Who is the new Board Verso intended for?
The Verso is an easy-to-ride planing board for intermediates. The board is for anyone who is starting to surf planing in the harness, wants to get into the foot straps and has the power jibe on their agenda. At the same time, the board is designed to be sporty enough for advanced riders who have already mastered the above-mentioned skills to have enough fun with simple freeriding.
How did the new model in the range come about?
There is a lot of demand in this area. We lacked such a board in the Severne range.
Many customers at windsurf centres or freeride clinics are at exactly this level and want an absolutely user-friendly board. They may already be able to glide and ride in a harness, but simply don't need a technical, fast freeride board like the Fox in our range. You just want to get into the straps, pull tight and cruise off.
Who developed the board?
We developed this board together with the English windsurfing coach Simon Bornhoft, who mainly teaches intermediates and advanced freeriders with power jibe ambitions. He has a lot of experience in this area and knows what people of this ability level really need to make the best possible progress. He teaches in many different areas - from Bonaire, to the Canary Islands, to the south coast of England. His course participants were able to try out some of the prototypes in a wide range of conditions and provide feedback. In the end, we have now realised a range with three sizes. I think we will probably add more sizes in the future, but with 122, 138 and 154 litres we can cover a very large target group for now.
What is the difference in shape to the Fox freeride model?
In comparison, the Fox is a performance-orientated, technically more demanding freeride board with a footstrap option further out and a generally "racier" set-up. It has distinctive cutouts, a strong V and a lot of concave in the underwater hull so that the fast freerider cuts through the chop well. The Verso has significantly less V ("V" refers to an indicated keel in the underwater hull, the ed.). The aim of the board is to get people of all skill levels planing quickly and safely, and to bring them through the jibe in a stable manner. The underwater hull is mainly designed to glide early and harmoniously as soon as there is pressure in the sail and on the fin. But you can still surf fast and free-flying with it and push your personal limit. There are three loop positions that allow you to slowly but surely feel your way out.
So with the Verso, Severne is practically closing the gap between the beginner board, on which you learn to pull up the sail, and sporty planing surfing?
Yes, exactly. The board isn't just for "freeriders" either. Because I think that even beginners and intermediates who have freestyle or wave ambitions need a board on which they can learn all the basics from planing and water starts to all the jibe variations as easily as possible after a beginner board from the surf school. The Verso is the easiest way to do this.
Which sails are ideal for this board?
Camberless freeride sails are ideal. In our range it would be the Convert or a Gator.
Thewes, thank you for the interview!
Technical data Severne Verso
- Sizes: 122/138/154 litres
- Lengths: 248/250/252 cm
- Widths: 74/78/82 cm
- Prices: 2284 to 2384 euros
- Info: severnesails.com
