Margaret River Wave Classic
Australian legend, Jaeger Stone (Severne Windsurfing), showed he’s still on top of his game with controlled aerials, trademark carves and flawless style. After missing out on the 2025 final, he approached every heat this year like a final, giving a firm reminder that he can still beat the world’s best. His performance culminated in a near excellent final heat total of 15.84 points.
“Things gelled a little better for me this year and the conditions were great and it was a lot of fun,” said a grateful Stone. “I sailed each heat as hard as I could, which is what I always try and do. I really enjoy putting in the effort to sail this place and understand how challenging it is to sail. To win against other top windsurfers and guys on the professional World Tour, it is a nice moment for me.”
But the story of Margaret River wasn’t just Stone. Five-time World Wave Champion Philip Köster (Severne Windsurfing) was knocked out of finals contention by the sport’s young guns - Simon Thule (PATRIK / PATRIK Sails) from Denmark and 2025 World Pro Junior Champion Jake Ghiretti (Severne Windsurfing) from Margaret River.
Thule and Ghiretti put on a masterclass in wave knowledge and critical aerials, maximising the potential of every set wave. In the semi-finals, Köster suffered multiple heavy wipeouts and a gear change, leaving the German superstar floundering as the youngsters surged ahead, proving they could compete with — and beat — the sport’s elite. The crowd watched in stunned silence as the moment sank in.
The final saw Thule open strong with solid aerials, but it was Ghiretti’s triple aerial wave, scoring 8.73 — the highest single-wave score of the competition — that lifted him into second place, solidifying his reputation as one of Australia’s most promising young talents.
Meanwhile, Julian Salmonn (Naish / Naish Sails) from Germany, who had multiple 14+ point heats and impressive wave 360s earlier in the day, also fell victim to the heavy conditions in the final and finished fourth after several wipeouts.
In exciting news, windsurfing fans might get to see more of Jaeger Stone in 2026.
“I’ll consider travelling to a couple of events this year. I definitely won’t be doing the full tour, but events like Fiji and Chile have been on my radar for a while and hopefully I’ve got a little bit more flexibility with work this year. Chile is somewhere that I would really love to visit anyway and I’ll be very interested in attending that event for a few years now that the event looks like it gets bigger and better every year, so we’ll see if that happens.”
Rising Star Kenyon Outshines the Veterans
In a breakthrough performance, seventeen-year-old Junior World Champion Sarah Kenyon (Severne Windsurfing) from Geraldton, Australia just did the unthinkable, beating highly experienced pro women in solid waves at Margaret River.
With her strong surfing background, Kenyon found the longer, cleaner waves and was able to perform multiple tight snaps and a small aerial to just edge out world number eight, Margaret River’s Jane Seman (Severne Windsurfing) by 0.06 of a point.
“I was really excited to win here, because it’s dream that I didn’t think I’d get to for so long”, said an ecstatic Kenyon. “To do it this early was pretty special to me. I didn’t think I could do it, but once you put your mind to do it, you can do anything.”
The well composed rider drew on her experience and love for the break to secure the win over much more experienced competitors.
“I’ve spent heaps and heaps of time in Margaret River and the wave is really hard to know when to hit the lip. The time spent there really helped me to read the wave. Margaret River is a break I love to sail, I just don’t get as nervous. I’m excited to watch the other girls and guys ripping, so I just get excited to push myself. And the waves looked so sick, it just makes you want to go out there.”
Runner up, Seman charged hard and attacked the heavy lips throughout the competition, but wasn’t able to find the longer waves that offered multiple scoring opportunities in the final. Juggling event organisation and competition, she was ecstatic for her protégé.
“My motivation for running this event is to help the youth, so they can watch and learn from the top pros at home. People like Jake and Sarah just improve so fast and have such a good read on waves.”
“I really love sailing with Sarah as she always wants to get better and just goes for it. This is just the start for her, and I really feel she will become one of greatest ever female wave riders.”
Former world wave champion, Karin Jaggi (PATRIK / PATRIK Sails) showed excellent consistency with powerful turns on the large waves of Margaret River to take third place, while Maria Andrés (Hot Sails Maui) chose some of the largest waves Margaret River had to offer and used her trademark power carves to make her way into the final - eventually finishing fourth.
The finals day replay is available here to watch:
https://www.youtube.com/live/bq2faStk5CA?si=4jgLgEhyN3C6uPlk
Pro Men’s
1st Jaeger Stone (AUS | Severne Windsurfing)
2nd Jake Ghiretti (AUS | Severne Windsurfing)
3rd Simon Thule (DEN | PATRIK / PATRIK Sails)
4th Julian Salmonn (GER | Naish / Naish Sails)
Pro Women’s
1st Sarah Kenyon (AUS | Severne Windsurfing)
2nd Jane Seman (AUS | Severne Windsurfing)
3rd Karin Jaggi (SUI | PATRIK / PATRIK Sails)
4th Maria Andrés (ESP | Hot Sails Maui)
Master's
1st Ash Nicol, Perth Australia
2nd Jonah Desforges, Perth Australia
3rd Peter Kenyon, Geraldton Australia
4th Ivan Zecca, Margaret River, Australia
Pro Junior Boy's
1st Jake Ghiretti (AUS | Severne Windsurfing)
2nd Max Ford (AUS)
3rd Josh Ledger (AUS)
4th Tyler Wallrodt (AUS)
Junior’s
1st Max Ford
2nd Nikiforos Ford
3rd Ines Callenaere
Grand Master’s
1st Paul Jackman
2nd Mark Slade
3rd Richard Hall
4th Darren Clark
Photo Credit: Scotty Bauer