GRAN CANARIA GLORIA WINDSURF WORLD CUP

HOME OF THE WIND

With Pozo delivering nuclear winds there were a few turn up for the books as some new names caused a stir by claiming the prestigious podium places. We hear from a selection of the top sailors.

Words: Marino Gil, Julian Salmonn, Philip Köster, Sarah-Quita Offringa & Lina Erpenstein. // Photos: Carter / pwaworldtour.com

MARINO GIL – 1ST – UNCHARTED TERRITORY

I am more than stoked to win at my home spot. It has been one of my dreams to win Pozo since I was a kid. I really can’t explain how I am feeling, it hasn’t really sunk in yet. I am more than happy and thankful for everything. At the beginning of the week everyone was coming to me and telling me that this year is my year, so there was a bit of pressure building. I knew I had the level to do it and I felt like once the competition started, I was just in the zone.

SPEED DEMON

Everyone is always surprised how fast I sail when I am heading out. I like to go fast and that means I fly into high jumps. I think my speed is one of my strong points. I am actually afraid of heights, but when I am in the air windsurfing it is different somehow. Once I am up in the sky, I just focus on my landings. Ricardo Campello was giving me some tips before my heat and told me not to go crazy. I decided just to do my thing and I went quite big on a few backloops and stalled doubles. I just saw the ramps and I could not let them go (laughs).

PLAYING IT ‘SAFE’

I think I sailed a very solid heat in the final. It was one of my best heats. After it was all over, I went out for dinner with my friends and we enjoyed that time together. It was nice to share some time with them as they help and support me. I am happy I won this for JP and NeilPryde as they really wanted me on their team and this is the perfect way to pay them back. It is a really nice brand, and the gear is working amazingly. I was using my production gear, the 75L Ultimate wave board, and also my sails, mast, boom etc were all production. I was sailing most of the time on my 3.7m and in the final the wind picked up, so I had to change down to 3.3m -it was at least 40 knots The windier it gets, the better it is for me. With more wind and more waves, the higher I can go. I thought about going for a triple in the final, but I didn’t know how close the scores were, so I played it safe with the stalled double.

JULIAN SALMONN – 2ND – CALCULATED APPROACH

I think it still hasn’t sunk in what I achieved in Pozo. I made it all the way to the final! The whole day was just amazing. The conditions were tricky to start off with, but at the same time it was really fun. I think I was really consistent during all of my heats. I knew what strategy I wanted to execute and I stuck to my plan. I had a lot of fun and just enjoyed every single heat. I made the calculation that with really excellent wave rides, I didn’t need the push forward or double to advance. If the other guys were focused on jumping, I could get to the same score, or even beat them, with solid wave rides. I even started the heats out the back and rode a wave at the beginning of the heat. Not many riders do that in Pozo, but I knew that that is my strong point and I knew if I nailed a good wave, it would put me in a good flow, and fortunately, that is exactly what happened. If I sail at home that is what I usually do also. I prefer to wave ride and Tenerife [home] is more about wave riding than jumping. When I came into the beach after the three-man semifinal, I was not sure what the result was. The crowd was cheering, but Liam Dunkerbeck was coming in at the same time, so I wasn’t sure who they were cheering for. Then I saw my boss, Danny Bruch who gave me the thumbs up. I could not believe it. I tried to give Marino a hard time in the final. I wanted to put on a show. It was unbelievable to have my first final with one of my best friends. To experience that in Pozo is something I never dreamt would actually happen. It was a lot of fun and to have my first final with Marino, you could not ask for much more. I am super proud of him and how he sailed also. For him it was a really well-deserved win.

PHILIP KÖSTER – 3RD – VENTS HIS ANGER

I was not really happy to come third. I honestly think some scores were not really how they should have been. It did not feel fair to me. After all the events I have done over almost twenty years, this is the most unfair I have ever felt. If you compare my scores to the other riders they are just lower, but actually they should not have been lower. It was a bad event for me, but I don’t want it to be like that again! I sailed as well as I could in the losers’ final… obviously I was angry so I went for the triple loop. After not making the final I was disappointed with the scores and mentally a bit bored of everything. I was just over it, so I just wanted to make it a bit of fun for me.

BACK TO FULL FITNESS

Coming back from my injury I felt really good on the water. For the last two or three months I have felt amazing. I don’t notice my foot that much anymore, so it is great to be back sailing without that in the back of my mind. I am not sure of my plans if I’ll go to Tenerife or Peru which are the same dates. I don’t know which one I will choose, I guess Tenerife is right next door…

ONE EYE ON SLALOM X

I was using the Pyro 87L and most of the time a 4m sail, which was my go-to gear. The conditions were good but sometimes we were missing the waves. It was pretty windy so no complaints there. Overall, the whole contest was amazing. Watching Slalom X was exciting, so it motivated me for next year. Hopefully I will do it next year! At least I don’t have to depend on the judges scoring! Maybe it is the first time I have really felt that way about the judges, but that is the way it is! It happens!

SARAH-QUITA OFFRINGA – 1ST – PERSISTENCE PAYS OFF

That was my first ever Pozo victory. The first time I really competed in waves was way back in 2013; I had my first heat against Daida Moreno, and I was dead last at that event. Now, eleven years later, which I feel like is a long time, I finally won the event, so it is an amazing feeling. Daida Moreno was not competing of course, I think honestly if she would still be there, it would have been a super tough job. But I am excited about my win because I am happy about my performance. It was the windiest day of the whole month that I had been in Pozo, so I had not really trained in those conditions. I was on my 3.3m and my 80L Kode. The board was maybe a little bit big, but I felt very comfortable with it. I was riding really well and I trained quite a bit on jumping. I was really focused on the stalled forwards this year, as well as pushloops and backloops, so I felt more comfortable than normal.

FLYING START

I am really good friends with Lina but it’s also very competitive between us. We always try to outdo each other in a heat. There was a little bit more pressure, but I was also feeling very happy that we were in that moment in the final together. I enjoyed it a lot. I started out with a pushloop, a backloop and a forward in one run, so straightaway, I kind of relaxed a bit. My first heat was great, but throughout the day I slowly became more and more overpowered.

The thing is you really need to commit and sheet in your sail and at some point when you are wave riding it eventually got to the stage where I couldn’t do it anymore, simply because it was so windy. I think it’s much harder than it looks to jump and wave ride in Pozo. Going into the bottom turn is the tough thing. if you manage that then you are still riding clew-first with 50 knots of wind in your sail. The whole process is difficult.

EXTREME CONDITIONS

In the jumps the ramps were quite big and the wind was nuking, which adds a different element to it. It is much harder to land the jumps when it is that extreme. I tried to stay in my comfort zone with the height. Especially on the backloops as the higher you go the harder they are to land. I was not going for broke, I was just trying to land the moves. I am over the moon with the result. I love sailing in Pozo, I stayed here for a month this year and I felt really good on the water. During the competition I normally have one or two heats that are great, but many times in the finals, especially against Daida, I felt like my level went one step down. I was not able to go above and beyond. I feel like now, I was consistent through the whole event and that is what I am proud about.

LINA ERPENSTEIN – 2ND – WORLD NO.1 FOR FIRST TIME

It is super cool to be back on the podium and climbing one spot higher than last year. I think we have an awesome level in the women and that is amazing to see. I am stoked to still beat a few of them and make the final. We had an incredible week with awesome conditions. I am very happy to finish second. If somebody had told me six months ago that I would have started with a first and a second this season I would’ve definitely taken that. I am just taking things event by event. I am already looking forward to the next one. I was riding my smallest gear like normal in Pozo. Most of my heats I was on a 3.3m or 3.0m and I rode my smallest boards which were my 67L and 72L. In Pozo you can just count on it being windy and it certainly didn’t disappoint. We had a few decent waves for the finals and it wasn’t the windiest of all the years, so it was quite enjoyable actually.