Lina Erpenstein is Vice-World Champion, and Liam Dunkerbeck snaps pro podium

Team SEVERNE brought the goods to Maui, firmly representing in the top end of the rankings.

A special mention goes to Lina Erpenstein who now is the Vice-World Champion, Pauline Katz making yet another final, and Liam Dunkerbeck, who claimed his first-ever pro podium, plus another youth World title.

Lina Erpenstein has been on her best season ever. Despite mostly focusing on finishing her medical studies, Lina ends the season in an incredibly well-fought second place.

Equally impressive was Pauline Katz who went the extra mile, getting into the Aloha Classic final, and claiming fourth place in the Women’s Division after having to withdraw from the competition due to injury last year.

We threw them a couple questions to find out the details:

LIAM DUNKERBECK

YOU MADE A METEORIC STEP IN PERFORMANCE THIS YEAR, WHERE DOES IT COME FROM? 

This last year I’ve been putting a lot of work done in Pozo and also in Maui and it paid off, conditions where really surfing style and I really like that.

WHAT GEAR DID YOU USE THROUGHOUT THE HEATS? 

Mainly I was using 4.4 and in the final I used 4.8 S-1 Pro and I was on my big board. 

LAST YEAR YOU USED THE BLADE, HOW WAS THE S-1 PRO DIFFERENT?

⁠⁠I really like both of the sails, this year in Pozo I was using the Blade and in Hookipa de S-1, it is crazy how much you feel the difference 

WHAT CONDITIONS DID YOU GET? 

The conditions in the beginning where light and onshore with solid big waves and then we got gusty off shore strong winds

LINA ERPENSTEIN

WHAT GEAR DID YOU USE? 

I used the 4.4 and 4.8 S-1 2025, RDM Red masts 370 and 400 and Enigma boom. All heats I did on the Nano 82

⁠⁠WHAT CONDITIONS DID YOU GET IN YOUR HEATS? 

During the first heat (Day 2) we had up to mast high waves and about 14 Knots of wind. 

During the redemption round and semifinal (day 4) we had logo to mast high waves and a rainswall came through which increased the wind up to for sure 25 Knots. 

It was really hard to chose sail sizes as you could never really tell what the wind would do and because of the big waves you still had to go out like a heat before to be in the lineup on time. The wind was very up and down and dropped and increased from 8 to almost 30 knots within minutes. 

Both heats I should have been on 4.0

⁠⁠ARE YOU EXTRA MOTIVATED FOR NEXT YEAR? 

I’m super motivated for next year as this was my very best result on tour until today.

This season for the first time I have won an event (Chile) and could even repeat that on Tenerife. So I could finally prove to myself that I have the potential to come out on top.

Dieter Van der Eyken has been by my side coaching me throughout the whole season and I think we found a lot of sparks throughout the season. But wins I couldn’t have done without his precise coaching, and the longer we work together the more he gets my best sailing out of me, so I’m very excited about where this is going. 

Having said all this: I’m even more motivated now for next season to try to bring it all together and fight for that overall title.

WHAT’S NEXT?

I will be having my final medical exam in about 10 days so now I’ll go to full focus studying mode. After that I’ll be finished with my studies which have taken up quite some of my time in the last 7 years.

I’m really looking forward to knowing that is done and will fully concentrate on windsurfing after that. 

Very excited to see how far I can go!

PAULINE KATZ

WHAT GEAR DID YOU SAIL WITH?

Board: Pyro 68l

Sail: Redback 3.5, 4.3 & 4.7

The wind was very variable, so choosing the right sail was tricky.

HOW WERE THE CONDITIONS DURING YOUR HEATS?

We sailed the first round last Friday in waves over mast-high, with the channel closing during the biggest sets and nearly no wind—a scary combination! I have to admit, I was more than a little intimidated. Today, for the finals, the waves were only mast-high, and I felt much more comfortable. The wind was definitely tricky, fluctuating between 15 and 30 knots the whole time. Getting on the right sail wasn’t easy, but I think I made good decisions in the end.

LAST YEAR YOU INJURED YOURSELF BEFORE THE COMPETITION. DID THAT GIVE YOU EXTRA MOTIVATION TO GO BIG THIS YEAR?

Last year, I came to Maui two months before the Aloha Classic to train, but unfortunately, I got injured after only five days and had to fly back home. This year, I definitely saw it as a chance for revenge. I arrived 10 days before the competition and trained as much as possible. Ho’okipa is a tricky spot with a lot of different moods.

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