JC: Is Victor with you because he is somebody you can trust?
BD: Victor is obviously one of my best friends, and has been with me the last twelve years on the tour and I knew him twelve years before that. We will be doing plenty of fun projects in the future as well so the partnership will not be stopping here that is for sure. Besides my windsurfing, surfing, stand up and body board school in Gran Canaria we are also building a youth Team in both surfing, windsurfing and probably stand up as well. So we will be supporting a lot of young talent from the Canary Islands and I hope to make that project bigger and better for the future.
JC: What advice would you hand down to Liam if he tells you he wants to become a pro sailor?
BD: First of all what I would tell my son or any young guy, or parents, is that when you go out and windsurf, go out there because you want to do it. Have fun while you are practising and try to sail in a group at the same level or a bit better than yourself. That really helps improve your skills. Try to start with youth competitions and then grow up with that. Don’t aim too high in the beginning because you need to do the learning steps. I think the most important thing is when you are on the water go out there and enjoy it and if you don’t feel like that one day then do something else!
JC: Out of your rivals over the years who got under your skin the most?
BD: I respect everyone out there of course. Over the years certain rivals were tougher than others. In the wave sailing in the Nineties it was Robby Naish for sure and then Jason Polakow. In the racing side it was definitely Anders Bringdal in the old days and since slalom has come back in 2005 it is obviously Antoine Albeau. He is definitely the toughest guy out there. Lately it seems like slalom has become a lot tighter between the top guys. Every heat is to be taken very seriously. One mistake at the start or at the first mark and you can be out in the first round.