JAEGER STONE - PRO-FILE

JAEGER STONE – PRO-FILE

Jaeger Stone

has been the dark horse on tour this year that everyone didn’t want to see their name next to in the draw. He’s took down some major scalps and at one point even lead the world rankings, all in what he calls, his ‘warm up’ year !. If you’re a PWA wave competitor, be worried; if you want to know more about a refreshingly down to earth, polite but determined competitor, read on.

Words & Photos JOHN CARTER

(This feature originally appeared in the November December 2014 issue of Windsurf Magazine. To read more features like this first, Print and Digital subscriptions are available. Prices include delivery globally for 10 x issues a year!)

What initially attracted you to windsurfing?

My brother Hendrix and I had grown up going surfing every morning with Dad in our Summer holidays and normally by lunch time there was a howling seabreeze and surfing wasn’t much fun. I think that’s what attracted me to windsurfing the most, the fact that I could ride waves on my surfboard in the morning and ride waves windsurfing in the afternoon. In the end I spent far more time windsurfing, especially during school term because by the time I would finish school in the afternoon it was normally 20-30 knots. As my Dad always says, growing up in Geraldton and not windsurfing is like growing up in the snow and not skiing or snowboarding.

Where did you learn, and where are your favourite spots back in WA?

I learnt to windsurf at St. George’s beach in Geraldton. St. George’s is a sandy beach with a few patches of reef and about 300m of flat water before you reach a couple of little waves. I probably windsurfed there for about 6-12 months and learnt how to plane, waterstart and gybe before I started sailing at Coronation and getting in to the waves. Coronation is still one of my favourite places in the world. It is such a good set-up. There’s a really shallow reef just upwind of where we windsurf there, so it’s super smooth on the inside for about 200m, then as you get past that the waves progressively get bigger until you pass the bombies out the back. During the day it’s really good jumping being side-shore to cross-on, and then an hour before sunset the wind normally swings cross-off and it becomes sick for wave-riding. The whole W.A. coast is amazing for windsurfing though and Geraldton is right in the middle of a couple of my other favourite spots, Gnaraloo, Margaret River and Esperance. We have such good variety with these waves. Gnaraloo is a perfect long left, Margaret River is a massive bowl where you really need to be hitting or turning as close to the lip as possible to ride it well and Esperance is a punchy, fun cross-off beach break.

Where are you based now?

Now that I’ve finished with University I’ve moved back to Geraldton after 4 years in Perth. I have the best lifestyle here and the beach is so accessible. I can surf, windsurf or fish every day so for the moment Geraldton is perfect, especially while I am focusing on my windsurfing again.

What are your ambitions in windsurfing?

One day I’d like to be recognised as the best wave rider in the world, at least on port tack. Growing up I always wanted to be the Wave World Champion and that’s why I’m doing the tour now, to see if I can achieve that. I don’t think you need to be World Champion anymore to be recognised as the best wave rider in the world though and I guess Levi (primarily, but a couple of others are) is responsible for making me think like that.

How much was Scotty McKercher an influence on originally persuading you to do the world tour?

Scotty never persuaded me to do the World Tour, it was always something I wanted to do but when I was younger he just made it more appealing to travel. I enjoy travelling so much more when I have some of my mates with me. Scotty is really relaxed and we both like our space and getting away from the circus at the beach so we get along quite well. The first couple of years I travelled with him I was so quiet and shy I didn’t really talk to him at all. Once I get to know people though and start getting comfortable I’m the opposite and don’t mind trying to annoy them or giving them a hard time. Scotty has a good sense of humour too so most trips have a couple of belly laughs. I once let him talk me in to sculling a whole glass full of sweet and sour sauce for 5 Euros. He thought it was funny but it took me a good couple of years to even bear the smell of sweet and sour sauce again.

Hanging out with Scotty so much when I was younger though, and even now has definitely motivated me to progress my windsurfing further, especially my waveriding. He’s almost old enough to be my Great Grandad but he still hits bigger lips than just about anyone. Being around someone like that, when you’re looking at a big lip you just have to hit it or you walk up the beach with your head down and hope he didn’t see it. He still probably pushes my wave riding more than almost anyone else and to be able to travel and sail regularly with someone that pushes you so much is pretty cool.

Is it tougher for an Aussie to come to Europe to compete?

I think it’s more expensive to get to the events for sure, but it depends on how you do it. This year, ideally I would have liked to stay in Europe for the month off between Tenerife and Klitmoller, but I needed to go home and work to keep my job and maintain my learning as a Physiotherapist. If I had stayed, then it wouldn’t be too much more expensive and hopefully in the future I will be able to stay.

Was it a tough decision to take four years out to study to become Physio ?
At times it was pretty hard to be at University while everyone else was windsurfing every day of the week but I really wanted to have something else to fall back on. When I finished school I wanted to commit to the Tour for a couple of years before studying but I ended up injuring my foot quite badly in 2009 and was unable to windsurf for over 6 months. That’s when I decided to go to University and finish a Physiotherapy degree before I gave the Tour another go. It was hard because I wasn’t able to live in Geraldton and my course was pretty full-on so I wasn’t able to windsurf anywhere near as much as I wanted. I’m happy now that I made that decision though and I feel that it was definitely worth it.

You must have a pretty cool boss to let you take time off to do the PWA?
My boss is a keen windsurfer and he has been one of the biggest supporters of my Dad’s boards so I have known him since I was really young. Max (my boss) was my Physiotherapist growing up and always knew that I wanted to compete on the Tour for a few years. I am really lucky to be given the opportunity to travel and to take several months off a year to windsurf and then to come home to a job I really enjoy as well.

Why did you come back and compete on the tour, surely it was quite risky with the trials?
Competing on the World Tour was what I always wanted to do and to get back on to the Tour you don’t have a choice but to do the trials. The trials are quite nerve-racking for sure and I was really nervous about them in Pozo. That was where I felt the most pressure but it was pressure that I was putting on myself. Everyone in the trials is a threat and most of those guys are previous PWA sailors who have had some time off or they are the best local guys who know their home spot inside out and are looking to break on to the World Tour. I approached the trials like I would a normal heat and knew that if I wanted to be competitive in the main event then I had to beat those guys in the trials.

Why did your dad sign up as a member of the PWA rather than just let you sail on white boards or use another brands graphics?

It was more my choice to join the PWA than my Dad’s. Dad didn’t mind what I did but I wanted to represent Stone Surfboards and ride the boards that I prefer to ride without feeling like they had to be covered up, just to protect the bigger brands. Stone Surfboards isn’t a big brand at all, Dad shapes boards in a small shed behind our house and he has no aspirations to get any bigger. He’s just happy shaping 1-2 surfboards a week and 1 sailboard every 2 weeks or so, spending the rest of his time surfing, windsurfing or fishing. I earn more money than him now in my first year as a Physiotherapist too so I wanted to pay the fees to get a bit more involved myself. Now that I’ve finished studying I want to learn how to shape my own boards over the next few years too so maybe one day I’ll be riding those.

Was the prize money enough to cover all your expenses?

This year I was always expecting to have to spend some of the money I’ve earned through working, especially because I haven’t been in the windsurfing scene much over the last 4 years. Thankfully though, Severne and Kinetic IT who have supported me since I basically began windsurfing helped me to get to all the events this year. The prize money definitely helps and means that I don’t have to go too much in to my own money to pay for my travels.

Were you surprised you nailed two 4ths in Pozo and Tenerife?

Yeah, I was so focused in both events and it all happened pretty quickly so I didn’t think about it too much. I was definitely more surprised I finished 4th in Pozo though compared to Tenerife. Pozo was my first competition back in 3 years and it’s normally dominated by the local guys who focus on jumping. In Pozo, I guess you’re not expected to do well unless you’re doing doubles and the pressure is definitely there if you aren’t doing them. I didn’t feel comfortable doing them in the conditions I had during my heats though so I didn’t. At the moment doubles and push loop-forwards are the only jumps I’m not doing consistently but I started doing doubles again last season in W.A. which is the first full season I’ve sailed in 4-5 years. That was my goal for the last season, to start doing doubles again and I achieved that so I was happy. The goal for this season coming up though is to start doing them more consistently and to get back in to push-loop forwards. I’m just taking my time and making sure I feel comfortable though. I’ve had plenty of time off the water due to injuries and I’m really enjoying going sailing at the moment. In Tenerife I just had fun going sailing all the time and I always do when I’m in Tenerife. There are some waves there that you can do a proper turn on and the wave hits the reef in a similar way to one of the waves I sail in Geraldton.

What aspects of your sailing helped you beat some of the world’s best?

I’m not too sure, I think I just tried to sail smart and to focus on my strengths which I feel is my wave-riding. In both events, but Pozo in particular, sometimes the waves were quite small so it was really important to pick the best that were coming through. Picking the best waves allows you to do bigger and better turns and hopefully the judges are starting to reward that. The conditions weren’t the best in both competitions either, but it was still fun to go sailing and it felt like quite a few people didn’t really think that. I tried to stay positive throughout each heat and that was probably what I found to be the most helpful aspect.

Tell us about the boards you are using, what makes them so special?

All the boards I use are Stone Surf Designs shaped by my Dad, Mark. He’s been shaping surfboards for 30 years now and was shaping them for almost 20 years before he started shaping sailboards. I guess that ‘apprenticeship’ of shaping surfboards for so long prior to sailboards makes him think differently to some of the other sailboard designers. When he first started building my boards 13 or 14 years ago, it made more sense to him to shape thrusters. I always remember I felt so comfortable at home riding thrusters growing up because most of the locals were on Dad’s boards, but when I went to Hawaii I almost wanted to hide my board because I felt like I didn’t fit in and that not many people accepted multi-fin boards. It really wasn’t until Kauli started winning a few events on a twin fin that people started to try them out.Single fins and twin fins can be fun to sail but you don’t really see anyone on the ASP World Tour riding them.Dad’s always coming up with new ideas regarding construction, fins or new shapes to try but the focus is always to try and develop a sailboard that feels like a surfboard. The boards I am using at the moment are thrusters in high winds and quads in light winds. In high winds my thrusters allow me to push as hard as I can and release the fins or re-engage them whenever I want to. The quads are a little wider and have a straighter outline so in light winds I feel like I can produce more speed on the wave. The really short boards we’re using have a really similar rocker line to my quads with a couple of adjustments. I think trying different shapes and ideas whether it works or not helps us learn and keeps us moving forward.

How do you like the Pro edition Severne Sails?

The new sails are easily the best I’ve ever used. When I first started testing the proto-types I used them for a couple of sessions and put them away in the shed because I didn’t want to use them anymore. Not because they were bad but because they were so good I didn’t want to use my current sails anymore. I really feel that along with my boards they will help progress my wave riding and help me ride a wave as close as possible to the way a surfer would. These sails are so responsive that the transition from power to no power happens as quickly as you want it to and I think that immediate responsiveness is really important for wave-riding. Their weight is unbelievable as well and they will change what is possible to do on bigger gear.

How do you get along with Ben Severne?

I get along with Ben really well. When I first started sailing and Severne was just beginning I remember Ben made me a pink and yellow 3.0 that I used almost every day. I think it’s really cool that I’ve been using Severne Sails since they began and that I’ve known Ben since I was 11. He tries to talk me in to doing some pretty sketchy things sometimes (like dying my moustache black when I it was just blonde bum fluff) but other than that he helps me with everything and having his support, whether I’m away competing or not, definitely helps me windsurf as well as I can. I think of Ben as a coach and a mentor in many ways and often ask him for advice. Before competing against Alex in Round 1 in Pozo and Ricardo in Round 1 in Tenerife I was pretty nervous but being able to speak to Ben helped me to be mentally prepared for those heats. I don’t feel any pressure from Ben to perform well in contests or to get results and I feel like he always supports what I’m doing.

We heard Koester came out to Gnaraloo last year, what was it like to sail with him at one of your favourite breaks?

Yeah Philip came out in November/December and we had a sick couple of days in Gnaraloo with Scotty and Ben. It’s always good to sail with Philip and although we have different styles I feel like I learn something every time I do or I get inspired to keep working on new things and to push different aspects of my own windsurfing. Philip is the sailor that when he walks down the beach most people just stop what they’re doing and watch him sail and it was the same in Western Australia. I was happy to sit in the car park on the cliff and watch him for a while as well but after a few minutes I just wanted to be out there trying to learn it all myself. Now that he’s on Severne hopefully I get the opportunity to sail at different locations with him in W.A. every season.

What did you think of his sailing in Pozo and Tenerife?

Philip always sails well and he sailed really well in both events. Everybody is still trying to catch up to Philip in the air-game and although a few are starting to get closer he is still a level above. Pozo and Tenerife can be quite hard to adapt to and they are essentially Philip’s home spots but he looks so comfortable sailing in those winds compared to just about everyone else. There were a couple of times in Pozo and Tenerife when we were talking about gear and what size sails we were using and I felt a little feminine when I was taking out a 4.4 and he’s still holding down a 5.7. Philip let me know that though.

What are your plans for 2015?

Hopefully in 2015 I’ll be able to compete on the whole PWA World Tour again. I want to commit to the tour for a couple of years to give it my best shot and to see how I go. I can’t expect to do really well straight away on my first attempt at the whole tour so this year is to prepare for next year and to learn as much as I can. Depending on the support I get, I would like to have a bit more time off work to focus on windsurfing as much as I can and get to the events a little earlier to adapt and prepare. I want to spend a longer period of time training starboard tack as well. I would love to feel like I can sail equally as well on both tacks but that will just take some time and practise. I really like going on windsurfing trips with Scotty and Ben, chasing swells and perfect waves, so hopefully I can do a little more of that.