PIERRE MORTEFON
It was special conditions because I’ve never seen this kind of strong wind before in Korea. On one side it was amazing slalom conditions, hard racing with strong wind, big swell and chop. The races were never over until the finish line. It was really exciting. But on the flip side it was scary because of all the weed and debris in the water that could catapult you at any moment. In one race, ten metres before the finishing line, I was completely slowed down with a big clump of weed on my fin. This is why my feeling is mixed. Some of the races on the strong wind day were the best I have ever done on tour, but it was also dangerous. This year the level is super, super high and from the first heat you have to push full power to advance. It means on the first reach you are maximum speed and there especially it was super wavy, choppy and full of weed but you still have to go! It is a bit like skiing with rocks in the snow or something like that. You could arrive at the mark with good speed but pick up weed coming out of the gybe or just before and that was not easy to deal with. Once you have weed you have to jump to clear it but sometimes you have to jump five or six times to get it off and then you are tired for the actual race. Jumping is a lot of effort. For sure it was the same for everybody, but I don’t like it when it is a lottery when we race. On the positive side it was pretty radical. You could fall on the first reach and still qualify. Every heat was a super close fight. On the windy day I was on my 6.3m and the 99 Falcon and it was just right. For me, I did not need the 5.4m and it was really enjoyable. I was using my Chopper 33cm fin. In the end we had to stop racing because the course was full of debris and the marks kept drifting due to the strong winds.
You needed to have comfortable equipment and the confidence to go fast. This comes from the equipment but also from your skill. I am used to windy conditions from sailing in France. It is not easy for a lot of the guys to find this sort of sea to train in and usually when it is that windy and wild we normally would just go wave sailing!