TEN YEARS FROM FLAT WATER

Lina Erpenstein joined team SEVERNE in 2016. A decade later, the inland German kid who learned to windsurf on lakes has multiple European, national, and international level podiums and victories, a Chile World Cup win, and works as a doctor. She’s still chasing the Women’s World Title.

Lina grew up in the middle of Germany. No ocean. No waves. She started windsurfing in 2010 on flat water and could only sail during school holidays until she finished high school in 2015. That year, she entered her first World Cup and took a trip to Western Australia.

“From the moment I first started planing I knew windsurfing was gonna be part of my life,” says Lina. “The competitive part only started in 2015 after being encouraged to compete in a World Cup for the first time.”

In Australia, she met the SEVERNE crew. By 2016, she was on the team.

Lina sets up for a loop in Gran Canaria riding the Blade and Nano combo circa 2017, before she switched to riding purely S-1 sails.

By windsurfers, for windsurfers

Ten years with one brand is unusual in professional windsurfing. Lina puts it simply.

“From the beginning I felt welcome, when I got to know the SV crew over in Australia on my first trip, back in 2015,” she says. “It’s such a great team and brand, by windsurfers for windsurfers, and I think this true spirit can be felt in every sail, every board.”

Lina points to the women’s team as a source of genuine pride.

“Excellence in women’s windsurfing has always been emphasised and I am proud to be part of such a strong team of female windsurfers.”

Rail to rail

Over a decade, Lina has ridden multiple generations of the S-1, sailed Nano boards, and now rides the Stone; the successor to the Nano she competed on for years. Each evolution changed her sailing.

“I feel like more rail-to-rail oriented turns have become more of a focus, for me and for the brand,” says Lina. “It’s so cool to feel how the evolution of boards has supported that progress in my riding.”

The S-1 is a 4-batten manoeuvre-oriented wave sail; designed for responsiveness from knee-high days to massive conditions. The Stone complements it as a wave board built for committed rail work. That gear combination carried Lina to her first World Cup win at the Chile World Cup in 2024, where she rode her S-1 4.8 and a Stone 84 (2023) through mast-high surf to beat a stacked field that included three team SEVERNE riders in the women’s final.

It wasn’t until the last minute of her final heat when Lina jumped from second into first; connecting turns with an aerial at the end section for the win.

After the win, Lina was emotional. “I’m over the moon happy. I’ve dreamt about this for so long,” she said. “It feels unreal to win. Just this whole trip has been a trip of a lifetime.”

The Helena story

Beyond competition, Lina runs a series of Girls Camps aimed at women and girls of all ages. The camps are about progression; getting more women comfortable in waves and building confidence.

One young sailor has been there since the beginning.

“Helena Lale, also from the middle of Germany, has participated in most of my camps and it was so cool to see her progress over the years,” says Lina. “Actually she participated in her first World Cups last year.”

Helena’s path mirrors Lina’s own. Inland Germany. No ocean. The same unlikely starting point that produced countless international podiums and a Chile World Cup win. Helena found the camps, kept coming back, kept progressing, and in 2025 competed at her first World Cups.

“To see such talent and motivation emerge or at least being supported by my camps really is a cool feeling and keeps me motivated to keep on going.”

That’s the real return on ten years. A next generation of riders coming through the same route.

Still going

Away from the water, Lina is a working doctor; she studied medicine at the University of Kiel, choosing it specifically because its location on the Baltic Sea let her combine studies with sailing. Multiple European, national, and international level podiums and victories, a Chile win, a medical career; all packed into a decade.

Where does she want to be at year twenty?

“Puh, not sure I can fully answer that haha,” Lina says. “It has been such an amazing journey and I am excited to see how the story goes on. I’m sure I will still be windsurfing and enjoying wind and waves somewhere.”

The Women’s World Title is still on the list. Everything else will sort itself out.

Lina on the S-1/Nano combo at the Maui Pro 2024.

Lina rides the S-1 / Stone combo with the Air harness.

Photos: John Carter / pwaworldtour.com, Fishbowl Diaries

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