Boujmaa Guilloul wins the AWT Pro Starboard Severne Aloha Classic in front of Kevin Pritchard, Josh Stone and Jason Polakow. Boujmaa Guilloul is one of the best free sailors in the world, but his event results so far did not reflect his real abilities. But on Thursday October 30th 2014, things have changed. The Moroccan won his first big event, the prestigious Aloha Classic on Maui and has shown that he is able to win competitions, too. 

We talked to Boujmaa after his victory. Read the interview below.

 

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Continentseven: You won the „Aloha Classic“ on Maui. The Aloha Classic is one of the most prestigious wave events. Would you say, this was your career highlight in terms of competition windsurfing?
Boujmaa Guilloul: Yes indeed, I have never won such an important event in my short windsurfing life, I still can’t believe it, and so happy about it, it is one of the biggest events in windsurfing, with the biggest names of the sport, and yes it is the highlight of my windsurfing career. 

 

Continentseven: You haven’t sailed many competitions lately and lost your secured spot in the PWA rankings. Why didn’t you participate in the this years PWA events? 
Boujmaa Guilloul: The PWA spots have not given me the opportunity to do what I love, to be able to shine. I thought competition never been made for me, and yes for all this years I have only made it to the semi finals once in Portugal. I  started stepping out of the game first because of injuries last years, and second, because of the fact you can show up at an event without a spot secured and you can actually spend your 9 or 10 days waiting at the beach for conditions, in some of the meanest weather and die a bit inside. This is the way I have seen it, regardless the good people around, we are also there for a reason to sail, and if you spend 8 weeks chasing comps, to only sail for 12minutes, you forget that you windsurf for the fun of it.

 

Continentseven: And now you took the hammer down and won an event. Satisfied about that?
Boujmaa Guilloul: Can’t be happier, I still can not believe it and super stoked about it.

 

AWT Aloha Classic Top 4: Boujmaa Guilloul, Kevin Pritchard, Josh Stone, Jason Polakow

 

 

Continentseven: The conditions looked tricky. Big waves, a lot of current and not too much wind. Is that exactly what you like and you are good in?
Boujmaa Guilloul: No, I don’t think so, the conditions were tricky for all of us, it was the ones who sailed the smartest who won. There was moments with perfect set ups where I saw some insane action, and never thought I would break it through that much of engagement and talents, but also other moments, where it was very hard to line up a good wave. Even if you catch the biggest set, it could be just white water, and I have seen how all this guys been doing, I tried to mix things up with couple big sets and less intimidating sets where I could try and go for tricks. And it did pay off, even if I didn’t believe enough in myself. 

 

Continentseven: Did you take care not to break any gear and did you try to windsurf more conservative than usual?
Boujmaa Guilloul: I sailed as safe as possible, I didn’t break anything throughout the heats, and I really didn’t take risks where I know it was not worth it, I sailed quite in control of my emotions, when I was at the 3rd round I didn’t care to lose, I lost the stress and pressure, and sailed for the fun of being with only 4 guys at Hookipa making the most of it. 

 

Continentseven: You were using a twinser setup in relatively big waves. Was that the ideal setup for such a day and do you actually prefer a setup with two fins?
Boujmaa Guilloul: I feel more confidence with twin fins, I know it was not the best for such conditions, onshore, big, I felt it, but it worked for me all the time, I knew how and when it didn’t work, I coped with that and just had fun. 

 

Boujmaa Guilloul wins the AWT Aloha Classic

 

Boujmaa Guilloul

 

Continentseven: Which equipment setup did you use?
Boujmaa Guilloul: I had 4.5m Gator and Kode 77 which I used the whole day, and I had my Kode 71 and 4.2m as a backup which I didn’t use.

 

Continentseven: You are now on the list with a few not Hawaiians, who won the Aloha Classic: Björn Dunkerbeck, Francisco Goya, Tony Garcia or Jason Polakow. Happy about that?
Boujmaa Guilloul: I thought about it at the beginning, and I was daydreaming about it, but again, I didn’t believe I had better baggage than those guys out there to make it, but, competition is a mixture of circumstances that make one or an other have the opportunity to do their best or their worst. 

 

Continentseven: You now secured a place for the PWA final! No pressure anymore with trial heats. Will you win the PWA event, too?
Boujmaa Guilloul: Can not say so, I just hope I can sail better than I just did, and let’s see how far I can get, now really, it doesn’t matter. 

 

Continentseven: Many riders mentioned that AWT is much about fun. You often mention that windsurfing is fun for you! Is that one of the reasons you exactly won the AWT final?
Boujmaa Guilloul: Yes sir…

 

Continentseven: Thanks for the interview and good luck for the PWA event.

 

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