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Antoine Albert (Goya Windsurfing) recently competed In the Morocco PWA Qualifier, which was eventually won by Antoine Martin (NeilPryde), where the New Caledonian finished joint 7th.

Now the 24-year-old has released a full write up and a short recap video summing up his Morocco experience.

Antoine Albert: “It was my 3rd time in Moulay Bouzerktoun this year, I really love this place it’s super chill, you always get a warm welcome from the locals, you eat good and you ride every day, surf or windsurf. I arrived 2 weeks before the start of the IWT/PWA qualifier to remember the spot and how to sail on starboard tack after 4 months of port, I had wind almost everyday and a large diversity of conditions, big waves and light wind, the opposite and big waves and strong wind so I was quite prepared for the competition.

I also had some nice freestyle sessions with jumps and moves in between the waves on 4.4 and 4.2 Bounce and 94L Air.

Then the competition started, the first fews days were quiet for me (I was in the pro division) as they started with all the other categories (amateur, youth and grand master) because a big Saturday was coming, perfect to run the pro fleet. I was in the first heat of the first round against the legend and local Boujmaa Guilloul, tough heat! We started the Friday (day before the big day) and on our first heat the wind was super light and mini waves, however I managed to give my best and finished 2nd in the heat, 3 points behind the King.

The IWT runs a dingle like the WSL (World Surf League) does, that means in the first round, the first guy out of the 3 goes straight into the 3rd round and the 2 others are split into the 2nd round.

The Saturday, waves were pumping and we waited all morning long for the wind to shift from dead off shore to side shore, sets were around mast high and I was well powered up on 4.5 Banzaï, first heat with my 75L custom and then switched for the 70L custom for the rest of the day. In those conditions, Head Judge, Duncan Coombs, chose not to add jumps, it was a proper wave sailing competition.

I advanced another 2 rounds with good wave selection, mixed with good turns, aerials and goiters that brought me into the semifinal. Unfortunately in my last heat I struggled to find nice waves and was a bit overpowered on 4.5 so I finished in the 4th place in the semifinal heat, that’s mean a 7th place overall at the PWA qualifier.

The next week was an off week for us, waves were massive, so I decided to train in freestyle starboard tack on the inside close to the beach, as Leucate, France, could be similar to this.

Overall I’m quite happy with my sailing, except in my last heat where I’m sure I could have done better, but I take this event as a good experience for further wave competitions.

My next event will be the European Freestyle Pro Tour (EFPT) in Leucate from the 18th till the 22th of April.”

You can see Antoine Albert sailing in Moulay @ vimeo.com/264070092