The Mistral brand has been writing windsurfing history pages since 1976, when it established its pedigree and reputation. With stylish, trend setting designs along with “Mistral Dream Team” it was the brand to follow. From the Mistral stable came world top sailors like Robby Naish, Pete Cabrinha, Charley Messmer, Tomas Persson, Jill Boyer and more; and designs like Mistral Malibu were the dream board of every 80’s windsurfer! It’s now the XXI century and it’s a time of big changes for Mistral…

From the end of summer ’09, it was known that there would be a new owner of Mistral Windsurfing. The licence was given to Swedish four times World Champion Anders Bringdal, with experience of designing his own AB+ boards for last ten years, and his precise ideas and plans for the direction of the brand, he was the best choice to fulfil the high hopes for Mistral.

The main goal for the Mistral Team is to bring the brand back to its high standards of design, quality and performance. Unfortunately for the last few years Mistral was “lost in the translation”, run along other leading brands, and not being be paid enough of the attention that was so important and deserved.

The first move that “the new leader” made was to move the production line from Cobra to well known and previously used factory in Vietnam, where high quality materials and attention to detail is a priority. Another goal for the new Bringdal operation was to create boards that have a longer shelf life, that are strong and keep their original shape for as long as possible. As a result the new Mistral boards will be released only when the older designs need upgrading or there is a demand for a new shape. 

The brand’s success is not only in the hands of the designers and leading man, but also it strongly depends on the attitude and belief of the distributors. In the UK Mistral will be looked after by living legend Farrell O’Shea. He has already showed that when it comes to supporting windsurfing, and bringing new brands to UK, he is the one to trust. His hard and successful work with Simmer Style made it one of the most popular and desirable windsurfing brands in the UK. Having already high quality products in his stable it is a wise choice to put the Mistral future in the hands of O’shea International.

Funsport has had a long established relationship with O’Shea International, and being a leading retailer for Simmer sails in UK, we are taking the Mistral toys on board. Funsport Strongly believes in the success of the new products and we are more than happy to promote it over here in the “purest” wave spot in the United Kingdom.

After having a close look at the 2010 boards we can truly admit this is a premium product, and design is great in its simplicity. Maybe graphics are clean and simple, and attention to detail is high, the high quality finish and materials like Da Kine foot straps or Ultra Maui fins make Mistral boards superb value for money. The most expensive Twinzer Wave retails at £1349, and all the boards are only made in construction premium Red Dot Division.

The first drop of boards is expected at the end of April. We will be stocking mainly wave/free wave boards initially, as this kit is ideal for Rhossy,  we will also have access to any slalom or freeride boards later. Funsport will also become a Wave Test Centre, allowing any one interested to try a new Mistral board. Along with this we are hoping to promote the brand by sponsoring young sailors from around the area.