WWT / PWA Aloha Classic 2026
Win for Marine Hunter
What a celebration for the German women’s windsurfing team. With Lina Erpenstein and Maria Behrens, two German windsurfers made it onto the podium.
Maui was rainy, grey and light on wind on Thursday when the women finally took to the water at Hookipa. The conditions were tricky; with light winds, any mistake meant a trip onto the rocks.
Consequently, the action on the water was cautious. Nevertheless, things got extremely exciting right from the start. By the narrowest of margins – with a lead of just 0.2 points – Lina Erpenstein edged out Japan’s Natsuki Wakasa to progress to the next round. Maria Behrens won her first heat, but here too the points margin was slim.
The two Germans then faced off in the semi-finals alongside the two Belgians, Lisa Wermeister and Sol Degrieck. Only two women could qualify for the final from this heat. Lina won, whilst Maria secured second place, 0.21 points ahead of Lisa Wermeister.
In the second semi-final, Marine Hunter and veteran Angela Chochran qualified for the final. There, the Frenchwoman left nothing to chance. She took a risk by riding right up to the lip of the wave and secured victory with a floater. Lina Erpenstein and Maria Behrens finished behind her.
Marine Hunter, who had been third in the world rankings until then, has thus moved up the rankings to second place behind Lina Erpenstein. Maria Behrens has slipped to third place.
Marine Hunter: “That was tough work. I had no idea I had won because I only had three waves, and only one good one. Now I’m happy, but I was in shock.”
Lina Erpenstein: “I’m super stoked to make the final. It was hard to find the power today, but I was really happy to be there.”
Were the conditions worthy of a final? That was a question surely on many people’s minds. Two minutes before the end of the women’s final, three of the four women were floating in the water with their equipment.
In the men’s competition, the two semi-final heats were held. In a surprise result, Marcilio Browne failed to reach the final against Marc Paré Rico and Antoine Martin.
In the second semi-final heat, Bernd Roediger qualified for the final alongside Morgan Noireaux with the highest score of the day. Liam Dunkerbeck and Thomas Traversa failed to make it through to the final.
Although the final got underway, it was subsequently called off due to poor conditions. Robby Naish laconically remarked that he’d already done that two heats earlier, and also suggested that in the past they might have used a larger board and a larger sail to score points.
Marc Paré Rico: „Coming into this season I was not sure I could put myself in a position to win another world title. It’s really exciting, but I’m trying not to think about the title. All I want to do is sail my best and show what I can do. But it was my goal to make the final at the Aloha Classic.“
The day ended without the final taking place. This means that only the men’s final remains on the main schedule, which will hopefully go ahead on Friday.
October 30, 2026 © DAILY DOSE | text: Christian Tillmanns, WWT | photos/graphics: Fish Bowl Diaries, WWT | translation: DE
