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WINDSURF GRAN CANARIA RECAP!

Now that the dust has finally settled and the cameras have cooled off after an absolutely mental week in Pozo, we managed to catch up with the champs from the men’s and women’s pro divisions.

Oh, and by the way… our Pozo predictions? Not too shabby! We nailed the top four in the men’s…yes, bang on…and even called first and second in the women’s waves. Cue applause…

Justyna Sniady slightly let us down for third, but hey, we did throw Alexia Kiefer in as a wild card. You can’t have it all…but we came pretty close! Right, enough patting ourselves on the back. Let’s get down to it and hear what the winners had to say!

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PHILIP KÖSTER

“Well, this year Pozo was very fun actually. I finally had an event with wind, so that’s the main thing. I just wanted to have wind. It was a bit much sometimes, so I was on 3.7m at first in the last final, I lost the gear, went on the rocks at the bunker and also lost tons of time.

But, yeah, 3.4m was the actual size that was fitting for the wind. I initiated a double and the sail just ripped out of my hands. I just couldn’t hold on to it, I was just rotating too fast. I haven’t crashed that much in my whole life, not that many times in a row. Everyone was crashing a lot, so yeah, it’s just part of it in those conditions. Throwing down doubles in 40-50 knots is quite risky actually. It was quite a challenge to land the jumps. It felt kind of extreme!

Everyone was pushing the limits. Mark and Marino were going nuts! Ricardo didn’t make it that far, but he was also really a good jumper still. Marcilio Browne is actually the best all round sailor out there, I think, that does everything all the time. I won it, but it could have gone either way, I think.

Having the family around is very important and it keeps me relaxed. My caddy is helping me with all the equipment, and I don’t have anything to worry about actually. I can just sail. So here in Pozo it feels very relaxed.

After I lost to Marcilio in the first final of the double elimination, I knew I had a second chance, so I could kind of not stress too much about it. That helps always. But of-course I don’t want to sail again. I want to win the first time.

If you really want to make a difference and be sure that you win, you have to do stalled doubles and push forwards. And hopefully next year they score three jumps, so they will be a bit different. I would love to have three jumps just to show something else!”

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MARCILIO BROWNE

“It was like crazy windy this year. I really enjoyed it. I arrived here two weeks before the event and it was right when the conditions kind of started. Before that it’s been really bad, and then it was gradually picking up. And the first two days of the event were the windiest days I’ve ever sailed here, I think.

It is tough in those conditions, but you just have to go anyway! It gives a lot of adrenaline, and the manoeuvres look so fast. It’s dangerous if you get yourself in the wrong position as you don’t really have time to spot or prepare for landing. You’re just going to explode whatever way you spin. But that’s the fun of it too…the adrenaline of sailing high winds. That is what Pozo is. It’s a massive change from Maui, but I’ve been coming here long enough. Each year that I come back, it feels like I just need a couple of days to get my gear tuned up. It’s a massive change, but I’ve been here so many times I know what I am in for.

For sure, anyone out of the top four could have won it. It’s heat to heat…whatever waves come to you, whatever happens. Sometimes it can even be the smallest thing that makes you lose, like somebody being slightly in your way. Everyone definitely has the moves and they are trying their best and it could go either way, I guess.

I worked on my small gear before Pozo. I pretty much kept the same boards from last year, but I worked on my sails a lot. I had a really good 3.7m and a really good 3.5m that I loved. The first time I rigged it I was like, “Oh, this feels amazing.” So, there wasn’t much to think about.

I’m really happy. I did everything I could in all finals. Even when I lost that super final, I did what I could with what came to me. I mean, obviously looking at the scores, I wish I had better waves, but I spent six or seven minutes looking for a push forward.
It’s heat…sometimes it goes your way, sometimes it doesn’t. And I had a bunch that went my way, so I tried my best. I don’t have any regrets for what came to me.

I had a lot of fun. It was one of the most fun years for me competing!”

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MARINO GIL

“They were the craziest days I’ve sailed here in Pozo in a while. I think I’ve been competing for a few years already here in Pozo, and this was the windiest and most crazy conditions we ever scored. So, for me, being from here actually, it was really sick to score these conditions for the event. And yeah, for sure I am more than stoked.

The first day was not that windy, so it was a bit more manageable…everything was a bit more under control. But the second day for sure was the windiest I’ve ever sailed on a 3.3m. There were some moments where I was thinking, “I think this is getting a bit risky,” If you want to keep on going in the heats, you need to go for it, but I had to think twice a few times.

Once you go into the heat, it’s like, OK, I have 12 minutes just to go for it and find the best moments so I don’t kill myself, let’s say. And once I am in the heat, at least my head clicks and I just go for it. I mean the first final, it was the four of us on the water. I think it was the craziest final I’ve ever seen and sailed, I would say. For me, it was super special, especially opening with a huge push forward, Browne behind with a push forward, Philip with a stalled double and Marc the same. It was just mental.

I’ve been watching Browne and Philip since I was a kid. Marc is a bit more my age, I would say. But they’re all sailing epic. I see all the videos they post…I’m always watching them because they’re the top guys now. So yeah, for sure it’s sick to have a final with them. They’re all friends, so it’s nice.

My gear was insane. I was on my smallest gear…I was on my 3.3m and 75L board from JP. I’m used to using the 75 because it’s my smallest board…I don’t have a smaller one. All the gear I’ve been using is production. Everything is production. And yeah, the sail is amazing. Even going fully overpowered, it was feeling good. So yeah, I’m super stoked with my gear and happy that it’s working so well even in such strong conditions.

I rode the JP Ultimate Wave…the quad, side-shore setup from JP. And it’s insane. I’ve been using it her and in Tenerife, I’ve been using it everywhere and it’s really good. It’s a quad setup, so I just go with the quads here and mostly everywhere.”

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DAIDA MORENO

“After the first final against Sarah Quita, I didn’t look if I lost or not. I just knew that I didn’t sail my best at all. It was really close, and Sarah is a great sailor. I always have to push hard to win against her. So yeah, I had to stop thinking about what I did wrong and go for what I really actually know how to do. It’s my home spot. I feel comfortable, but I made the wrong choice of equipment at the beginning of the heat, so I had to come back in and change, and I only had a few minutes left. But I’m really happy that I finally pulled it off and won.

It was high tide which made it harder to find the ramps but I finally found the waves and the surf that I needed. I was looking at my friends on the beach, Danny and the team, and they were telling me to jump and to surf, and I only had a few minutes left. So yeah, I just tried my best.

As I say, Sarah is an incredible sailor, and I always have to go really hard. I’m just really, really happy and emotional that I won this event. I trained a lot of stalled forwards, so it was an easy move for me. I knew that I had to do it bigger to win against Sarah, so I pushed really hard and I finally made it. Then I caught a wave at the end of the heat that just got me the victory by a tiny margin.

I couldn’t stop crying when I came in to the beach. I had a lot of emotion inside and it just came out. I’m just super proud of my friends and my family, and they’re super happy that they support me!

Bruch are like a family and it’s a great team. We’re really small but really supportive to each other. Danny is doing a great job with the equipment. I finally managed to have a really small board for me for the strong conditions, and this is a winning board for sure.”

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SARAH QUITA OFFRINGA

“For me, it’s the hardest event and I feel like the conditions are so tough. And then you have Daida that lives here, so she knows it like inside out. I always wanted to win a heat off of her here, and I managed to do that today.

I just feel very emotional today because I was not feeling so confident the last few days, and you have a whole week of waiting, so there’s a lot of nerves built up. Then my first heat was amazing, and then the second heat against Daida also went really well. I just felt so stoked that I could kind of give her a run for her money.

And then in the last heat, I’m not even disappointed about my sailing. There’s bits and pieces where I could have done better, but I’m happy that I could put up a heat like that against her. The conditions fizzled, but I managed to find some waves, and it’s the same for both of us, you know, so the one that manages better wins.

I think I struggled a bit with finding a better jump. It was harder to find ramps, but I’m glad I had the chance to go for it, so for me, it’s like a victory in itself today.

I sailed the 3.3m, and then in the first heat of the final and then I went up to 3.7m and then I stayed on the 3.7m.

So I guess it’s painful when you’ve beaten Daida once! I had that shot to finally beat her. A small part of me is disappointed because I was so close…it was a fraction of a point that I lost. I’ve been disappointed in the past with my sailing and my heats, but I felt like for three heats, I was super consistent. And that’s what I’m the happiest about.

And I don’t know, if Daida going to retire next year…then how am I going to get a chance to beat her again, you know? So that’s the worst part of it all. Will I get another chance?”

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ALEXIA KIEFER QUINTANA

“It was super strong. I haven’t seen that wind for a long, long time, the first and second days of competition.

We went the third day. That day was better. I mean, it was still overpowered sometimes on 2.7m. The wind was still very strong but not that strong.

It ramped up for the final. I’m a bit injured. My shoulder hurts a bit, so I got to be a bit careful. The forward loops really hurt so I left them to the end of the heat. The final didn’t go for me as I wanted, but I’m still very happy to be there.”

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All the videos here!!!

HIGHLIGTS DAY 1

HIGHLIGHTS DAY2

WOMEN SINGLE ELIMINATION

WOMEN DOUBLE ELIMINATION

EXPRESSION SESSION