As in previous years, the participants of the DM travelled to the Portuguese coastal town of Peniche. And the DWV's aim of offering the participants the perfect waves was once again realised. As early as the second day of the five-day contest window, clean lines with light offshore winds hit the north coast of Peniche. Depending on the water level, the line-up changed significantly and the powerful, head-high shorebreak didn't make it any easier for the eleven men and three women.
As expected, Paulina Herpel was in a class of her own in the women's event. The Hamburg native confidently won all three women's heats. And this despite the fact that she was only able to score one wave in the first heat after having to go to the beach due to a broken leash. However, the 6.33 points she scored in one wave was one of the highest scores of the day.
After series champion Moritz Mauch flew straight from the World Cup on Sylt to the Aloha Classic in Maui with his windsurf stuff, it was clear that there would be a new German men's champion. Of course, Carsten Kumis, who finished second in the last two years, was highly favoured. But this time it was only enough for third place for the man from Munich. It was not clear for a long time whether Valentin Illichmann or Kai-Nicolas Steimer would come out on top in the end. But with full commitment, the last turn ended almost in the dry, Kai finally took the title with a lead of 0.63 points. Martin Öser from Hamburg came out on top in the Masters heat.
Many thanks to the Surf Club Peniche for the great co-operation and Starboard Germany for the support. The DWV is working on more wave contests for next year, including one on Sylt and probably one in Denmark. This will hopefully increase the number of wave SUP starters again.
Results:
Ladies 1st Paulina Herpel 2nd Bettina Kohl 3rd Iva Dundova
Gents 1. Kai-Nicolas Steimer 2. Valentin Illichmann 3. Carsten Kurmis 4. Benedikt Götz 5. Dirk Worrmann 5. Robert Glöckner 6. Guido Meier 6. Benjamin Kohl 7. Martin Oeser 7. Jakob Hogeweg 7. Michael Michels
Master 1st Martin Oeser 2nd Guido Meier 3rd Carsten Kurmis 4th Dirk Worrmann 5th Michael Michels
