Dutch wave sailor Amanda Beenen (F2 / Dakine) made her debut on the PWA world tour at the 2011 Pozo world cup. Since then she has immersed herself in everything windsurfing and has dedicated more time than ever to training on the water. Beenen has spent all winter training hard in preparation for the 2012 season. We caught up with Beenen to find out a little more.

PWA: Firstly, what are your thoughts on the 2011 season and how would you rate your result?
Beenen: "2011 was a year in which I learned a lot! I made my debut on the PWA, which was very exciting for me. My results weren't good at all, but on the other hand, I didn't expect too much either. The experiences in 2011 gave me loads of motivation to train harder and more seriously for 2012!"

PWA: How long have you been windsurfing?
Beenen: "I've been windsurfing since I was 17 years old. I started quite late I guess."

PWA: Who has been you biggest influence on your sailing?
Beenen: "I think my friends had big influence on me, especially in the beginning when I just started out. Besides my friends I also admire girls like, Anne-Marie Reichman who follow their dream and make it happen!"

PWA: What would you be doing if you weren't windsurfing?
Beenen: "If I wasn't windsurfing I would probably still be horse riding and living in the south of Holland far away from the ocean. I'd probably eventually have married a guy with a ranch and instead of travelling the world all year round, I'd probably take two vacations a year, one ski trip and one tanning trip."

PWA: Where is your favorite place to windsurf and why?
Beenen: "I just came back from Cape Town and I must say that I really enjoyed sailing there! I really liked Cape point (in a strange/scary/sharky kind of way) and also Elands bay was impressive and really nice to sail! So many cool spots in the world, I couldn't pick just one spot."

PWA: What is your favorite move and why?
Beenen: "I really love wave riding in general. I get really stoked when I make a really good cutback."

PWA: What move did you find the hardest to learn and why?
Beenen: "That's probably the one I'm struggling with now. Stalled forward. I tend to bail out every time, can't get my head straight yet. But hopefully a summer in Tenerife can change it :)."

PWA: What new moves are you currently learning?
Beenen: "I just started with Goiters. It's a really cool move. I only got to try it a few times, but already had some good ones to start off with. And of course the stalled forwards. Unfortunatly I didn't have a lot of jumping days in Cape Town! But in Tenerife I'll make it happen :)."