TACTICS
The conditions were light, but believe me when I say that I loved competing in riding only conditions! The wind was onshore at the beginning of the elimination and it was high tide. But as we progressed the wind turned more side-shore and the waves were cleaner. I think for the final we had the best conditions all day! I think a bit bigger waves would have been nicer, but all in all I really enjoyed sailing that final. Before the event I sailed 4.0, 4.5 and 4.7, but when the event started the wind went light so I sailed my 5.0 and 86 litre Starboard UltraKode KP Pro Model. Because of sailing the Aloha classic I’ve learned I need a floaty board for the light wind days. So my setup was really perfect.
For competition tactics, I kept telling myself – ‘Patience, patience, patience’ and the next thing I know I’m pumping to try and catch the first ‘bump’ I see out there! As I jibe and float back out I see everyone else in the heat on a set wave. Darn it SQ, you did it again. I usually have the most waves on my scoring sheet out of all the riders ha ha. Only for the final I managed to be more selective about the waves and caught a few bigger ones. I was very happy to finish 2nd. Actually there were some issues with the live scoring and coming back to the beach, people were telling me that I got it. Which for a split second I contemplated and thought how freaking cool that would be, but then just as quickly figured it couldn’t be the case. I had seen Iballa sail all day, and judging my own performance I was pretty sure I hadn’t matched hers. But dude! How cool is finishing in 2nd?! I’m thrilled to have made the podium.