Session Details

I am not a professional windsurfer. I returned to the sport after a break of almost 20 years.

Last year, during the Défi Wind event in Gruissan, France, I was simply enjoying an amazing day on the water. Without any intention of chasing a distance record, I ended up sailing 186 km. It was not a planned attempt—just a fantastic day of windsurfing.

This year, I returned to Gruissan to prepare for Défi Wind again. I had one small personal goal: to sail my first 200 km session. Unfortunately, I didn't have enough time on the water to make it happen. When I returned to Norway, I was convinced I would have to wait until next year to try for 200 km again in Gruissan.

But everything changed after I got home.

For the first time, I deliberately decided to see how far I could sail at my home spot in Giske Fjord. That first serious attempt resulted in 222 km in 10 hours and 24 minutes. The session showed me that I had the endurance to stay on the water for many hours, but it also taught me that success in long-distance sailing depends much more on maintaining a high average speed than on achieving the highest top speed.

After that session, I carefully analyzed every aspect of my sailing. I made several adjustments to my equipment and sailing strategy, then completed another 133 km training session to confirm that the changes were working.

My preparation wasn't based on a special training program—it was mostly about watching the weather forecasts. I waited patiently for a day with stable westerly winds throughout the entire day. When the forecast finally showed 10–17 m/s from the west in Giske Fjord, I realized this was a rare opportunity. Days with stable wind like this are very uncommon here, so I decided not to wait another year, even though I had originally planned to attempt a serious long-distance record only after spending the winter building more strength in the gym.

I chose a course of approximately 4 km. This wasn't random. During the first 2.5–3 km, the wind was strongest, allowing me to maintain around 44 km/h. During the final kilometer, the wind dropped by about 5 m/s, reducing my speed to below 40 km/h. That is why I selected this course—to spend as much time as possible in the strongest wind.

I sailed in Giske Fjord, where the westerly wind blows almost directly along the fjord. These conditions allowed me to make long reaches over relatively flat water and maintain a consistent pace for hours.

For equipment, I chose efficiency rather than maximum speed. I used a Patrik Slalom 140 board with a Point-7 AC-2 7.8 m² sail. Many sailors would probably choose smaller equipment for a session like this, but under my conditions the larger board and sail were actually an advantage. The bigger board planed earlier, maintained speed better in lighter wind, and required less physical effort. The 7.8 m² sail kept me planing through the lighter sections, helping me maintain a higher average speed throughout the session.

During the 11 hours and 29 minutes, I stopped only three times, with a total break time of about 35 minutes. I had no support crew—I managed all my food, drinks, and equipment completely on my own.

The result exceeded all my expectations: 347.3 km. That was more than 125 km farther than my previous 222 km session, despite spending only

Until now, I believed that world-class long-distance results could only be achieved at famous European windsurfing spots such as Brouwersdam, Grevelingendam, Haringvliet in the Netherlands, or Gruissan in France. I never expected to achieve such a result at my own home spot in Giske Fjord, Norway.

The biggest surprise came afterward. This session moved me into 6th place in the all-time GPS-Speedsurfing Overall Distance rankings.