After several days of waiting which put the nerves of the competitors to the test, the wind finally decided to rise on Wednesday on the Mediterranean Sea off the beach of Carro, in Martigues, allowing the start of the freestyle events of the Windsurfing World Cup.

These dinghyless windsurf boards glide across the water at speeds of up to 100 km / h.

"Freestyle is the discipline that I started first. In Aruba, when you start windsurfing, you start with freestyle", explains Sarah Quita-Offringa, one of the stars of the discipline among women, native of this island of 110,000 inhabitants off the coast of Venezuela.

The young woman, solar, says she fell in love with this sport on the neighboring island of Bonaire, whose "very shallow water" and "very constant wind" make it a paradise to achieve "Chaco", "Shaka", "Spock" and others "Grubby".

"There is no logic behind these names" but "if someone makes up a new figure, they can give it a name and it's really funny," she explains.

At thirty, Sarah-Quita Offringa, who grew up in Aruba, can boast an impressive record: seventeen titles of world champion in windsurfing, including 12 in freestyle, her main discipline.

"I'm a die-hard fan of Sarah. She's good and she knows she's good. But she can have her little character, she doesn't like it to escape her. She's not going as a dilettante, that is. is a real pro, "said Delphine Bijvoet Bremond, coordinator of the World Cup whose final is being held for the first time in the south of France.

- "Busy hair"

Nothing, however, foreshadowed such a journey at "Cabei Busha" for "bushy hair", his nickname since childhood in Papiamento, the Creole dialect - a mixture of Dutch, Spanish, Portuguese and English - spoken on the Dutch islands of Aruba, Bonaire and Curaçao.

The windsurf multichampionne Sarah-Quita Offringa during the discipline's freestyle event in Marignane, November 17, 2021 Nicolas TUCAT AFP

The young woman, whom her imposing curly blonde hair can spot on the water, confesses to having come to windsurf almost by chance: "I started when I was about nine years old, as a sport among many others that I practiced as a child ".

“I was really bad, I couldn't lift the sail which was too heavy but the following year my brother continued to windsurf and I went to cheer him on at an event. I liked the atmosphere so much that I started to do it again, ”she adds.

Because beyond the purely sporting aspect, the lifestyle and the state of mind which accompany this sport seduced her: "Sport in itself is very difficult but traveling is very fun. countries I wouldn't have been to if I hadn't windsurfed. The whole experience is almost magical, "she says with a broad smile.

In spite of the relaxed and benevolent atmosphere in this environment where most of the competitors know each other well, the "rider" never loses sight of the competition.

"I signed up for all disciplines and of course I want to win in everything" (freestyle, slalom, waves and foil) even if "I don't know if it's very realistic", she confesses.

Windsurfer Sarah-Quita Offringa off Marignane, November 17, 2021 a few days before the World Cup in the discipline Nicolas TUCAT AFP

Regarding freestyle in any case, a 13th title seemed almost acquired to the world champion, who flew over the phase of direct eliminations.

© 2021 AFP