CW – Congratulations Patrik – how does it feel to be European Champion?[more]
PP – Awesome! This is my third European title; maybe it looked easy, but I had a close fight in many races with Juha and kasa. I think my experience of olympic class racing, especially downwind , gave me the edge .
CW – Have you been to Finland before, what are your impressions of the country?
PP – I have been to Finland a few times, but not to this race venue. The forecast was not good, but we had mostly planing races, some shifty and tactical racing which is good for this class.
CW – What do you think about the organisation and race committee?
PP – Excellent – and the main reason is that they made the racing as stress free as possible for the competitors. They were decisive, and timing was spot on. I think the daily skippers meeting was appreciated by all the competitors.
CW – What are your thoughts about the future of ‘Raceboarding’?
PP – I think it is growing steadily. Although there are not so many new boards available, there is a lot more choice of raceboard specific sails and rigs. We need to attract more women – and a board that caters for them, longboard, but less volume.
CW – What are your plans?
PP – I am hoping to qualify my country for Olympic Games; but for sure I will be back in Yyteri next year for the Raceboard Worlds.
