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Arthur…

Yes, it was my first trip in Chile and I really appreciated the trip, it’s one of my best trips for sure!

It was amazing to sail with two of the best riders in the world, Klaas and Victor, that permitted me to progress a lot, the condition were not so easy but when we were wave sailing it was incredible!

I’ve learnt a lot of things, there are a lot of things you need to know to be a good windsurfer.

Unfortunately, I got injured on the last day of the trip and I had to be operated on so I haven’t really been on the water since then, but I look forward to being on the water again soon.

I’m really happy to be on the Fanatic team, I feel really good with everybody like Victor, Klaas or Alessio

This year I want to progress as much as possible, have fun with my friends on the water and hope to go on the water everyday!

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Klaas…

We always go to Matanzas, one of the windiest places in the area. There are a few really good spots in a short driving distance. It’s also the closest spot to Santiago, so it’s the place where most of the locals come for sailing.

I’ve been there from middle of December and during my first two weeks i’ve had some good wind and waves. Then it calmed down for over a month and then we scored some good sailing towards tzhe end of the trip. It wasn’t the best year for wind, but we still had some good days. Also a lot of surfing. I had an annoying sinus infection that finally had to get operated in february, so i also missed a few days out of that reason.

I’m workiong on getting more and more safe in my wave moves and then there is another project coming up. I’ve been trying doubles for several years, but never really got them dialled – so that one needs some attention before the first event.

It’s great to finally see something new happening. Cape Town and Chile are both my winter training grounds, so i’m pretty happy about it. If we manage to still get Maui back on the calendar, we’re almost having a complete tour. Unfortunately all stops are port tack (except Sylt – can be both), so i don’t think the new addition will change much in the results, but at least we’ll have a chance to some great down the line sailing in Chile.

Arthur has been doing good and i think he has improved quite a lot. We’ve been jumping for a few days in Pupuya and he’s pretty fearless in trying things. Also he’s doing already very good on the SUP in the waves and you can see that it helps him to make quick steps in waveriding also on the windsurfboard.

There are a few young kids coming up like Alessio Stillrich, Bernd Roediger, Moritz Mauch, or Morgain from Maui – all have the ability to kick out some big names already. Bernd just won the AWT event on Maui against the Who is Who! Alessio made it into 13th place in both of the PWA events he did in 2012. It’s great to see these guys pushing.

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Victor…

We were based at Matanzas, it is small town at the coast around 2.30 hours from Santiago de Chile and we get the most windy days over there.

I´ve been 2 months. The first three weeks we were very unlucky with the wind but we had amazing surf with northwest swells in different surf spots. The last 3 weeks of the trip were really good, we sailed different spots as Matanzas, Pupuya or Topocalma. All three have completely different conditions and we just change the spots depending on the tides or wave size. If it´s very small we go a lot to Pupuya as it is more a jumping spot and it is the windiest. If the swell is bigger we do Topocalma or Matanzas.

I´m trying to get back on my level of 2012 as I felt sailing very good until I got injured on Sylt. Right now I feel much better and I want to gain the same level and do it even better.

I think all aditions are good for the Tour, specially the event in Chile, down the line wave riding which we did not have yet on the tour. Chile is one of the events that Iam really looking forward this year as it is new and I know how good the conditions can be.

Arthur is a great sailor for his age, he has good knowledge of the waves as he is very good Sup rider and you can see in his wave riding skills. We did a lot of jumping in Chile too and I think he is progressing a lot. I see other kids like Alessio Stillrich and Pablo Ramírez in Pozo, Bernd Roediger and Morgan Noireux on Maui, they are all riping and it is great to see young guys coming up.

Here is the official press from Fanatic -

Fanatic is happy to announce the signing of French youngster Arthur Arutkin and beautiful Maxime van Gent to their International Windsurf & SUP team plus Arthur´s sister Alice Arutkin joins the International Windsurf team. Arthur is the most talented youngster in the French Windsurfing and SUP scene and Alice already has a name as a World Class Windsurfer with top results. At only 16 years of age, Maxime is very talented in Freestyle Windsurfing as well as SUP and will give us great coverage. For sure all three riders be great additions to our existing team. Leaving our International Windsurf Team 2013 will be Gonzalo Costa Hoevel and Yarden Meir – we wish them all the best for the future.

Craig Gertenbach, Fanatic Brand Manager:
“I´m happy to welcome Arthur, Alice and Maxime to our Fanatic International teams. Maxime is a really talented Freestyler and Paddler and her youth and personality are a great addition to our team. Women´s Windsurfing and SUP are both really attractive to the media and she personifies the spirit of both sports! Arthur is one of the most talented youngsters in the French Windsurfing and SUP scene, we have high hopes to be a part of what promises to be an outstanding career. Alice is already established as a World Class Windsurfer with top results, we are proud to have her joining our team and look forward to welcoming the Arutkin family aboard!”

Arthur Arutkin (FRA-111):
“I’m happy to be with Fanatic now. What I´m really looking forward is to train with my new team mates like Victor, Klaas in Windsurf or Olivia and Yoann in SUP in different spots, but also to meet the rest of the Fanatic team and being part of it to promote this fantastic brand. I will work hard this year, but also have a lot of fun on the water!”

Alice Arutkin (FRA-1111):
“I really would like to be in the Top 3 in the PWA and this year I would like to get the first place In the French Championship and with Fanatic boards I for sure have the right tools for that! I´m glad to be part of the team together with my brother now, we for sure will try our best to promote the brand as good as we can as a package!”

Maxime van Gent (NB-22):
“I’m very excited to be in the Fanatic International Team. I hope I can make women windsurfing more attractive again and will love to promote it all over the world and Fanatic for sure has the right boards for it! Fanatic also has the image to support their riders and I will be happy to be part of this great team. I will do my last year in high school now, but as well competing in the PWA Worldtour and also doing clinics for kids and girls.”

On top of these 3 youngsters, North have also signed Caesar Finies, the light wind master. Here is what the North team had to say:

“With Caesar we are contracting an outstanding freestyle athlete. Especially well known for his low-wind freestyle Caesar can be named as the inventor of “Flowstyle”. We believe that any talented and comitted sportsman – even not competing PWA – may have a considerable impact on our sport. Unlike hardcore freestyle, Caesar’s flowstyle is accesible to any windsurfer and nonetheless incredibly awesome to watch. You will find Caesar in his home on Bonaire and he for sure will be present at windsurfing events around the globe to show off his incredible flowstyle move.
Welcome to the team Caesar!”