SOURCE: IKsurfmag – December 14th, 2023
https://www.iksurfmag.com/articles/issue102/moona-on-the-move/
Moona Whyte, a 29 yr old wind sports fanatic from Hawaii, joined the F-One team in July of 2023. With a lengthy list of titles and accomplishments, including wingfoil wave world champion of 2023 and 3x kitesurfing world champion, it is no doubt Moona will continue to crush it. Continue reading and learn more from “Moona on the Move”, published by IKSURF MAG.
“This year brought significant changes my way, and I embraced it all, going with the flow. It led me to new places, introduced me to new people, let me ride in diverse conditions on different gear, explore a new discipline, and clinch two world titles! To be honest, achieving all this wasn’t my initial goal for the year. I attended one event after another, and it all just snowballed. Each victory fueled my passion, making me crave more. Now that it’s over, I feel a mix of relief, surprise, and pride.
It all began when I decided to participate in the first kite event of the year in Cabo Verde, home to one of my favorite waves in the world. The forecast promised good waves and wind, making it an ideal spot for my discipline. I registered, looking forward to having fun, regardless of the competition’s outcome. The organizers then surprised me, asking if I wanted to compete in the wingfoil discipline which was scheduled during the same waiting period. Unaware of the existence of a pure wave wingfoil tour, as it was the first one ever, I wasn’t sure about the competition level. Still, since I was already there, I decided to give it a shot. After all, it’s just a few more kilos in my board bag!
In previous competitions, I would always attend with my partner Keahi, the best coach, caddy, and supporter you could ask for. This year, I ventured out alone, finding myself the oldest among an almost entirely new field of competitors. Returning to the tour after four years away was especially nerve-wracking. It was challenging but rewarding to step out of my comfort zone and accomplish this on my own, although I had ample support and encouragement from everyone on the tour.”
“I vividly recall my first wave in my first heat of the year—a classic Ponta Preta wall with power in my kite. A single impressive turn followed up with some more moves down the line earned me a score of around 8. It felt good to be back and even better to come back with a win! I was already content and gave little thought to the next competition on the wing. Going into my wing heats with no expectations, I faced some of the biggest and steepest waves I’d ever foiled in but secured another first-place finish and my first “double win”.
Not only was it a big step for me to compete again, but doing so in a different sport was a new experience. I never thought I would compete in foiling; it was always just something fun to do when the waves get small at home. I had never pushed myself too hard on the wing or trained in bigger waves, so this win was unexpected, but it gave me some new motivation to continue the tour.
The Cabo Verde event marked the end of a 10-year partnership with Cabrinha and was the last one on my current gear. In June, I officially joined the F-ONE international team. Our first photoshoot in Fiji allowed me to work on my backhand kiting, preparing for the Rio competition, the second stop of the tour. I had always wanted to go to Brazil before and decided to give the tour one more try. Many people asked how it was to switch gear after so many years with one brand, but I found it to be an easy transition, as I genuinely liked the new equipment. I had a lot of confidence in my riding, which made me want to show the world how well it performed.”
“Arriving in Saquarema for the next stop, I found fun waves but minimal wind. Other kiters had been in the area for two weeks and had no more than two hours on the water! The first day of the waiting period brought just enough wind to run the event, and we ended up finishing the women’s category in one day. I won again, using a 10m kite in the final—the largest kite I’ve ever used in competition. After that, we finished the waiting period with 10 days of beach tennis, surfing, and playing tourists in Rio!
They attempted to run the wingfoil division, and my first heat got canceled twice mid-heat. We were out in the water floating, waiting for gusts that never came. After a couple of 4am wake up calls and changing locations to a close-to-shore beach break, we were able to finish our event. I ended up in 2nd place behind Nia Suardiaz, a talented 16-year-old ripper, and one of the top wingfoilers in surf-freestyle and freefly-slalom. It was not my best performance and not the best image after just switching brands!
Having won two kite events and one wing event, I decided to compete in Dakhla, another favorite spot. The event started with wingfoiling, which posed a new challenge, diverting focus from my main discipline. To have the mental and physical stress of another competition plus the risk of injury right before kiting was tough, and I had to switch focus for a few days. Losing my first round heat to Bowien Vanderlinden put me against Nia in the semifinals, a world title-deciding heat. Nia foiled exceptionally well, as always, and was trying 360 jumps on the wave. I knew I had to step it up, so I foiled more aggressively than I ever have. I was proud but knew it wouldn’t be enough.”
“When I got out of the water, I heard the beach announcer say, “Moona Whyte, World Champion!”. I knew there must be a mistake! But, sure enough, Nia had not landed her jumps, and I had won the heat. The relief of that heat and the confidence boost it gave me kept me relaxed enough during the final against Bowien to take the win once again! It didn’t feel real, and I was still mentally focused on kiting, so as soon as I could, I went out on my kite again.
The waves during the kite event were head high, clean, side shore, and over a minute long. In one heat, I had two 8’s and a 9-point ride. It was one of my favorite days of competition ever. I felt really comfortable in these conditions and on my new kites and won the event again!
I went from the high of that event to the final kite event of the year in Cauipe, Brazil – one of the toughest events I’ve ever done. The waves were small and messy, and the wind was almost straight onshore. I was not used to the conditions or the format, which was either 2 waves and 1 strapless trick, or vice versa, depending on your riding. The maximum score possible was 30 points.”
“I felt good in my practice sessions, but the women’s heats were timed perfectly with the low tide or in the evening with very light wind. All of the girls were kiting well in these tough conditions and most of them were very good at strapless freestyle, so they had an advantage over my wave riding. Capucine Delannoy won the event with some of the best strapless freestyle I’ve seen, including perfect double front rolls. But, I had a good heat in the semis with Camille Losserand, current strapless big air world champion, and won that heat, which earned me the world title!
It was great to have all of these wins in a year that started with low expectations. I feel so accomplished and proud of myself for going for it on my own! I was happy to perform my best on my new gear that I love. But the real win for me was meeting so many cool people and gaining new friendships through this sport. I’ve been so inspired by all the women I competed with this year to push myself and maybe even learn a new strapless freestyle trick—I said maybe! I’m confident that the sport is in good hands with all this young talent. The two world title trophies on my desk will always serve as reminders of the good times and the amazing people who contributed to my success.”
Congratulations on such an amazing year, Moona! We can’t wait too see what comes next.
