Starboard founder Svein Rasmussen on the launch of Starboard Wings and the future of wingfoiling

For more than 30 years, Svein Rasmussen has been shaping the future of watersports, from Olympic windsurfing boards to SUP and now wingfoiling. As Starboard unveils its brand-new Starboard Wings, he opens up about the journey behind this launch, the lessons learned from the past, and his vision for the future of the sport: a mix of innovation, teamwork and passion for the planet.

Svein Rasmussen

Hi Svein! Starboard has been leading watersports innovation for decades. Why did you decide to launch a range of wings under the Starboard name today?

I LOVE wingfoiling and see it as an extension of windsurfing, the sport that has been the guiding light of my life – letting me see the world, meet my friends and which has created the opportunity to enjoy my work. After establishing Starboard, we were in 2001 looking at creating a kiteboarding program. Instead of including it under the Starboard umbrella, we named it Airush as we felt that kiteboarding needed its own identity. I looked at how Burton was holding strength in snowboarding as it was appreciated as a pure snowboard brand. When we went global with windsurfing rigs under the Severne logo, we again believed that sailors would appreciate a dedicated rig brand. We then over the last 10 years have seen how our watersports community is less interested in speciality brands and more excited about brands that offer a wider variety of products into more watersports and their sub categories like foils, wings, paddles and paddle boards. Regardless, I believe that it all comes down to how we can build the most efficient team work and utilize our collective strengths. At Starboard, we have an excellent team that has proven to deliver our sport’s best equipment and campaigns for 30 years. It is a super team that works really well together and will going forwards, develop wings and foilboards in full synergy – so success is in essence all about teamwork. We learned a lot about wing materials, tension patterns and quality control during our years of supporting the FreeWing brand. Our target for Starboard Wing is to accelerate the sports equipment development with “crazy” concepts that 5 years later will become mainstream. Those who know our brand’s story and innovative ways understand that we are always here to surprise with impossible engineering.

Svein Rasmussen

Starboard has been connected to wingfoiling since its early days. What key lessons from past projects influenced the creation of Starboard Wings ?

Jim Drake, who co-invented windsurfing back in 1967 and Uli Stanciu, the legendary editor at German Surf designed, developed and patented the first wing in 1982 – a wing that was by chance first tested in Thailand. I then worked closely with Jim over the years – the 2 of us actually shared offices in Bangkok. Besides developing windsurfing boards that at its peak would claim the first 6 places in the World Champs, we talked a lot about the next evolution of wings. Our South African development center created the first inflatable wing back in 2011, but as there were no suitable foils yet developed, we did not pay for the patent application that we had created and I learned the lesson to never give up on other good ideas, like with the Bowstring or Carbon-plated inflatable wing foil boards. In 1979, I was sitting with my friends in Arendal Norway discussing if windsurfing equipment had met its peak development and we were unsure. When I now look at Wingfoiling, I am very sure that we have only just started to scratch the surface of wing development and really look forward to the next 10 years of rapid development, taking the sport to the Olympics and making it way easier to learn.

Svein Rasmussen

In a fast-growing market, what makes Starboard Wings stand out from other brands?

Starboard Wing is born with a DNA of innovation and quality. Our target is to grow the wingfoil sport through equipment that is easier to learn with and run events and training programs globally with our World Sailing-approved one-design wingfoil class, X-15. We see ourselves as the entity that will let more people hold the wind in their arms. On the premium side it’s all about the lightest wing with the most lift and wind range. Racing is close to my Olympic heart, so our race program is given a lot of attention.

Could you walk us through the first model, the VIVA, and explain why it was chosen to lead the range

Our initial focus was to deliver the Viva wing as the highest value product in the market. The Viva has really exceeded all expectations from this initial brief and is a wing that any rider can jump onto and really appreciate, hence why it is the centrepiece of our Starboard Wing range which we hope to be both inclusive and high performing. After our high wind testing in the Hood River Gorge, we realized how well the Viva wing really behaved in extra strong winds. It was something special – fully stable and absolutely no flutter. Knowing its low-end power already, the surprise really lay in the wind range from light to extra strong relative to its size. This wing truly excels in all conditions, all disciplines and all levels – one wing that you would grab if you had to choose one to do it all with. The other freeride models, such as the Source and the Reactor to come, are then based off this wing as a starting point and refined to be more specific to their program such as progression for the Source, or freestyle for the Reactor – all starting from this true all-round freerider which is the Viva.

The Viva wing

Looking at the full lineup (Viva, Source, Reactor and the ultra innovative Bowstring), what is the philosophy behind each wing and who are they designed for?

The Viva is a lightweight, versatile all-rounder made to excel in any conditions, any discipline – and yes, it does flag out incredibly well. The straight middle section of the leading edge creates on-demand power together with the lightweight Aeroflex 55 material in the front section of the canopy that promotes forward drive, while a balanced medium aspect shape and dihedral makes the wing incredibly well-rounded regardless of who or what you throw at it. Really this is a wing for anywhere, anyway, anyone.

The Source is then an ultra low aspect wing with a short wing span. It is specifically developed for clubs and centers, so that newcomers would avoid wingtips touching the water. Its bright red color makes it visible on the water and the large windows are great for safety. It’s interesting to note a lot of riders like that simplicity as they progress into all sorts of maneuvers and even waves as well. Another key point is that most wings are designed for relatively tall riders while the Source caters very well for riders that are comfortable in formula car seats. 

Our freestyle wing – the Reactor – is yet to come. We have had it in the works all year, but at Starboard we only release products we really feel are class leading. Design brief is extra lift and high rotation speed. We have worked a lot on aspect ratios and find that the larger sizes need lower aspect for better rotational acceleration while the smaller sizes need more lift. The dihedral and taper ratios will be lower to increase rotation. We have also experimented putting the handle far down to make this fabulous freestyle wing also great to flag out and ride downwind with.

With the X-15 One Design program and World Sailing recognition, what is your vision for the future of competitive wingfoiling?

It’s all about engagement, getting kids into wingfoil training programs and letting them grow up experiencing the world through their sport. The retention rate in the Optimist class is about 20%, so 80% of young sailors leave the sport behind. When we get X-15 wingfoil programs into more sailing clubs globally, we can help attract more people to windsports, increase that retention significantly and grow the entire sport of sailing. This is what we at Starboard are here for, driving our sport forward with feasible “out of the box “ thinking.

Beyond products, Starboard is known for its environmental leadership. How does this ethos carry into the Starboard Wings project and its role in growing the sport worldwide?

Yes, I am gravely concerned for our next 100 years of human activities on earth, wondering when we will get to our senses and restore our planet’s systems, at least for our own survival short term. 10 years back we introduced a lot of relatively eco-friendly materials as well as recycled ones. We stuck with bio resin for most products, recycled fishing nets for plastic parts, recycled bottles for bags and certainly no more plastic packaging. We also learned that some alternative materials were not durable enough and we had to backtrack on for example sandwich materials made from recycled plastic bottles due to material sharing issues on our high end boards. So while we have not yet developed enough eco-friendly raw mats we look at other ways to be better for the planet. Our own POP picks up plastic from the beaches in Thailand and Myanmar and for each wing sold, we offset 1.4 kg plastic, which is the average ocean plastic pollution per person per year. All together we have collected close to 1 million KG and our program is now certified by VERRA, so we can offer plastic impact credits to other companies that have interest in Ocean Health. On the biosphere, livelihood, reforestation and climate side, we plant trees, and have over 1 million Mangroves in the ground. This will, over the next 20 years, draw down many times our own emissions and recreate “homes” for animals. Since our planting partner WIF is validated as the premium Blue Carbon entity, there is a lot of wealth created that goes back to building livelihood programs for the communities around the parks.

World Sailing helps promote our eco projects as their mission and ours are aligned both sports and environment-wise. The CEO of LA 28 expressed interest in joining our efforts as a benchmark for eco action in sports. We are very excited when people feel connected to us in regards to our work for the planet, a strategy we set out with already in 1995 and a mission that I see as a main purpose of my life.

As the founder of Starboard and a passionate rider, what does the launch of wings under the Starboard brand mean to you personally?

On windy days and weekends my most exciting moment is when I pack out a new test wing. The Starboard Wing project is very personal to me. It keeps me more engaged than ever and it brings me into that meditative state of mind which also helps me appreciate life and how I am blessed with creating my own dream job.

Thank you very much, Svein, for your answers and for this insight into the history of Starboard and the creation of Starboard Wings! Pre-order now the Viva wing on this link.

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