Jaeger Stone is the kind of dude that everyone actually likes. The 32-year-old Australian epitomises the proverbial composure of the people from Down Under. No airs and graces, always friendly and nice, but rather reserved - which is not in the nature of every Australian. There was never a bad word to be heard about Jaeger from his competitors in the World Cup. On the contrary: when it comes to his performance on the water, his colleagues speak of him with great respect. When it came to the title of Wave World Champion on the PWA Tour, his name was regularly mentioned at the start of the season as one of the potential title holders. In 2019, he won the World Cup in Tenerife, but then disappeared from the competition stage. We met up with him again in his home country.
Where does your unusual first name come from?
Haha, my parents just like unusual names, perhaps influenced a little by music: my brother's name is Hendrix.
The last three years have probably also been very special in your home country. How was the lockdown due to Covid in Western Australia?
Well, our borders with the other states and the rest of the world were completely closed for a while. But apart from a few localised lockdowns, everything was almost the same for us in Western Australia. There were social distancing rules, which were modified from time to time. But we were actually lucky, because there weren't really many restrictions for us in everyday life. To be honest, I can't complain and I know that the situation was very different in other parts of the world.
Western Australia has always been a windsurfing stronghold. How did you get into the sport?
I started windsurfing when I was eleven. My dad Mark had started a year earlier. He then shaped boards for a few local windsurfers. He wanted to develop a better understanding of the boards and design back then and is still passionate about it today. He also taught me all the basics. From then on, he, my brother Hendy and I were out on the water almost every day during the windsurfing season.
You raced your first World Cup event in 2006, after which you climbed steeply and steadily up the rankings. You came third in 2015 and fourth in 2016 and 2018. Do you remember any very special moments?
There were quite a few, both in and out of the competition. I would say winning the Red Bull Storm Chase and the World Cup event in Tenerife in the same year, 2019, was very special. The Red Bull Storm Chase was a real highlight - something that is very important to me and very special. I didn't really see the event as a competition at the time, but rather as an adventure. I like the event format, the conditions we surfed in, the opportunities that an event like this gives you. Winning there gave me a lot of confidence. But I wanted to prove to myself that I could also win a traditional PWA World Cup. I've been in the final several times, but I'd never won before. So it was a special experience to finally win a final in the same year in Tenerife, where I love to be. I also have fond memories of the eleven points for my push-forward loop in Pozo - that was pretty cool. But there were also so many great moments outside of the competitions, I'm definitely looking forward to more of them!
Why don't you describe what was so special about the Red Bull Storm Chase?
It was a really wild ride. The waiting period until it finally started properly lasted several years because there were no suitable storms within the time window for the contest. When the forecast looked good, I got the call - within twelve hours I was packed and on my way to the airport, heading for Ireland. Ireland is just beautiful, I really enjoyed the experience. The conditions were totally different and we got on the water for several days - it was really fun. Of course, I was also quite nervous and scared of the unknown, but that's what makes it exciting and was an opportunity for me to get out of my comfort zone and push as hard as I could. You don't often get the chance to surf in these extreme conditions with some of the best windsurfers and the best water safety crew in the world.
It was a wild ride and an opportunity to get out of my comfort zone and push as hard as I could."
Apart from the cold, I felt as well prepared as possible for the event. So I was able to focus on having fun and taking every opportunity to do something extraordinary. It was really extreme, sometimes it felt like you couldn't hold on to the sail because it was just too windy. Because sometimes your hands were just so cold that you couldn't feel anything. I was very happy that I was so well familiarised with my equipment. I used a Severne S-1 Pro in 3.0 and 3.3 square metres, but I also had a custom in 2.7 in reserve. That was a help, especially mentally, because I knew that I could go one size smaller if I had to. The problem with a sail that was too small, however, was that you sometimes had no more pressure in the sail in the lee of the waves. My board was a custom Starboard/Stone Surf, which ultimately became the inspiration for the Ultra Kodes and the current Severne boards that I now ride. Winning the event in those conditions against all the other great competitors was amazing. I am very grateful for this opportunity and cherish this moment in my life.
So why did you stop competing even though you were doing really well and had the chance to win the world title?
It was a really difficult decision that I thought about intensively for months. In 2020, I had the opportunity to slow down and think about what I really want, what I like and what my values are. It wasn't a decision that I made overnight, I took my time. My interest in competitions changed in 2018/2019, I was already thinking about what I really enjoyed and what I wanted to do. But it wasn't until everything was virtually stopped because of corona that I had the time to reflect and think about what my options were. I always felt better windsurfing and touring when that wasn't my only focus. When I was still working before and after the events or studying online during the events, I enjoyed that too. I just wanted to create as much flexibility and options as possible between work, lifestyle and windsurfing.
It's strange to go from being a full pro to a normal surfer with a normal job."
I love being here in Western Australia - and leaving family and friends for half the year to compete has always been difficult for me. I've really enjoyed travelling and competing - and really appreciate being able to do that. But I want to concentrate on other things now. It was a tough decision for me. It's strange to go from being a full-time professional who gets paid to go windsurfing to someone who works full-time in a normal job. But no matter how difficult it gets: It's good to know that it's my choice and that I also have other options in life that I can be passionate about. With windsurfing, I just want to have fun and push myself to improve - and to surf as well as I can. Just without competitions. However, I'm not completely ruling out the possibility of taking part in one or two competitions again. But only if I feel like it. At the moment it feels pretty good, I just do what I feel like doing.
What's more, you injured your knee in October 2019. What happened and are you fully fit again?
I've just been back to Australia to pick up equipment and prepare for the World Cup in Maui. I was surfing a round and landed a forward loop too hard, which caused my foot to slip out of the straps and I injured the medial and cruciate ligaments and the meniscus in my right knee. I knew straight away that it was going to be a lengthy process. The end of 2019 was a pretty significant part of my life with a lot of big changes and a few hurdles to overcome. The injury was just one of them. I've always believed that I'll come back from an injury better than before, and it was the same with this one. Injuries give you time to reflect and teach you to be patient and overcome setbacks.
You mentioned possibly taking part in competitions again. Any concrete plans?
I think I'm going to do one of the local events here in Western Australia. The Windsurfing Western Australia events aren't that competitive, it's just fun to meet everyone again. If there are good events on the tour in 2023, I might apply for a wildcard - but we'll see. Somehow travelling somewhere and just concentrating on the competition doesn't mean enough to me anymore. I prefer travelling with friends and surfing with them all day...
What do you do for a living now?
Something I've been thinking about for a long time, but which requires quite a commitment: firefighting. When I was travelling so much and racing the World Cups, it somehow wasn't the right time to become a firefighter. But I started the selection process in 2020 and was lucky enough to be selected for 2021. I haven't been there long, but it's a really great job that also gives you a great work-life balance. It's a varied role and I feel like I'm constantly learning. I really enjoy it and I'm very grateful to have been given the opportunity to do this job.
You are also involved in board development at Severne, and your Pro Model has just been released. Please tell us about it.
Yes, Dad (Mark Stone, Stone Surf, editor's note.) worked as a shaper in the nineties with quite extreme designs such as the Wave Scalpel and also asymmetric boards. We've learnt and evolved quite a lot since then, but the plan was to pick up some of the old ideas, albeit with a little sensitivity. The design and ideas behind our boards have always been simple - and it was very important that a board was easy to ride. It's designed so that no matter what level you surf at, you can improve with it. We started from my favourite board and incorporated some of the earlier concepts to improve it slightly. Especially for port tack conditions (Wind from the left, editor's note.), as I have 90 per cent of them here. We designed a thinner rail and a deeper concave on the bottom turn side to get through the chop better and provide better grip. For the top turn, we shortened the rail, turning the symmetrical swallow tail into an asymmetrical S-tail.
The short side helps with tighter top turns, while the longer side provides more rail in the water for bottom turns. The radius of the rails has also been adjusted accordingly on each side. We actually thought the board would work best in down-the-line conditions, but found out that the design even benefits onshore conditions. It's a never-ending story, but in short: the board is specifically tuned for a certain wind direction, but also works in the other wind direction. I've surfed several times this winter in right hand winds here in Western Australia and the port tack version has been a lot of fun.
What are your plans for the future?
I just want to enjoy what I'm doing, where and with whom I'm travelling. I'm looking forward to learning more, windsurfing, surfing and diving as much as I can. I have a beautiful home with some land, and my partner and I work a lot on it. We grow our own fruit and vegetables and have animals. Now that I have a bit more time with my job, I'm hoping to film more windsurfing action again soon. We'll see what happens...
