ODA BRODHOLT: ARUBA QUARANTINE
When Oda Brodhalt headed out to Aruba in March for some winter training alongside Sarah Quita Offringa she had no idea she would end up in quarantine. When lock down and travel restrictions started accelerating she decided her safest course of action was to stay put in Aruba, with the added bonus that she would be able to stay and train with her best friend and the freestyle world champion SQ! We caught up with Oda to find out how she has been coping with the Aruba quarantine as well as living 24/7 with Sarah Quita!
Photos: PWA/ Carter
WS: We saw you are in Aruba right now with Sarah Quita, did you get stuck there or did you choose to stay?
OB: I left Norway when it was snowy and cold! Landed on windy Aruba, sunny and warm! After two weeks the Corona situation got wild. I could not imagine they would close the airport for months as the island needs tourists. But at the same time, I could stay at Sarah´s house and train with her. I decided if it would last some months, I knew I would be at the best windy place and also train with the best! So, I decided to stay and did not try to hurry home. The wind has been epic and I feel I am in the right place. I do miss my family, friends and boyfriend a lot, but they all supported me in my decision to stay here. We facetime a lot and soon we will all be reunited!
WS: What is it like hanging out with Sarah 24/7?
OB: You can call it a 24/7 entertainment! She is the most positive and funny person I know and we laugh so much. I stopped training my abs as they would be over-trained due to all the laughing! We have a trend to hype each other up and motivate each other. When we go on trips to do our “training camps” with freestyle, foil, slalom, wave, kite, tennis, CrossFit, running and wrestling, 2-3 sessions a day with different sports. I have more energy as I have a Sarah buddy that is always up for doing things. I think the reason is that we have so many similar hobbies and can match each other.
In windsurfing, I am super lucky to sail with her every day. She is the world number 1, so the only thing I can do it to try and hang in there and step up my game. Only thing is that she is also stepping up her game even more! I am sure she is the best overall skilled windsurfer on the planet and everything she puts her mind in to – she goes all in! I also go ‘ALL IN’ when I get motivated, so we are a great match! I spent more time with her for the last 12 months than I have even spent with anyone. Sometimes I feel we are having too much fun doing all the things we do when someone else maybe would call it hard work because they have to do it all by themselves. It´s like running…it´s hard alone, but more fun together pushing each other.
WS: How many coffees do you two drink a day?
OB: I think Sarah is at 3 coffee´s a day, some days 4-5 (but that is too much for her!) True story is that I really like the fact of having “Coffee time” but I don´t even drink real coffee! So, I always order a Latte with half a shot! But last week I did my first 2 single shot latte´s! Came home to the house pretty proud, before Sarah´s mom told me: “Oda – don´t get addicted to coffee, Sarah is taking you down the wrong path!” Well, let´s just say the day after I went back to the half-shot latte or just a cup of tea! Her mum, Esther is a smart woman and I will take her advice!
WS: Seems like you two are best friends, what will happen when you compete against each other?
OB: I think we will make a funny face if we get eye contact and if she lands a big move in front of me I will scream wow, and then try to also land some moves that will make her shout wow back. In the end, in freestyle you can only focus on your own sailing – that is the only thing we can control. In general, I am only focusing on myself in the heat, trying to sail smart and catch the best gusts. In slalom it´s different. We had a funny moment in a race in Denmark where we were super close in the front at the first mark. I looked at her, she looked at me and for a split second we were like “How are we going do this, who is going to gybe first??” ha-ha! I trained with her the last year and I know she is a few knots faster than anyone else, so we sailed safe and I got 2nd after Sarah´s first place. It was a golden moment for both of us. If there would have been another sailor at that moment I would have risked harder at the first mark as I know I have the same or faster speed than the other girls, but at this point, no one is as fast as SQ so it was an easy calculation!
WS: Do you like competing or do you prefer having fun free sailing?
OB: I am very competitive, and I know I need it in my life. But my favourite thing is to go on trips and train new moves and make videos. I like fun projects where you mix creativity with windsurfing. I also surround myself with a bunch of great people who are super motivated to improve in windsurfing. Nothing is like landing a new move you been training for. At the same time, ending a contest on the podium is also great, but only if I sailed well and had sick conditions.
WS: What have you two been doing on Aruba?
OB: First weeks everything was open here. Again, we hype each other up so in one day we could go windsurfing, kiting and end the day with a tennis training with Sarah´s tennis coach. The day after could start with 8AM CrossFit session, breakfast in town before a freestyle, slalom or foil session. In the evening we would drive to Boca to kite. If the wind was too light we would drive around the island listening to great music while singing illegally loud! During each day we will make sure to get my daily amount of chocolate while SQ would finish a whole bag of grapes. In between everything we both make sure to get some “office” hours to work and finish different projects. We always seem to have some projects going on. Making Lovely Holiday videos, preparing future windsurfing clinics and so on!
WS: Do you miss the travel right now?
OB: At this point I am just very happy I am able to windsurf, and that the forecast is great! I don´t want to miss these sessions here on Aruba, so yes, happy I am here to focus on pure training and not booking flight tickets non-stop. That said I do hope we get to compete this year!
WS: When did the idea for the lovely holidays video come about?
OB: Around 1.5 years ago!
WS: Are they hard work to make and how much fun are they?
OB: We have been through different type of videos now. It´s not hard work, just because it is our own idea, and we don´t have anyone who tells us what to do. We do whatever we want to do and this are our projects for ourselves, so then it does not feel like hard work. We also laugh a lot! Just because the videos and the ideas are, just ridiculous. I thought it would be harder to “book all the male models” but they were all very helpful and said yes straight. That said, we are business-women. We did not always tell them upfront what they needed to do!
WS: Who comes up with the ideas?
OB: I would say we both have the ideas. I maybe sometimes start with one idea, and then when SQ starts to think about it her mind is an idea machine. Together we make a plan and find a film crew who can help us get it done.
WS: Where will be the next lovely holiday destination?
OB: The plan is to make one from Aruba! After that, we have to see what the Corona situation will be and see which trips we will end up doing this year.
WS: Have you improved a lot sailing with Sarah everyday?
OB: I am feeling a lot of improvement. We have had great conditions last days and everything feels more effortless and I can put more power and hight into my moves. Sailing with SQ is great. She is sailing well during contests but even more impressive at free sailing. In windsurfing, we don’t have a coach, so it feels great to be a member of the Lovely Holiday training camps. There is a lot of communication going on through the sessions and in general just a lot of help being pushed by the best. We do film a lot also and in the evening we watch and analyze everything to get better and prepared for the next session.
WS: What did you do before windsurfing?
OB: I studied at the Norwegian School of Sports Science and I played professional handball in Norway until I was 21 years old. After that windsurfing stole my heart, and I followed my dream living as a windsurfer. How I made it happen is still unreal, but I am forever grateful for the opportunity and all the sponsors believing in me. It has been a dream and that is why I also make sure to go ‘all in’ in this sport and try to learn as much as possible. I don´t like to waste my time!
WS: What are your other passions aside from windsurfing?
OB: It used to be handball, now it is CrossFit, running, kiting, mountain bike, climbing, bowl skating and skiing but nothing beats windsurfing: Freestyle, wave, slalom, and foil, those are still my first favourite sports.
WS: What would be your idea of the perfect windsurf session?
OB: Severne freek 4.0 or 4.4 and my Starboard iGnite 87L and 25-30 knots. Shoulder to head high ramps and flat in-between the waves. So, jumping on the way out and freestyling on the way in between the waves. Those are my favourite conditions.
WS: Do you miss not being at events and do you think you will be back competing this season?
OB: I miss seeing everyone and compete in wild conditions. That´s a great time to create memories and great stories… But at this point the world situation and people´s health is more important than windsurfing. I am sure we will be back competing as soon as the world is ready for it! I stay positive and hopefully we can compete this year!
WS: what are your ambitions with windsurfing?
OB: All my goals are pretty detailed. I want to land certain moves, I want to finish more slalom events on the podium. My everyday ambition in windsurfing is to make the best out of every session. I try to always have a plan for what I want to improve and I keep trying until I make it. Somethings I learn fast and some things feel like it takes forever! If I learn something new, I am stoked, until the next session. Then I am on a new mission trying to learn something else. The goal is to progress, and that is, in the end, the only feeling that makes me really deeply happy. I could maybe finish on the podium not improving for a whole year, but I would not be happy. Progress is the ultimate happiness in windsurfing for me and I guess that´s where the biggest motivations are. Never be stuck in one place – keep moving!
WS: what do you love about windsurfing?
OB: The places windsurfing takes me to and the people I meet are great things about windsurfing! If I get strong wind and at the same time feeling progress in my sailing, I am happy! If I come off the water with a new skill you will see me smiling! If I come back from a session not saying much it´s probably because I did not feel any progress or I ducked or crashed my sail too many times in the water!
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