Alizée 23th april 2013 Narbonne, La nautique, south of France

1. Hi Bjorn, so when did you start windsurfing and how did you get involved?
When I was 8 years old I made my first steps into windsurfing. My father is a dedicated surfer and I always liked what he was doing, so it was clear that I would like to do the same. I started on a big board and very small sail to learn the first steps.

2. So what triggered you in windsurfing? In other words; why did you think it was a cool thing to do?
To me, windsurfing is just more than just sport. You’re always outdoors and very important; you feel totally free and enjoy the speed and rush on the water. What more could you want?! Just being out there and put the pedal to the metal is the best feeling ever. I enjoy it a lot and meet new people…there are a lot of good speedsurfers on my homespot Strandhorst and it’s cool to learn from them and talk to them as well.!

3. We can imagine that someone of that age isn’t capable to go out alone; how did you fix that?
Until now I always went to the spots with my dad. He is a very dedicated windsurfer and I learned a lot from him. As I was evolving in the sport he took me out on the water because I always wanted to go faster and keep up with the guys. He takes much care of me so if I go out in 35knots he demands I’m well protected by wearing a helmet and life saving vest. I’m 12 years now and hopefully I’ll soon be able to go out on my own with my “fietskar” to do some extra sessions.

4. A “fietskar”?? Can you explain what that is? Sounds like something typical Dutch??
Haha….could be! I don’t know really but my dad told me that in the early years every kid that was surfing had a vehicle what you can adjust to your bike. You can then put all your gear on it; board, mast, boom and a few sails and cycle comfortable to your spot. It’s very easy and very handy. For me it’s great; my homespot is just 2 miles ahead and with the ferry at Zeewolde I’m instantly at Strandhorst.

5. That sounds cool and a good warming up before you hit the water. Beside that, do you participate in more exercising?
Yep….I’m running twice a week with my dad and we have a rowing machine and a cross trainer upstairs.

6. Not everybody in the world knows and not even all KA teamriders do; but we know you have something going on concerning your health. Not long ago you had to go to the hospital again, can you tell something about it?
I was born with a heart defect which is inherited unfortunately. Therefor I have a pacemaker since I was eight years old. In March this year I had to go back to the hospital and was “supplied” with a new one. With this peacemaker I can do almost everything, so that’s cool. 

7. That sounds pretty drastic! Certainly at your age….how are you doing right now?
I’m doing just fine know, it was a tough operation but I’m convinced that it will give me more possibilities, but like I said; no training/sport or windsurfing for 8 weeks, but the end of May this year must be possible to get back freeriding.

8. Impressive! So just rehabilitation and than back on the water. What discipline and why?
Mostly speedsurfing; I really like to go faster and faster. The feeling of speed, the acceleration you get on the water give me an adrenaline rush and it feels great! I’m a member of GPS speedsurfing, where I can upload my GPS track and compare it with previous sessions. It’s so cool to chase ánd break my PR.

10. Speedsurfing, that’s a specialist discipline and you need specific equipment for that to go fast. You’re a KA teamrider so how did you get in touch with our brand?

May 2011 was the day I participated at the FSM here in the Netherlands. It’s a low profile event to get acquainted with speedsurfing; several good speedsurfers and brands were present to help out and give some tips and tricks. Peter Weitenberg, the european KA frontman and KA photographer Jeffrey Leeflang were probably watching me when I was out there with my Naish ripper 3.7. Peter decided to rigg down the Koncept 4.0 which he used as a “display” on events ( because it’s so small I guess.. ) and said to me: “here you go mate…if you would like to try it out for today; be my guest and let me know if you like it”. Well…it’s obvious I was flying that day and never let go of the Koncept! I really love the sail.

10. The Koncept that you have is of course very small, but it did a good job especially at your age and getting used to camber sails. Did you manage to improve your speed instantly that day?
Not only I improved my speed that day, it also was very comfortable en super stable. The “lock & load” feeling that you achieve with the Koncept is astonishing….if you have the control, you’re getting confident and gain more speed. That’s exactly what the Koncept does!

11. You’re a few years along the way now; you’ve grown and getting stronger…do you still use the Koncept 4.0 or do you use other sizes as well?
Yeah…I still use it; when it get’s really tough out there it’s great. In normal conditions I also got a Koncept 5.0. When there’s less wind I use the Koyote 5.3 for free riding

12. What is your personal record at this time and what’s your goal for the near future?
My PR max 2sec is 29kts (53,73 km/h), 10sec. 27,85kts (51,58 km/h) and average 26,58kts (49,23 km/h). I hope to break my PR’s this season and my goal is set to achieve max 2sec 32kts (60km/h) and average 29,5kts (55km/h).

13. How about the KA team in general? You’re one of our worldwide young guns…what are your feelings about the team?
The KA team has some very good and fast windsurfers, they’re really nice and helpful guys. Last week when I left the hospital I got a huge welcome home card en a surprise. So in my opinion a real team!

14. If we take a look at the statistics from last year on GPS speedsurfing, we can see a staggering increase in your speed overall. We’re very curious where this is going to end….are we going to see you someday at Sandy Point Australia or at the Luderitz Speed Canal?
I would really really like it to go speedsurfing there someday, that’s a dream. But first things first; I need to recover, go on training and first try to gain real topspeed here in the Netherlands, where we have some incredible good speedspots like The Brace for instance. If I manage to hit 40knots average …who knows what’s in store for the future!

15. Bjorn; a big thanks for the interview and your given time!
Welcome anytime…and see you on the spot soon! Let’s hope spring kicks in fast and we can leave winter temperatures behind us

As Lake George in South Australia has some of the best sailing with consistent wind I thought that it would be fun to improve on my existing world record so I did.- Craig Hollins

This short film was put together by Mick Green

Congrats to our teamriders Manfred Merle and Marc Schreiber, who did a great job in the german speedsurf scene!!

New record by Manfred Merle: fastest surfer – inland water

Welcome to the new website for KA Sail Windsurfing.