Catching up with Morgan Noireaux as he prepares for the AWT Tour

by Chris Freeman on 23 Jul 2013 Morgan Noireaux will be leaving his home in Maui in the next couple of days and heading off to Mexico and Peru for the third and fourth legs of the 2013 AWT Tour, we caught up with him to see how his summer has been so far.

What type and how much off water training do you do?

'Usually during the year I have classes so I can’t train everyday but I have a coach with whom I go either swimming at the pool (I guess this doesn’t count as off the water training) with or running along with different exercises around three times a week. It’s been helpful to stop myself from getting hurt, and to feel a bit more at ease when it gets bigger. I despise running so getting pounded by a big wave is a lot easier than running around for half an hour.'

How are your college studies going so far and why do you think that education is important for a young professional windsurfer?

'College has been fine. Right now it is pretty basic courses. Next year it will start being more specialized and a bit harder options. A lot of people don’t go to College and do OK but I definitely think it will help me. Living off of windsurfing is obviously a bit tough right now, and it’s not like I can only go windsurfing all day. It’s nice learn about different things.'

Which sailors do you watch and gain inspiration from?

'I have always loved guys with great style and that are always innovating. So guys like Kauli, Levi and Brawzinho.'

You have been riding for Hot Sails Maui for a number of months now, what have been the highs and possible lows so far?

'I have been very happy with everything so far. I am really enjoying working with the team and I am really happy with the sails. The new QUAD developments I’ve been working on along with KS3‘s are really something!'

With many of the world’s elite concentrating their time in the Canaries this summer you chose to stay in Hawaii this year, why is this your preferred option?

'Usually I go to France during the summer, but the sailing is usually terrible and it was to expensive for me to do both the AWT and go to France. So it’s the same problem with Pozo. Right now I can’t do both and I’ve been really focused on doing well on the AWT hence why I stayed on Maui.'

What moves and aspects of your sailing have you been working on this summer and why?

'Since Maui is really windy and pretty flat I’ve been working a lot on my jumping. Until now it’s been a weakness of mine. Before I never really enjoyed jumping, but this sumer I’ve progressed a lot and I’ve been having a lot of fun with it.'



With a fourth place at the last AWT event in Pistol River you are now ranked fourth overall and the same as your final position in 2012. What do you think it will take to secure a podium spot and challenge for the overall title?

'If I want to be on top the overall podium I need at least one win under my belt. The next events are in conditions I’m a lot more familiar too, which will help. I’ve also been sailing a ton, even when it’s completely flat and I’m feeling really good. I feel really in tune with my gear and confident that I can do well.'

What does your travel schedule look like for the rest of 2013 and have you made any plans for 2014 yet?

'Later this week I’m going to Baja for the AWT event, then I’m home for three days to pick up prototypes and then I go to Peru two weeks in advance to train for the contest there. This will be the first time I’ve really trained port tack, which is exciting. The wave is so long I don’t think it will take me to long to get used to it! After that I come back and I’m here until the Hookipa event. I have no concrete plans after that. Maybe another trip to South America? Well see…'

With professional athletes in surfing, snowboarding etc. securing large sponsorship contracts compared to windsurfing pros, what do you think we can do to pump more finance into the sport, and how would this money help to develop the sport and competition?

'Right now it seems like windsurfing has two problems. How do we get more money into the sport? And how do we get more people into the sport? Unfortunately these two problems are linked. Right now there is no money to get more people interested in windsurfing, and without out more people windsurfing you can’t get more money to get people interested. It’s like a vicious circle. It’s seems like an presence outside of windsurfing is needed to really jumpstart the sport. It’s good that there are people like Phillip with a huge media presence in their country to help promote windsurfing.'

You are heavily involved with testing sails for Hot Sails Maui, can you give an insight into what you have been working on?

'Right now I’ve been working on the QUAD‘s and KS3‘s. There where a few things that I felt could be changed on the QUAD’s, so I’ve been working on that and on the new sizes like the 5.0 and 4.5. For the KS3 I haven’t had to do to much as Tom and Kauli did an amazing job with the sail but since it’s been super windy we have been tuning up the smallest sizes. I’ve been testing the KS3 4.3 a lot but thats more of an excuse to be able to use that sail, haha. It’s hands down the best wave sail I’ve ever used!'

There is a lot of debate at the moment about the choice between quads, thrusters, single fins etc. what do you prefer and why?

'Right now my two main wave boards are quads. I have quads because I’ve been using them for a while I know how they work. If I had the opportunity I would have a few of each. I’m more of the opinion that the shape of the board does a lot more than fins will ever do. The only fin set up I don’t really like is the single fin. I like loose boards that allow me to do really tight turns and single fins are just to big. If you look at surfboards the only boards with a single fin are longboards or old school boards that are really fast but don’t turn much.'

If you could sail a heat against any rider and win, who would it be against and why?

'I’m not sure. I don’t have one particular rider that I want to beat more than anyone else. If I’m in a heat with them I automatically want to beat them. I guess it would depend on the conditions. If it was Pozo it would have to be Philip, If it was Hookipa it would have to be Levi, Bernd, or Brawzinho.'

Thanks Morgan, good luck in Mexico and Peru, we look forward to hearing more from you American Windsurfing Tour