We are pleased to announce the addition of Ron Barel to The Loft international windsurfing team. Ron has an aggressive style, he has participated in professional wave events this year. Ron recieved his 2006 Lip Wave Concept quiver in August, we look forward to
Ron´s future with The Loft. View Ron's Team page View Ron's Gallery page #September 10, 2005 Loftsails team rider Stefano Pavcovich visits Brazil  Stefano travelled to Natal Brazil the last week of August, wind conditions were ideal for 5.7 and 6.2 sail sizes, the waves were good averaging around head high. Photos by Josef Pichler.img 01 | img 02 | img 03 #September 08, 2005 The Loft Sails 2006! I am excited to present our 2006 products to our Loftsails distributors and clients worldwide! The Loft is progressive windsurfing performance and huge wind range. It is the fruit of my 25 years in windsurfing, as well the fruit of my windsurfing excitement. Loftsails breathe... feel it! #August 31, 2005 Planchemag test - The O2 is the heart-throb for the test team! The Loft O2 Freerace 8.4 takes on cambered rivals as the ONLY cam-free design in Planchemag`s 2005 performance freeride test and comes away a winner. Check out the results for yourself: THE LOFT SAILS O2 Freerace 8.4 The absolute versatility, the heart-throb for the test Team.  The only sail without cambers of this test, the Loft by Monty Spindler covers at the same time a Freeride and a Freerace program, with step less than 8 battens, of which the top one has a curve at the head. More reinforced than the other sails, it offers in particular more X-Ply at the borders and at the head. Equipped with a vario head, it profits from a very beautiful mast protection with an opening to velcro on bottom to reach the triple pulley more easily. Beautiful work. We tested it on a 75% carbon. Amex mast.
SAILING The most simple to trim and to tend, Loft presents a flat static profile, wind is necessary to form the sail profile. Upon contact with water, the O2 is a feather, one has the feeling to have one 7,5 m2 in the arms!! The very narrow sleeve and the flat profile accentuate this effect in the phases of non-planing. Another strong point, it is very pleasant and powerful when pumping. Once in the wind, the 8.4m2 enters in scene, with good power to get planing. Very nervous, it is at the same time easy to use and very sporty, with an acceleration and a dash speed on the level of a good sail with cambers. Even better, one is close to the performances of a race sail downwind and straight on, yet with more lightness. Thin in attack, it is controlled without forcing, it is stable in gusts by exhausting from its effective, twisting head. It is really very pleasant, one passes very well soft holes in the wind, as well one is super stable and one can handle strong gusts. Compared to its rival with camber Severne Overdrive of 8.5m2, Loft is a little less powerful in the mini winds, a little more time is needed so that the profile is set up and one is fixed. In pure speed, the two sails make equal play appreciably (with an advantage for Severne in downwind conditions). More light, more dynamics, more handy, The Loft 8.4 is appropriate for light and medium weight windsuerfers and intermediates who seek the the best power/lightness ratio. In the gusty winds, the head of the sail opens very extremely, which at the same time makes it possible to accelerate and evacuate gusts without saturating. A person with a medium/heavy weight will be able without problem to exploit it until 18/20 knots of wind. For planning, it is necessary to have between 9/10 knots for a light person with 10/11 knots for a heavy person pumping a little. CONCLUSION Light for a sail of 8.4m2, easy to trim and to regulate, this O2 Freerace makes it possible to navigate with force 3-4 without having this feeling of heaviness which have certain sails with cambers. Alive, it breathes very extremely and develops a really high level of performance. It is the heart-throb in this test for its extreme versatility. Lightness: 5/5 Power: 3/5 Performance: 4/5 manouvers: 5/5 High wind control: 5/5 +: Lightness, high wind range, accesibility, monouvers, performance, feeling. -: NOTHING !!! #July 12, 2005 Windsport magazine tests the 05 O2 Freeride Concept 5.9  The Loft tested against the major windsurfing sail brands in Cape Hatteras...The O2 Freeride is the ONLY design with top results for both high-speed and low-end power & torque. Windsport also finds the O2 at the top regarding "active trimming". The Windsport tests find that the O2 has "tons of details" compared to other brands. Check it out!!! Page 1 | Page 2 #June 29, 2005 Pascal Bronnimann - new Team Rider in Hawaii  Pascal has been windsurfing as much as possible for the last 21 years, be it back in Europe or on Oahu, Hawaii, where he has been residing since 1996.Pascal won the 1999 + 2000 wave contests at Diamond Head, Oahu. He mostly loves pure wave-sailing and his favorite spots so far are the Taranaki region, New Zealand, the South shore of Oahu and the North shore of Fuerteventura. When not windsurfing he is managing the warehouse of Blue Planet Surf Gear and working on websites. To get to know more about Pascal, please visit his websites: www.pixi.com/~pascal www.diamondheadteam.com/portfolio.htm www.boardriderscard.com #May 10, 2005 Fehmarn Surf Festival 2005  The Surf Festival rocks over the long weekend large with a large exhibition of windsurfing equipment.Friday evening party with the Sideshore Trading team at the Subito... good mood, good music, many guests enjoyed the party at the Subito in Fehmarn. Sideshore trading sponsored the drinks! Sebastian, Anne, Timo, Jessy, Alexander, Katia, Joshi, Nabil, Thorsten, Ursula, Lucky and Monty were heavy into Vodka Red Bulls and Capirinhas danced into the early hours... The Surf Festival rocks over the long weekend large with a large exhibition of windsurfing equipment. All major windsurfing manufacturers attend the event, tents, flags, music, food, wind and sea all make for a good time. The Quattro guys were there- Keith Tabul and Lalo Goya. Pio Marasco from MFC and Francisco Goya also attended. The event takes place on a narrow spit of land named Wulfener Hals on the island of Fehmarn. A shallow lagoon on the west side lets windsurfers of all ages and abilities enjoy the sport in shallow, flat water. On the east side there is the Baltic Sea and open water for the more experienced windsurfers. On the 15,000 windsurfers visit the event, sails and boards stand ready on the beach for aspiring sportsmen to try. The winds were good Thrusday and Friday, unfortunatey on the weekend the winds did not fill in. An informal speed competition was completed... The F2 Speed Challenge was run in the fresh winds on Thursday and Friday. The speed course is open to everyone, the top speeds are recorded with a radar gun. F2 holds 8 events around Europe, Fehmarn being the first event. Fehmarn Surf Festival F2 Speed Challenge- 40 participants, Ludger Dierken Thursdays results (14-18 knots wind): 1. Ludger Dierken Exocet Turbo Boost 67 O2 7.4 2005 2. Uwe Michelsen NP race sail 7.8 Speed competitor in European events. 3. Tillmann Heinig Custom board North Warp 7.5 Friday results (12-15 knots wind): 1. Manfred Krueckeburg Naish race sail 8.0 Lorch 2. Ludger Dierken Exocet Turbo Boost 67 O2 7.4 2005 3. Uwe Michelsen NP race sail 7.8 Speed competitor in European events. #April 25, 2005 Design quality confirmation: magazine tests?  Windsurfing magazines evaluate sails offered to the worldwide market each year, their test results are published in editions that influence the popularity of tested sails. Some windsurfers place minimal importance on the test results, believing that it is the amount of advertising paid to the magazines from the sail brands that determine test results. One might say the issue is; are magazines placing top priority on their readership, or on their advertisers? Some windsurfers place great importance in magazine test results... they appreciate that the windsurfers who evaluate sails genuinely try their best to accurately test the sails and arrive at accurate results. Different magazine tests often produce very different results. This may be explained by the fact that tests are completed in different locations; different conditions may produce different results. Also, tests are performed by different teams, the testers in each test team will most likely have different ideas as to what ideal sail performance might be. Despite the controversies concerning magazine sail tests, when a sail-brand collect superlative results from a score of magazine evaluations it is safe to say that the design quality of the brand is unquestionably established. The Loft has received absolutely outstanding magazine test results. See our 2005 test results for yourself!: -Lip Freewave Concept 6.2: Test winner German Surf magazine Jan-Feb 05. -O2 Freeride Concept 7.4: Test winner French Planchmag magazine April 05. -Lip Wave Concept 4.7: Test winner French Wind magazine April 05. -O2 Freerace Concept 8.4: Super results French Wind magazine April 05. -O2 Freeride Concept 5.9: Super results North American Windsport magazine April 05. The Loft continues its work developing progressive, cutting-edge windsurfing sail designs, we look forward to future magazine tests world-wide. #April 19, 2005 Roeland won ...  Roeland won the first event of the year in Belgium.Name: Roeland De Rycker Where: Knokke (Belgium) - Surfers Paradise Event: Lords Of The Wind, Belgian Freestyle Championship, -18 years old When: 16-17 April How many competitors: 8 people Conditions: +/- 12 knots. Only two heats. First they were divided in two groups, every group did one heat. Then a heat with the two best of the first heat (Roeland and Robby) and a heat with the two best of the 2nd group (Kenny and Dieter Vandereycken). As this was the only heats they had done, they made the overall ranking on the points given in the heats and Roeland won! Roeland take the Lip Wave 5.7. #March 28, 2005 Roeland De Rycker: King of Freestyle  According to rumours, the PWA plans to scale back freestyle competitions, probably to the profit of Super X. This may be bad news, because in Belgium many young people practice windsurfing thanks to Freestyle.Among them- Roeland De Rycker, only 15 years old and already stuffed with talent. Roeland began windsurf at the 8 years age, and began Freestyle four years later. Since he was 12 years old he only thinks about freestyle: his preferred spot is called "flat water"! Roeland already has his prizes- two successes at the Young Guns of Freestyle (Rookie), held in the Netherlands in 2003 and 2004. To see him in action just go to Brouwersdam, Grevelingendam or Oesterdam, depending on the direction of the wind! Roeland has already travelled abroad (Tarifa, Leucate, Rinkobing Fjord in Denmark, or Rosas), and his dream is to sail one day in Venezuela and Aruba. Which manouevres is he able to do? Impossible to enumerate them all! He goes from the air jibe to the one foot jump, while passing by the push tack, the grubby or the spock... obviously Roeland is known in the windsurf industry in Belgium and was quickly sponsored by Windsurfshop.be, The Loft Sails and Sailboards Tarifa. Recently, Roeland forms part of the international Loft Team. Photos of Roeland are in the Loft brochure and on the The Loft web site 2005. "Roeland is class"! #March 21, 2005 Black color LIP Wave  For those who don't know...There's also new color black vailable for 2005 LIP Wave from The Loft! For more info on Lip Wave sails please visit here #March 15, 2005 The Loft at Slovinian Surf Fair  Slovinian Surf Fair and the stand of our Slovinian distributor Peter Silec of ProsurfThe fair was held on Sunday, 13th March, in Maribor. There were approximately 500 visitors from Slovenia and Croatia. Fair was covered by local radio, the reportage from the fair was published in several nautical magazines and also on internet page (www.totisurf.com) which is unfortunately only in Slovenian language. Surfers showed quite big interest for Loft Sails! #February 06, 2005 Pierrot news from Australia  Starting this year Pierrot is a new rider with The Loft Team."I'm now in Magaret river after leaving Lancelin and Perth. Margaret river is the best spot I have ever seen. Last week we had waves of 5 meter and more. This wave is so radical but you can make 5 bottoms easily. For jumping it is just such a crazy feeling, you jump so high! The wind isn´t gusty but a little bit cold. I go in the water all day with 5.2 or 4.7." Pierrot View images from Pierrot's session >> #January 29, 2005 The Loft Movie by Liquid Pixx  High quality [ .wmv 8.6 MB ] Low quality [ .wmv 1.6 MB ] Oliver Viering Liquid Pixx Tarifa www.liquid-magazine.com #January 05, 2005 The LIP Freewave 6.2 takes it all in German SURF Magazine 2005 test... "In the Northern or Baltic Sea, most surfers use the same sail for waves and tricks in flatwater - and then, the LOFT is the best choice." SURF 1/2005  "LIP Freewave - a name that sounds not so much like flatwater-action in El Yaque... however Monty Spindler confidently submitted his "freemove" sail into our 05 freestyle test. And why not?... the performance requirements for wave and freestyle sails (around 6 m2) are nearly the same: early planning, soft handling and sufficient on-off functions are all needed for convincing an engaged windsurfer. It was no surprise that this "freewave concept" design would work in tricky conditions, yet as well the LIP has a very early planning quality; in lightwind the Lip starts planning as early as the Severne. Naturally, the strong reinforcements in the LIP make it feel slightly heavier than the super light Australian design. The LIP, when compared to the North Disco or the less reinforced GunSails Jam, has a similar feel regarding weight. For Duck Tacks and moves that need a power-off-function where the profile becomes flat (which is appreciated by dedicated and technical tricksailors), the LIP has no leech fluttering and no nervous movements - no power-point wandering. The Loft LIP Freewave Concept also feels soft and smooth in your hands if the wind comes up." The Lip Freewave 6.2 has, in the sum, the best marks in the following categories: -early planning -freestyle quality -freeride quality View more >> #January 04, 2005 Masts from The Loft! A super light hard-core reduced diameter mast and racing standard diameter masts now available from The Loft.   All LoftMasts are 100% high-modulus carbon pre-preg: -the fastest possible reflex-response, -the lightest possible weight, -the greatest possible rig stability... windsurfing unlimited. Read more about The Loft Masts >> #December 23, 2004 Big day in Tarifa Big day big bay... best sail 3.4qm... Rider Joss, photos Tanja...   For more images visit www.stehsegelrevue.com #December 14, 2004 The Loft Sails 2005... The Lip and O2 2005 sail lines have been finalized! Many new items have been applied to our successful designs. Reduction in sail weight has been a top priority for 2005, and the results are stunning. The weight of our 05 sails has dropped an average of 1/2 kilo... The Loft 2005 designs are among the very lightest available.  Extreme durability is characteristic of The Loft 2004, longevity continues in the 2005 lines along with the dramatic weight reduction. How?... surgical attention paid to all sail parts while maintaining integrity. Critical points fully addressed with applied scrim reinforcements and Kevlar™ to ensure longevity. All 2005 Loftsails are built with substantially reduced monofilm content, in fact the Lip Wave Concept 2005 is 100% laminate! No corners cut- so you keep riding.Numerous new items go into The Loft 05- new molded mast pad, new stainless 3-roller integrated tack pulley, new light and effective molded PVC foot edge, new materials for the mast pocket as well as new alu-rienforced Grid-Xply and new aggressive and totally functional aesthetics. The Loft 2005 is real evolution... feel it! #October 12, 2004 The Loft in wind tunnel In September 2004 The Loft was asked to develop a windsurfing rig model for testing in the new wind tunnel facility at the CEAMA in the province of Andalucia. The opening of the wind tunnel was highlighted by the arrival of the King and Queen of Spain. That windsurfing was presented certainly helps to promote our sport.  Mr Jose Terres-Nicoli is an active windsurfer and the technical director of the Wind Engineering Division, which is one of the 3 divisions of the Environmental Fluid Dynamics Research Group at CEAMA (CENTRO ANDALUZ DE MEDIOAMBIENTE). Snr. Miguel A. Losada is the managing director of the facility, which is organized into three subdivisions: Harbors and coastlines, Rivers and wetlands and Wind Engineering.
The new CEAMA wind tunnel is different from most wind tunnels because it is specialized in the simulation of the wind characteristics near the surface of the earth and sea. Most wind tunnels are concerned with static winds where turbulence & wind-speeds remain constant for the study of Aeronautics. In contrast, wind speed and turbulence intensity changes dramatically with the influence of the earth’s surface- this effect is termed “wind gradient”. Few wind tunnels are designed with wind gradient studies for applications in civil and environmental engineering- and windsurfing rig studies!  Working with Jose Terres-Nicoli two 1:5 scale models were produced at The Loft; an O2 Freeride Concept 6.6 and the Olympic class Laser sail. Built into the two models are more than 20 micro-tubes in each, which are used to measure air-pressures at specific locations. Air pressures are measured at the micro-tube ends, the tubes are led forward to the mast and travel down inside the mast pocket and connect to computer-sensors under the tunnel which assimilate the datas.
A unique system to actually see wind turbulence has been installed. Forward of the models a machine throws fine water vapor in the air. Just behind the model a beam of laser light is diffused into a sheet. As the water vapor passes through the laser light the influence of the foil can be understood visually.  The opening of the wind tunnel was highlighted by the arrival of the King and Queen of Spain. Security was very high before and during the visit of the royalty. The wind tunnel is so large that the King, Queen, technicians and security people were all actually inside the tunnel inspecting the windsurfer model. The paparazzi were busy with the photo-ops and the event was presented in the Spanish media. That windsurfing was presented certainly helps to promote our sport.
The Loft looks forward to further studies working with CEAMA. Monty Spindler October 2004 |
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