Hi Lena, we love your new video! What makes Cape Town such a special place for you that you keep going back?
I think Capetown just has it all city life, nature wind waves, sunshine. I think especially during the European winter it is one of the most consistently windy and wavy places in the world.
During the winter you often go away and leave the slalom equipment behind for a month or two – do you think that helps you refresh with regard to your slalom training?
Yes actually I think its good for me to get a break from slalom sailing specially when I get back I still have 3 month to restart from scratch with all the new equipment. Wavesailing is more dynamic then slalom sailing and I also of a lot of suping, so I think my winter training is actually pretty solid the way it is. I’ve been doing it this way for a few winter now and I think whats also particularly good is that by the time I start slalom training again I am usually super amped to get back into it .
What is it that you love about slalom sailing?
The thing I love most is the actual racing with the girls! We have a greta level on the tour and its just so fun to properly fight it out with just the best women in the world! Of course preparation is a big part of that and I also enjoy the training a lot, here I would say that tuning is my least favourite and the race simulation again is the best 😀
And then in comparison what is it that you love about wave sailing?
Wavesailing allows me to really push myself out off my comfort zone pretty much on every single session! I love feeling the power of the waves and I love getting humbled by the forces of nature. Its a rush of adrenalin that is totally different to slalom sailing for me.
You started the year off with an excellent second place in Korea – are you feeling happy with your speed and setup?
Yes the two races I got to sail I felled really happy with my speed and super comfortable on my Starboards and Point7’s . Of course it is hard to say more after just two races, but yeah I am happy and excited for more racing!
I think in general at the moment all the sailors here are so hungry for racing after a long winter of preparation that its quite a strange atmosphere now, excitement mixed with frustration about the waiting… But like in the movie I can only say that thats windsurfing for you, conditions are never in our hands and all we can ever do is adapt as good as possible to what we are given…
Coming back to the event here – this is the first event in Japan for 24 years – have you ever been to Japan before and what do you think of it so far?
I love Japan!!! So excited to have the World Cup here. We have been welcomed super nice by the organisers and sailors, Japanese people in general are so polite and always trying to help it feels good to be here. On the beach people are asking for autographs and pictures it really looks like the windsurfing community in Japan is doing super well. The beach set up looks great and so the only thing missing to make this a truly epic event is the wind! I’ve been once before for 3 days in Tokyo , actually on the way to New Caledonia, already then I was fascinated by the culture and specially the way in which high technology is so effortlessly integrated into people everyday life.
After the conclusion of the event here you’ll then have a break until September – how will you be spending the summer months?
I’m going to be in Turkey for the Summer at Lena Erdil Windsurf Centre in Bodrum, I am planing to run a few advanced windsurf clinics there and generally take this chance of not many races this summer to be more involved at the centre. I think its possible that some more last minute trips get added to my summer in Turkey but for now nothing is sure, to stay up to date you can follow my social media pages @Lena Erdil 😉
