Xavier Ferlet
Born in Nantes (France) 19th June 1966, he was introduced to yachting at the age of 4 months by his parents. At the age of 7 his mother found a potent bribe in the form of an optimist dinghy which was purchased after young Xav had shown some good behaviour at school. In 1976 the first windsurfers appeared and that was the first sailing craft that Xav could take to the beach without Dad’s help. Needless to say that the long French summer holidays were spent windsurfing everyday. His first board was a Dufour Wing (for those who remember!) which cost £150 complete with the big rig of the time, a 5.7m2.
| Name: | Xavier Ferlet |
| Year of Birth: | 1966 |
| Height: | 5'10 |
| Weight: | 79 kg |
| Hometown: | Northampton |
| Windsurfing Since: | 1977 |
| Disciplines: | Formula & Slalom |
| Best Results: | 1st Master at the Formula Europeans 2003, 2nd FW at Marazion UKWA 2003, Unlimited Class World Champion 2000. |
| Sail Number: | GBR 451 |
| Sponsors: | Gaastra, Sola, Fiberspar, Starboard |
During his teenage years, transport wasn’t always available so he had to sail along the coast to go to the local regattas and back. With predominant light winds in the morning he had to learn how to pump the hard way. Falling in on the way home was a good way to sober up after the post-race celebration.
With three younger sisters all destined to go to University, taking a year out to turn pro was simply not an option so Xav had to find sponsorship to finish college in Manchester. Those were difficult years for windsurfing where all he could afford was a Tiga wave board (the cheap polyethylene one!). Getting his first real job in motor racing gave him enough money to start competing with the BWA and UKBSA. He was third BWA amateur in the late 90’s after being ranked provisionally 1st half way through the season ahead of Jon Gould and Chris Audsley. He also achieved second heavy with the UKBSA (raceboard). Without sufficient sponsorship to go to the BWA pro fleet, he stuck to raceboards and won the Unlimited Worlds in 2000.
The Formula rules, which restrict equipment to contain costs, attracted him back to short board racing. After a year and a half, he managed to overcome his handicap in terms of height and weight (the top guys are usually 6’2” or 15 stones) to make a first impact in 2003 in Florida and Marazion.
