4th place PWA Freestyle 2017

The PWA Fuerteventura is done and dusted!

Our one and only PWA freestyle event of the year is over and I made it to 4th place!! Fuerteventura was on fire. It has been such a cool week, competing every day on 3.6 with some proper swell and watching the action of other competitors.

A funnel during my heat. Photo by Jan Cas Smit.

As this was the only women event of the year, 4th place is also my overall ranking for 2017. The judges were pushing for at least two double eliminations for us to make the result as fair as possible. Fuerteventura is a very difficult spot to sail, and I knew upfront that I have a disadvantage in this spot doing all my regular ducking moves (high scoring moves like Kono) on the way out, which makes it really hard for me to land those moves. But, I do really love to compete in Fuerteventura with it’s guaranteed strong wind and waves.

After the PWA wave event in Gran Canaria I already had a few freestyle sessions in Pozo with my new freestyle sails and I loved them straight away. I arrived in Fuerteventura a week before the start of the competition. Its funny how I always tend to forget how difficult Fuerteventura is when I come back the year after, and when you arrive at the spot it looks pretty easy and nice for freestyle. Well, appearances are deceptive! So it was good to get some days of sailing in, to get the feeling for the spot again and to feel comfortable in the strong winds again. Luckily I had some good strong wind training these past few months; sailing in the Gorge and on the Oregon coast in the US, and during the Pozo wave event. And, this year North Sails made a 3.6 freestyle sail which I used in nearly all my heats and has helped me a lot. Thank you North Sails!

Two days before the start of the competition I had some rest, to make sure my body was fit and ready for five days of action!

After registration we started straight away with the competition. I was using my 86 liter SKATE, 18cm MUF PRO 2 fin and my 3.6 IDOL sail. In the first single elimination I became fourth, after facing SQ in the quarter finals and Maaike in the losers final. In the first double elimination I had to win of Maaike in order to try to fight back and make it in to the top three. But Maaike is known for not sailing well in the single and then fighting her way up to 2nd place again and that is exactly what she did again this year. She won against me, so I was out and still in fourth place without being able to fight for third place. But I was happy with my sailing and we still had a lot of days to come!

Every day at 10:30 was skippers meeting. The day before the start of the competition I moved in to the Gorriones hotel with Maaike, which was very convenient. We had pretty long days, being often at the beach from 10AM till 7PM with 40 knots of wind. So it was pretty nice to come home after a day of competing, have a shower and just to sit down and have dinner without having to do shopping, cook or clean up! I think we went to bed between 10 and 11PM every day, being completely exhausted from sailing, waiting, and nerves.

In our second single elimination I made it to 3rd place after losing from SQ in the quarter finals again and winning of Oda in the losers final. I was sailing very well and it felt so good to be in form. On the fifth and last day of competition I had to defend my third place and I knew this was a very important heat, as I needed to win this one to have a chance of becoming third!

Sadly enough I did not manage to win. I didn’t sail a good heat, got confused with the moves I already did and was not thinking tactical enough with the moves I went for. To be fair, Oda sailed a very solid heat and it would have been hard to win of her anyway. Losing is never fun, but loosing after sailing a good heat is definitely a better feeling than when you are not performing the way you know you can. But, that is all part of competition. Peeking at the right moment, keeping your nerves in place and showing it all in those 8 minutes!

So, after competing for five days I had to settle down for 4th place. Definitely a good result of which I am very happy with, but just missing out on a podium place in fourth place was not my aim ;-). However, the level of these three ladies is incredible and I am happy finishing behind those girls. Maaike had an amazing performance in her final heat and it made me very proud! Sarah Quita got her 10th World Title this year and showed some incredible heats just landing every single power move she went for. The level is rising every year and it motivates me a lot. Sarah Quita, Maaike and Oda; CONGRATS! Also a big cheers to all other ladies, Fuerteventura is one of the hardest spots I sail for freestyle and showing your moves or making a debut on the World Tour at this location is pretty tough. It’s not always fun and easy to sail a lot against your best friends, but I believe we are doing an amazing job wishing each other all the best and being happy for each other.

Yesterday I already took the ferry to the third and final Canarian Island I am visiting this year. On the 6th of August there will be the 2nd stop of the PWA Wave Tour and I hope I can step up my game in this competition! There is no wind today, which is a good excuse to give my body some more rest after this intense week in Fuerteventura and to write this blog post.

Thanks a lot to ALL of you for your support and cheering, it always helps me so much! I know how nerve wracking it is for my family and some friends to watch me compete and I appreciate it a lot ;-). A special word of thanks to Alexa and Kami for your hospitality; to Hanna, Clare, Jamie and Jordy for caddying; to my sponsors for their support and amazing gear and a special mention for my family, my grandparents, Herman, Debra, Maaike, and Jelsche for all the love and believe in me. I couldn’t do all of this without you!