Amado Vrieswijk won the 2017 King of Bonaire, a freestyle competition organized by Julien Mas. 20 riders (ladies and men) and 8 kids registered for the event. We hooked up with the top 4 riders for a short statement. Japanese filmer Kuma is on Bonaire at the moment and filmed the final and the action from the competition.
King of Bonaire 2017 – Result
- Amado Vrieswijk
- Taty Frans
- Dieter van der Eyken
- Youp Schmit
Winners Final of the King of Bonaire 2017, filmed at Lac Cai by Kuma Movie
Amado Vrieswijk
It was a nice event and perfect to warm up a little for the season. The wind wasn’t that strong but enough for competition. It was good to compete against Dieter, Julien, Taty and Youp. The combination of flat water and waves in one competition is excellent. It makes a competition much more interesting, challenging and diverse. For this week the wind will be lighter again. So I will be back on the slalom and foil training. See you at the Neusiedlersee, Cheers from sunny Bonaire.
Taty Frans
We did first the qualification rounds in the bay at Sorobon and the top 6 riders went to the final in Lac Cai, what’s the wave spot. I think we had about 20 riders including the girls and additionally 8 kids.
It was fun to compete again after such a long break and to run the finals at the wave spot was amazing. Amado was sailing amazing. He landed nice Shifty Shakas, no handed Burners and double Culos in every heat. Dieter sailed solid and in the heat against Youp he just got a few points more landing a better Airbob into Culo and finished 3rd leaving Youp in 4th. Myself I felt great that I can still keep myself up with the new younger guys and my freestyle is still there. I am happy with the second place despite not doing any double Culo or any of those other double moves.
I had a hard crash in the final, when the base got disconnected from the extension and the mast hit my leg, but it’s okay. I am still smiling. Thanks to Julien Mas for making the event happen and to all the sponsors that helped, even with food and drinks.”
Dieter van der Eyken
It was a fun contest, but the wind was a bit light. I lost in a close heat against Taty in the semi final and than won against Youp in the loser final. It was really fun to compete in the wave but a bit more wind would have been nice for all of us! With only 2 moves to count each tack it was a bit hard to make a difference. Amado was the stand out sailor dominating every heat and you could see very well that he and Taty sail a lot at these spots as they always could find the good ramps. I and Youp were struggling a bit more with it. Sadly enough the wind seems to drop of for a bit more than a week now, but hopefully will be back after that!”
Youp Schmit
Yeah! So far after being back from South Africa I have only been scoring amazing wind on my beautiful island! This last weekend Julian Mas ran a little event on the island, the King of Bonaire. We had a tough time waiting for wind, but in the end we scored some wind and had much FUN! I am stoked to be on form, feeling strong & healthy, and to be able to keep up with the top guys! I’m stoked!”
More action from the King of Bonaire
King of Bonaire 2017 – Losers Final
