RESET. REFOCUS: WINDSURF NEW YEAR’S RESOLUTIONS 2026
RESET. REFOCUS: WINDSURF NEW YEAR'S RESOLUTIONS 2026
RESET. REFOCUS: WINDSURF NEW YEAR’S RESOLUTIONS 2026
Yep, the new year is here already. As we head into the 2026, this is the time where we set our resolutions and make ridiculous promises to ourselves such as; finally nailing that push loop forward (in our dreams!), stop blaming our gear for sailing like a kook, attempt to lose a couple of kilos or to never miss a session where humanly possible!
Whether your goals are personal or windsurf related, New Year’s resolutions are a great excuse to reset, refocus and set targets. And don’t worry if you are coming up with a blank space in the ideas department, we’ve got you covered here at Windsurf as we roll into 2026!
We’ve been busy over the holidays reaching out to crew of the best sailors on the planet and key figures from across the windsurfing world to find out what targets they’ve set for 2026. From world titles to personal breakthroughs (and the occasional honest struggle), here’s what’s motivating them as 2026 approaches.
Let’s get inspired… and have a fantastic windy year in 2026! Wishing everybody a happy and healthy new year from Windsurf Magazine online!
ROBBY NAISH
ROBBY NAISH: “My windsurfing New Years resolution is to try to keep pushing myself, not to get complacent, stay in shape and get out there as much as possible! I know that sounds easy, but life is a moving target.
Aloha and Merry Christmas,
Robby Naish”.
MARC PARE
MARC PARE: For 2026 I’d like to:
Focus on improving both my skills and developing specific, “more extreme”, down-the-line gear.
Making a final in the Aloha Classic
Learning Push-forwards and stalled doubles in starboard tack
Designing the best gear for Simmer Style
Organize myself the best way possible to combine my top results campaign with the brand/business side of things!
SIMON BASSETT 2XS
SIMON BASSETT: “New years resolution 2026…
2026 marks a real milestone for me…I have been windsurfing for 50 years now! I started windsurfing in 1976 when you only had a couple of options of boards and sails, sails with no battens, no windows and tie on teak booms!
For 2026, I am going to get back on the water more -I have been training hard – 3 to 4 days per week, given up booze, fixed my damaged knee (8 months off windsurfing in 2025 ). I think you suddenly realise that your fitness and health are areas of your life you can’t take for granted.
Back on the bucket list trips to Maui, Jeri, Tarifa and Vass and I am going to get the 50 year board ordered from Keith at the Quatro shop in Maui. My Dad who is 87 still wants to go windsurfing this year, so I am looking forward to having a blast with him this year and just re finding that amazing feeling windsurfing gives when you had a decent session.”
SARAH QUITA OFFRINGA
SARAH QUITA OFFRINGA: “I’m spending some time in Norway and my end of year and new year’s resolution is to get over myself and just get on the water when it’s cold! Usually, you can’t get me in a wetsuit unless I have to compete. But I’m trying to experience and appreciate the joy of cold weather windsurfing!
Other than that, it would be cool to windsurf at the Gorge, potentially this upcoming year!”
TAKUMA SUGI
TAKUMA SUGI: “2026 will be the year I push my wave riding skills to a new level.
While securing a podium finish overall on the World Tour is a major goal, equally important is sharing the appeal of windsurfing with more people.
Beyond competition, I aim to deepen my storytelling through video and photography, sharing the beauty, culture and people behind the wind.
Wishing you an amazing 2026!
Takuma Sugi.”
TIMM-DANIEL KÖPKE: MAUI ULTRA FINS
TIMM-DANIEL KÖPKE: “Honestly, I still want to learn this F***ing forward loop. At 57 I have had some chances with better fitness – but more to lose… ????I just need to find a coach to push me over the barrier. P.S. Do not tell my wife Dorte, or I am in for some serious maintenance projects in our garden in 2026.”
Mahalo!
Timm.”
LEVI SIVER
LEVI SIVER: “Hey JC
Just returned from Holiday break. My New Year resolution is to be as fit and healthy as possible. I gave up drinking three years ago, but my wife tells me I could cut down on my sweets, ha-ha.
I really don’t want to see my level fade throughout the rest of my 40’s!”
BEN PROFFITT
BEN PROFFITT: “Stay at 78kg not creep up to 83kg again!!
Do more travel trips.. strike missions to fun places!
Get the Kids and the Mrs in the water more.
Make more VLOGS.
Get back on the doubles ????
Do more podcasts!
But stay injury free ????… not sure they all go together!”
TRIS BEST
“My New Year’s resolution is simple: to spend more time on the water!
2025 was a standout year for plenty of reasons. Heading back to Vass and getting my girls out on the water in warm conditions was a definite family highlight … and the year culminated in the launch of Windsurfer Magazine last autumn. A full-blown passion project, built alongside friends and writing about some of the most inspiring people I’ve been lucky enough to interview or meet.
The response has been overwhelmingly positive, reaffirming just how much love there still is for print. So in 2026 we’re going all in….building on the momentum and doing the sport we all love the justice it deserves. And if that means less time behind a keyboard and more time on the water, then I’m very much looking forward to the year ahead.”
TRIS BEST
SARAH JACKSON
SARAH JACKSON: “My resolution is…Well I don’t really have one – last year it was to stand up for myself more and stop taking any s*** and I’ve been much happier for it so I think I just want to keep life how it is right now – its pretty epic and I’m the most settled and content I’ve ever been! If I wanted to change up anything it would be the classic and that’s to commit to a strength training programme as I have really struggled with that since I stopped competing.”
ANDY CHAMBERS
ANDY CHAMBERS: “My Goals for 2026…
I want to win the British Wave Title! But to do that I need to sort out my jumping! I need more consistency and something extra to be able to compete for the top spot. Also, I want to have more confidence when the conditions get super gnarly, like big waves or stronger wind. I am going to try and book some trips to bigger wave destinations to try and help achieve my goals so watch out for some updates. That will definitely be my main windsurfing focus for next year.
Other than that, I just want to have fun and make the most of what life has on offer!”
KUROSH KIANI
KUROSH KIANI: “Here’s a few of my goals that I’d love to be able to achieve in the new year:
Restarting my blog: In the early days I used to run my personal blog with writing / reporting from contests I was going to. I am planning to relaunch it but with slightly different topics this time, mostly behind the scenes stuff of projects we work on with Severne, but also covering travel, windsurfing, photography and some of the geeky techy stuff I work on throughout the year.
MORE slalom sailing – I’m very excited about getting back on some proper fin slalom gear again. There is just nothing like the feeling of blasting right on the edge fully powered up on your small gear.
Improve my foilstyle game: This year I’ve probably spent the most time on my foilstyle gear. Severne’s Predator board and the R4D sail has been the combo I mostly reach for when I open the van. I’m ready to take it to the next level with some aerial moves in 2026. Don’t expect anything too big though!”
DIETER VAN DER EYKEN
DIETER VAN DER EYKEN: “Going into 2026, my main goal is to keep building and enjoying what I’ve been developing over the past years…both on and off the water.
On the coaching side, I want to continue growing the coaching projects, refining the quality of the camps, and ideally adding one or two new destinations. The focus remains on helping people genuinely improve their level, rediscover their stoke for windsurfing, and ultimately get more people confidently and happily out on the water. Sharing knowledge, creating progression, and building a strong group atmosphere is something I find a lot of meaning in, and I want to keep pushing that further.
Personally, within windsurfing, I still have a clear performance goal: landing a push forward. That would be a big milestone for me in 2026…conditions permitting and something that keeps me motivated to train, sail with purpose, and keep progressing myself.
Beyond that, the goal is to keep having fun, explore new places and also plan more trips closer to home. I want to continue discovering spots, sailing in different conditions, and enjoying the simple side of traveling and windsurfing.
Health and fitness are also a priority. 2025 was a great year in that sense, with no major injuries, and I want to carry that momentum into 2026…staying fit, healthy, and consistent, so I can keep sailing at a high level and enjoying long days on the water.
Overall, there are no massive or radical plans…just continuing to live the dream in my own way: sailing as much as possible, sharing it with people I care about, staying grounded, and doing everything in a financially responsible and sustainable way.”
JORDY VONK
JORDY VONK: “Actually; receiving this question makes me think for the first time about my 2026 goals! It was a long and hectic 2025 and with an exciting project coming up for next year, I’m sure 2026 will be another busy year, so it’s nice to sit down now and think about it.
My main goal remains to become PWA Slalom-X World Champion. That has been my goal for the last 15 years and will remain so until I have achieved it! Afterwards it will probably change to becoming World Champion again ha-ha. Beside that I want to balance life in the best way possible. Which is hard being focussed on a tough goal, but I want to enjoy my time with the family beside windsurfing. Those two things I’d say are my main goals for 2026!”
TIMO MULLEN
TIMO MULLEN: “Find more new spots around UK and Ireland, land a back loop off the lip, lose 10kg, last one least likely!”
COCO FOVEAU
COCO FOVEAU: “My New Year’s resolutions for 2026 are spread across several areas of my life.
From a health perspective, I want to stay consistent with the daily wellbeing routine I built toward the end of 2025: meditation, workouts and stretching… until I can touch my toes even on my stiffest days! It might sound small, but not so long ago I could barely reach my shins with straight legs.
Professionally, I’m aiming to keep up the rhythm of one vlog per week, just like in 2025. I also want to continue putting energy into finding partners who genuinely align with the messages and values I want to share through my sport and my platforms. If the work keeps going in, it has to pay off at some point, right?
On the competition side, my big dream for 2026 is to win my very first world-level event. I’m currently working with a mental performance coach to help me reach that goal…a real grail for me as an athlete.
On a more personal level, I want to keep raising awareness around concussions, especially by supporting people who are affected. A new project dedicated to this cause will actually launch at the beginning of the year.
And finally, in pure windsurfing terms, my main resolution is simply to enjoy being on the water as much as possible, wherever I am. But if, by the end of 2026, I can also say that I’ve fully learned the lesson of always checking behind me before taking a wave…to avoid getting destroyed by the sets coming from behind…that would be a pretty great bonus.
I know too well what it feels like to be trapped in a body full of limitations…a body you no longer recognise, that prevents you from moving freely. Today, I’m incredibly happy and grateful to feel like myself again, and to rediscover the “Coco” with many hats, many projects, and above all, a huge smile on the water. ????”
LIAM DUNKERBECK
LIAM DUNKERBECK: “For 2026 I have plenty of ideas of videos projects also good training plans to improve my performance, will start going to the Red Bull apc in Austria to get checked before the year and then I will be starting to move around looking for the best forecast possible.
At the moment I am at home right now and I have been surfing a lot because there’s been not much wind but again as I always say, I think that one sport helps the other in some point!
Happy Holidays.
Liam Dunkerbeck”
VICTOR FERNANDEZ
VICTOR FERNANDEZ: “Right now, I am in Switzerland with the family, Kona is going to school in here and my wife, Manuela got a new job here too. I am going to Spain to work at my centre on the 26th of December and I will be in Sal from the 5th of January till end of February.
Actually; my dream destination again is Sal where I can windsurf in my favourite waves in the world such as Ponta Preta, Ali Baba and a few others. At the same time, I can be with my family and they also love it there. I like the simple live style from Sal, my goal was also to lose a few kg as it will help me in light wind conditions, Cape Verde is usually very light and I remember last winter I dropped 4 kg and I was floating way better on the light wind days and I felt more agile.
Happy New Year!
Victor Fernandez!”
PAUL VAN BELLEN
“For 2026 I have a few goals. The first one is to continue the momentum with the Wave Rally event I organise. From the 9-11th January, Wave Rally 2 will happen so fingers crossed we get some good winds. It’s been a challenging but rewarding journey making an event from scratch. Seeing the happy faces and new windsurfers join in makes it all worth it.
My parents are getting older, so I’d like to spend more time with them. I would like to improve my strength and hit the gym or do some cross training. It’s pretty simple really, spend time with family, friends, maintain good health and throw in some windsurfing and I’m good for 2026!”
FINN MELLON
FINN MELLON: “Ah my Windsurfing New Years Resolutions, I have a couple that come to mind, one for coaching, learning a new move and one media related.
I am hoping 2026 is a great year for my windsurf coaching! I want to add more international wave camps to the list of Irish Wave Camps. I am excited for the Chile camps in March!
New Move…ha-ha would be nice to learn some jumping! I tend to prefer wave riding than jumping but hopefully let’s do a bit more jumping in 2026. I would also love to add a few new freestyles moves in there, maybe a shifty! I also want to get better at Goiters.
Media – I would love to bring together a good collection of clips from the year and make a short story film. I much prefer to see this than clips being wasted on 15 second Instagram reels!
Hope to see you on the water in 2026, Happy New Year!”
CLUB VASS
“Wishing you all the best for 2026…from the Club Vass Team.
We hope it’s an awesome and windy one and we can’t wait to see you out there next summer…
We’ve already asked for a bigger and better choice of brand-new 2026 windsurf gear than ever before. Virtually everything in our racks is being upgraded and it’s already on order.
Happy New Year!”
“Wishing you all the best for 2026…from the Club Vass Team.
We hope it’s an awesome and windy one and we can’t wait to see you out there next summer…
We’ve already asked for a bigger and better choice of brand-new 2026 windsurf gear than ever before. Virtually everything in our racks is being upgraded and it’s already on order.
Happy New Year!”
CLUB VASS
BJORN DUNKERBECK!
“There are lots of great moments and that is what make Windsurfing unique… there is no limits only you the ocean, lakes, wind, waves, endless freedom and space to enjoy it!
We have scored lots of fun great days on Gran Canaria all year long! The highlights when I get on the water with Liam and or Daniel, my two sons!
If you are in Gran Canaria stop by our shop in Pozo! We also rent equipment and have a school also with a truck we drive to flat water spot 10 minutes upwind of Pozo!
There were many places where I had good Windsurfing this year, Fuerteventura, Bonaire Dunkerbeck pro Center in the Sorobon lagoon and Lüderitz Namibia!
As for my New Year’s advice, get out there as often as possible Windsurfing makes you happy and you stay young forever this is a fact!
And for all Windsurf centres PLEASE take your job seriously! We need you all to make an effort to make Windsurfing EASY and accessible for anyone! We need you to share the stoke around your area and we can all help grow our SPORT Bigger again!
Windsurfers in big companies we need you to Sponsor and support the sport you LOVE! So, get in contact with me, the Local Event organizers, riders or the PWA / WWT! Events I organize and need support are the Dunkerbeck Speed Challenge, Gan Canaria WINDSURF World Cup in July and the Stand Up World Cup in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria in December with the APP!
Merry Christmas and happy new year see you on the water or Boot Düsseldorf in January, Defi Wind in May, Surf Festival in May, Bonaire Defi wind in June, Pozo in July or somewhere else!
Saludos…Bjorn Dunkerbeck!”
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