SARAH-QUITA OFFRINGA
It was epic. Every time I compete here I come for a couple of weeks before, train hard and as soon as the competition kicks in the wind goes to another level. It is amazing how windy it can get in Pozo. The level was very high in the women’s fleet. It was the cherry on the cake to finish in 2nd place. I was aiming for the podium, especially after last year when I came 5th. I wanted third but then I came second, so that was awesome. I was able to sail against Daida twice this year, which was special. I think the equal prize money is very important for us girls. I am not sure how all the guys are taking it, but they don’t all understand how the industry works. The fact is most women don’t get as much support from the industry and this one time we are getting the same prize money helps out. We all put in the same effort training and we have the same expenses to go to these places. It is a solid start. I used a 3.3m mostly, but on the final day I asked Robby Swift to lend me his 3.0m. It was not too small, but it was so windy I did not feel comfortable jumping no matter what I was on, so I switched to my 3.3m for waveriding. It was tough sailing in the finals. I was on my old boards from last year because my new ones arrived late and I did not feel like swapping because I wasn’t used to them. I was on my 76 litre Starboard Ultrakode. I was afraid it was going to snap because it has been used and abused and the conditions were insane. I was going much higher than I was in training. It did not break so they are sturdy boards!
The equal prize money is very important for us girls.