Wavesailing Adventures

Wavesailing Adventures

Donnerstag, 19. März 2015

Cabo Verde AWT experience 2015 Part.1





Cabo Verde AWT experience 2015....ohhhhh man...what a beautiful and awesome and intense experience it was!!! Looking back on my way to Sal it began all in my head...I was dreaming a long time ago to go to Sal and windsurf those awesome waves! But since I dont feel very comfortable flying in these Airbuses of today, I did not know how to really get there ...and ferrys doesnt exist...so the dream was parked...and I rather loved to visit countries and new wavespots by camper...easy!
But last year my skateboardcrew of my schoolyears decided to check a new travel destiny for 2015...and Cabo Verde was on the list! Cool but...ok... I will see!
Later one night I was sitting in front of the livestream of the Aloha Classics 2014 when Sam Bittner came "ON AIR" and was talking about that the AWT will organize an event in February/March on.....................yeah...!!CABO VERDE!!...and everybody is welcome!!! I thought "Damn"...this is it!! ...never did any competition or even a heat but what can I loose... just loosing in the first round and be out... and than ready to ride this awesome waves of Sal and have a down the line experience of a live time!!! So nothing to loose at all...!!
I contacted my crew and talked to my surf Bro Chris Bünger of Südkapsurfing Sylt! ...and Cabo Verde was "On"!!! Chris decided to come one month earlier to Fuerteventura and we enjoyed some nice wavesessions before the event!  For me was cool because it was cool and I didnt had to fly alone... :)... but I also checked just for the case some natural essences that keep you calm and positive during  the flight...and yeah they worked...they worked good and even better than good... ;)!!!
The last two weeks before we left to Cabo Verde my friends Fabrizio Bagnoli and Cesco, both Hotsails riders from "Bella Italia" came along to Fuerteventura and we had some nice surf sessions together...unfortunatly there was not much wind... but I could check a sail from them...a KS3 in 4,6...what later became my Jokersail in winds with up to 35 ktns!!
One thing that I was a little bit worried about was Cescos quite strong flu... and we hang out a lot...
... And four days before Cabo Verde I felt it... the flu is "inside"... days and nights became hard...and I was nearly thinking to stay home and park my dream...
But No we had to Go!! And I started to pack my stuff for my first contest ever... on this dream destination! My max backage was limited to a small backpack and one boardbag of max. 32 kilos! I thought I dont need much clothes and 32 kilos for windsurfstuff and a surfboard will be cool...
...but wasnt...my first boardbag had 8 kilos by itself and so I had only 24kg left...and this is 1x board 2x masts, 2x sails, 1x boom and a wetsuit... .... .... two bad wipeouts in ponta preta and I could make beach holidays and swimming instead of riding some good waves... no, I needed to find a smaller and lighter boardbag to take one more sail and mast with me...and the surfboard had to stay anyway here.
In the last moment of the last day I found a good sized and light boardbag! Simo from the RRD shop in Lajares was so kind to lend me one for free! Cool and ThX!! I packed a 5,0 Firelight, a 4,7 Quad and the 4,6 KS3... my 4,2 Superfreak I left home because Sal isnt that windy they say........ups....

And next morning Chris and me were at the airport hoping that the small Binter airplanes will take our big packages and bring it to Sal! And we had superluck :)!! Thx Binter Canarias!!
And so we were sitting on Chris birthday on the plan to Cabo Verde...Chris destroyed because of last nights birthday in-party and me with strong flu...sniffering my natural drugs against flying stress and in my boardbag my waveboard with a big crack in front of the footstraps and me not knowing how many waves it will survive more...but we had some 3 nice flights that day to Cabo Verde!

When we were looking out of the window over Sal we saw waves and we saw Alibaba lining up with some windsurfers ripping it...and we looked at each other and the feeling was in the air that we are about to land in waveparadise!!!
We were brought to our appartment by a taxidriver and decided to have a look and check the place and Ponta Preta itself!! But since we traveled extreme low bugdet we didnt have enough money to check a rent jeep for the whole period...so expensive...and we were back to our feet for moving around and sometimes taxi!!! So we had a walk through Santa Maria and then destiny Ponta Preta where we reached after a long min. 6km walk on the afternoon super destroyed but Happy and what we saw was awesome...a perfect wave pearling down the line...a dream...and people ripping it!! Yeahhh!!!
But since it was already late afternoon and I was really destroyed I decided for myself not to go back to the appartment to check the gear, bring it all with the taxi... short session... and then back, no I thought easy...we just arrived...have only 3 masts...and now is definetly time to eat something and just relax and arrive for real...besides I thought its like this everyday...what this was a mistake to think, we realised later! But for this evening session there was no fuel...
But next day we were ready to try Ponta Preta and we had a great session with lots of AWT riders!
Really good day with lots of perfect waves and some crazy action...but sadly next day Ponta Preta disappeared and stayed flat...

But fortunatly not every spot went flat and the competition could run on a spot near Alibaba called "Little Hookipa"! A great spot...I liked it alot! A point righthander that can lineup with a second long section that ends into an endbowl breaking, infront of an reef as a lefthander... Everybody surfed crazy and had a good time!! And then came the contest with my first heat ever...the wind was very light and the waves small to medium...surfable...I had to go for my biggest material what was a 5,0 and my 70 litre board...I had only this!
When the heat started I thought I collapse...the pression was on and I was just "Patrick, breath deep man" and get 2 waves!!!!!!!!!!! My board and sail were quite small but with some waves, came some gusts and it was possible to catch a wave but I had to pump agressive...After I had my two waves I tried just to catch as much waves as possible and hope to raise my score...and when I came out Chris was smiling at me telling me that I made it...what did I made??? strange feelings came along and when I checked the result and it was me, winnig in my first heat ever forever... I fell into a very deep stokeness...
I was ill, I was stoked, I had luck...and so I managed to win every heat of the amateurs and than go up to round 4 of the pros! So after my first event ever, the "AWT Goya Pro Cabo Verde"

I made 1st place of the amateurs and the 11th place of the pros!

I know this is going to change soon in the overall rankings but at the moment

                                                         ----- IM MEGA STOKED-----





sail ready...

...for stickers :)

first heat ever...light winds...









on the second day it was time to change the sails to smaller...


strong winds on two days...

giving it all...


Pro heat against Russ and Raimondo...


moment of heavy wind...and me on 4,6 Ks3...my smallest sail...Foto: Alessandra Vellucci

Kevin turning and Si Crowther in between the action...great Fotos he makes...

smaller waves on my Pro heats...

Heat with Joey and Kevin Mc.

Foto by Ben

group of wave addicts :) ...I like!!!

...no stress Cabo Verde...

wavesailing souldier ready for a (fun) battle...




I think this was on my last Pro Heat on round 4


first Final scoring ever...I did ok I guess...

Pros round 4 was the endstation for me...cool

nice location for the showdown

good vibes


local artists trophies...cool

stoked

happy people...nothing better




...posting now all these pics I realize deep what a luck it was to live those beautiful moments...

THX to the AWT-Crew for creating this event!!! THX to the locals and riders for the good vibes!!!
...and Thx Sal with its beautiful and magical Monte Leao and all its awesome wave spots!!!

Special THX goes to my french friends Ben and Ben who gave me some rides to the spots and a good time!! And a Big THX also to Phil Bennett, Local, Rider and Sals Sailsrepair man, for helping me out when I hadnt a ride and for sharing some cool moments!!!

Anyway greetings to all!!! Hope you all are allright!!!



Here the Cool Video of the Girls and Amateurs... check it out if you like...

https://vimeo.com/121216114






















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