KLAAS VOGET
“When I first saw the charts I was always trying to compare it to the last huge swell I rode in Mauritius back in June 2014. I had scored a massive day at One Eye which was pretty solid but when this one finally hit this year, it was way bigger! The main channel was closing out; we were not sure if a boat could even make it to the outside to shoot from and if we would have a backup in case things go wrong. We checked with one of the most experienced boat drivers if he’d even try to go out and he said he would have to check the conditions around lunchtime. Before our driver showed up, Max Matissek told me he watched a Russian windsurfer try to sail One Eye. He had a boat there, which was positive news, but Max also told me he watched him getting beaten up by an over double mast high wave which destroyed all of his gear.
At 2:30 our boat arrived and the captain seemed positive about the channel. Manu and JC, both looking pale, jumped on with their gear and started to make their way out through Manawa, which was a bit messy with over mast high waves breaking all over the place. I sailed out next to the boat and had OK power in my 5.0, but once I made it into the current of the channel the wind in my sail was minimal and I was just floating and hoping for the best. The boat pressed over towards One Eye during a quiet moment, leaving me drifting in the channel. Luckily I made it without getting trapped by one of the freak sets that suddenly appear and break as a massive peak against the current.
About 10 mins later I found myself in between massive walls of water with a few kites and one other windsurfer; Uli Hölzl. The fearless Austrian world traveller made her way out under the backup of the other boat in the line-up and charged down an almost double mast high set right when I arrived. I don’t think I know another female Windsurfer in the world who’d have been out there that day. Uli told me later she was sitting on the beach for about three hours watching the wave before she finally built up the confidence to sail out. She couldn’t really hold back, as she changed her flight ticket and delayed her trip for a full week just for this swell, knowing she’d be missing the PWA Event in France she had signed up for. The smile in her face after the session told me she made the right call! The wind was not very strong, so I was floating to the outside and waited for quite some time for my first set. On a day like this you don’t want to take a smaller one and get a big surprise after you kick out that the next wave is double the size. Every mistake is most likely the end of the session, as you are likely to be beaten into the reef with a big chance of destroying your gear. The current inside the lagoon is so strong on the very big days that there’s a high risk you’ll not be able to get back to the beach with a broken rig before getting sucked back out through the big channel.