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Our young guns at IFCA worlds

Our young racers Steve Laubaney and Gutek Kurczewski were out there racing the new Magnums at the recent IFCA youth/Masters worlds. As an early season event the boys had good experiences on the boards and are ready to get back out there for the rest of the season. Here is what steve said: “The Championship is finish, I’m 15th, that’s not a very good rank, of course, but I’m not disappointed because the level was very high, and I had some problems (1 PMS, one race with the 62 when I should need the 72, and 3 batten broken on my biggest sail), but I did some very good races. The 82 is an amazing board for that type of races, now I need a faster 9.5 that I will get next week. I could test the 62 with 7.4 and a 34 deboichet UpWind.”

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Kiani throws it down in Maui

Our boy Kurosh Kiani has been on fire in Maui. All of our Magnums have been on the water for the ultimate tests. Here is what he had to say about his time on the boards over in Maui:

Maui has been rocking. A bit fewer good wave days for me, but lots of slalom sailing. We had a long period with nuking conditions so I put the Magnum62 to the test. With 5,5 and 6,2 I sailed the board in absolutely windy conditions and proofed that this board can take a lot of wind considering its size. And when it comes to jibing, it has for sure made me a better jiber as now I really have a good carving drive in my turns and come out with good power. On the Magnum62 i have used fins from 32-37.

Something that you feel instantly when going on these boards is the very light weight. Its fantastic.

I have also spent lots of time on the Magnum72 with sails from 7,0-8,6. This board is the perfect allround board. It can take lots of sail sizes and just keeps working even with a fully powered up 7,0. This board is definetely my favorite jibing board as I have instant power coming out of the jibes which means I rarely stop in those turns. Even with my 8,6 I find stability on this board which supports me and the sail very nicely. For any guys looking to have a one board quiver, this is definetely the board to go for. For this board I have been on fins from 38-42cm.

The last few days I have put the Magnum82 to the test as well, and all I can say is that this board is a machine. I am surprised how much speed you can get out of a big board. Speedy comfort are the first words that pop into my mind when I think of this board. With the same jibing abilities as the other boards, this board is going to be a powerful weapon out there on the course. Just push it harder and it will take you faster guaranteed. This board is going to eat up the other boards out there. Definately its shark look worthy. The Magnum82 takes fins from 46-54 whether it is a carbon or a G10 fin. Love this board.

It is not just about speeding over here in Maui. I really try to focus on getting those jibes in as well. I have bouys on the water everytime and try to get some racing situations going on. Luckily there are lots of guys here willing to race, so I feel lucky being able to have this set-up.

The forecast still looks good, so there are loads of time left to spend on the water. I am still psyched to do more sailing over here before heading back home to Denmark, where there will be a big change of scenery as I will be sailing in lighter winds and probably in the lakes as well. Not a bad pre season training program I would say.

Aloha from Maui

Kurosh Kiani

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The Magnums hit the water

Our Magnums are finally out there in real life. We couldnt be more stoked to hear about the great feedback coming in from around the world. Our french young gun Steve Laubaney sent us some shots and a short report from his first experiences with the new 2010 Magnums.
Steve said: “I tested the 82 yesterday in light wind, my first feeling is that board is excellent, for me it’s a feeling beetween the magnum 2009 and my ancient starboard 133. I could not test differents fins and trim, but i think it’s a little more powerful as the 2009 with more speed, easier to go fast. Thank you very much for this amazing board”
Check out the shots from Steve´s first day on the Magnums.

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Meet Kiani, our new man

Together with his current sponsor Simmer Sails Hawaii, Kiani can be proud to say that he is now sponsored by two of the most original brands within the windsurfing industry. Together with the likes of World Champion windsurfer Josh Angulo, Kiani will be carrying the spirit of Angulo Boards out in the upcoming 2010 season.

Kurosh, a young and energetic windsurfer who only started international racing two years ago says: “It all started with me having a conversation with Josh Angulo on which one of us could speak the most languages just a few months ago, and now I am working together with a super original brand with a big history. Imagine what we will accomplish in a years time”.

Windsurfing is now my life, and what better than to be associated with a brand that truly includes the surfing and windsurfing spirit from back in the days. I will be working with Angulo both regionally and internationally says Kiani who has his base out of Denmark in the summertime.

Angulo boards owner, brand manager, team captain and overall ripper Josh Angulo had this to say:

“Kiani’s a freak. He fits our brand perfectly. He’s got a story of all stories. Angulo is built and runs on relationships and Kiani is a classic dude that fits our team perfectly. He has a drive to excel that inspires me personally and I enjoy being around people who have stoke as their stoke rubs off on to us. Kiani is one of those people. My hope is that we will be able to groom Kiani and his multi-faceted bag of talents so he grows into a leading member of the Angulo company. Go get em Kiani ! ”

Briefly on Kurosh Kiani

Age: 26

Born: In the burning hot centre of Teheran, Iran

Lives in: Copenhagen, Denmark

Background: After living the first 8 years of his life in Iran, Kurosh moved to Denmark with his mom and dad and has lived there since. Not only does he excel in windsurfing but with a masters degree of business administration and computer science, he will be one of the highest educated on this coming years tour, and is always the man to ask for advice.

For any questions regarding this news, please contact Kurosh Kiani at k@kiani.dk or Angulo Windsurfing at press@anguloboards.com

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The 2010 Magnum explained

For the release of our 2010 Magnum, we decided to drop some questions for Josh Angulo to get a better insight on the ideas for this years boards.

You raced yourself on the Magnums in 2009 with good success, tell us about the secrets.
2009 was our first year of re-launching since the old days. I worked with renowned slalom designer Jean Bouldoires, in creating a 3 board line with a high range of use in order that riders of all sizes and skill could be competition ready. The main secrets of our success in 2009 were the constant release single/ double concave combined with a rocker that perfectly complimented the “RTA” or reduced tail area  of our Magnums. Rather than the traditional cut-outs only on the tail of the boards that most brands do, we came up with a revolutionary reduced tail which allows for a consistent water release and keeps the board steady in all wind conditions. We combined that with our exclusive RNA or ” reduced nose area”  which allows the board to maintain a longer waterline which assists in glide through gusty winds and choppy waters, yet allowing no unneccesarry wind lift due to the reduced area. The RNA also proved a great advantage in eliminating chop disturbance in high power bouy rounding situations where the cut out on the nose would actually grip in and allow the board a very smooth rounding even in the roughest and trickiest conditions.

People around the world say that the Magnum boards were precise and spot on with the rocker. How did u manage that on the first run?
Jean has a wealth of experience and Angulo as a brand has been around for many years in the custom days. I grew up in the board building environment and together, Jean and I have developed a shaper/tester relationship that allowed our combined years of experience to reflect the Angulo tradition of smooth riding boards.

What were your design objectives for the 2010 range?
Our objectives for 2010 were to fine tune the existing product and work hard to reduce the weights and the few points that need bettering. I am very pleased with the outcome as the boards have gained a huge jump in early planing , overall power and lift through the funky wind/water situations has increased, all the while maintaining the top end speed and control that we found so amazing in 2009. On top of that we were able to lose over a kilo on the bigger sizes, making the Magnums by far some of the most competitive boards available in the world today

Only 3 boards in the range, is that enough?
I guess that depends on who you ask. The only demographic that might want more sizing would be a professional, but due to the PWA 3 board limit, we worked to create 3 boards that have the largest range of top end performance on the market. Our RNA and RTA are huge reasons why our boards have so much range.

No paint, what is that about?
I’m super excited  about our exclusive and first of it’s kind “no paint finish”. This is a technique passed on and taught to me and Mark by my dad, Ed Angulo, which he learned, perfected and become a master of in the early 60’s and into the 70’s. Only now in 2010, have we resurrected and re tuned the no paint finish. In impleminting the no paint finish we have eliminated any sand throughs thus creating an automatically stronger board and we have eliminated final puddy coating, primer and painting which has significantly reduced weight. Lastly, but most importantly, we have eliminiated the CFC’s and chemical use that goes into the painting process which is the most enviromentally harmful process of board manufacturing, thus bringing Angulo to the forefront of working toward a cleaner tomorrow in the windsurf industry. So Stronger, Lighter Cleaner!

Nose cutaways and tail cutaways, is that still the way to go?
The RTA and RNA are proven designs that bring great performance advantage to our boards. There are obviously various ways to get from point A to point B, but we surely are pleased and for the time being will continue to dedicate efforts towards our RTA and RNA designs.

How would you describe the feeling of the new Magnums, sitting high/low in the water? Jibing? generel handling/control?
It’s always tricky to generalize , but I would say that the Magnums are generally a smooth ride with efficient power and ease of planing. The boards should equal or better most products and control is key in racing, so when I say smooth, I basically mean control. You need to be able to feel under control to keep a high speed around a course. But testing for yourself would always be the best bet.

What are your plans for 2010, are you doing the PWA world tour again?
Full Bore on the slalom World Tour!

View details for our Magnums here. For any other questions regarding the 2010 Magnums, please contact us.

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2009 Ulsan World Cup, Korea

My time in Jinha beach was fulfilling and encouraging. This being the second slalom event of the year, I felt that I was finding my “competition legs” and sailing  better. My equipment combo was starting to get really dialled in and especially when the wind got a bit stronger was I feeling real good. I still have so much to learn in slalom racing and the repetition is the best possible experience, so I encourage anyone who is interested in any kind of racing to get out and do any event possible, because there is always some lesson that we need to learn to deal with and it’s not always on the water. The highlight for me was the confidence gained in my gear. The 8.4 is one of the easiest and best sails I’ve ever ridden…… period.

The TR-5 is soooo quick around a course in actual real race conditions because it adapts to so many weird wind/ water sitiuations that come hand in hand with slalom racing. Also my Magnum line is really coming into it’s own and I am proud and pleased that our direction we chose with the longer style board with the RTA and RNA concepts is truly proving to be a great product. The Magnums have given me the ease to get around the course that is a big confidence booster. It was also great to see the high level of Peter (who had a bit of bad luck ) and Gonzalo, who finished right in front of me in 7th. We truly do have a sick team and I expect Maui Sails dominance to grow even stronger.

Aloha,
Josh Angulo CV-1

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