In the process of cleaning up ready to move house, I came across a signed poster for the Oneil Wave Classic II in Esperence 1998 by some of the stars of the day at which I was lucky enough to be a judge for. This was the second one after the epic Namotu event (I wont rub it in but was a judge for this one as wel!!!)
Some of the signatures include:
KA-1111
US-1111
KA-181 (Scott Mckercher)
F-192 (Antoine Albeau)
US-93 (Kevin Pritchard)
K-96 (Jamie Hawkins)
US-34 (Micha Buxianis)
H-24 (Peter Volwater)
N-44 (Jensen Vidar)
WA-113 (Pat Redman)
G-16 (Flessner Bernd)
KA-6 (Mark Pederson)
K-77 (Ant Baker)
USA-6 (Josh Stone)
Brings back some memories......
I lived and sailed on the south coast of the UK 2009-2011 and Nik and Ant Baker are based there, importing North and Fanatic and pretending to be cool. Ant is a wanker. Was he back then?
lets just say that the majority of the other competitors were much easier to deal with as their egos did not outshine their skills or ability...
KA-1111 (Jason Polakow) - Maui, stopped competing but still windsurfing full time
US-1111 (Robby Naish) - Maui, competed at the last PWA wave event, still being a legend
KA-181 (Scott Mckercher) - Margaret River, still heavily involved with Starboard/Severne development
F-192 (Antoine Albeau) - France, still winning every single PWA race event
US-93 (Kevin Pritchard) - Maui, stopped competing but still windsurfing full time
K-96 (Jamie Hawkins) - retired ?
US-34 (Micha Buxianis) - Maui, still competing on the PWA
H-24 (Peter Volwater) - Margaret River, still competing on the PWA
N-44 (Jensen Vidar) - Canaries (he's from Stavangar in Norway), stopped competing but still see his name in windsurf clips here and there
WA-113 (Pat Redman) - ?
G-16 (Flessner Bernd) - Hamburg, retired from competition only last year
KA-6 (Mark Pederson) - Central NSW? Think he was running kite lessons or something in the past years?
K-77 (Ant Baker) - South coast UK - importing windsurf gear, has windsurf school
USA-6 (Josh Stone) - Maui, stopped competing but helped organise the PWA event last year in Maui, still a legend
Nobody really quits this sport...
KA-1111 (Jason Polakow) - Maui, stopped competing but still windsurfing full time
US-1111 (Robby Naish) - Maui, competed at the last PWA wave event, still being a legend
KA-181 (Scott Mckercher) - Margaret River, still heavily involved with Starboard/Severne development
F-192 (Antoine Albeau) - France, still winning every single PWA race event
US-93 (Kevin Pritchard) - Maui, stopped competing but still windsurfing full time
K-96 (Jamie Hawkins) - retired ?
US-34 (Micha Buxianis) - Maui, still competing on the PWA
H-24 (Peter Volwater) - Margaret River, still competing on the PWA
N-44 (Jensen Vidar) - Canaries (he's from Stavangar in Norway), stopped competing but still see his name in windsurf clips here and there
WA-113 (Pat Redman) - ?
G-16 (Flessner Bernd) - Hamburg, retired from competition only last year
KA-6 (Mark Pederson) - Central NSW? Think he was running kite lessons or something in the past years?
K-77 (Ant Baker) - South coast UK - importing windsurf gear, has windsurf school
USA-6 (Josh Stone) - Maui, stopped competing but helped organise the PWA event last year in Maui, still a legend
Nobody really quits this sport...
That is brilliant! What a sport this is - hardly anyone who has got beyond intermediate ever stops, in fact they don't even get less obsessed!
It got me thinking; I have been windsurfing for 28 years (that's 26 LOCs), still think about windsurfing for at least an hour a day, literally was dreaming about it when my alarm went off this morning, and there is NOTHING I'd rather be doing right now.
Life without windsurfing is inconceivable!
Sorry to digress..
KA-1111 (Jason Polakow) - Maui, stopped competing but still windsurfing full time
US-1111 (Robby Naish) - Maui, competed at the last PWA wave event, still being a legend
KA-181 (Scott Mckercher) - Margaret River, still heavily involved with Starboard/Severne development
F-192 (Antoine Albeau) - France, still winning every single PWA race event
US-93 (Kevin Pritchard) - Maui, stopped competing but still windsurfing full time
K-96 (Jamie Hawkins) - retired ?
US-34 (Micha Buxianis) - Maui, still competing on the PWA
H-24 (Peter Volwater) - Margaret River, still competing on the PWA
N-44 (Jensen Vidar) - Canaries (he's from Stavangar in Norway), stopped competing but still see his name in windsurf clips here and there
WA-113 (Pat Redman) - ?
G-16 (Flessner Bernd) - Hamburg, retired from competition only last year
KA-6 (Mark Pederson) - Central NSW? Think he was running kite lessons or something in the past years?
K-77 (Ant Baker) - South coast UK - importing windsurf gear, has windsurf school
USA-6 (Josh Stone) - Maui, stopped competing but helped organise the PWA event last year in Maui, still a legend
Nobody really quits this sport...
Vidar Jensen runs a restaurant in Puerto Rico on Gran Canaria. Its called N44
K-96 (Jamie Hawkins) runs a couple of coffee shop is southwest UK. Came out of retirement the other year to complete in BWA salom events and wiped the floor I understand.
Pat Redman is a legend! And comes from a family of legends.
He just doesn't need a website to tell everyone how good he is![]()