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THE BIG FIFTY! SARAH QUITA OFFRINGA

Ooooh yes! ‘The Big Fifty ‘is back and we are rolling out the red carpet for the Queen of windsurfing herself… Sarah Quita Offringa! Sarah has spent twenty years ruling the women’s windsurfing world…so answering 50 questions should be a doddle, right? In our latest Big Fifty, Sarah looks back on epic victories, contemplates a mid-season existential crisis and calls out for suggestions on life after competition. Catch her if you can; just don’t expect her to go down without a fight! And whatever you do, don’t ask her to watch a movie… she doesn’t have the patience!

Photos: John Carter // Fish Bowl Diaries // PWA

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Full name? Sarah-Quita Najive Offringa

 

Date of birth? 04-07-1991

Height and weight? 78kg 1.81m

Sail number? ARU91

Do you remember the first time you stepped on a windsurfing board? I have this vague memory as a three-year-old sailing with the then owner of the windsurfing school yes!

What was the first windsurfing board you ever owned? I had the F2 AIR 85L

How many years have you been on the PWA tour? I’ve done the “full” tour since 2006. After counting on my hands, this year should be my 20^th year on tour. That’s hard to wrap my mind around.

First PWA event you won? Fuerteventura 2006 Freestyle

Have you always been competitive? I guess so! I did a lot of sports as a kid. And I remember competing in all of them at least once. Running, tennis, gymnastics, karate, even horseback riding! But competitive swimming really became my thing for a long time before windsurfing took over.

Car or van you own / and dream car or van? I know very little about cars. Honestly, I’m happy with whatever gets me from A to B and as long as I have space for my gear and a good sound system. I own a Nissan Frontier NP300. And dream car could be a HILUX or one of those pick-ups in Maui with big wheels. In Europe I would love to have a van like the slalom guys do!

Favourite movie?  I guess I liked Pirates of the Caribbean as a kid. I actually don’t have the patience to watch movies.

Windsurfing hero? From the start it’s been the Bonaire boys, and Kiri in particular. I guess he still is my hero! Over the years I’ve gained a lot of admiration for many riders on tour. I love to see the hard work everyone puts into their craft. It’s inspiring.

How many years have you been with Starboard and why have you stuck with the brand? I’ve been with Starboard since 2005 I would say. It was a dream to become part of the team, and the cooperation has just been really good. Their support allowed me to develop myself across disciplines and having such good boards under my feet I could really trust my gear and push myself on the water.

Favourite windsurfing destination? Cape Town and Australia. I love these places for the windsurfing spots, but also the outdoor life and the variety of activities to do there.

Favourite move? Push loop, Shaka and Culo are the favourites.

Apple or PC?  Apple of course!

Tea or coffee? Both. When I overdosed on coffee, I switch to tea.

Do you ever get depressed and why? I’m quite emotional in general and I have several dips during the year for sure! It varies between an existential crisis somewhere in the middle of the off season. Or having after competition dips where I lose a bit of meaning, because all of a sudden there is no more pressure to perform. And usually somewhere in the middle of the season if I’ve been travelling for a bit too long, I get homesick and I just need to travel home and re-charge.

What are your visions for windsurfing in the future? Windsurfing is such an amazing sport, and I’ve had the greatest experiences because of it. It would be amazing to unite all the different associations and have a stronger structure where there’s a clearer path to go from beginner to pro and pursue a career in windsurfing.

Do you remember your first day on the PWA world tour…tell us about it? I remember my first event in Bonaire when I was 12. It was cool to see the pros and compete against them. I remember begging the head judge to not run another elimination that day so that I could go and train before competing again. As if I was going to learn a new move in an hour and perform it in a heat ha ha.

What sailor has had the greatest impact on you? Right at the start the Bonaire boys as a gang. Taty, Tonky, Kiri, Choko and Bjorn. Later on, it was a couple of guys in the Netherlands that were responsible for getting me into wave sailing while I was studying (They basically bullied me for freestyling too much).

What was the happiest day of your windsurfing career so far? Competition wise I was so stoked to win the Aloha Classic for the first time in 2016. I lost out early in the single elimination and then came back winning 6 or 7 heats in the double. And then my first wave title in 2019. That was pretty awesome. Ho’okipa is the opposite of where I’m from and what I started out with. So, I’m proud of those achievements. But the memories that stay with me the most are usually some evening sessions in the Canaries: Pozo, Fuerte, Tenerife right before a contest where everything comes together and I’m out there sailing with friends and having a blast while the sun is setting. Those evening sessions feel magical and make me feel extremely happy and grateful to be out there.

What was the worst day of your windsurfing career so far? I was leading the slalom contest in Denmark (2017) and in the last race I could win the title with one event to spare. I won my qualifying round but learned at the finish line that everyone in that race skipped a buoy (I still think it was a massive wind shift, and we should have re-run that race) so I was disqualified and couldn’t race the final. Delphine made it to the final, but she had to win it to take the event and take the title race to the last event in New Cal. The disappointment was huge, and I cried my way back to the beach. Watching that race was heart-breaking as she burst into the lead, and I couldn’t do anything about it. And then… she dropped her jibe. So, I still won the event!

And the world title. I was distraught when I made the mistake, but I was a trainwreck when I realized I won anyway haha. I was exhausted from competing and travelling so I was skipping the last event. Two months later in Brazil I get an e-mail saying that there was a mistake while calculating and I would have to go to New Caledonia and finish at least top 4 if I wanted to win the title. It took a lot mentally and logistically to re-set and go back to get that title.
In the end I finished 2^nd in New Caledonia and it was all good fun and I was glad I was there. So, to answer the question I think the hangover after that event in New Caledonia must have been by far my worst experience in my windsurfing career so far.

Do you get a lot of satisfaction out of teaching people to improve their windsurfing? Yes, I do! I enjoy it more than I think every time. I love teaching kids and giving them their first windsurf experience. But also, during the clinics with more advanced riders it’s so cool to see how small tips make a huge difference in their riding.

Do you ever get sick of travel, all the airport check ins and dragging gear around? Yes, I dread travelling with my gear more and more. Even though I know the drill, I get pretty stressed for check ins now. Travelling together makes everything better though. It’s when I travel alone that I get really stressed.

Why do you love windsurfing?  The freedom feeling when I’m on the water. The fact that I always have something to learn. The challenge and fun is never ending.

What is your biggest fear? Hmm I have this sense that I’m running out of time and the idea that as I get older that I’ll slowly be able to do less and less. Because I get so much joy from pushing my body to the highest level. I really wonder how to deal with that later on.

Are you much of a business person or are you easy going when negotiating contracts etc? I’ve become better at it, but in general quite easy going I would say.

How many minutes a day do you spend on your phone scrolling or on calls? I spend a significant amount of time sending and receiving voice notes! I also have some horrible scrolling periods also… I don’t dare to say how many minutes!

If you did not get involved in the windsurfing industry, what do you think you would have done in life? You know.. it’s like this windsurfing path was laid out for me at such a young age. I enrolled when I was 12. I feel like there was never a moment where I considered or had to consider doing something else. Even when I studied in the Netherlands I never really considered studying in that field because I was already windsurfing full time. It’s hard for me to answer.

If you could have dinner with any famous people from history, who would they be? Famous people I’d like to meet now is Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie and Trevor Noah. From history Celia Cruz and Harry Belafonte

What three words would you use to describe yourself? Easy going, chaotic but determined.

Do you ever go out on freeride gear just for a blast? I consider my slalom gear my freeride gear. And I love it every time I get that speed feeling.

What would you do if you won ten million dollars? Wow! I’d invest it in a property, organize a dream trip with friends to a cool place, I’d buy a sailing boat and give some to charity!

Do you ever feel guilty winning so much towards the other girls? I put in the hours on the water in all disciplines. Try to catch me if you can J I won’t go down without a fight ha-ha-ha.

Favourite board and sail combo you use the most? The NeilPryde 4.8 Wizard and Starboard 93L Ignite for freestyle and my NeilPryde 4.5m and Starboard 82L for waves.

Do you ever get stressed? Yes, but I feel like I’m quite good at managing stress. I need some pressure to perform anyway. No matter what I do.

Dream windsurfing trip? Cabo Verde… with Swell this time.

If you could change one thing in your past, what might that be? Maybe appreciate the fact that I could travel at such young age. I don’t think I realized what an awesome opportunity it was. Now I try to take everything in much more.

What achievement are you most proud of? Building my own house recently. I can’t believe I have my own place now.

What’s the one thing about you few people know? I get goosebumps when things are too perfect or too colour coordinated. I like to happily mismatch clothing or mix things up. Just enough so that it’s not matching perfectly.

I also am extremely scared to get on rides in amusement parks. Get me outta there!

How many hours do you hit the water on a typical day? When I’m home, about 2-2.5 hours. When I’m on a trip 3 to 4 hours.

What are your plans after you finish competitive windsurfing? Send some suggestions my way! I’m struggling to figure this one out.

We hear you are getting into photography…tell us about your new passion and why you like it? Last year I had to get some photos done and I couldn’t find a photographer and I got annoyed that I was always relying on others for good footage and photos and I didn’t know exactly how my camera worked apart from automatic mode so I decided to understand it better. I went full geek mode watching tutorials etc. And one windless week in Pozo I just went out every day to take a photo of the day. Soon I was taking it everywhere to capture “The adventure of the day”. And was learning a little bit every day.

I love editing the photos and tell the story of the day. I always had a pocket camera with me back in the day so I’m happy to be back at it now. I bought a water housing too and it’s SO much fun to be in the water in the middle of the action. I’ve been stalking JC a bit for some tips. I feel like it gives me a different perspective of the surroundings I’m in and I have some nice memories afterwards to relive. It’s a fun hobby I want to get better at. Right now, I’m excited about timelapses!

What is the wildest thing you have ever done?  Get on a private jet with Martin Garrix to watch his show in Bolivia and Peru and be back in Aruba all within 48 hours. Ridiculous.

If you found a €100 Euro note in the supermarket…would you hand it in or put it in your pocket? I’ll put that one in my pocket and probably spend it on a nice dinner or activity with a friend.

Do you believe in God? I feel a bit agnostic.

Would you pick up a hitchhiker? I did recently! In Aruba that’s pretty normal. Maybe not in bigger countries?

What is your top tip for the perfect push loop? I have to give credit where it’s due! I think Adam Lewis is one of the best guys do get tips from.
The top tip is: When you’re about to hit the highest point of your jump, you pull your front hand to your chest (But you don’t sheet out with your back hand) and you whip your head back. That’s it. One of the coolest moves out there!!