Mercedes-Benz Windsurf World Cup Sylt

Day 1: Registered, Rigged & Ready | Plus World Title Hopefuls Offringa, Browne & Vrieswijk Share their Thoughts Before the Start of the Event

The inaugural day of the 2022 Mercedes-Benz Windsurf World Cup Sylt saw 103 sailors registering for the upcoming competition between 11:30am to 1:30pm before they made their final preparations before the contest begins. Later in the afternoon - 4pm - the Opening Ceremony was held in front of a packed out beach.

With 3 world titles set to be decided over the next 10 days we caught up with a few of the world title contenders:

Sarah-Quita Offringa (Starboard / NeilPryde / Maui Ultra Fins) on being top seed in the absence of the Moreno Twins: “I think it actually makes it a bit tougher for me. In wave sailing I’ve never been the first seed and somehow for me it feels better for me to have something to work towards. I know this feeling of being at the top and being hunted by the others, so it’s tough position to be in I think. Over the past few years I’ve had really good results here though. I think I won the last two events here (2018 & ’19), so somehow it works for me here. I also like the fact that it’s so unpredictable, so anything really can happen here. There are no favourites. It’s going to be exciting.” 

How does it feel to be back in Sylt?

“It’s great to be back. I’m happy to be here. There’s a good vibe and this is the biggest event we go to, so it’s great to be able to see all the sailors again and to compete.”

Marcilio Browne (Goya Windsurfing), who currently leads the Men’s PWA Wave World Tour and is aiming to win his second wave world title : “I feel good, I had a nice break after Pozo, spending a lot time in Brazil where I was able to sail quite a bit. I’m good, I’m ready and I’m excited to compete again. 

Before the event I was in England as some family was having a wedding there. I had some gear with me, so I was able to sail for a couple of days as well, which helped me adjust with the jet lag and the colder weather.

It’s nice to be back in Sylt. It feels more fresh as we haven’t been here for so long. I have a lot of memories from here, so it’s good to be back.”

Amado Vrieswijk (Future Fly / Severne Sails) won his first world title in 2021 and is looking to defend both his event and world title over the next 10 days: “I’m excited, but I must say that I haven’t been focusing on Freestyle at all. I can count on two hands how many times I’ve freestyle this year. I’ve been focusing more on the racing/foiling, so I’ve gained a lot of weight. The freestyle moves are still there, it’s just it needs to be windy and then hopefully I can put on a good show." 

You had a good result in Croatia - finishing 5th - do you have an aim for the racing this week?

“The speed is there. I had some ups and downs in Croatia, but if I connect everything then I think there’s a good possibility of a podium here.”

So, for the future you see yourself focusing more on racing than freestyle?

“Definitely, yeah. We don’t have a lot of events at the moment, so it doesn’t make so much sense to train the whole year for freestyle.”

How’s it to be back in Sylt? It’s been a few years…

“It’s been a few years, but it feels like I left yesterday… It’s good to see everybody again and the forecast looks okay!”

The forecast for tomorrow look relatively light, but the afternoon may allow for some light wind racing with the forecast currently predicting 8-13 knots in the afternoon. Skippers’ meeting times for tomorrow as follows:

- Slalom Skippers' Meeting - 9am - first possible start 11am (GMT+2)
- Freestyle Skippers' Meeting - 10:15am
- Wave Skippers' Meeting - 10:30am 

You can stay up to date with all the latest developments from Sylt— including elimination ladders, entry list, images and live ticker simply by clicking HERE and scrolling to the bottom of the page.

Also if you don’t already, follow us on our Social Media Channels:

- Facebook: @PWAWorldTourWindsurfing
- Instagram: @pwaworldtour  
- Twitter: @pwaworldtour 

go to related event