RIDER

• MATTHIAS RöTTCHER
• NAMIBIA
• WINDSURFER

YOUR SAILING WORLD

• IN FEW WORDS YOUR FIRST SESSIONS/ YOUR BEGINNING:

I started windsurfing in 1982. We bought a Mistral competition with a huge sail. I was 13 years old and struggled to pull up the sail. I think it had a 2.4 meter wishbone.  However perseverance won and over time I got better and better.

• WHICH DISCIPLINE DO YOU PRACTISE, ONLY SPEED? ARE U COMPETING AS WELL?

I am a speed and slalom sailor. Most of the events I enter are slalom and speed. I enjoy wave sailing, but have never competed at higher levels.

• HOW OFTEN DO U SAIL? FAVORITE SPOT? TRIP?

I live in Swakopmund and Walfish Bay is on my doorstep. I have spend hours at the “Speedstrip” in Walfish Bay. The wind is strong and very consistent. I am happy to have been able to compete in Walfish Bay in the PWA Speedweek in 2005 and 2007. It is fun sailing alongside Antoine, Björn, Patrik, Finnian and many more.

• WHICH EQUIPMENT DO U USE FOR SPEED?

North Sails have been my choice of sails for over 10 years. At the moment I use Patrik Diethelm speedboards, 43 and 38 cm wide with Gasoil fins.

• WHAT ARE YOUR STRENGTHS AND YOUR WEAKNESSES?

I am a tall person which helps my speed. However the windsurfing community in Namibia is rather small and finding a training partner is not easy. So often I do not go out because windsurfing on your own is no fun and it does not forward your skills.

• WHAT ARE YOUR MOTIVATIONS AND EXPECTATIONS FOR LUDERITZ SPEED CHALLENGE 2014?

In 2012 I set up a good speed of 47.51 knots. I did not have my own boards nor fins and had to borrow these to be able to compete. With a Patrik Diethelm Speed 43 Board I managed the 47.51 knots. 2013 the wind was not favorable and I could not improve. In 2104 I want to better my speed and reach 50 knots over 500 meter.

• HOW FAST DO U THINK A WINDSURFER CAN GO? Ask Antoine and Anders!

WE WANT TO KNOW YOU MORE

Live your life now. You do not know when it may end.

Enjoy your life, but do not be unreasonable.

Do to others as you would like them to have done to you.

• THE BEST MOMENT/EVENT IN YOUR LIFE?

In 1990 I was terminal ill and doctors in specialized clinics in Germany told me that I have Arthritis and that there is nothing they can do. There suggestion was that I must buy myself a good wheelchair because for the rest of my life I will be sitting in one. Coming from a religious family, together with my parents we prayed and gradually I got better. Easter weekend in 1991 I started windsurfing again and managed to win the slalom competition which was held in Lüderitz. What a feeling that was.