JC: Does this feel like the right time to be quitting the PWA tour?
BD: Well, I actually planned it like this at the beginning of the year already. After thirty years it felt like the perfect moment to finish it all off. When I made the decision I thought the season would be over in Sylt but then all of a sudden La Torche and New Caledonia popped up on the calendar and I must say it was nice to finish with a decent race with lots of wind. We actually had nine rounds here in the end. I was on 7.8m most of the time, which is actually perfect slalom conditions so it was a decent way to finish.
JC: Was it an emotional day today?
BD: It was kind of sad. I was hoping to finish with solid competition in New Caledonia. I made it to the final in the strong wind races and a couple of losers finals as well. Today looked like another great day but somehow I got mixed up, yesterday I was in heat number five a couple of times and somehow I had it in my mind I was in heat 5. Between all the postponements and all the pictures I had been taking and signing autographs for the fans, somehow it slipped my mind and I went in heat number five rather than heat six. It was a real rookie situation. It was quite a long way from my container to the notice board and I got pre-occupied with all the other stuff going on. But that was a basic rookie error, you should always check your heat before you go out to make sure. I just got confused. Maybe it was just supposed to be like that. The day before I had knocked Cyril out of the semis and he did not make the final. Today I watched as a spectator, it was quite exciting between Antoine and Cyril. Both of them could have taken it. I would have preferred to have been in there myself but if that is the way it has to be then that was it.
JC: Now that this chapter in your career is over what are your plans for 2015?
BD: I am going to focus on speed sailing. I have been doing it for many years already, I definitely want to try and go faster than 100 km/h. Maybe it will be in Luderitz or in another channel in Europe. There are some options in Holland and Germany. I am also going to build on the Dunkerbeck speed challenge, we are already setting up one for June 2015 and 50 people have signed up already, which is nice to see! Apart from that I am going to five or six long distance races next year, the first one being the Lancelin Ocean Classic which I have raced in the last 4-5 years already. Then I will do the St Bart Fun Cup in the beginning of February and then back to the Defi Wind. I have not been there for a few years because dates have collided with the PWA Korea or Costa Brava slalom events. I was one of the first to sign up for the Defi 2015 which will have 1000 competitors so I am going to be joining all those guys next May. Apart from that I will try and spend more time in the Canary Islands with my family obviously, having fun and spending more time sailing. Not doing the PWA is going to open it up for me for more water time basically.