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2013: South-West 0–7
The 30th World Cup Sylt, which was celebrated with, amongst other things, a hefty book, saw a thrilling World Championship contest, particularly in the freestyle category. In moderate easterly winds, Kiri Thode and Gollito Estredo battled it out for the title far out at sea, with Steven van Broekhoven, as a finalist, proving to be the deciding factor. Judges and photographers had to endure hours on a motorboat, which was rocking in the icy wind in the middle of the North Sea. In the end, Kiri triumphed and returned to Bonaire as a new national hero. Germany’s national windsurfing hero, Bernd Flessner, on the other hand, announced his retirement in 2013 on Sylt; he managed a sixth-place finish to round off his career, whilst Björn Dunkerbeck was largely left trailing behind the field. The wave riders didn’t get out on the water at all and spent their time working, playing video games or playing table football.
2014: Sylt – the unofficial guide
A completely different perspective on the World Cup Sylt: surf editor Manuel Vogel has been given a wildcard to compete in the wave riding event (“Slalom? Forget it – I’m not going to make a fool of myself!”) and is experiencing the event virtually “undercover”. After a cautious warm-up, he immediately wins over his first fan: “You’ve been riding back and forth so beautifully. You must be the favourite, surely?” says an elderly lady cheerfully. In the first round, he’s up against Victor Fernandez straight away, in conditions that are more than a bit iffy. But Victor simply can’t beat Manuel! However, Manuel doesn’t win either; the heat is abandoned twice. “I’m knackered, even though I’ve only been surfing for less than an hour. Six hours in a wetsuit [...] and, above all, the excitement is draining!” As the week progresses, the freestylers and slalom riders take to the water; Gollito and Arnon Dagan emerge victorious. Manuel heads to the cinema for the premiere of *Children of the Wind*, to the American, out on his SUP, and watches in awe as Dunkerbeck and Naish expertly sign autographs. Dunki had announced his retirement before the event and is given a raucous welcome back on the beach after his final heat: “A bit more drama from the event presenters and the first people on the shore would be breaking down in tears.” A happy ending to a week of plenty of partying and not much surfing: the wave prize money is divided equally amongst all the competitors!
2015: High spirits without low pressure
In 2015, too, the organisers and the 130 competitors were unlucky with the wind. Only a single slalom heat could be counted, and even that was a real struggle after numerous interruptions. It was a shame, as SAP and Vodafone had put together a very advanced live stream featuring tracking and real-time data. Matteo Iachino won and took the lead in the World Championships, though he wouldn’t clinch the title until a year later. The freestylers took to the water for an evening tow-in session, their sails impressively illuminated by LED strips. The film “Cabeibusha”, about Sarah-Quita Offringa, was shown at the cinema; otherwise, there was plenty of SUP to pass the time. Naish and Dunki were there too, and Björn presented his autobiography, “Björn Dunkerbeck – Windsurfer” (Available here as an e-book).
2016: Connect Four!
This has never happened before: four disciplines – and, thanks to perfect conditions, results across the board! On Sylt, slalom riders competed on foils for the first time; the event served as a trial run for the introduction of the discipline. Antoine Albeau won, though he didn’t take the title just yet. That went to Gollito Estredo in the freestyle, though – in a perfect dramatic turn of events – only after he beat the then-leader Amado Vrieswijk in the super final. The wave riders were already in action before the official start, as a massive storm system swept across the North Sea in the week leading up to the event – which had been deliberately postponed to increase the chances of wind. In flat onshore winds, Alex Mussolini went on to win, securing his second victory on Sylt since 2009. And in the slalom, Matteo Iachino laid the foundations for his first World Championship title. All of this was also easier for spectators to follow than ever before, as the live stream – complete with scores and rankings – was shown on giant screens at Brandenburger Strand!
2017: Epic!
Five days of stormy conditions turned the 2017 World Cup into a truly epic event! Philip Köster wrote a real sporting fairy tale: after a ten-month injury lay-off, he clinched his fourth World Championship title in his very first season back. Above all, it was his magnificent wave rides that made the difference. The fact that Köster ultimately finished ‘only’ third on Sylt, behind Victor Fernandez and Marcilio Browne, did nothing to dampen the spectators’ enthusiasm. In the women’s event, Sarah-Quita Offringa slotted in between the Moreno twins, whilst Lina Erpenstein cemented her place among the elite with fourth place. In the freestyle, the final was once again Gollito versus Vrieswijk, and once again the now eight-time world champion emerged victorious. Things went like a fairy tale in the slalom too: Marco Lang won an elimination for the first time in his career – and went one better straight away in the second round. His North team-mate Vincent Langer secured a sensational second place. On the foil, Julien Quentel took the win, though the discipline would not receive official PWA ranking status until the following year.
2018: Drama, baby!
The forecast meant the wave riders were off to an early start once again ahead of the main event; Ricardo Campello won the single elimination and already had one hand on the World Championship trophy. In the double elimination, Victor Fernandez then caught up and, following his semi-final victory over Thomas Traversa, was already celebrating his third World Championship title – but he’d celebrated too soon; just minutes later, the official result was announced and Traversa went through by the narrowest of margins. He then faced Campello, who could have secured the title – had he kept his nerve. Traversa won, and Fernandez was World Champion after all – there’s rarely been so much drama! In the freestyle, Adrien Bosson won the single elimination, but in the double elimination he was then beaten by – who else? ? That’s right, Gollito Estredo, who confidently claimed his ninth title. Antoine Albeau now has no fewer than 25 titles to his name following the Sylt event, whilst Gonzalo Costa Hoevel becomes the first official world champion in foil. Running up behind him is Sebastian Kördel, who has found his new niche after a disappointing slalom season. Away from the official competitions, Balz Müller is causing a stir – he’s flying almost non-stop through the surf on his foil, showing just what’s possible in this new discipline!
2019: Sylt Air Show
The drama unfolded a year later, just before the World Cup on Sylt: Youp Schmit took a sensational lead in the Freestyle World Championships and was dreaming of the title, but then suffered a serious knee injury. Although he took to the start line with his leg in a splint, it was Yentel Caers who was crowned world champion. Sarah-Quita Offringa also achieved a first, securing her maiden victory on Sylt. The women had to contend with the hardcore shorebreak; at times, they spent most of their heats in Sylt’s ‘washing machine’. Offringa, as well as finalist Maaike Huvermann, showed plenty of composure and skill; they almost always managed to emerge unscathed. That was also the secret to Brawzinho’s success, who staged a spectacular comeback in the men’s doubles – his caddy, who hauled his gear back to windward and supplied him with bananas, was none other than his boss and wave legend Francisco Goya. In the foiling event, which replaced the fin slalom, Sebastian Kördel secured a win and a second place; in the end, Nicolas Goyard took the title and was crowned the new foiling world champion!
In 2020 and 2021, the World Cup Sylt had to be cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic.
2022: Sylt – the full works, please!
Sylt made up for what hadn’t been possible in the previous two years in 2022. Ten days packed with action, storms and excitement. Amado Vrieswijk was delighted with his first victory on Sylt – though not in freestyle, but in slalom. The man from Bonaire had temporarily switched disciplines and put his immense strength to good use on the racing kit as well. Foils are dominating, and the first calls are being made to give races on fins a boost again. It was only in the final race that Vrieswijk managed to edge out Maciek Rutkowski, who would later go on to become world champion in Japan. There was also an emotional victory in wave riding, with Philip Köster securing his second Sylt win since 2012, whilst Sarah-Quita Offringa also repeated her success from the previous year. Adrien Bosson was crowned freestyle world champion – beating Jacopo Testa by a margin of just 0.1 points in the final.
2023: Sylt Premiere Party
Whereas the Naishs, Dunkerbecks, Albeaus and Gollitos used to be the ones consistently clinching victories, the fields in all disciplines are now much more mixed. 2023 saw more emotional moments than we’ve seen in a long time: Michele Becker won his first World Cup elimination and shed a little tear, whilst Maria Behrens sensationally made it through to the women’s wave final in unusual sideshore conditions. And in freestyle, the hugely talented Lennart Neubauer secured his first World Cup victory. The fact that he secured this victory against his mate Yentel Caers – who, after an early exit in the singles (against Lennart!), managed to stage a comeback and for whom second place was enough to clinch the World Championship title – would probably have been dismissed by any screenwriter as unrealistic and too melodramatic.
2024: Typical Sylt!
For its 40th anniversary, Sylt was just as we know and love it. A sideshore dream on the opening day – though no official heats had yet begun. A day later, the wind was blowing flat onshore; in the shorebreak and wind shadow, more than a few title hopes were dashed, but Marc Paré and Sarah-Quita Offringa deservedly won the single elimination. The wind continued to shift, turning to the much-maligned easterly – fantastic late-summer weather for the spectators, offshore foiling for the pros. A thick mass of seaweed also made life – and foiling – difficult for them (“like riding through custard”). The ones who coped best were the eventual world champion Justine Lemeteyer and Johan “The Beast” Søe. Despite several attempts, the freestylers failed to secure a single valid score, whilst Lennart Neubauer claimed his first world title virtually unchallenged. He proved he still deserved it in a tow-in session!
2025: A happy ending in the crunch time
Strictly speaking, the event was already over – officially, no more heats were due to take place on the final Sunday. However, the event window was extended at short notice to allow for one more wave heat in the men’s category. And what a result it was: a full-blown storm surge pushed the water right up to the promenade, the North Sea was churning – truly exceptional conditions! In an epic final, Marc Paré laid the foundations for his first World Championship title. The day before, Sol Degrieck had already celebrated her debut with a victory, whilst Yentel Caers secured his third World Championship title. And among the foil racers, Johan Søe proved unbeatable once again. A week that ranged from sunny, light-wind days to extreme sports!
You can browse through all the Sylt stories from 2013 to 2025 in the gallery above!
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Tobias Frauen
Editor