Windsurfing is one of those sports that if you get hooked in some of its disciplines, it’s hard to stop.
Pascal Maka was already setting speed records at the early stages of windsurfing when many of us were just starting to learn windsurfing. Till today he shows up as a true warrior on the beach, seeking to improve his speed and gear with a passion that never ended from the first time he jumped on the board.
Now Pascal has joined our Point-7 Black Team to share his knowledge with our development team and our community and friends he gives daily advice on the beach.
Pascal, we are honored to have you on our team, let’s get straight to how many years you have been windsurfing and where and with what you started.
Your initial passion was speed. After how many years did you decide to start speed sailing and what was your top speed and records?
Pascal: First I started with a Windsurfer in 1976, then wave sailing in north of France on our windsurfer’s at firsthand then switched to short boards , and then in 1982 I tried a speed event on a sailboards Maui board shaped by Jimmy Lewis, I won and then you know the story…
Where were the first competitions taking place?
Pascal: My first competition took place in Brest in 1982, I finished 2nd of the event, a week later I went to Weymouth (UK) to beat my first official speed record with a run at 27,82 knots.
What would be the top speed of the gear you used to break records at those times, if now used in Luderitz?
Pascal: Good question : in 1986 in Sotavento I did 38,86 Knots, Luderitz could have been 40-42 knots , we had soft masts and booms, and hand made soft fins…
You have seen almost the entire evolution of the Speed discipline throughout the years. With today’s handheld GPS devices Speed has become super accessible for a lot of windsurfers. What do you think of the evolution of Speedsurfing in general and for you personally is it more fun now or when you started?
Pascal: The evolution of speed sailing is great but different these days, with events like Bjorn’s GPS Speed Tour, Lüderitz and a World speed event in France, GPS devices keep speed sailing in the action, I would say it is more fun now because the GPS devices keep sailors in the speed action quest and personal best performances… in the past we had more events with full fleet competitors and more women, we would need these full fleet competition events, it is what I am trying to set with the French Sailing Federation with a French Speed Tour and a fall speed final.
Foiling has evolved over the last few years to be the most competitive on the slalom stages, yet the Foil can not yet match the speeds of the Speedsurfers using fins. Do you see the Foil becoming competitive in the next few years and maybe even challenge the World Speed Record, and how do you like Foiling yourself?
Pascal: Foiling is wonderful and very competitive with the right equipment; and efficient on the slalom stage, bottom end and veg are very efficient vs fin slalom equipment, but I agree foiling is a great feeling mainly in the light and medium winds. I think the Foil will become very competitive in the next few years and challenging the World speed record, it is a question of time for Foil developers. I like foiling in the 8-25 knots range and then I switch to fin sailing which gives me great feelings to be in contact with the water full speed.
We know that you also did PBA. Tell us about Pascal in speed, I broke three world speed records (27,82 knots (82); 38,86 knots (86) and 42,91 knots in 1990)and three times world champions on the Speed World Cup, Pascal in PBA
Pascal: I did some good competition in cool PBA atmosphere, my best results: 5th slalom in Sylt 85, 5th Tenerife slalom 1989, 3rd in slalom Tarifa 1990, 2nd Cabarete Slalom, 2 times 2nd in Noumea long distance, Phare Amédée /Anse Data, 20 kms, and Pascal Now: today I sail a lot: Wind foiling and slalom and speed fin sailing when conditions are good , sharing my experience and helping others asking for the best tuning.
You have used sails from different brands over your whole career. What did you particularly like of Point-7?
Pascal: I like the light weight of the sails, (like my 7,8 F SL), all specs are right on the sail bags, for the public all the communication done by P7 helps everyone who owns as P7 sail to tune it perfectly, very helpful , and the P7 website is very intuitive!! they are powerful and easy to control, super good accelerations, what ever the angle is..the looking as well, black and blue for F SL’s and Black/Green for slalom ’s are cool..
Which sails have you tried till now?
Pascal: I sail with:
– Foil Sails SL 7,8; SL 6,8; SL 5,8 , I like very much the foil sails, steady, powerful, no back end pressure when foiling, all cams turning perfectly well in Jibes, then
– AC 1’ s, 5,4; 6,0; 7;0 all three great sails, I love my 7,0 AC1 with my FMX 98, fast and steady,
– Foil E sail 7,7, no cam for foiling in 9 knots, very easy to rig and light when sailing, to learn air jibe is perfect
– F1 E hybrid, I tried 5,4 it was super windy, but easy handling , one cam makes an easy sail, and super light, both slalom and foil , no ,need two sails for a normal average level windsurfer…
I wish I could test the ACX 4,7 for when it is very strong and choppy, when I cannot control my 5,4, I planned to test this 4,7 with Hervé,
You have tried the dedicated Point-7 Speed sail, how do you like it?
Pascal: I recently tried my AC 1 Speed 5.6, on a P7 rdm mast, it is a great easy powerful sail for speed sailing , and even on a slalom board in high wind, the feeling of the AC Speed is the power easy to control when you bare off, very steady and super fast..and a wide use range.
