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MARINE HUNTER: FINDING THE FLOW

Following here emphatic victory at the Maui Pro Am, we caught up with Marine Hunter to find out more about the background behind her success. From coaching insights, equipment choices and a new mindset, Marine tells us how she turned from chaos to calm and found her flow in Maui.

Photos: Fish Bowl Diaries / PWA / WWT

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COACHING WITH GRAHAM EZZY

WINDSURF: Tell us about your coaching with Graham Ezzy and how that built your confidence going into the event?

MARINE HUNTER: “I was invited to his first clinic in Denmark back in 2020 and I really liked his approach of wave-riding. Graham’s philosophy is that the wave has to do the work and it made a lot of sense to me. In my head wave riding was meant to be a lot of hard work and I thought I would never be good enough at it but he transformed it into a much more natural thing.

I really want to win the Aloha Classic in 2026 and even though I did well in 2025 I knew I could do better. The format of the training was exactly what I needed, we had short sessions with very simple things to implement. The training was focused on the stuff I usually found less exciting like heat strategy and wave riding basics, but I knew I had to change my approach if I wanted different results and trust my coach and the process.

My goal was to win and I did! I had a lot more confidence on the water, I had a different strategy than at my previous contests, tools to calm down my anxiety and more confidence in my skills. Working with him was an absolute game changer, I never thought I could win all my heats. The training really made me step out of my comfort zone but it was so worth it!

I tend to think that difficult things have more value but I’m learning this is not necessarily true and I don’t always have to chase after the hardest things to obtain what I want, even though I would LOVE to land super flashy moves in a heat. My problem is that I usually skip the basics to try the most technical things first. The coaching was actually much more challenging than I thought.

Graham made me go for set waves right at the beginning of the sessions whereas I normally warm up on smaller waves and gradually go for bigger waves as I build my confidence. Coming from France and being an English Channel regular, I’m not used to sailing in mast high waves several times a week, which can be the case at Ho’okipa, and I was fighting my sense of overwhelming and fear. I was wearing a helmet with a talkie and I would hear his instructions live: “go hit it!!” and other things I didn’t really want to do in the moment!

It was pretty intense sometimes and I really had to step out of my comfort zone, but Graham is a great coach with a lot of patience and generosity who also managed to make me believe in my own abilities, which was maybe the hardest. I’m super grateful to him and I’m looking forward to the next training sessions. Thanks a lot Graham for your patience, your encouragements, your kindness and let’s keep pushing for the Aloha!”

DIALLED IN: GEAR THAT DELIVERS

WINDSURF: What gear were you riding and how do you like your Quatro boards?

MARINE HUNTER: “I was riding my Goya Iris 4,7m and my Quatro Pyramid 87, that’s my biggest set of gear. The Iris which is a version of the Banzai Surf is also a pretty versatile and balanced sail, I know how I can use the lower end by rigging it differently for very light winds. I wanted to have enough mobility on the spot so that I could keep my options open and be more serene. I’ve had that board for a while, so I know it well, it also won for me in Sylt! And I know that despite the volume I can handle the turns if it’s non planing conditions. I’ve actually come to appreciate even more the wide range of my production boards after sailing them on such vast array of spots and conditions. I always have a little adaptation period in the beginning with new gear, but I don’t have to fight it in any way, sail and board work in sync and that’s how I like it.

MAUI LIVING

WINDSURF: Are you living in Maui full time and what do you do there?

MARINE HUNTER: “I’m still living there part time but the goal is to be here full time. This is my second stay of 6 months. I had the opportunity to work at the Quatro Goya shop, I would do mornings until 2pm and I would go sail in the afternoons; I’m also training twice a week with Sarah Hauser.

On top of that I was doing some work-trade and gardening early morning or after sunset to pay for my accommodation during my first stay, to be honest I’ve never been busier in my entire life, it was quite exhausting. This year I unfortunately couldn’t keep my job and I was free a month before the contest ; the silver lining was that I was in better shape than in 2025 when I just wouldn’t hear the alarm ring to get up to go sailing after quick nap, I would just pass out after work the week before the contest. For most people it may not look like a super intense rhythm, but I don’t have a lot of stamina and I can easily overdo it thinking I’m not doing enough. I’ll see what comes my way when I go back this winter, but yes the goal is to be there full time.”

WINDSURF: What was you attitude going into the event? Go hard or go home?

MARINE HUNTER “Go calm, that was my attitude this time!”

THE MOMENT IT LANDED

WINDSURF: How did it feel when you found out you had won?

MARINE HUNTER: “I was elated! I actually rushed back to the beach after the heat because I was eager to find out the result and when I saw people waving at me, I checked that they were not waving at another finalist sailing behind me (you never know!) and when I set foot on the sand I got confirmation that I had won and I was so, so happy. Two days later when my friends came to celebrate at home and I think all the pressure came off, I was very touched by their kindness and I broke down into tears, I don’t think I realized that it meant so much to me.”

RAISING THE BAR: THE WOMEN’S FLEET

WINDSURF: “What was the level like in the women’s fleet?

MARINE HUNTER “Everybody is pushing hard and is so talented! It took me at least six months to get accustomed to the spot and learn how to read it after coming to Ho’okipa already three times, while Lisa Wermeister or Maria Behrens had already had podiums or top 4 results after only a few weeks spent at Ho’okipa. I was not getting how the spot worked at all. Pauline scored 5th place at the Aloha Classic last year for her first time here which is amazing coming from someone who lives in Pozo which is the polar opposite of Ho’okipa. Sol is committing full power and Lina caught up at an impressive speed with a great result. Seasoned riders like Angela know exactly what they need to do and are in every single final. I feel like I can never rely on my current abilities on tour because everyone improves year by year.”

BEYOND MAUI

WINDSURF: “Are you doing any other events or just Maui?

MARINE HUNTER: “Well now that I have more free time than expected I’m considering going to other events, I need to sit down and plan my year.”

WHY WE RIDE

WINDSURF: “What do you love about windsurfing?

MARINE HUNTER “So many things! I love being literally immersed in nature, I love the travel that brings me to the beach, I love sharing my passion with other people, I love the feeling of being the captain of my own ship, I love spending time with my windsurf friends, meeting new friends and going on sometimes dodgy adventures. I love that I feel good in this windsurf world and I’m very grateful I get to be part of it.”

MORE TO LEARN

WINDSURF: “What areas are you trying to improve in your wave sailing?

MARINE HUNTER: “I’ll keep working on the competition aspect of wave riding and I would also love to become more consistent with aerials and work on other manoeuvres like 360 and jumps on starboard tack. There’s so much to learn. I’d love to be able to land a big air in a heat!”

GRATITUDE AND GROWTH

WINDSURF: Who would you like to thank?

MARINE HUNTER: “Thank you to everybody who helped and supported me, who gave me kind words, who gave me grace, thank you to my coaches Sarah Hauser and Graham Ezzy, my sponsors Quatro/Goya, my boyfriend, my friends and family, thank you to all the people and situations who taught me lessons and gave me opportunities to do some self-reflection.

I’m also simply very grateful for this spring event that brings me back on a positive track after personal difficulties for the second time. I didn’t show up for a lot of things these last two years, I let sponsors and people down. I had a lot of things to deal with and I did not put on my best behaviour, I went into avoidance and hiding mode. Now I feel more ready to catch up.!”