What's in your Van... & Speed Chat - Antoine Albeau?

[@robint7253]

FRA192 turning 50 next june and talking so clearly about windsurfing! Amazing! Thanks for your work Ben! Hoping you will get some time to talk with Nicolas Goyard one day. Don't hesitate to ask your community regarding live translation if needed.

[@nigelw.9043]

Excellent stuff Ben! I could listen to him chatting for ages. Just such a wealth of knowledge - really cool. Oh and "Go seat harness"!! I am as old as Antoine Albeau and feel with him in the waist ver. seat harness thing.

[@cjobim]

Loving this! Great interview Ben. Antoine was much more talkative than usual.

[@pierreadam5734]

Super interesting to hear advices and feelings about his gear and competitors, thank you Ben !!

[@dengordo]

What a legend! Antoine is huge inspiration and I really hope Zephyr project will bring something new to windsurfing

[@travellerbysea5350]

Nice to share what length he is using for the harness lines and what type of harness.

[@lucienlagrange38]

Great job, well done both of you !

[@simongodfrey3765]

Congrats on a great interview! You had Antoine really relaxed and natural in front of the camera, it was excellent. Very interesting too. I would always go for a seat harness given the choice, but that's what I grew up with, I've been totally perplexed to see waist harnesses used in slalom; Antoine's take on this was good to hear. My logical brain insists that to go fast you want to counteract the sail's power with the strongest muscles in the body and that's the quads in your legs, hence a seat harness is better. The best sailors in the world clearly disagree with me! But I want to know why? What's your take Ben? Lots of detail on the speed sailing, but how the hell is he going to get his speed up from 55 to 65 knots!? He and the team obviously believe it can be done! I can't wait! Great stuff Ben, keep up the good work and happy new year!

[@Willy-Wind]

I have heard (online) pros saying that the waist harness gives them more control when they are crazy overpowered and also they can hook in/out a tad faster. Since I am no a pro sailor and I still crashing many of my foil gybes, I don’t care about the those benefits so I use seat harness.

[@maartenpluim8954]

I am very lightweight for slalom windsurfing, and the waist harness helps me alot to hold the power in the sail. Mostly because you can put your butt down before the big gust hit.

[@simongodfrey3765]

@@maartenpluim8954 Thanks for the feedback Maarten. I use the same technique ("put your butt down") with a seat harness to handle a gust. But it's the issue of holding the maximum power that I keep coming back to; with a seat harness, I really feel a direct connection between the quad muscles in my legs (the most powerful muscles in your body) and the power of the sail. Surely you can hold more power in the sail with a seat harness, because you're maximising the power of your leg muscles. I don't want to be arrogant because I'm nowhere near the standard of a top slalom sailor, I just don't get it :)

[@simongodfrey3765]

@@Willy-Wind Yes, I've heard the pros say that as well, but in what way does it give them more control?

[@andrewinkpen7700]

I always used a seat harness but now that I am foiling I use a waist harness. I can get in and out faster with a waist harness, which is more critical in foiling. And I don’t need the same amount of leverage because sails are smaller.

[@davemarch1811]

Great interview thanks Ben

[@EverRider]

Would love such an interview with Nico Goyard :)

[@aloha29wind36]

great one as usual !

[@vyleart4488]

Great interview!

[@janalkema9320]

He’s such a Lord!

[@73smoo]

Antoine Albeau is the one I like the most of the triumvirate Naish, Dunkerbeck and Albeau.

[@toddmulligan2609]

LOOK AT ALL THAT STUFF

[@derunterhalter7232]

Listening to big Papa😎