3 questions to Sarah Hauser

07/06/2023

Uncertain about taking part in the Fiji Surf Pro just a few weeks before, Sarah Hauser took the most beautiful of victories with art, manner and above all style, proving that she is the calibre of the great windsurfers. We take a look back at the Cloudbreak competition and this symbolic victory in more ways than one...

Windsurfjournal.com: How did you prepare for this very special Fiji Surf Pro event?
Sarah Hauser: This year is a bit of a special year for me. People who follow me in the windsurfing community know that my husband Casey Hauser was diagnosed with leukaemia last January. So our lives are a bit special at the moment... Initially, I didn't think I'd be able to do this competition until mid-April, 6 weeks before the event. We found out that the treatment was going quite well and that there was going to be a slot that would allow me to go to Fiji and leave him with his family who would take care of him. I was pretty busy too, because in the middle of all that, I moved into a tiny house all by myself that needed renovating. So the physical preparation involved a lot of gardening, building work, plumbing and electricity, which was a bit special! I had very little time and energy to myself and I had to be quite specific about what I wanted to do and the little time I had to train. The 1st thing was to go and see Keith Teboul at Quatro and ask him to shaper me a board for Fiji. I knew I needed more volume because when I went to Cloudbreak in 2019 with Camille Juban, that's really what I felt, the conditions can be very light. I usually sail a 58-litre and this one is 63, exactly the same because I didn't have time to get used to a different shape. I just wanted a bit more length for the waves that were going to be bigger. I wanted it to be as close as possible to my Hookipa board. In terms of physical preparation, I wanted to work on my balance, strengthen my abdominal muscles and do a bit of proprioception, because for me, balancing on your board in 12 knots of wind with a current while trying to take off and quickly get back into the footstraps was going to be critical. After that, once you're in the wave, the quality of Cloudbreak makes the ride self-evident. As far as sailing in Maui is concerned, I was able to do a session at La Pérouse which gave me the chance to sail on a left-hand wave one afternoon, but with surfers in the water and it wasn't very big. And I've got a session and a half at Hookipa with my new board to put my fins in and find out how to set it up. Mentally, I was a bit stressed because I'm used to 'over-working' and being super-prepared, especially for an event like this which means a lot to me.

WJ: The women only raced on the last day, how did you experience this wait and this final day from the inside?
SH: Yes, we only raced on the last day of the possible race window. I arrived on Wednesday evening and the competition started on Thursday morning. At the start, we were told that we weren't going to be able to sail straight away as it was the men who were going to be able to take to the water as soon as there was wind. I took my gear anyway, telling myself that you never know if there's a bit of a wait and a slot to be had. And that's what happened with almost 1 hour that I was able to spend before the competition started and during which I was able to test the spot. I caught 2 waves, which isn't a lot but it allowed me to get my bearings and see how to position myself. There were also some windless days and the opportunity to surf at Cloudbreak even though I don't have the level. But the fact of paddling, being on the spot and seeing the wave from another angle means you learn a lot. And so Monday was our day, our last chance with a low tide at midday that was likely to see the wind drop. For my semi-final, I took to the water with as much gear as possible, my 4.0 m² Banzai and my 63-litre custom. The 1st wave was super powerful and I nearly got locked in, coming very close to falling. Fortunately, the penalty was very harsh as I ended up in the reef with some very sharp coral and equipment that was going to suffer. After that, I had 2 great waves and I started to gain confidence and even have fun, because it was beautiful but also scary at times! In our heat, there was a 13-year-old girl, Sol Degrieck, and it was impressive to see her. It reminded me of my first waves on the reef in New Caledonia when I was 15. 13 years old and 1st session in solid waves at Cloudbreak, well done to her! In the final, I was up against Sarah-Quita Offringa, Jessica Crisp and Coraline Foveau. I know the latter well, having trained her a little in physical preparation last year. I can see that she's got big dreams inside her and I can see myself in her 10 years ago, with that passion and that desire to show what she's got. For this final, there was even less wind and there were starting to be fewer waves too. We had a big set at the start, and we all caught waves. But after that, I wasn't well placed, I had trouble getting going again and getting to the top of the spot. I was missing a 2nd wave when the others had managed to catch 2. I was stressed, I waited and when a set finally arrived, I was in a battle with Sarah-Quita Offringa for priority. I was at the peak, she was a little higher up, and there was a big chop which prevented her from leaving while I was already in the drop. I saw her hesitating and I went for it, it was a 2-second decision. That's when I gave it my all but I could see that at the 2nd bend it was hot and it wasn't going to go through. I was on autopilot with my gear, I got thrown by the lip and it went through! There was incredible power and that gave me a boost for the next 2 turns. It was the wave I needed! I finished at the bottom of the spot with almost no wind for my waterstart and 2 minutes to go. I didn't have time to go back up and I just stayed in the water, swimming and enjoying the moment. The sun was starting to go down, the light was magnificent and it was a very special moment...

WJ: Your image and sporting career have long been closely linked to waveriding. Is winning a competition at Cloudbreak a form of consecration for all this commitment over the last few years?
SH: Yes, it's a great honour to win this competition, because waveriding is what it's all about for me! Riding waves like those at Cloudbreak is what made me fall in love with the sport when I was 15, when I rode my first waves at Ténia in New Caledonia and wanted to dedicate my life to the sport. I immediately had an incredible feeling that this is what I want to do! 10 years later, to get this result is the best performance of my career and, above all, to have won like this, having given it my all and done the best I could. And then there was the encouragement from the other girls, everyone came to congratulate me and even the boys who told me that some of my turns were comparable to those of the guys. It's very pleasing because we all want to show that we can reduce the gap between men and women in our sport. It's a great achievement, that's for sure, and to tell you the truth, I still can't believe it! It's also a great victory for my couple, because Casey and I have been through a lot this year. He supported me enormously so that I could go, he sent me lots of messages during the competition and he watched everything! It's going to give us a boost for the rest of our lives. I'm really very, very happy!