On 29th of October we had the Dutch Wave Championships at Wijk aan Zee; one of the top wave spots in Holland. To insure the correct conditions exist for a National Championship event here in the Netherlands, we now use a system of watching for the weather and calling for the event via broadcast email the day before. A perfect weather forecast held the promise of 20 knots projected for the day so everybody was excited for the event to happen and bring out the best sailors for high level action.

When I arrived at the beach it was already crowded with lots of vans and trailers packed with equipment. Off course the first thing I did was check out the wind and waves which showed classic North Sea conditions perfect for the Nationals so I was really pumped to go sailing. At 11.30 we had the skippers meeting. There would be a heat duration of ten minutes and a two minute transition. This sounded good. There were 7 women which is more than the turn out for last year’s championships. This was great news of course. We would have at least 2 groups in the first elimination round and on the list I could see that there would be some really experienced and good wave sailors like Julia Meyer, Cilia Swinkel and Merel Rip.

The wind looked good for my 4.7M Legend and 76 Guerilla and throughout the day despite a dying breeze this combination worked out perfect. For me and my wave riding style the 4.7 delivers the most range and gives me confidence in a really comfortable setup. Near to the start of the Women’s heats I decided it was time to go for a spin to see how everything worked. This was good; it made me warmer and put me in a rhythm with the conditions and my equipment. So when our heat came up I felt really relaxed. The wind got a little lighter during the day but I was planing and taking waves. With the wind backing off the waves were getting cleaner so wave riding was really nice now. For the first time I could make over 5 bottom turns on one wave. Here in Holland! I advanced through the first heat and ended up in the final against Julia, Cilia and Arrianne; all great sailors. The wind was getting so light in the final that planing was a challenge. I was floating outside, looking for the right turn on a wave and then making the most of the ride to the inside, then go out and try to do this as often and as long as possible. I did get two really nice long rides.

With the results held until the Prize Giving; first announced; Cilia came in third. Then, Julia in second and I……. I won!!!!!! I was sooo happy; especially because I didn’t expect this result at all. A very competitive event this year with more great sailors coming forward and testing their skills in an event made even better by waiting for the right conditions.