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SAMURAI MODE AT HO’OKIPA: ROEDIGER STRIKES, HUNTER DOMINATES

QUATRO MAUI PRO AM

Ho’okipa turned it on in spectacular fashion for finals day as the Quatro Maui Pro Am crowned its men’s and women’s champions in solid conditions. Right on cue with the forecast, the ocean came alive delivering the perfect arena for the finals day action.

In the men’s division, Bernd Roediger rose to the occasion with a performance that was nothing short of electric, dropping the highest score of the entire event right towards the end of the thrilling final. He narrowly edged out Marcilio Browne in a nail-biting finish, with Antoine Martin taking third and Morgan Noireaux having to settle for fourth. 

Over in the women’s, the intensity didn’t drop for a second. Marine Hunter charged her way to victory with authority, while Maria Behrens stole the spotlight as the surprise package of the event, claiming an impressive second. Maui veteran Angela Cochran secured third, with Lina Erpenstein finishing fourth.

EPIC PHOTOS: FISH BOWL DIARIES…Click to enlarge and scroll…best viewed on a big screen!

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MEN

What a finals day. Seriously…if you weren’t watching, you missed a spectacular show.

The morning kicked off with frustrating cross onshore northeast winds…the kind that make sailors work for every turn…and it all looked a bit crumbly and slow. But as the heats rolled on and the field narrowed, Ho’okipa flicked the switch. Clean, logo-high sets marched in, the trades swung more easterly and suddenly it was game on.

From the quarterfinals onwards, the level went through the roof. Big moves, bigger commitment, high stakes and absolutely zero holding back.

LOOK MA NO HANDS!

In the semi-finals, Antoine Martin had the crowd on the guardrail losing their minds after sticking a clinical no-handed goiter (7.73). It was the kind of move that will get everybody talking for the next few weeks. Should it have scored more…tough call!

A one hitter with no set up turns or anything else on the wave….but that one hit was something spectacular and maybe should of been scored in the 8-9 region. Martin was on fire all day…throwing massive goiters, late hits and stylish airs and he was in his element.

The crowd loved it and he loves putting on a show for them! That score sent him straight to the main final, leaving one of the event favourites, Bernd Roediger with the slightly less glamorous task of battling through the B final. 

ROEDIGER STRIKES

But Roediger? He was ice cold.

While some other sailors were forcing the issue, Bernd played the long game. Cool calm and collected and seemingly unbothered, he waited patiently for the right waves and when they came, he struck with surgical precision. All while casually listening to Paul Simon on a waterproof speaker slung over his shoulder.

Heading into the dying minutes of the main final, Roediger was still trailing. Then…bang. A perfectly executed taka, followed by a spontaneous clew first one-handed hit deep in the pocket. Cue absolute chaos in the commentary box as Kai Katchadourian practically exploded when the judges dropped an 8.93…the highest score of the day. We loved the way Kai was so wrapped up in the commentary and immersed in the whole drama that was unfolding!

At that point in the final with two minutes or so to go, Bernd wasn’t just sailing…he was in another dimension. “Samurai mode” fully activated. I am not sure if any other sailors would have event contemplated that last hit, but it was Bernd and he was in the flow state and somehow it all just clicked for him when it mattered most.

Morgan Noireaux had looked unstoppable earlier in the day, always in the right place with a full arsenal of tricks. Windsurf Predictions were not looking in a good place at all… the way he was sailing he looked like he could win it…and we had him down for 4^th! Surely a blunder…But in the final, Ho’okipa had other plans. The waves didn’t line up for him and despite his form, he just couldn’t sync with the ocean when it mattered most.

Marcilio Browne sailed absolutely solid throughout the day and looked like he had the win in the bag right down to the last few minutes when Roediger produced that magic moment. Browne’s tweaked air in the semi was also one of the standout moment for the highlight reel as Kai Katchadourian would say! Browne will be frustrated not to have taken the evet victory but we are sure he will take a 2nd in a 5 star event to get the ball rolling for his season on tour.

Shoutouts also go to Robby Swift (sailing better than ever), Levi Siver (Always inspiring to watch), Thomas Traversa (Who found his flow), Liam Dunkerbeck (Who nailed one of the best 360’s of the day) and Arthur Arutkin (Classic solid sailing took him right through to the top 8), who all delivered standout performances.

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RESULTS – MEN

1: Bernd Roediger
2: Marcilio Browne
3: Antoine Martin
4: Morgan Noireaux

WINDSURF PREDICTIONS

1: Bernd Roediger
2: Marc Pare
3: Marcilio Browne
4: Morgan Noireaux

If there’s one thing Ho’okipa loves, it’s humbling our predictions. On paper, the picks looked solid…even safe. But once the ocean lit up, it started rewriting the script in real time. In the men’s, calling Bernd for the win was spot on…but beyond that, it got messy fast. Morgan looked like a guaranteed title threat all day (making that predicted fourth look questionable at best but at least that came in), while Antoine Martin came flying in to crash the podium party…we should of saw that coming!

Meanwhile, Marc Paré who we pegged for second never found his flow state at all and will be disappointed with his performance. He was not sailing badly at all but never seen in sync with the sets and could not find his flow! Classic Ho’okipa for you!

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BERND ROEDIGER

“Yeah, it’s really hard to get into that level of just carefree sailing because you feel pressure, you feel expectations. I’ve found that since the last time I won, it’s gotten harder to compete…it’s become more difficult to manage those expectations.

Back then, it didn’t even enter my mind to win. Now it feels like there’s more to it. It’s more complicated and I guess that’s life…you make things more complicated on yourself for no reason. So, to be able to get back to that point where you feel totally carefree, totally unattached to the result, where you just go out there, see what happens and follow what’s going on…it’s a big thing.

You feel it out there. You’re like, “OK, I’m in last place in the heat. Cool, it’s not going the way I thought it would,” but you just keep sailing and keep believing. All of that…it feels good.

Yeah, I can’t wait to celebrate. I’m so grateful to have won this event. It’s amazing…last year it was an experiment and this year it’s really happening…and happening on this level as a 5 star event. It’s really cool. I feel super grateful, especially to Francisco and the team at Quattro and Goya and my own team at Fika and Hot Sails for supporting me for so long. It’s unreal.

Shout outs to those guys, and to everybody back home watching…thank you so much. On my first heat, the timing lined up exactly with the launch of the Artemis mission, that rocket that just took off. So, I don’t know, it just felt like a charmed day the whole time. Even though it was a sketchy start for me, I believed. I believed…and that’s Ho’okipa.”

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WOMEN

The women’s final brought just as much drama, power and tension.

Marine Hunter was the clear standout…bringing an aggressive, no-nonsense style to every wave. Powerful top turns, late hits and committed airs made it clear she meant business. When the final horn sounded, there was no doubt who owned the day.

Maria Behrens, already emotional just to make the final (She was in tears when being interviewed by Ann Marie), took things to another level. Linking turns beautifully and staying glued to the power source, she secured long, flowing rides and a well-earned second place. Safe to say, she won a lot of fans out there. Her family watching in Germany will be no doubt ecstatic!

Angela Cochran reminded everyone exactly why she’s a Maui legend, delivering a rock-solid performance to take third.

Lina Erpenstein started the final strong with a 6.93 opening wave, but couldn’t quite find the backup scores she needed, leaving her in fourth. That put the mockers on our Windsurf Predictions and allowed Paul Van Bellen to win the Windsurfing TV mini competition by a point over Windsurf!

Elsewhere, there were some tough breaks. Pauline Katz suffered a nasty knee injury in the final and we wish her a speedy recovery (We don’t know how bad it was as we write this). Lisa Wermiester came agonisingly close to the final and looked strong throughout, while Sol Degriek showed promise but needed a bit more punch in her lip attacks to progress. Coco Foveau also put in some solid rides and was unlucky not to advance further.

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RESULTS – WOMEN

1: Marine Hunter
2: Maria Behrens
3: Angela Cochran
4: Lina Erpenstein

WINDSURF PREDICTIONS

1: Marine Hunter
2: Lina Erpenstein
3: Maria Andres
4: Sol Degriek

On the women’s side, things started strong with Marine Hunter delivering exactly what was expected…total dominance…we got that right…but the rest? Pure curveball territory. Lina, tipped for second, couldn’t back up her opener, while Maria Behrens flipped the narrative entirely with a breakout performance that no prediction saw coming. The benefit of hindsight is a wonderful thing and looking back now we should have been smarter with our picks! At the end of the day, predictions are fun…but Ho’okipa or the sailors do not read them.

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MAUI BLESSED

Hats off to Kai Katchadourian and Jace Panebianco for the excellent commentary and also the live stream crew for delivering a fantastic broadcast! Tomorrow it is the chance for the Youths and Masters to shine so we will keep an eye on the action if the conditions continue.

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All the action from the finals here!

Juniors and masters action!