Jonas Promoted to the Hot Sails Maui International Team

Following a great 2011 season young Belgium ripper Jonas Handeyn has been promoted to the Hot Sails Maui International Team for 2012 following a number of years as a National Team Rider.

Jonas who finished 5th in the IFCA Youth World Wave Championships in Peru is a regular on this blog and boosts some massive air in the frigid waters of Northern Europe. He is currently preparing to relocate for the winter in search of wind and waves in South Africa.
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Adrian's ...DREAM... video in Egypt

Hot Sails Maui team rider Andrian Beholz shows us some sick freestyle action from Egypt during the time of the revolution.

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Jonas Ripping it up on Continent 7

Hot Sails Maui team rider Jonas Handekyn is currently packing his bags for Cape Town but before he leaves the popular Continent Seven website caught up with him, check out the video article here>>

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GPS (pre) Review by Red Surf Bus

New UK team rider Lea Spencer who runs the very popular Red Surf Bus website will be getting his GPS sails very soon and has been doing to some research before he completes a full review in the coming weeks. He will be testing against a number of different sails and is particularly interested in trying different masts to see how that influences performance.

Check out his pre review of the GPS and plenty of other great speed sailing information. He will be competing on the GPS speed ladders in 2012 as well as the British Slalom Association series. 

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Somewhere in Brazil with Julien Mas

Last week we introduced the trailer and we are thrilled to release Julien's full edit of SOMEWHERE IN BRAZIL.

As a new season dawns expect Julien to be challenging for a podium finish on the 2012 PWA Freestyle tour which is expected to kick off in Vietnam in Feb/March 2012, we will be following his progress very closely.

Julien's sail of choose is the BOLT, if you are looking for a light, all-round wave and freestyle sail which looks sick and performs even better then check one out for yourself!

Julien's sponsors Hot Sails Maui, Patrik Boards, ERD Fins & Vikteam.

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Diony Lives it Up at Funeral Point

After many years of traveling the world Diony has been working a number of plans recently to rediscover the magic that can be found a little closer to home. Isn't funny how we rush around and around but sometimes miss the gems that lie in front of us!

Diony enjoying a few waves on his FireLight

"The new season is just starting here in the Southern Caribbean so everyone is quite desperate for some swell, Margarita is just above the equator and enjoys good climate year around but good swells here are not easy to get since we have all the islands blocking us north and east from us, so you got to be on top of the forecast!
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Swedish Wave Action Through the Lens of Robert Almqvist

I love seeing pictures from around the world and this post documents some great Swedish waves of the last 12 months thanks to the Hot Sails Maui crew and photographer Robert Almqvist, looks like some great action...

Check out more of Robert's photos here>>

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RUSS JENKINS signs for Hot Sails Maui (UK)

As part of our commitment to developing the UK market we are currently in the process of signing a number of great riders across all disciplines, these names will be released in the comings days and weeks.

The first team signing announcement is that RUSS JENKINS has joined the UK National Team for 2012. He has been sailing on his custom RAF designed SuperFreaks (design your own here>>) for some time and will be using the new FireLight for the 2012 BWA season.  We look forward to watching him ripping up the UK waves and climbing the BWA rankings. 

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Jonas Fire'n it up in Belgium

Hot Sails Maui team rider Jonas Handekyn is currently getting ready to make the trip down to Cape Town and sent us this sweet video of his Autumn sessions with his weapon of choice - the FIRE. 

Check out more of Jonas' action on his blog.

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Fill The Days (with the FreeSTYLE Pro)

Hot Sails Maui team rider Paul Zeper has been braving the cold in the Netherlands in recent weeks to test the new FreeSTYLE prototype 4.8. Paul will be packing his bags for Maui in a matter of days and starting a six month internship with us, we look forward to welcoming him to the team at head office and getting more of his feedback. 

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Somewhere in Brazil - The Trailer

Hot Sails Maui team rider Julien Mas has just returned from Brazil and sent this preview of his new movie which should be released soon. Somewhere in Brazil features Julien Mas and his friends Levi Lenz, Joao Enrique, Bastien Rama, Arthur Polllet and the new kids talent from Brazil - Hugo de Souza and from this sneak peak it looks like it will be a thriller...

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Diony's Bequia Video

Last month we reported about Diony's trip back to his childhood home Bequia St Vincent and the Grenadines and now we have the video story to share. It is great to visit with him back to a spot that shaped his life on what was quite an emotional trip for Diony meeting up with old friends and getting back into the island life. 

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Ready for the Holidays...

The holiday season is here and our German importers are getting into the spirit of things! In the weeks before Christmas they are fully stocked so that you can get that perfect gift for your wind addicted partner, youngster (or yourself)... although not all of them fit under the tree very well! 

Check out HOTSAILS.de and get your loved one (or yourself) something special! 

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GP2 & GPS enjoying life in New Caledonia

Earlier this year we introduced Hot Sails Maui to New Caledonia thanks to the support from our new importer Laurent Sainson (NAISH NOUMEA PRO CENTER). Laurent and friends have been enjoying the fantastic windy and warm conditions recently and sent me some great pictures of some fun slalom action. What a beautiful place to sail, I am looking forward to visiting next year!

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Julien Mas - Skopu into Funnel...A What?!

Hot Sails Maui team rider Julien Mas has been training hard in Brazil in recent weeks and it loos like he has been perfecting some fresh new school variants. This is apparently a Skopu into Funnel...

Julien is sponsored by Hot Sails Maui and Patrik boards, his sail of choice is the BOLT. 

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Quiksilver Windsurf School in El Tur, Nov 2011

Hot Sails Maui and the Quicksilver Windsurf School have been working together since they opened in 2006. They now boast 6 different destinations including locations such as Egypt, Tenerife, Morocco, Greece & Italy, with 36 weekly camps per year.

Branding has always been a key component of their success and you will see from their most recent video from El Tur that they certainly make an impact with their custom printed SuperFreaks, remember that you too can design your own custom SuperFreak here>> .

Their most recent camp looks super fun in a fascinating destination, check it out and contact the QWS for more info about their 2012 camps.

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One of the FASTEST - 48.68 knots for 100m

The full report of Martyn Ogier's whistle stop visit to the UK mainland is now available and we are extremely pleased to report that he ruled what is being dubbed the 'Clash of the Titans' at West Kirby. Martyn flew up from his home in Guernsey on Tuesday night and after a restless night waiting for the epic conditions on Wednesday he braced the cold (thanks to Ant for the booties) and threw down some extra quick tracks.

Conditions were far from perfect as shown in some of the pictures making it hard for 10 second tracks but he was thrilled with his peak of 49.2 knots, 100m of 48.68 knots & 10 second of 46.03 knots beating off stiff competition from speed sailing heavy hitters Steve Thorp & Jacques van der Hout.

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First Video of the FreeSTYLE Pro 4.8

This little Kono video gives you a little insight into the FreeSTYLE Pro currently being put through its paces by team rider Paul Zeper in Holland (Paul will soon be swapping the cold of Europe for the warm waters and wind of Maui and we look forward to seeing him on island.

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49 Knots & Counting = Seriously FAST!

Reports are still coming in and official times being processed but early reports suggest that Hot Sails Maui team rider Martyn Ogier has clocked more than 49 knots at West Kirby. Thanks to his new team mate Jon White we have a little video while we wait for the official results.

Martyn was using a stock 2011 Hot Sails Maui GPS paired with his Starboard iSonic and Black Project Type X Fin. 

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Roadeks Latvian Wave Riding Championship 2011

There is nothing like the onset of competition to get the blood pumping and the ominous sound track of this video account of the Roadeks Latvian Wave Riding Championship 2011 helps to stir the emotions as you watch these brave sailors battle fierce winds and cold temperatures in the search for glory. Congratulations to Hot Sails Maui team rider Krish Lat 168 for taking the title (again!).

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Tarmac has never looked so much fun!

I vividly remember one of my favorite sessions of all time and no it was not mast high Ho'okipa or ballistic Pozo but in a wind-skate session in the UK. I was in my teens and still doing the rounds on my IMCO raceboard, during this particular event we had very light winds but plenty of flat concrete and a couple of skateboards set up to take a rig. A number of the competitors decided to run a slalom competition and it turned out to be one of the best sessions ever. So when I saw this video today I just had to post it, tarmac has never looked so much fun and isn't that what its all about? Nice sound track too... check it out.

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What do you do when if goes FLAT?

We have all been faced by this dilemma, some of us wine and moan, some of us get out the jet ski, others turn to their computers (umm... guilty!) but for Christian our importer for Chile flat periods are a perfect opportunity to get his 5 year old son Falco on the water with his MicroFreak. Check out the pictures, we look forward to hearing more about his rapid progression.

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FireLight REEF Edition Exposed...

A few days back our latest shipment arrived which included some FireLight Reef Editions in the new C3 color. The Reef Editon is the same as the regular FireLight but with an Ox Webbing luff sleeve (like on our other sails) above the boom. This version is aimed at those who sail on sharp reefs who want a little more protection against reef rash. The image shows the new C3 graphic which certainly makes a statement!

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First Glimpse of the new FireLight C3

The new FireLights arrived this week with the C3 printing and yesterday was the first time that they made it onto the water... Here Bart shows off his new sail, this is the Reef Edition which has a ox webbing sleeve.

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50 Knots and 3rd Place for Leon at the Supreme Big Days 2011

Hot Sails Maui team rider Leon Jamaer battled against the elements with 50 knot winds 35 other competitors to make it place onto the podium at the 2011 Supreme Big Days event in Germany finishing in 3rd behind wonder kid and world champion Philip Köster and Lars Gobisch.

Check out the event video which features Leon pushing it to the max with his Fire.



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