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- Clever and Smart. Passion and
politics.
"Often itīs still about men doing the radical stuff
and bikini-babes watching them. But I am sure there are girls out there who will change
that." Claudia Vogt, one of our editors, is going to take the
challenge. Austrian born and having spent much time on the windy shores of Gran Canary,
Claudia wants to concentrate on the wave discipline next year. She names three models in
windsurfing: "Karin Jaggi for her ambitious attitude and challenging
the twins, Jennifer Henderson for her wavesailing and my mum,
who still sails at 52 years!"
- email: claudia.gc@gmx.net
- date of birth: 23-04-1980
- nationality: Austrian
- profession: student (Spanish, political
science)
- sailnumber: AUT 23
- sponsors: HotSails Maui, Chiemsee, Sport Schneider
- When AND where did you learn how to
windsurf?
- At Lake Neusiedl, when I was 17 or
18, with a group of friends. It took a while, since we didnīt have anyone to teach
us…
- best results so far: 1998: 1st super 8 (national champion, austria) 2003: 12th pwa
freestyle fuerteventura
- favorite discipline: wavesailing for the adrenaline (not the easiest to find a
wave spot in austria), freestyle for the fun with friends favorite
move: aerials off the lip
- favorite windsurfing spot: Pozo and Vargas on Gran Canary īcause itīs like being
home and you get to know what flying is like with up to 55 knots, Bonaire for the perfect
freestyle conditions, Al Pra at Lake Garda for the lush surroundings
- best music: Tonic, Matchbox 20, Morcheeba and lots of other stuff
depending on my mood
- last book youīve read:
- from Cuban exile writer Zoe Valdés, canīt
remember the title of the book - but it was a wonderful story about present Cuba
- best film: American History X, Amélie, Vanilla Sky…
- best food: hard to tell - considering that I canīt think of anything I donīt like!
- best drink: I donīt drink beer usually, but when watching the sunset and
listening to the ocean, a cool Coronita with a piece of lemon is just about the best!
- Who are your models in windsurfing?
- Karin Jaggi for her ambitious attitude and
challenging the twins, Jennifer Henderson for her wavesailing and my mum, who still sails
at 52 years!!!
- What causes you fear?
- Dislocating my shoulder again…and knowing it
takes a while to recover. And probably mast-high waves breaking over a sharp coral reef
:-)
- What makes you laugh?
- The pretty funny, typical "subway
situation" where people try hard to not look each other in the eye, or sitting
down as far away as possible from each other... Just an example of the absurdity of
everydayīs life.
- With whom would you like to spend an
evening?
- It may sound melodramatic but I guess with my
granny who passed away a few years ago.
- Windsurfing - better than sex? Why?
- An average windsurfing day is always worth all the
trouble before, but average sex sometimes isnīt…
- Is
the sport of windsurfing a macho-sport?
- Often itīs still about men doing the radical stuff
and bikini-babes watching them… But Iīm sure there are girls out there whoīll
change that!
- If you already know it - what do you
like about the "windgirls"-mag?
- Itīs the first magazine I know that is really dedicated to
us. It makes the female side of the sport more visible and shows that
"windgirls" arenīt only radical, or only sexy, but are individuals who share
one big love: windsurfing!
- What are your proposals to make it
even better?
- It should work together with brands like Starboard
or Hotsails, who are into women windsurfing, too. Maybe one day it will even be possible
to organise a big Windgirls-meeting, where you can get to know role models or give advice
to beginners, on Lake Garda for instance. To get everyone involved…
- What do you think about the
PWA-tour?
- From my point of view we should support it. The PWA
is undergoing some changes to make the tour more attractive again - like the new
SuperX-discipline. Since itīs still the only organization that can get enough sponsors to
make the events happen, we would only hurt our sport by not contributing to it. Iīm
definetely not fond of what happened to the Austrian PWA qualifier - for me, itīs
important to prevent a situation like the one with two snowboard federations. As far as it
concerns the girlsī tour, I am glad to see that more female sailors want to compete
again. Itīs good to have Karin and the twins pushing the limits on the tour, but itīs
also vital to give newcomers the sign that itīs not impossible to start from another
level than the top sailors!
- Three tips for GIRLS who want to
learn windsurfing:
- 1. The beginning might seem hard, but youīll have
lots of compensation very soon!
- 2. Either learn together with friends or get to know people
who share your passion. Itīs always more fun if youīre not on your own (and sometimes a
helping hand is really useful).
- 3. Donīt underestimate the "equipment-factor".
Light and easy-to-rig stuff enhances your abilities and reduces the trouble before getting
on the water!
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