Submitted by: Karo van Tonder
I was born in George, South Africa, where I grew up and attended Outeniqua High school. I have always been a sports fanatic and took part in tennis, hockey, modern dancing, karate, athletics and mountain biking. My parents encouraged me to participate in everything I love and motivated me to achieve my goals.
We spent many December holidays in Langebaan where my dad taught me how to windsurf at the age of 12. Seeing my dad blasting across the lagoon inspired me to take up the challenge and join him on the water! Anything that looked somewhat like a physical challenge caught my attention. I got hooked on the speed, energy, and elements involved when windsurfing. It is literally the closest I can get to feeling like I am flying. It was a big honor for me when my dad “upgraded” me from my occupation as dad’s “water-boy” and “binocular watch” to windsurfer-in-the-making!
The process of learning to windsurf is not an easy one … but with a lot of dedication and persistence, I managed to master the beach start, water start, uphaul, tack and most of the windsurfing basics. Every year I looked forward to our 3 week December holiday in Langebaan so that I can master yet another windsurfing skill.
After a couple of years, when I was 16 years old, my mother suggested that I take a few lessons from the Cape Sports Centre in Langebaan with the intention of meeting some new friends… Low and behold, my windsurfing instructor, a tall, handsome young man, Charl, became my best friend and today we are a very happily married couple. I graduated from the University of Stellenbosch as a Food Scientist and we moved to Langebaan. After completing my City and Guilds accredited Chef and Pastry diplomas I started my own wedding cake and catering business, which thrived!
Of course, living in one of the best windsurfing spots in the world has helped improve my windsurfing dramatically.
Early in 2016, an agent from one of the world’s top sail manufacturers noticed me windsurfing on the Langebaan Lagoon and approached me to become a team rider for the company. I was absolutely thrilled! From there on it was a snowball effect. I was provided with the world’s best racing sails and equipment and my windsurfing skills sky-rocketed!! I soon became an ambassador for many brands.
I started to compete locally and internationally. In 2017 became the African Slalom champion during the IFCA Grand Prix in Mauritius, as well as the first female windsurfer in the world to complete and win an 80 km windsurf race during the Defi Mauritius event. This has been the longest windsurf race in the world to date. My main discipline is slalom racing, but I also enjoy wave sailing, speed sailing, free riding, and storm sailing!
Today I am proud to have built up a solid support base of brands, both locally and internationally. These sponsorships, together with the amazing support from my family, Langebaan locals, friends, and my social media fan base has been the key to my motivation and progression in the windsurfing world. My windsurf skills sky-rocketed and it reached a point where I was asked to represent South Africa and my sponsors at the biggest and most dangerous windsurf event in the world, The Luderitz Speed Challenge.
This event has been one of the biggest highlights for me in my windsurfing journey. During my time there in 2017, 2018, and 2019, I had some of my happiest, scariest, most intense and emotional moments of my life. Firstly, for those who are not familiar with Luderitz, it is situated along the South-West Coast of Namibia. This quaint little town experiences some of the most brutal wind conditions in the world and therefore is the perfect location to set world speed records. Windsurfers from all over the world come to push their limits on the man-made canal (about 7m wide and 30cm deep).
The town and landscapes literally look like the moon… rocky hills and sandy dunes with the odd succulent here and there. The lagoon is icy and turns into a daily washing machine in the 50 knot+ winds. Just one small error or loss of focus going down the channel can result in serious injuries. Therefore it is a very intense competition to take part in and you need to prepare yourself mentally, physically, and emotionally to survive the conditions. In Luderitz next to the canal, the only visual sign of wind strength is when rocks and sand start to fly. There are no moving trees or plants that indicate wind strength. Everything in Luderitz is made to survive harsh wind conditions and nothing that moves in the wind will ever survive there!
Our sails are anchored to the ground with sandbags and we wear lead-weight jackets to help keep us stable on the channel during strong gusts of wind. I normally wear anywhere between 5 to 10 kg of lead weight. This is a very male-dominated sport and keeping calm whilst surrounded by guys who are more than double your size is a challenge on its own.
In 2017 I set the African speed record at 39 knots average over 500m. In 2018 I broke the record and set a new one at 41.3 knots average. Relieved after my record run I unclipped my board and whilst holding onto my sail with my left arm, the sail got ripped from under my arm and flew miles away leaving my left shoulder completely dislocated. The pain was out of this world, but I could barely feel it because of the disappointment of that moment overshadowed all my senses.
I was determined to get back the next year and continue from where I left before the injury.
I underwent a serious shoulder operation in July 2019. With a very tight deadline to work my way back up to top shape for this year’s event, I was unsure whether I would be able to break my record again after such a serious injury. However, I pushed through and believed in myself, set aside my fears and went full-out.
After months of intensive rehabilitation and training, I broke Africa’s speed record again and set a new record of 44.55 Knots average over 500m and a maximum speed of 56,5 knots. With this speed I am now ranked 5th fastest woman in the world, with only 2 knots away from the women’s world speed record! This is a highlight for me in the world of windsurfing.
I learnt to not let a setback become a stop sign and to keep chasing my goals and dreams no matter what obstacle might come my way. I would not have accomplished any of this without the amazing help from my dad who is there with me every second supporting me mentally, physically, and emotionally. Competing at the world speed records and setting a new record is always a team effort!
Apart from my profession in the windsurfing and brand ambassador world, I am also studying personal training in order to combine it with my degree in Food Science to help more women reach their fitness and health goals. Watch this space…
