Kauli Seadi, 3 times PWA Wave Windsurfing World Champion, is one of the best wave windsurfers on the globe. The Brazilian speaks about the new 99novenove KS Model and his influence on the boards made in Italy and shaped by Gianni Valdambrini. New shapes, new style and fresh motivation. The video explains what Kauli Seadi’s goals in board development are and it shows at how many nice spots he windsurfed in waves or on flat water recently. 

Kauli Seadi: “I always wanted to bring a little bit of that feeling of surfing into windsurfing. We are trying to connect the boards to the more hollow parts of the waves. So the boards become shorter with more curve.”

 

Kauli Seadi in a video about his 99novenove KS models

 

Kauli Seadi in a quick interview about board development

Hi Kauli, you were the first rider in 2005-2006, who re-introduced the Twinser fins in the wave boards and then, after several years, the Quad. Can you summarize the evolution of your shapes for wave boards during the last ten years?
Kauli Seadi: I always enjoy working on the shape development of my boards as I believed in finding new ways of riding and feeling different sensations riding a wave. The Twinser at first really made the board turn in the tighter places of the wave, and after that we made the Quad concept like a Twinser but with 2 extra stabilizer fins on the rails. This made the quad a much better board in terms of controlling the speed and grip while turning, so it was a big step up in performance. I also tried the tri-fin concept while I was testing twins, but that did not work for my way of riding!

Your wave boards you are using are completely different from the average boards of other riders and a lot of people are watching your new shapes, why did you make certain changes?
Kauli Seadi: This was an interesting story. At the beginning we made some shapes with quite a similar concept from what I have been using for some time in down-the-line wave riding, but we made a rocker modification that made the boards faster and gave them more drive. However I felt a loss on turning in the critical sections. Then I started playing with prototypes and discovered that the shortened tails compensate for the flat rocker and gave me the sharp turning ability back I always liked. The best thing is that the boards became really short, like a 6’9”, and it makes a lot of sense on medium to small waves where the boards fit under the pockets on the steep part of the wave.

Do you think this kind of evolution for the wave boards could help to improve the level of the average wave rider?
Kauli Seadi: For sure it helps a good rider riding better. Imagine someone that is not as good, the board will do things for him that he never imagined! There are no magicians! However there is a trick, and the trick is the equipment when we talk about windsurfing.

And what about the sizes of the boards, can you use the same sizes or maybe more or less liters?
Kauli Seadi: I love my 79 liters board! For most conditions it works very well. It’s a big board for me and I weigh 72kg. Riding bigger boards allow you a much bigger range in conditions from light to strong wind.

 

More photos from Kauli Seadi 

PHOTOS: Fish Bowl Diaries, 99novenove

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