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PWA FREESTYLE FINALS: ONE SHOT

After two years without competition, the PWA freestyle fleet assembled in in the south of France to compete in a winner takes all single elimination final for the world title. Light winds dogged the event on the final day, but after a few hours of lucky gusts, winners and losers emerged. John Carter spoke to some of the top finishers to see how the competition concluded.  

Words: John Carter // Photos: John Carter / pwaworldtour.com 

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AMADO VRIESWIJK – First  

On the final day there were just six heats to finish the single elimination. First up I was against Jacopo Testa, who is a phenomenal sailor in light winds. He gets planing very quickly, luckily when I was against him there were some stronger gusts coming through. I think that was the windiest heat of that day. I was feeling good after I managed to win in this heat against him. Next up was Gollito Estredo! I shouldn’t have to explain how hard that was! He is a sick sailor and also performs well when the pressure is on. I had to be on point during the gusts and on point on which move I would do with the power I had. I managed to make it past Gollito and into the final against Adrien Bosson. It felt like I did three finals as the heats were all so tough. For the final we had four men on the water, the winners and losers all at the same time. The wind was even lighter by this time, so it was even harder to nail some power moves, but I managed to land a few which I think did the job. But it was very tricky. In the winner’s final, the first move I did was a spock culo. There was no wind! I did the spock part, I had no speed, no power, but I just threw the gear around to see where it would end up. I did it ok, it was a bit wet, but under the circumstances it was fine for those conditions. Then I managed to do some shakas and konos in the lightest winds I have ever done those moves in I think. With the gusts I was getting and the amount of power I had in the sail, I really had to think which moves were possible! I tried to maximise the moves with the power I had. You kind of had to drop down to moves like willy skippers just to rack up the points, as the gusts were starting to get lighter and lighter.  

I was using my biggest gear, my 101 Tomado Future Fly and 5.2 Freak. I am not slow to get on the plane, I get going pretty quick. Guys like Yentel Caers plane so fast as they are lighter than me. Bosson does to, and they were both struggling. I weigh around 90 kg, which compared to these guys is pretty heavy. We would never normally compete in such light winds. It had to be done to get the result.  

It was great to be competing and to see everybody again. Although the conditions were not the best we managed to get the result. My mum called me the moment I came in off the water. She was crying on the other end of the phone. I was already emotional and I could not hold it in, so I also had to cry a bit. I have had plenty of seconds in the past and this time it finally went my way. The last five years I was so close. All the title fights I did were in these kinds of conditions – light winds with big gear. To finally manage to pull it off in the light winds against these guys was extra satisfying. 

ADRIEN BOSSON – Second 

It was light, but with the forecast we had we were pretty lucky to run the contest. We were sailing on big equipment; I was using my 5.2 Idol and 92-litre Skate. I think that was my second time ever using that 5.2 sail; it was not the normal size I use. Usually it is so windy here in France we are on small equipment. We were really unlucky with the conditions, but were able to compete and the first day was actually fun. On the final day I had two heats that were ok, but the final was on the limit and I am not sure I completed my scoresheet. We managed to do some tricks; it was all about using the gusts. It was great to do some contests after two years of a break and I hope there will be more contests next year.  

YENTEL CAERS – Third 

I can’t complain with third place after just one single elimination. I enjoyed it, the wind was light but we got a result. I am one of the lighter riders and I was on a 5.2 sail with my 93-litre JP freestyle board. I did not use the 100-litre as that gets too big for me in the chop. I nearly always use the 93-litre; it is my ‘go-to’ board. You had to sail smart in these conditions. I was watching for the gusts and which way they were moving to try to be ready for them. I was trying to use the gusts and not make too long reaches; I tried to do a short reach for one move and then try to use the same gust to land another move on the other tack. You had to make the most out of every gust. They were finals, so you had to go as big as possible. In the light conditions it was really hard, so you needed to think what was the safe move, but also what would score the highest. It did not make it easy, that was for sure. I lost to Bosson in the semi-final. He deserved the win as he sails really well in those conditions. When we did the loser’s final alongside the winner’s final, I actually had the highest scores over everyone. It is always easy to say that afterwards. I am happy with my result. Congratulations to Amado for his first world title, Bosson second and also Gollito for 4th!   

GOLLITO ESTREDO – Fourth

It went ok for me. I felt like I could have done better in the competition, but with a 4th place I think it is a decent result to save this year’s season. From this event I have seen what I need to practise and I learned a lot. It was good to come to France and compete again. I used a 101-litre Trigger freestyle board and 5.2 sail. It was a tricky final, especially for me because I didn’t expect to compete in these conditions. I never train in winds that light anymore. This is competition and you have to train for anything I guess and be ready. I tried to make all my moves, but I was struggling to plane. I didn’t really want to do a spock or a grubby just to fill the scorecard. I was expecting to do bigger moves. You have to go big because you are against the very top guys. Amado, Yentel and Bosson are all amazing sailors. I was happy for Amado to take the victory. He is one of my best friends. He has fought so many years for the world title and he finally did it. I am happy for him. He deserves to win a world title for sure. It was great to be back. To go home with a 4th place was at least better than being 9th or out of the top ten. I am really happy to be in the top four of this year. 

SARAH-QUITA OFFRINGA – First  

Overall I am happy that we had the event and that we managed to get a result. Competition wise I really noticed that I had not competed in two years. The first heat I did I was confident in my moves because I had spent a month in Brazil training before the event. But just having this time pressure all of a sudden made it pretty stressful. The conditions were tough, but I passed through my first heat luckily. The second day I didn’t even expect that we would compete. Everything was just a surprise, like the past few years in general. In the semi-final I went out on my 5.2 and was pretty powered, so I switched to my 4.8 for the final. During the final I was like, “Oh man this is a mistake!” Maaike is lighter than me and I thought she would be planing before me as the wind started dropping. I squeezed in some moves at the beginning of the heat and towards the end I pulled off a burner also. That was my only power move, which got me more points. On the way back to the beach I was not sure if I had won or not, but I was just grateful for having an event to compete in. If Maaike had won I would have been just as happy for her. Having said that, I did win and had plenty of cheers on the beach. I did feel a big sigh of relief. It was only the one event this year and I am happy about it, but I am really looking forward to a full tour again. For freestyle especially, to have two or three events with a proper battle going on.  

In the final I didn’t focus on the hardest moves. I was thinking if the wind drops and I didn’t have any moves in the bag then I would be in trouble. I did a quick double flaka, spock, grubby and e-slider. It was the basics just to rack up points. The worst is to end the heat without enough moves on the scorecard. The burner made the difference I guess which is a move I am confident in as soon as I have a bit of power. With the conditions we had those were quite easy to do on the outside. Having said that, the first day I was stressed but on finals day I was super calm in both heats. I was just enjoying being out there. It was necessary to have this event and see everyone and gauge their level. We needed to get this windsurfing spirit going again. We had not seen each other in two years, I am happy about this event for sure. 

MAAIKE HUVERMANN – Second 

It went ok. The wind was light and sketchy so we had to wait for the gusts. I am happy with how it went. I would have liked a bit more wind to show what I have learned over the past two years, but we will take a result after two years without competition. It was great just to be back on the water in that competition atmosphere with all the girls. I was on a 4.8 Freak and the 92-litre Psycho in the final, but I should have taken the 5.2. When we first went out it was windier, but it gradually dropped in the final. When the heat started, I could still do the power moves, but by the end I was just trying to fill up the scoresheet. It faded away slowly. I am a bit indifferent really about it. If it had been windier, Sarah would have probably won anyway. I would mainly just have liked to show more moves.