Gallery: Victories, drama, emotions - the highlights of the 2023 windsurfing year
Tobias Frauen
· 29.12.2023
There are always pictures that stick in the memory, despite the daily flood of impressions on Instagram and co. Marcilio Browne's pushloop, the cover picture of this article and "Last Call" in our March issue, was one of these. Seasoned surf editors who have seen thousands and thousands of photos over the years had their jaws drop and all knew that this was an exceptional shot. For Brawzinho, the stormy day in the south of Maui marked the start of an extremely successful year. IWT Big Wave Award victory in Pozo, the world championship title on Maui - things could hardly have gone better for the Brazilian.
But our local waters have also provided some spectacular images this year. The Iron storm in February on Lake Neuchâtel in Switzerland fascinated you and us in equal measure, then in May an easterly storm caused a Big Day in Kegnaes, Denmark . On 20 October, we experienced that the Baltic Sea can also be a threat: A rare constellation caused almost mast-high waves and unforgettable sessions near Kiel in the afternoon, but the storm then caused massive devastation on many stretches of coastline during the night.
The World Cup was more emotional than in recent years: the joint IWT and PWA wave tour really shook up the rankings. The previously rather unknown Frenchman Baptiste Cloarec won in the dream wave of Fiji, but even a spot like Sylt provided surprises: Maria Behrens surprisingly made it to the final, at the same time Michele Becker won his first slalom elimination and couldn't hold back the tears on the beach. The slalom final in Japan then provided a surprise with the Disqualification of Johan Soe for a drama of a completely different kind...
We have compiled these and many other moments from the windsurfing year 2023 for you in the gallery above! With this in mind: Here's to an equally exciting 2024!
