The Racer of the Sea Girls Camp, organised by 1001 Grad Events in cooperation with Oliver-Tom Schliemann and Leon Delle, entered its second round on the last weekend in August. Supported by Starboard/Severne Germany and Bugatti Fashion, twelve participants from all over Germany gathered at the picturesque Hemmelmark campsite in Eckernförde Bay to hone their windsurfing skills together with world cupper Lina Erpenstein.
The weekend began with a warm welcome and a short introduction to the spot, followed by a first session on the water. In a pleasant 10 knot wind, the participants were instructed by coach Lina Erpenstein, who had also recently run a windsurfing camp for women and girls in Tenerife The course introduced participants to the secrets of light wind windsurfing. Fast tacks, helitacks and other techniques were on the syllabus. Afterwards, the group got to know each other better over dinner and in a round of introductions.
Wakefoiling, theory and manoeuvre simulator
The second day began with a warm-up and breakfast together, but with little wind. We then went out onto the water in small groups for various other water sports activities. Some gained their first experience of wakefoiling behind a motorboat, while others were given a detailed introduction to windfoiling, foil physics and equipment selection. The rest of the group took the opportunity to practise individual exercises on tacking, jibing and first freestyle moves on the windsurfing simulator. The rotation between the different stations allowed everyone to gain a variety of experiences.
In the evening, despite the rain, there was a "movie night" with the windsurfing film "Girl on Wave" about professional surfer Sarah Hauser. Inspired by the breathtaking footage of professional female surfers in the gigantic waves of Jaws, they went to sleep feeling content afterwards.
Helitacks, chop hops and first foil flights
On Saturday, there was finally wind and after a yoga session, it was straight onto the water. Accompanied by bright sunshine and ideal wind conditions for sails from 4.2, the participants celebrated their successes, including their first helitacks, chop hops and their first flying lessons on the foil. The day ended with a barbecue and lots of windsurfing stories.
Sunday started again with a relaxing yoga session on the beach, followed by fun laps on the banana boat. The weekend was reflected upon in a small closing round and each participant received a farewell gift in the form of an ocean-inspired bracelet from Vintageliebe and a welcome box from Love-My.Earth.
"The Girls Camp created a unique atmosphere in which participants from all over Germany became a close-knit community. Many of them had never spent so much time windsurfing with like-minded people before, and friendships were formed for the future," the organisers summed up. The camp thus fulfilled its aim of providing a platform for female windsurfers to network and promote women in windsurfing. "It has created the motivation to organise a Racer of the Sea Girls Camp again in 2024!"
Current information on the Racer of the Sea camps can be found at 1001grad-events.com
