3 questions to Klaas Voget

18/10/2022

At the Mercedes-Benz Windsurf World Cup Sylt in Germany recently, Klaas Voget retired after 22 years on the PWA World Tour. For Windsurfjournal.com, he talks about this decision and his new professional activities.

Windsurfjournal.com: You weren't taking part in many world tour events any more, what was your motivation for retiring permanently in Sylt?
Klaas Voget: I find it a bit sad to just silently leave after so many years on tour. When the World Cup Sylt came back this year after a two years break, I thought that’s a perfect situation to have a last go at it and say goodbye to the world tour at the same time. I’m not retiring from windsurfing and also not competitions all around, I might still sign up at the occasional event if it fits my schedule and I fancy the location and conditions. But I’m not doing the world tour that I’ve been doing for over 20 years any more.

WJ: You spent 22 years on the world tour. If you had to remember only one thing, which one would it be and why?
KV: There are too many good memories, but if I have to mention just one, it must be the wave double elimination on Sylt 2009. It was a perfect storm on a Saturday afternoon, the beach was packed with people and I managed to sail 9 heats in a row to climb my way back up into the final. I’ll never forget that. Of course, I would have to mention the Cabo Verde event 2007 next which was probably the most epic wave event ever.

WJ: You are very involved in the wingfoil industry with Duotone and Fanatic, what will be the program of this "retreat" now?
KV: Yes, I’m in charge of the wing foiling division between Duotone and Fanatic. I’ve been winging from the first moment in March 2019 and love it! For me it’s a perfect addition for wave windsurfers. When the conditions are firing and waves are powerful you go wavesailing, when the waves are soft and it’s actually not that tempting to go out windsurfing, it’s pretty much epic for winging. I have a wing spot right in front of my door step in Kiel, so it’s really great also to get a lot of fun water time without much travelling involved. I’m very busy with all the product development and marketing for our brands, there’s a lot going on, and we’re still able to make big steps in the product development, which is exciting to be part of!