| |
 |
|
There are currently,
12 guest(s)
and
0 river ripper(s)
online.
|
|
 |
|
|
 |  |  | | | | |
|
| |
 |
Sunday, November 19 2006
 Wild Tracks - A Windsurfing trip to Western Australia
DVD review by Christopher Curran
|
“9 cars, 2 jet skis, 11 riders and 36 boards hit the roads of Western Australia for the ultimate windsurfing adventure. 21 days and 6000 kilometres later, they have scored perfect conditions at almost every spot a windsurfer would come to Western Australia for”
I must admit, the first couple of times I watched this video, I was nonplussed. The action and film-making were decent, but not incredible. The narration seemed a bit Warren Milleresque and cheesy, and most of the music was a bit on the uninspired side.
Viewed purely as an action sports video, it would only fetch a passing grade. The video takes only thin slices of action from top Western Australian beaches and leaves the viewer feeling like more footage should have been included.
This holds true for the Margaret River, Lancelin, Ningaloo Reef, and Coronation footage.
It would appear that the film had a sizable budget to work with (helicopters and RVs for 21 days and at least 11 people don’t come cheap!), yet the film lacked the “wow” factor that a number of recently released videos seem to exude.
This being said, however, the video succeeds as both a 2006 video brochure for F2 boards and a teaser for Western Australian windsurfing. |
 |
The locations that were filmed in Wild Tracks were stunning for the quality and colour of the water. One really has the sense that Western Australia has the goods if you are willing to drive vast distances.
It was interesting to listen to a little about the logistics of getting that many riders, vehicles and gear from place to place. The aerial video footage was very good and provided an excellent perspective for watching World Cup sailors like spin-wizard Tonky Frans, Peter Volwater and John Skye performing amazing riding and jumping manoeuvres.
Not to be outdone, the women showed some good action as well in the form of Karin Jaggi, Steffi Wahl, and Nina Edlund. For those primarily interested in high-end windsurfing, the free-ride segments will seem a bit tame, but there is just enough high performance sailing from the sailors mentioned above to keep things interesting.
|
|
In the special features segment, one can view each F2 board in action by clicking on the model. Each sailor is also given a brief introductory segment and profile.
Hint to F2: MORE NINA EDLUND, PLEASE! Not only can this Swedish sailor rip, but she is beautiful as well. What more could a board company ask for from a rider? Give this woman more exposure! An affable John Skye gives a fun tour of one of their “camps” on the road trip lending a bit of behind the scenes footage for the video.
While I was initially not very impressed with what seemed to be a very promising video with obviously strong financial backing and resources available to it, viewed as a video catalogue for F2 (and indirectly North Sails) and as an extended advertisement for Western Australia rather than as a full-on action video, it seems to work. |
DVD info
Retail price: € 34.90
Main movie: 35:48 minutes
Extras:
Team:
- Allison Shreeve 1:30
- Daniel Aeberli 1:30
- Finian Maynard 1:30
- John Skye 1:30
- Karin Jaggi 1:30
- Nina Edlund 1:30
- Patrick Diethlem 1:30
- Peter Volwater 1:30
- Steffi Wahl 1:30
- Tine Slabe 1:30
- Tonky Frans 1:30
F2 Products:
- XTC 1:00
- Stoke 1:00
- Sunset Limited 1:00
- Missile 1:00
- SX 1:00
- Chilli 1:00
- FX 100 V 1:00
- Guerilla 1:00
- Spice 1:00
|
Trashcan:
- The Hilton 2:22
- F2 behind the scenes 5:56
- Crashpart 2:15 |
Watch the trailer  here
Order your copy online here
All images (C) copyright by f2.com
|
|
| |
|
| | |  | |  |
| |
| | | | |
|
|
|
|
