Is Martin van Meurs leaving Mauisails?

I guess it's fair to say MS knows about the deal.

Barry, thanks for your support. Out of all things I will remember the most from this period the talks with you will be the most valuable.

One last statement as I want to leave on a positive note. My last comment could be read as if I think the sails are not fast enough. This is not true. I LOVE the Maui Sails. They rock for speedsurfing. I am an amateur trying to go for the outright record and with Maui Sails I would have had the same chance as I will have with Neil Pryde. Still my choice to leave is not driven by money. I loved the close cooperation with Barry and Herman and I highly value the time the Maui Sails crew invested in supporting me. Thanks a lot for that!

Finian, Antoine, Björn and Patrick are the biggest contenders for the title as well as many kiters going for it in Luderitz not long from now. It will be interesting to see who gets to 50 first. For Maui Sails I hope it will be a Maui Sails rider. There are some very strong contenders riding on these beautiful sails and the accelleration you can get out of the sails is impressive. Obviously for myself I hope it's me, but more important than anything else is the feeling you get from the fight with the elements surrounding you. When everything comes together it's all about a Zen like experience in which all practice on the water comes together in less than 20 seconds. I've had that experience a couple of times now, but never long enough to exceed 50 over 500.

Based on my experiences from the last year I think we're on the verge of a flood of postings over 50 knots not too long from now. The hurdle is nearly taken. Many fast speedspots have been found lately and many more will follow. Some of them are now finetuned for the ultimate jump and then....we're off to the next hurdle in this crazy rat race to go faster and faster on the water.

I personally thought Martin's statment that he released was genuine and sincere.For whatever reasons Martin left, let's wish him the best..... Folks, remember , at the end of the day we're talking about WINDSURFING!... It's not marriage, or open heart surgery.... just fun..... and we all love it. It doesn't matter what brand you ride or who your sailing hero is, or if you enjoy freestyle or speedsailing...... We are all part of one big extended family and Martin will always be one of our brothers.

Best of luck to you Martin!
Aloha,
Josh