Interest Free Finance
Our windsurfing hours have been down over the past couple of years due to obvious reasons, and I’m sure this has taken a toll on us all in some way or another. Escape from our everyday problems such as work or family life is key for our mental and physical health. I’m sure we’ve all found our fix in some way whether that’s watching countless windsurf videos on YouTube or setting up your own land simulator, but it’s just never the same. We now have more freedom and coming hand in hand with that is the release of Goya 2022.
We’re super happy to see that Goya have still been managing to work timelessly since their last release of boards in 2019 to put together and outstanding line up of gear from sails to boards. Francisco and the boys are stoked to make comment on a recent trip to the North Shore of Maui as they talk about that feeling of opening a fresh set of kit, a new start and the end of a stressful development time. Comments on how light the gear is pass around the guys when they come in off the water with Marcilio Brown sailing on a Banzai 4.7, 670 grams lighter than the previous year’s model its evident there’s big change this year and the boys are loving it. Francisco also mentions how all the boys are sailing on smaller sails for the wind strength in comparison to previous years, I feel with the twin clue options for the outhaul this wind range has always been superior to many brands but this combined with a lighter weight sail sounds like a dream and I can’t wait to try this out.
For 2022 there has been a huge emphasis on the lightness, performance and sustainability of the gear which is great to see from a consumer’s point of view as we’ve always found that some watersports brands can be the most wasteful. Goya use their very own constructions that involve multiple materials such as Bio-Resins, Biaxial Carbons and S-Glass to name a few. The beauty of building a board with such technical constructions and materials is it gives the board a long lifetime on the water, which from a sustainability point of view is brilliant. Different to other brands and model years all the boards are now wrapped in recycled paper and cardboard from the factory which again suits the brands sustainability claim and end user in terms of disposal.
As mentioned previously a big aim for 2022 has been to reduce the weight of the sails and Goya have stated that every sail has lost at least half a kilogram from the majority of the range. Now I know what you’re thinking, super light equals super fragile. Not the case, Goya use Bi-Ply in their sail construction which is a back to back monofilm offering substantially more durability than that of a normal monofilm. Along with this Goya have always offered some sails in a X-Ply construction which again gives the sail a bit more UV protection as well as better tear resistance. The weight has been shed in the best places may I also add, less materials around the extremities of the sail mean less swing weight as well as more lift.
New for 2022 we have the Goya Nitro which has been designed as an onshore wave board by Marcilio Brown and a board he used in PWA events. We so often turn up the beach and the conditions aren’t exactly what we expected them to be, we sit around, drink tea and complain to other windsurfers doing the same thing. Will the waves get form? Will the wind direction change? The Nitro is the board that thrives in these not so perfect conditions, Goya have managed to achieve this by designing the board to be super compact with a faster, earlier planning hull shape than all the other Goya wave boards. Marcilio talks of days where he would be hardly planning on a 5.3 in mushy waist high waves having the time of his life, laughing at the guys on the beach.
Another stand out board from the range and a board we always anticipate is the Goya Custom 4 Quad. A board every one of the windsurf staff has in their own collection, it always exceeds expectation in performance and look. We have a bit more of an insight into this board as it has been reviewed already which has further increased our need to get our hands on this 2022 model. The magazine test state how the Custom 4 maintains its radical wave performance but with a much more user friendly feel. They too talk about how the board is better performing in mushier cross-on conditions which could be down to the slightly wider tail increasing the planning surface and therefore maintaining straight line and turning speed. We’re super excited to get our hands on the board and get it out in some proper British waves!
The Goya Eclipse is a sail some of you might be familiar with as it was in the Goya range back in 2015, well she’s back! Goyas 5 batten variowave sail has been brought back with high demand from Macilio Brown as he wanted something that would be super stable and offer great lift. Personally, I’m a big believer in a 5 batten wave sail, the versatility you get makes sailing on a lake or the sea amazing with no compromises made either way. One previous criticism made with 5 batten wave sails is that they’re heavy but with new technology from Goya they have managed to bring this weight down to be that comparable with other sails in the range. This is also available in an X-Ply construction.
Goya felt it was only right to give their freestyle sail a full rebranding after the amazing year had by Antoine Albert, performing super well on the world tour and solidifying Goya as a brand in the freestyle world. The Goya Cypher Pro is the new name for the sail and it has had some serious adjustments from the previous model, shedding serious weight through the use of different sail materials allows for simple control and improved lift going into maneuverers. One of the main design changes are the shortening of the booms lengths which makes ducks and any rotational trick easier.
Goya takes serious pride in the fact it’s a premium brand that only uses the best materials and works with the best riders, this does have an impact on the pricing of the kit. With this being the case they have chosen to bring out a couple of new configurations of already existing sails. The Mark and Nexus Pro have been released this year and differ from the other configurations in that they’re built with more economical materials in mind and therefore bringing the price down a fair amount. The design and performance features are exactly the same as the other models so the performance is still there. We think this is super cool at the shop as it’s another way Goya are appealing to a wider range of people and making it easier to get into the sport.
I’ve only picked out a few standout products from the full 2022 Goya range, every single board and sail has changed for 2022. With Goya working on a two year cycle this means that this kit will be current until around this time in 2023, by doing this it means that the kit holds its value better than one year cycle brands. Also, it gives the guys 2 full years to make substantial changes to the board so that we can feel the improvements when out riding.
We look forward to seeing you guys out on the water and if you did have any questions about any of the 2022 kit please don’t hesitate to contact myself (Callum), Ben or Rick.
