Sarah-Quita reports from Westerland Sylt, Germany. Coming in hot after claiming her third PWA Slalom World title ahead of Starboard teammates Lena Erdil and Delphine Cousin in Denmark, the lady from Aruba claimed a podium finish in the on-shore waves of Sylt. Read more from her below.

Sylt!

My driving adventures in Europe continued to Sylt. At least this time Taty Frans was the co-driver.. We made it there in no time over the German Auto-Bahn. Right in time to catch the forecasted wind and waves. That way I could get a session in the day before the contest.

It was tough sailing on the North Sea and honestly the waves were a bit confusing. Soon I managed to get in a couple of jumps in and started to feel comfortable on my UltraKode 76 and Combat 4.2m². With the sun setting beautifully behind the clouds, I thought to myself that Sylt wasn’t too bad after all. Satisfied with the session, I decided to head in. But first… one last turn. Then reality set in. I crashed my bottom turn and as I came up, the next wave was already towering above me. Before I knew it the shore break crashed on top of me and I’m washed up ashore with a broken mast. “Welcome back SQ”, Sylt said.

We started immediately with wave sailing on the opening day. Everybody was buzzing.. Finally some wave action at Sylt! I sailed my 5.0m² and 5.3m² throughout the day.

The onshore European conditions proved to be very challenging. My jumps were solid but I had a hard time to read the waves. As a result my first heat wasn’t my best. I got a pushloop in but my wave rides were not great. In an act of desperation I went for the lip in the shore break. Way too late. Another broken mast and torn sail. At this rate, I won’t have any masts left to go to France and Maui!

I managed to pass my first heat by the skin of my teeth against Lina Erpenstein. Second chances in life?? Grab 'em! In my next heat against Iballa [Moreno] I understood the conditions better. I grabbed my 5.3m² and was more powered. Iballa is much more experienced than I am. So when I lost I was okay with it and focused on the losers' final against Amanda. It’s always a pleasure on the water with her.

In the heat against Amanda, cold and fatigue started to set in. The wind was dropping and there were less ramps. I rotated through forward loops three times and each time my front hand would lose grip at the landing. Finally, I landed my fourth forward and I started waveriding. Definitely had some better turns than before. Right at the end I also managed a push loop... In the end I finished 3rd.

The rest of the week there were no more waves. So all I could do was support the other sailors. Because it was windy I did get in another two sweet freestyle sessions! It’s been a long time since there’s been a result in waves in Sylt.The last time must have been 2012. This year however the conditions allowed the PWA to get a result in every single discipline. It was an action packed week!

The tour is slowly coming to an end for me. I still have to keep it together for the last two events in France and Maui!

- Sarah-Quita Offringa

- Pictures by John Carter / PWA World Tour -