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MARCILIO BROWNE: MARCILIO’S MISSION

Given the level of his sailing, it’s hard to believe that Marcilio Browne’s last PWA wave world champion title was in 2013, but in 2022, years of preparation and training bore fruit with another world title finally in the bag. The modest, affable and extremely talented Brazilian tells us how he made it happen. 

WORDS: MARCILIO BROWNE // PHOTOS: CARTER / PWAWORLDTOUR.COM

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REALIZATION  

It was a really crazy feeling when they told me I had won the title after my heat against Ricardo Campello on the beach in Sylt. When I received the PWA email prior to the event with the build up, the rankings and the title race…I deleted it right away.

I did not read anything and I did not want to know the scenarios. I wanted to just focus on myself and my sailing until the event was all done. I had an idea that the heat against Ricardo would probably make it hard for somebody else to win but I did not know the world title was on the line.

I didn’t want to add that pressure to the situation. When they told me I was world champion again, I had all this emotion inside and I could not hold it. It just came out. I did not think it was going to be like that at all. It was like a thousand kilos being lifted off of me.

There was a long mental preparation going into an event like Sylt where you know the title is at stake. I wanted to try and keep a good headspace to go and compete. Everything came out that moment on the beach and it was a big relief.   

DEVELOPMENT 

It is hard to deny that the world title is my main aim in windsurfing. Obviously my first priority is my family, but as far as work goes, the title is where all my energy went over the past years. I put a lot of effort into it, especially over the last three years I trained harder than I have ever trained before. I really got a good routine together in Hawaii with spots where I could train port tack.

Once I got that dialled in and I learned about the forecasts for those port tack spots, I wasn’t missing days anymore at them. I managed to score consistent port tack practice all the time in Maui. That is when I felt like my sailing improved, but also I had some solid time to develop my onshore gear properly. Before that I didn’t get the chance to develop the gear. I took them on a few trips before and tested them for a few weeks, but it wasn’t like a routine. In the past two or three years it became a routine. I could really take my time. That made things a lot easier because not only did my gear improve, but also, once I did get to the events I did not have to think anymore about the equipment. I knew all my gear so well because I had been riding it so much in the right conditions. I was dialled in with my gear a lot more than I have been.  

FOCUS 

It is hard to shift your focus like this, especially living in Maui. It can be very easy to just drive eight minutes and sail at Ho’okipa. You can have a super fun session and be straight back home in no time. They are the best conditions on the island. I wasn’t doing that. I was driving four and a half hours a day to get to the spot where I was training. It is right on the other side of the island down a gnarly offroad track and you can trash your truck easily getting there. I was doing that when Ho’okipa was good. I drove by and saw it was firing and I went to the port tack spot to be overpowered on a 3.7m. It was rough, but I guess it has all paid off now. I am happy I did it and I enjoyed it in a way.

I enjoy the process, even though sometimes the conditions are worse. I really like it when you are putting in all that work week by week and then you feel these little improvements. It is never a big step forward at this level that we are at, but all these little things gradually add up. If you look back over a week you don’t notice it, but over a year is when you see the improvement. That is very rewarding for me. Regardless of the contests I do really enjoy making these tiny steps with my equipment now I finally have the setup to do it at home. Having a family, I don’t want to be going on a plane as much anymore. I don’t want to be away from them if I can help it. That is why I took them on tour with me the whole year. That training makes it possible for me to be competitive while being at home. That is very important to me.  

BRAZIL 

My trip home to Brazil in August was part of my plan. I knew I would have plenty of port tack sailing under my belt after the training in Hawaii and a month and a half in the Canary Islands. But the only starboard tack sailing I did was down-the-line in Hawaii. I thought time in Brazil would be really good to balance out the kinks in my starboard tack jumping, as well as some straight onshore conditions. Straight onshore was ideal training for me for Sylt, as I wanted to be prepared for anything. That seemed like the missing link I needed in my training. I wanted somewhere I could be around my family and also do my training. It was all part of my plan to tick all the boxes.  

CLOSE CALLS 

2013 was my last wave title. It has been a long road to get back on top. 2019 was really close, and the points were nearly tied at the end of the year. I was just a tiny bit behind and that really hurt. It was really painful for me, even though I had a lot of fun during the year. It was a positive year looking back. I finished second to Philip Köster and that was an awesome result and I am really proud of it, but back then it really hurt. I felt really tired at the end of that year. In a way, mentally it was good for me not to compete in 2020. I think I would have been quite burned out at that stage. I never felt like giving up, I was just not in the mood to start all over from scratch after coming so close. I felt a little low for a few months. In 2019 I put a lot of work in also. During Covid I did not stop. I kept doing my routine even though I was not competing. I just kept doing what I had to do. I did not stop training. I sailed a lot because we were stuck on Maui. There was a lot of wind in the summer. Ho’okipa was not good so I sailed in my other spots. That paid off in the long run.  

FOCUS 

The work does not really feel like work in a way. I enjoy it. As much as we call it work, we are still sailing. After sailing in my other spots, when I come back to Ho’okipa, then I can focus on that. Now the season is over and I don’t have a port tack event coming up, I can go full power at Ho’okipa. I have a free conscience to just go out and enjoy my sailing. I enjoy Ho’okipa even more when I taste a little bit of the other stuff. It all compliments each other. My other spot is so remote, nobody wants to be there because it is so windy and a lot of rocks. I am usually just there alone sailing with Swifty, Ricardo or Morgan. We just really push each other and we are completely isolated. For me that is super fun also; not seeing another windsurfer, and just pushing my level with a few friends. 

SACRIFICE 

I would love to be sailing Cloudbreak and epic spots as well. At this stage in my career, especially after having the three-year break, I got an itch to compete again. I did not know I was going to miss that nervousness and that adrenaline feeling that you get at a PWA event. It was not so much missing that, but missing the purpose that contests give you throughout the year. It is nice to wake up every morning and even though it is stressful, it is something to go after. For me that is the biggest reward of the whole thing. To chase that target every day. The chase is not just about winning. Even when you are not at the top you still have a great job and you still have an awesome routine in life. I have a lot of great friends around me amongst the sailors. The rest means a lot to me also, even if I would never have won a title, I would still be here trying to do it anyways. I just love the sport. I plan just to carry on with my routine. I like training with Swifty and Ricardo and going on little missions. My life is very simple. I like to do that, sail Ho’okipa and then come back home to my family. Then a trip or two a year to score epic waves and I am happy.  

MENTAL GAME 

It is very difficult to keep your head together and to be ready to compete. In Sylt the forecast was solid so we knew a few days before we would be on. Some sailors seem to be calmer than others. For me it took a long time to understand how my brain works. I have a few other ways now to keep myself calm. I try not to get ahead of myself and take one step at a time. I just want everything in place to do my best. If I lost sailing my best then that would not hurt as much. I really wanted to go out there and sail the best I could. That was my aim on the day I won the title. I had a lot of equipment on the beach. I don’t like having ‘what ifs’. I don’t like to think that I should have rigged something that I had back in the tent. That is something that I cannot cope with. If I lost because I did not have the right board with me or something, I cannot deal with that. I learned from the mistakes I made when I was really young. People laugh at me because I carry a lot of equipment, but if I am going to go through all this effort, put in all this work and travel with my family, I don’t want any excuses. I will have all the gear and more to make sure I have what I need. I had double boards in Sylt and I needed one of them. You never know in Sylt, all you need is a rain squall and everything can change to make the wind go up or down ten knots more. What is the point of not having everything ready on the beach? I don’t understand it. 

GOYA 

Francisco, Lalo, Keith, Jason and everyone at Goya have always supported me. Those guys are awesome. There has never been pressure and they have always supported the direction I have been going on. They make everything possible in the factory. The guys work really fast on my boards when I need them or repair them really quick. Jason Diffen is always there and available to do the sail designs. I get a lot of backing from everyone and that makes a big difference. They also have given me the piece of mind to not over stress about the contests. The brand is not all about contests. Obviously they are happy and they care, but Goya is a lot more than that. I could not be happier.  

TRAINING 

Training with Sarah Hauser was really important also. After your thirties, you really notice the difference. When you start training, especially during blocks of two weeks, you can keep sailing at a high performance level for a lot more days. You don’t need as many breaks. You also feel more confident that you are not going to get injured as easily. It is just one more thing in your mind when you go to a contest, that you know you did that homework too. It adds a little extra. When you train you feel good too. It is not just for contests, it is good in your life in general to feel fit and stronger. It is nice to feel healthy. Regardless of competing or not, I want to keep windsurfing at a higher level for as long as I can. You see Jason Polakow and Robby Naish, how far they are going in their generation. I have another twenty years if I stay in shape like them.  

NO HOLDING BACK  

I have lost many times because I played it safe. This time I made a pact with myself before Sylt that no matter what, I was not going to do that. Playing safe was not an option for me. I would rather lose than do that. I stuck to my plan and I am glad I did. It was a promise I made to myself. I did not want to play it safe or calculate scores. I wanted to sail my best and open up with a double loop or push forward or a table top double. They were my main priorities and I made my decision based on what ramps were coming. I only really got one decent push forward ramp. That was when I was against Ricardo. I over rotated, landed flat and snapped my board. Outside there were a lot of big lumps but they were not steep enough for push forwards. I was going for the table top double instead. The back loop one foot was a backup if I didn’t get my doubles in. Once you get in that shorebreak at Sylt it takes a lot of energy. I did not want to start going into that pounding and swimming before I had my jumps down. Eventually you know you are going to eat it. I wanted to have my jumps out of the way before I got into that mess. That was the game plan. Once you have your jumps and another ramp pops up you can always add to what you have. I got pounded a lot that day. It is all kind of a blur, but I remember bottom turning too late a lot, more than what I should have and getting the lip right in the face. I am happy my ankles are alright right now. When you fall your feet can stay in the straps and you could break your feet easily. It is so heavy that shorebreak. It is up there with Ho’okipa in a different way. When Ho’okipa is really big it is probably more powerful. But you have to respect Sylt on days like that. Ho’okipa is easier to calculate and so harder to fall. In Sylt it is very easy to mistime it. It took quite a bit of adjusting to get that bottom turn right in Sylt and there is no way to practise it. If you go a bit early the wave is flat. Too late and you get the lip in your chest. You just had to be willing to get pounded if you wanted to hit that lip. 

 

BOARDS 

I knew those boards I used in Sylt so well as I rode them a lot throughout the year. I did not have to even think about them. I never had to second-guess what my board was going to do or if it would hold or not. It was all about the timing. I was on my quad 89 with my 4.2m all day. I had two 89’s and I snapped one. The other one was set up the same so it was no problem. It did not matter which one I was riding. I did not need to think about it.   

MOMENTUM 

Once I knew I had won the title, that was a big unload. It took time to get myself back in the mindset to carry on competing. I was physically more drained because in the heat with Ricardo I took a lot of poundings. There was a lot of work that went into that heat. When I went against Marc Pare I just could not find the right ramp for the table top double. I only had one jump according to the judges so my caddy was signalling for me to do another jump. I thought I had done a table top double but they were scoring it as a stalled double. I spent double or triple the time I needed looking for that one jump. By the time I did, I only had four or five minutes to get my waves. I did not give in or anything. I still tried really hard. That is just how it happened. Fair play to Marc Pare for sailing so well also.  

CELEBRATIONS 

My kids do not care so much about the world title. We just went to Block House, a steak house in Sylt and ate a big steak, I had one beer, then an ice cream and went back home to sleep as I was so exhausted.