In 1966, at 12 years of age Jürgen started surfing in Westerland/Sylt in Germany. His idols were the local lifeguards, they lent him their boards and taught him about currents and how to deal with the ocean. On his first real surf trip to Gran Canaria in 1970 Jürgen stayed with lifeguard 'Don Quadrado' in his VW van. They scored perfect uncrowded waves.
In the search for good waves Biarritz then became Jürgen's second home, and when it got too cold there you could find him in California or on the exotic beaches of Sri Lanka.
A true surf gypsy. When at home in Sylt he started repairing boards and learnt a 'real job' as an interior decorator and carpenter. Having done this he was back on the beach as soon as he passed his lifeguard exam ! Only like this could he get in the water daily and afford those long winter trips.
Whilst in Biarritz Jürgen got to know his future business partner Thomas Herz. Together they opened the Surf Shop Sylt. Well known shapers came from Hawaii, France and Australia to work for the Surfline Sylt factory. It was here that they developed some outstanding windsurfer shapes that were far ahead of their time.
In 1973 Jürgen started windsurfing with European windsurf pioneer Calle Schmid. As a surfer JH learnt quick. In those days most people saw windsurfboards as small sailboats. JH knew that it was really a surfboard with a sail and started to sail in waves. Skibinding pioneer Hanes Marker was so impressed by JH's ability in surf that he offered him a job in development and sent him to the first Pan Am World Cup in Hawaii.
Together with Ute and Bitsy, JH went south to Barvaria. The first step was to develop the first Marker prototype. They then travelled to California to pick up some of the first Clarkfoam windsurfing blanks. Steve Boehne from Infinity Surfboards shaped the prototypes to Jürgen's specifications.
JH's second place at the World Cup confirmed the validity of his designs and signalled his arrival as a worldclass performer.
In 1981 Jürgen stopped working for Marker. Marker wanted a type of displacement/planning combi hull and JH saw no real future in this design. He was hired by F2 founder Peter Brockhaus as a pro and designer. Jürgen designed all the first models. The Starlit, Sunset, Bullit, Comet and Strato were all JH's designs, and all were planning hulls.
As a professional Jürgen was leading the World Cup in 1983. Disaster struck when during storm conditions the sail backwinded during a big jump, hitting him on the head and breaking three vertebrae and a disc. Incredibly, three months later JH made his comeback, complete with a steelplate and screws in his neck, by winning the Omaeski, Japan World Cup.Until 1986 he continued racing, filming and developing boards, sails and gear.
However at this time event venues were not chosen too well and most were left without wind. The sailors were kind of frustrated with this and Jürgen did not like to hang out on land for days or even weeks due to bad conditions, playing clown to the spectators. He changed his pro contracts into pure development ones.
In 1981 the Hönscheid family had first visited Fuerteventura and fallen in love with the island. In 1986 the dream came true.
The business in Sylt was sold, and free of pro and shop commitments they packed the Landcruiser with all the necessary gear. Jürgen, Ute and their daughters Bitsy and Sonni hit the road : destination Fuerteventura.
Fortunately at this point Surf Shop Sylt partner Thomas Herz had similar plans. He went to Tenerife.
In Fuerteventura Jürgen pretty quickly returned to his original skill, shaping boards. He founded Northshore/JH Designs and is still making state of the art wind, kite and surfboards. His works as tester for the biggest German windsurf magazine which helps in the development of his own shapes. 
He also writes countless articles for
magazines both in and outside of the windsurf world and must be considered as an authority on design and technique. Ute takes the pictures for the article and like this, as always, they make a great team.
In 1991 JH build the first superlight sandwich board, weighing in at under 5 kilos. In 1996 he broke the 4 kilo mark with 3.85 kilos.
In the autumn of 1998 the Hönscheid family opened the shop in front of the factory in Lajares. Ute now runs it with the help of Sonni.
Daughters Sonni and Bitsy grew up surfing, and now 3rd daughter Janni is well on her way to becoming a surfer.
Sonny won the 1999 and 2000 German Championships and Bitsy was 7th in the European Roxy sponsors the girls a bit and they went to the World Surfing Games in Brazil. Jürgen himself has gone back to his roots, winning the German Masters and getting a 4th in the European Masters.
With their business being so close to the water the Hönscheids manage to get surf sessions almost every day.
Like to order a custom surfboard, windsurfer or kiteboard?
Because of the difficult process of ordering a board we prefer to have personal contact with our customers. If you can't make it to the shop call Jürgen directly on 928 686321 or send an e-mail to: info@northshore-fuerte.com
Shop hours are 11.00am to 01.30pm Canarian time.
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