ADAPTING
There were so many events this year that I didn’t really have the chance to train for them separately. I went to Maui in April for the JP photoshoot and after that it has been competition after competition. I have had a few spells where I have been in Holland for three or four days but the rest of the time I have been on the road at contests. The winter time at home in Bonaire is the only time I can train for all disciplines, but there we mostly have just flat water so it does not necessarily prepare you for the likes of windy slalom in Fuerteventura or waves in forty knots in Pozo! Right now I am a bit over living out of a van or a hotel room and I am ready to go home! I left Bonaire in April to fly to Maui and I don’t return home until after Sylt in October. Even after the Canary Islands I had events and clinics organized in Silvaplana and Greece.
After the high wind slalom in Portugal, which was like 30-40 knots every day, I went to Denmark for some clinics. The wind was really light so we concentrated on foiling which was fun. Straight after that I flew to Pozo switched to a 4.0m sail and went out wave sailing. The first hour was really weird just getting used to this tiny sail and board versus a 9.0m, 6 knots and a giant foil board. That transition was actually fun and a great feeling.
This year I entered the waves in Pozo and really enjoyed competing in that discipline. I need to focus more on wave riding because we don’t have any real swell in Bonaire. I think for next year I will head out to Pozo at least two or three weeks before the event so I can raise my game in the waves.
