Antoine Albeau

Name: Antoine Albeau

Sail number:F192

Date of birth: 17/06/72

Born in: La Rochelle

Currently living: ile de Ré, France

Sponosors: RRD, NeilPryde, Quiksilver, Ford Autovital, Sosh Orange

Discipines: All

Top results: 20 x World champ, World Speed Record 49.09kts

Nicknames: Tonio

Describe your style on the water: Free but very technical

Favourite spot: Maui, Caledonia, Guadeloupe, ile de Ré

Current favourite board and sail: Right now it will be my 4.8 and my little RRD custom 40cm for the speed !!

Best memory from 2012: My come back for the 1st place in Turkey and Sylt!!

What do you think helped you win the title? My concentration and focus on the race all year long.

How did you celebrate? Lots of champagne!

What are your plans for the winter? A big party again at the boat show on the 9th Dec; you are all welcome!!!

What are your strengths and weaknesses? Strengths I think are my competitiveness and concentration on events, and weaknesses….ask all the others.

What skills would you like to have from another competitor? Hummmmm I don’t know, I think I am not too bad as I got the win !!!

All images: PWA / John Carter.

Sarah-Quita Offringar

Name: Sarah-Quita Offringa

Sail number:ARU 91

Date of birth:04-07-1991

Born in: Aruba

Currently living:Netherlands

Sponosors: Starboard, Gaastra, Mystic, Chris Benz, Maui Ultra Fins

Discipines: Freestyle and slalom

Top results: 5x Freestyle world champion 2008-2012, 1x slalom worldchampion 2011

Nicknames: SQ, cabeibusha, rasta

Describe your style on the water: Always pumped to learn something new. I tend to only practice new moves so I’m usually crashing all over the place. but every bit of progress gives me such a huge motivational boost which makes all the crashing worth it.

Describe yourself on the water: Moods differ a lot but in general I’m jolly and excited about everything!

Favourite spot: Fuerteventura, Sorobon Bonaire, Barcadera Aruba

Sarah-Quita Offringa in action

Current favourite board and sail: 91 Starboard Flare and 4.4 Gaastra Pure.

Best memory from 2012: I have three best moments this year! Having friends and family over in Fuerteventura supporting me to the max, winning the slalom in Turkey, and standing on stage in Sylt for my 5th freestyle title hearing the Aruban anthem played out loud on the beach.

Sarah-Quita Offringa

What do you think helped you win the title? A lot of support from so many people friends family fans etc. and definitely some determination mixed in there as well.

How did you celebrate? Haven’t yet actually buuut I’m planning a party with loads of champagne very soon!

What are your plans for the winter? I’m going home to Aruba for Christmas and hopefully in between my semesters I can travel to some windy spots in Europe to get some much needed windsurfing in!

Who do you admire the most on and off the water: The Bonaire crew, I got hooked to windsurfing because of them and I still admire them for their styles on and off the water.

Sarah-Quita Offringa, takes another world title.

What are your strengths and weaknesses? As a strength I would say that I’m quite competitive. I don’t get nervous to perform it’s more of an excitement to do my best and show what I got in store. Weakness, I’m quite unorganised on the beach, which generally means I tend to get things done last minute before a heat. which could add some stress but I guess that’s just the way it works for me..

What skills would you like to have from another competitor: I wish I could sail like Kiri during a heat. He barely ever drops a move and executes them so perfectly he makes it look easy. And Gollito for example is able to learn a new move and then perform it the next day under pressure during the heat. I’d like to be able to do that as well.