3 questions to Taty Frans

08/11/2023

A fervent advocate of fin support, Taty Frans is one of the last sailors not to have used a foil this season on the PWA World Tour. As passionate and realistic as ever, he gives us his point of view on the fin/foil combination in force since 2019 and the changes expected for 2024...

Windsurfjournal.com: Along with Jimmy Thiémé, you are one of the few, if not the only, person to race exclusively with a fin. Why do you persevere in this way when the foil seems to perform much better?
Taty Frans: I think that the fin is fun and that it allows you to feel real windsurfing and the passion for this extraordinary sport. I love the feeling of having all the muscles in my body flying during a single session. The foil may be better than the fin, but it will never be more fun than the fin. What's more, I get tired of foiling in the same way that I get tired of wingfoiling. The way I feel about windsurfing is something I can't describe. I respect all the sailors who go 100% foil slalom, but it's not my passion to go 100% foil slalom.

WJ: What do you think of the fin/foil combination that has been in place on the circuit since 2021, and what do you see as the limitations of this system?
TF: I didn't like this combination from the start, but some riders voted in favour of it and from that day on I felt that we were going to lose more riders and registrations for the events, which is what happened. Today, we've gone from 64 to 58 riders in an event with maybe 30. Fewer competitors mean less money for the PWA. It's not that I don't like foiling, but each discipline should be presented and promoted under its own conditions. If only the PWA had kept foiling in winds ranging from 7 to 18 knots, with a windward buoy and slalom jibes to the finish line as we did in 2018 in Costa Brava, South Korea and Sylt, I think it would have attracted more sailors to the PWA tour, maybe even iQFOil racers would have joined the circuit. With such a race course, you would need one board, two front wings and 8.0 and 9.0 sails. The trip is easier, lighter and many more of the riders who left the tour would still be competing. We've gone too far and created a discipline that is destroying itself and the sport. Maybe I'm wrong, but I have a sailing centre in Bonaire and in the last two years, we've had more people learning to do wingfoil or windsurf, and 2 or 3 people in the whole season who have asked to do windfoil. As I said, I may be wrong, but I'm giving an idea of the number of clients at my centre. I really think the PWA should have stuck to what racing was in 2018 and kept it simple and easy to transport. That's my opinion and my take on things!

WJ: There have been a lot of discussions on this subject in Sylt... What trend seems to be emerging for 2024 and the seasons to come?
TF: Yes, we know that the separation of fin and foil is being finalised, which I think is a very good thing. How many sailors will be taking part in the fin-only events? Nobody knows. But I'll be happy to take part in these competitions, and I'm sure that many sailors who use the foil will also take part in these events. Having a separate title for fin and foil would be a good thing. And an overall title for those who do both would be good too!