Martin's Windsurf Blog

Tuesday, July 21, 2009

Pozo Time,

Its 3 weeks ago that i left Holland to go to Gran Canaries to do what i love the most {windsurf}.

The wind forecast was not that looking that good before i arrived and it seems I was maybe the special Joker as the wind kicked in on the day i arrived, one week before the competition.

The training went really well I was getting into a nice flow. Most of the time I was sailing with my 4.7 what was for me perfect were other guys were sailing with 4.0 or smaller.

Only one day I sailed with my 4.2 using a 4m mast in it, that was not really working for me as I’m a tall bastard.

After one week sailing I was feeling {ready, Set, go to take off}

Pozo is a perfect place to sail but also a place were its hard to stay focused as the wind blows out your brain and sucks all your energy away.

So it was really nice to spend my free time with Laure Treboux, Boujmaa and the other people in the house.

My first heat was against Bennie what should have been a nice starter.

The wind was stronger then the week before, so I tested my smaller sail with a 370 mast, but that felt too soft, so in that moment I didn’t really know how to change that or what to do.

The heat before my heat Kenneth, a friend of me from Denmark, went out with a 4.5 and that looked pretty okay.

So I went out with my 4.7 and that felt powered up but okay.

I needed 3/4 of the heat to finish my jumps and by the time I went for the wave riding I became too powered up.

So I could not really make my turns.

The call was 2 to 1 for Bennie, it was close but I just sailed below my level.

So that was pretty much a Knock out for me..

I was feeling miserable that I blew that, even Benny was surprised to see the results.

Took me a few days to refocus again..

In the double elimination I was against a new kid one the block.

Before my heat I went out to test my small sail and that felt really good as I putted a 4m base with a 370 top in it. Being tall and heavy is not always an advantage.. J

First time out I found myself doing a huge backloop and straight after a tweaked push then a spin forward and as a finish I dropped a back loop one handed. As I came in I made also a perfect back 360, so I felt more than ready.

The wind was really strange as it was really cloudy and not allowing for the sun to penetrate.

As my heat started it was gusty like hell. I started my first minute of the heat under powered which changed fast to okay power. I did all the safe moves in the jumping and I thought that would be enough.

In the wave riding I could not get really into a nice flow, the wave waves were bumpy and it I get in trouble when it’s like that, still I made some okay turning. But the call was for the local kid who sailed really well..

I was more than mad, and had the feeling of really having fucked up.

I’m now more than ever poised to get a good result, as I know I can do it… Argggggggggggggg

Sorry guy’s for the low action picks, I can promise u there was more than enough action of me out there..

Up To Sylt. Time to take the roof off there!!!!

Thanks to the Greece Crew and the Danish Crew {Jens} for the Photo's.

See u out there,

The Lamp

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Biografie Martin ten Hoeve

Biografie Martin ten Hoeve
Picture a sunny day in 1988, a seventies windsurfboard, a red old fashioned triangle sail and a little eastern breeze at the beach of Egmond aan Zee, the Netherlands...the ideal ingredients to learn windsurfing!

That’s how it all started for me. Every Summer me and my family spent our holidays at the beach where we have a little caravan. My friends and I started windsurfing and my passion was born! In those years my nickname was Flow: all the other windsurfers couldn’t surf with just a little breeze while I ‘ cause of my age and weight was flowing around the water like a mad man! At a certain moment I realized that I wanted to make more out of windsurfing than just a hobby. So when I turned 16 I bought a motorbike so I could go surfing whenever I wanted in Wijk aan Zee, a kick ass surfspot just 15 km away from home.

In the Winter 2000/2001 I made my first surftrip to South Africa, I stayed there for three months. Because of the fantastic weather conditions; steady wind all the time my surfskills grew very much. Nowadays I make this trip every year, I work as a furniture specialist to finance the trips.

In the Summer of 2003 my first sponsor deal came along with Van Someren Consultancy, an enterprise that’s specialized in groundwater research.
In the same year I started to enter big surfing competitions, my first victory was in 2004: I won the Naish Wave Challenge that was held in my favourite homespot with my dearest friends and family to support me. I was one of the only amateurs that entered the competition, so it was quite an achievement.

During Wintertime I went to South Africa again to improve my skills and to get ready for the competition season in Summer of 2005.
My first Worldcup competition was in May in Pozo (Gran Canaria) in Spain. Because of my good results I was about to get a wildcard to enter the main event. When I finally got to Pozo after a tiring trip the organisation told me that the only way to get a wildcard was by winning the pre rounds. So I entered the pre rounds and I won! I entered the main event and was very impressed by the level the surfers had. Also I was amazed by the fact that I could surf along with those professionals without being a lot less than them.

2006 was a exciting year where I came 25de during the PWA event in Pozo Gran Ganaria. Later that year I became vice champion by beating Peter Volwater in the final off the Dutch Champion ships, due to my overall impression and strong jumping skills that charmed the jury at that time.

In 2007 new sponsor deals came up and I signed a contract by Fanatic and North Sails.
I worked hard to improve my skills but most important I wanted to learn to be a good overall sailor. I got the change to enter the slalom discipline at world cup events.
I performed pretty well and I did like it, although I never felt like this was my cup of tea.

I decided to put full attention and focus on the Wave that made my heart beat faster. I wanted to improve my surfing skills, prepare mentally and put more effort into training.

In 2009 everything came together and fell in the right place. I was invited to the PWA competition in Cape Verde in Western Africa to surf with the world top 32 wave sailors.
Later that year I beat Jason Polakow in a heat on the famous windsurf Island Sylt in Germany. I felt super strong and I achieved the 17th Place.

2010 Really started off well by signing a sponsor deal with Mistral boards and Aeron booms. Together with the sponsors that I could rely on for many years I feel very confident to perform well in competitions and find the well known flow again.

Face your fears life your dreams.

The Lamp