The Cabo Verde PWA World Cup – 2009

The Cabo Verde PWA World Cup – Event Preview

The countdown is almost over, as the 32 best wavesailors on the planet prepare to go head to head on Cabo Verde’s hallowed windsurfing breaks.

Following a four-month break over the winter period, the PWA kick starts the 2009 World Tour season with the much-revered Cabo Verde PWA World Cup.

Commemorating the event’s third anniversary on the World Tour, the 2009 event team have been working tirelessly to ensure this year’s event exceeds the massive expectations the worldwide windsurfing community places upon it.

The contest

Running over an eight-day holding period from the 14th – 21st of February, the Cabo Verde archipelago will become the epicenter of the world’s wave sailing focus, as Sal’s exposed Atlantic beaches push the cream of the PWA’s wave fleet to their limits.

The contest adopts the innovative roving format, meaning that while the event HQ is stationed at Pont Preta, the entire PWA circus can move to anyone of Sal’s breaks to ensure the riders compete in only the very best conditions the island has to offer.

The Players

As expected, the Cabo Verde entry list reads like a windsurfing roll of honor. Elite barely begins to describe the nature of this event, with just 32 positions available in the men only fleet.

Headlining the heavyweight wave fleet is reigning World Wave Champion and defending Cabo Verde Champion, Kauli Seadi (JP / NeilPryde / MFC / Mormaii). The Brazilian style maestro is famed for his fluid, vertical style, and outrageous ability to access parts of the wave no one else can find possible.

Sharing Seadi’s limelight is 2007 Cabo Verde victor and 2008 runner up, Josh Angulo (Angulo / MauiSails / Dakine). Native to Sal and unquestionably the king of Ponta Preta, Angulo carries the hopes of a nation on his shoulders, and will be more determined than ever to bring the Cabo Verde crown back to its homeland.

Bringing his unique blend of wavesailing wisdom and gung-ho bravado, Jason Polakow (JP / NeilPryde) is always a serious contender in Cabo Verde. With 4th and 3rd place finishes to his name in 2007 and 2008 respectively, Polakow will be hell bent on securing victory. En route, watch out for impossibly late smacks, gravity defying aerials and complete disregard for personal safely.

Fellow JP / NeilPryde stable mate, Robby Swift is another tough contender. After being plagued by injury, Swift has finally had solid run of full fitness. A 4th place finish in 2008 gave a taste of what this highly calculating and methodically professional Brit is capable of; if he can tap into that same form in ’09 he’ll be a tough man to beat.
Equally worth of a mention are: Kevin Pritchard (Starboard / Gaastra / Dakine / MFC), who’s delivered consistent results two years running, the equally consistent Alex Mussolini (Tabou), French contortionist Thomas Traversa (Tabou / Gaastra), and World Wave runner up, Victor Fernandez (Fanatic / North / MFC).

Only a handful of athletes have been mentioned here, however in reality when competition fires up, and the stresses and strains of sailing 30 minute heats kicks in, the Cabo Verde crown could fall to literally any of the 32 select riders on the entry list. Only time will tell.


What to expect

Cabo Verde’s heritage needs no introduction, nor does the mind-boggling wavesailing that will be going down on its numerous world class reefs, however the Cabo Verde PWA World Cup has been stepped up several notches for 2009.

Expect to see the inclusion of the Ponta Preta ‘mini-city’, which will feature round-the-clock entertainment, including DJ’s, local bands and numerous activities. Also on the bill will be national beach football / volleyball tournaments; food, drink and of course the finest windsurfers in the world battling it out only a stones throw from the beach.


Keep Your Finger On The Pulse

For more information on all the entrants, and to keep up to date with every piece of the action, click on www.pwaworldtour.com

Here you can use our:

• Live ticker service for heat-by-heat bulletins
• Check live elimination ladders
• View results
• Read daily news summaries
• Browse awesome action photo galleries

The event’s dedicated website can be found at www.caboverdeworldcup.com

Or for more information, please contact the PWA office via info@pwaworldtour.com

The Cabo Verde PWA World Cup – Day 1

Mast high waves and relentless wind see Ponta Preta deliver world class conditions to crown Kauli Seadi single elimination winner on day one.

Ponta Preta will be forever compared to the legendary conditions it delivered in the pioneering Cabo Verde PWA World Cup back in 2007. Though today’s conditions didn’t exceed, nor match those infamous days, they certainly put up a good fight.

A building westerly ground swell coupled with Ponta Preta’s cross offshore winds provided logo to mast high, perfectly groomed waves for the 32 best wave sailors in the world to open the event’s competition.

Giving a taste of things to come, the first round delivered some stunning performances from the outset. Of note, heat ten, which contained both Josh Angulo (Angulo / MauiSails / Dakine) and the much-publicized return of Francisco Goya (Goya / MFC). Filling out the four-man heat were Ross Williams (Tabou / Gaastra) and Alex Mussolini (Tabou).

With all eyes on Goya’s high profile return to the PWA, the Argentinean certainly didn’t disappoint. Cranking often beyond vertical turns combined with his super smooth top to bottom style, the veteran proved he’s still very much got skills in abundance.

Similarly, Angulo put on his usual display of seemingly effortless off the lip contortions and pinpoint accurate smacks. It was a painful wake-up call for their younger counter parts, Williams and Mussolini, who were force-fed a lesson in wave riding by two greats of the discipline.

The first major upset of round one took many by surprise, as Jason Polakow (JP / NeilPryde) made a huge tactical blunder and failed to notch up a second wave of any magnitude on his score sheet. After pulling off numerous logo high waves in search of one of the mast high monsters, the Australian failed to even secure a mediocre wave ride to add to his score, and ultimately paid a hefty price.

Moving into the second round, Brit Robby Swift (JP / NeilPryde) turned his sailing up a notch, picking off some of the biggest waves of the day. His tactical approach paid off, allowing him to links turns all the way through to the inside section of the reef, boosting his wave scores.

One unlikely candidate to fall in round two was American Levi Siver (MFC / Dakine), who looked to be firing on all cylinders during the warm-up and round one. Unfortunately, the imposing Ponta Preta rocks, which can be credited for halting many seemingly certain advances, were to claim yet another victim in Siver.

As the fleet was narrowed down to the final eight, the level of sailing just went sky high. Credit has to be given to Kai Lenny (Naish / Naish) for in part provoking this movement. The teen sensation was just on another level, with those foolish enough to question the grommet’s ability being forced to reconsider their opinions. It should be noted that Lenny was one of the very few attempting 360s in the jaws of the mast high monsters.

Departing in the quarters was a slightly hot and cold Scott McKercher (Starboard / Severne), who could never seem to sustain his usually solid form for an entire heat, Robby Swift, who was unlucky with equipment breakages in the increasingly fickle afternoon wind, Boujmaa Guilloul (Starboard / Severne/ MFC) who was looking red hot despite getting knocked out and Kai Lenny, who’d already stamped his name firmly on the event.

The final took place under ominous skies and in increasingly weakening wind. The four finalists: Angulo, Goya, Seadi and Kevin Pritchard (Starboard / Gaastra / Dakine /MFC) had to be fully switched on to outwit each other.

Stuck in a paradox, the sailors needed long rides to notch up big scores, but linking turns to inside ran the risk of getting stuck in the super marginal winds close to the shore, making them sitting ducks ready to be washed onto the rocks.

Experiencing this first hand, an on-form Kevin Pritchard fell victim to the rocks mid-way through the heat. Essentially crushing his hopes of winning the final, this must have been a tough pill to swallow for Pritchard, who was clearly capable of claiming the final as his.

Similarly Francisco Goya, who’d already left most of the professional windsurfing community dumb struck with the easy manner in which he’d found his way into the final of World Cup despite years off the tour, stumbled on a similar block. When up against the likes of Angulo and Seadi there’s just no room to throw 10 minutes of a 22-minute heat away replacing broken gear.

So the final came down to a familiar two-man battle: Angulo vs. Seadi. It may sound bizarre in windsurfing to suggest someone has a home advantage, but the support for Angulo in Cabo Verde is just phenomenal. Competing only a stone’s throw from the beach, the throngs of local supporters make it their business to ensure Angulo can always hear their encouraging cheers and chants throughout a heat.

Shrugging off the one sided local crowd, Seadi got down to business with a varied mix of aerials, slashes and dangerously late gauges, all linked cohesively by his distinctively fluid surf-style approach.

Watching from the beach there was nothing to separate the pair, but a 2-3 split decision from the judging panel ultimately handed the explosive final, and single elimination to Seadi.

With the double elimination scheduled to begin tomorrow (Sunday 15th) in a building swell and similar wind, it could be all change in the ranks. Be sure to follow the action here on pwaworldtour.com starting with the skippers meeting at 10.00am local time (GMT -1).

Mal wieder Hammer-Bilder: KLICK!

The Cabo Verde PWA World Cup – Day 2

Ponta Preta serves up a testing mix of conditions to kick-start the first round of the double elimination.

With Ponta Preta still receiving a healthy dose of ground swell, day two of competition wasted no time in capitalizing on the situation. Breaking smaller than the previous day, sets were anything from shoulder to logo high, making wave selection absolutely crucial.

Hitting the water to christen the double elimination were John Skye (RRD / Naish), Alex Mussolini (Tabou), Francisco Porcella (Simmer / Dakine / MFC) and Ricardo Campello (JP / NeilPryde / MFC). From the outset Porcella and Campello took charge of the heat, selecting the best-set waves and stringing together the most technical rides.

Mussolini and Skye both looked uncharacteristically off the boil, producing only sparse glimpses of form within a somewhat disappointing heat. To the contrary, Campello excelled, delivering consistent quality in a comprehensive heat that saw him almost effortlessly advance. Joining him was Porcella, who looked to have stepped his sailing up several notches to happily outclass his rivals.

Moving onto heat 35, Thomas Traversa (Tabou / Gaastra) emerged as the man to beat. The risk taking Frenchman settled on a happy compromise between his usual balls-to-the-wall approach, and solid, secure riding. Having dominated the heat from the green flag, the remaining sailor to advance came down to a challenge between Phil Horrocks (JP / NeilPryde) and Camille Juban (Gun / MFC), with the heat’s remaining sailor, Graham Ezzy (Dakine) looking largely unthreatening.

Ultimately it was Juban that won the judges over, having produced a fluent display of wave riding that edged Horrocks out the game thanks to better wave selection, and consequently higher scoring rides.

Dropping wind and swell forced competition to be placed on standby for much of the afternoon, before the heavyweight heat 36 could commence late into the day. Pitching Jason Polakow (JP / NeilPryde), Danny Bruch (Exocet / Severne / MFC), Marcilio Browne (Fanatic / North) and local Titik Lopes against each other, this was always going to be a touch-and-go battle.

Excelling in the super-fluky conditions, Polakow rose up to deliver some stunning sailing that clearly separated him from his three rivals. In contrast, local sailor Lopes had some promising looking waves, but never delivered any rides that made any real impact on his score sheet.

This left Bruch and Browne in a stand-off. Looking solid, Bruch sailed well but couldn’t match the Brazilian’s fluid and technical sailing, which included two goitas. Browne and Polakow advanced.

Wrapping up the day’s sailing was heat 37, which saw local hotshot Djo Silva (Angulo) give his rival PWA regulars a wake-up call. Fending off Silva’s persistent attacks were Ross Williams (Tabou / Gaastra) and Dario Ojeda (Simmer / MFC / Mormaii), who had to dig deep to surpass the on form Cabo Verde local and secure their positions in the next round.

The double elimination will resume with the second round tomorrow morning, with a first possible start to competition scheduled for 10.30 am. Be sure to tune into pwaworldtour.com to follow all the action.

Here you can use our:

• Live ticker service for heat-by-heat bulletins
• Check live elimination ladders
• View results
• Read daily news summaries
• Browse awesome action photo galleries

The event’s dedicated website can be found at www.caboverdeworldcup.com

Or for more information, please contact the PWA office via info@pwaworldtour.com

The Cabo Verde PWA World Cup – Day 3

Ponta Preta takes a rest on day three, allowing us to catch up with Francisco Goya, owner of the PWA’s newest corporate sponsor, Goya Sails.

With the swell dropping right off the radar, day three of competition gave the sailors a chance to relax and mend their wounds after the brutal first two days of competition.

In the down time, we took the chance to chat to veteran wave sailor and owner of Goya Sails, Francisco Goya (Goya Sails).

PWA: Goya Sails have just become one of the World Tour’s corporate partners; what made you decide to invest the PWA?

FG: "I’ve always backed the PWA through my career as an athlete, and it’s the same story now I have a brand with riders on tour. I’ve always believed you should back the people that are pushing the sport forward, and it’s good to give something back to the sport of windsurfing after I’ve got so much from it."

PWA: You’ve just signed Levi Siver to the Goya Sails team, are you excited to have one of professional windsurfing’s icons riding on your gear?

FG: “It’s a dream come true. Watching him grow up and seeing him sailing Hookipa at just 12, I used to wonder how good he’d get. Now I watch him pushing the boundaries of the sport every single day. He’s simply ahead of all the equipment out there. Now we’ve developed a really natural relationship, we meet everyday at the loft or office, then we go ride and do it all over again the next day. Good things usually come out of this!”

PWA: Will Levi be involved in the future development of the Goya Sails range?

“For sure, this summer we’re launching his sail range. He’s a big influence in the development of our gear. Not only that, but he has ideas for promoting the sport through his projects like the windsurfing movie two.”

PWA: You’ve just put yourself firmly back on the map with regards to PWA competition, having made a dream come back in Cabo Verde. Is this a one off, or are we likely to see more of you on the World Tour?

FG: “I’m really playing it by ear, I just had this window of opportunity. Back in Maui we’ve just finished the ‘10 gear, and I had a few weeks to come ride here with a great crew: Levi, Kai and the guys from Poorboyz so I just went for it.”

PWA: Did you expect to do as well as you did?

FG: "You come to an event and you always hope that you’ll sail your best, but you have no idea how well the others are going to sail. I thought I sailed pretty good though. I’m much more relaxed competing now than before, that helps!”

Francisco Goya is sponsored by Goya Sails.

Day four’s skippers meeting is scheduled for 10.00am, with the double elimination resuming at 10.30am local time (GMT -1). Tune back into pwaworldtour.com then to follow all the action from Ponta Preta.

Here you can use our:

• Live ticker service for heat-by-heat bulletins
• Check live elimination ladders
• View results
• Read daily news summaries
• Browse awesome action photo galleries
• View the action in the video galleries

The event’s dedicated website can be found at www.caboverdeworldcup.com

The Cabo Verde PWA World Cup – Day 4

Offshore wind put a halt to the double elimination’s progress on day four. While competition was on hold we pinned down Josh Angulo to quiz him on the Cabo Verde World Cup, Angulo boards and more…

PWA: You’re the man behind the Cabo Verde PWA World Cup; can you give us an idea of how much work goes into putting on a competition like this?

JA: “Well the event’s primarily run by the government, but my brother-in-law, myself, and one of my companies here in Sal are the international force behind the event. We put an unbelievable amount of work into it, which we’re starting to see the fruits of this year with things like the beach football championships, and the massive event tent. Ultimately, the realization of this event is a testament to the Cabo Verdean peoples’ attitudes, strengths, and the union as a country and group of people. Even in difficult times everyone came together at the right time to help make this amazing event happen.”

PWA: The event seems to be growing every year, what’s new for 2009?

JA: “There’s a whole bunch of new stuff for 2009. This is the first year we’ve had the event tent. It’s 1200 square meters, and the very first of its type in our country, so the very first time this tent has ever been used is for the World Cup, and now the Island will have access to it for numerous other events like the big music festivals out here. I’m also psyched to have a better judges’ stand and sailors’ area. Also we have Roberto Hoffman out here commentating on all the action in three different languages. There’s also a dedicated event website, and numerous smaller measures the people don’t really see, but all go towards making the event that much better.”

PWA: The local guys seem to be ripping, how much windsurfing talent is there on the island?

JA: “Well if you have a look at the guys here, the current kite boarding World Champion is born and raised here in Santa Maria, he’s also competed in the windsurfing for the last two years. A lot of the guys are getting into kiting, windsurfing, surfing, body boarding…they are a really multi-talented group of people. The talent pool runs so deep, and as the infrastructure grows they’ll be more sails, boards and equipment for people to learn on.”

PWA: Your board brand, Angulo Boards, have just become a corporate sponsor of the World Tour. What made you decided to back the PWA?

JA: “I’ve always supported the PWA throughout my windsurfing career, and as Angulo Boards have expanded as a brand we though this was the right time to fully commit to the World Tour by becoming a corporate partner. I think having a professional relationship with the PWA will give me the opportunity to share my ideas and thoughts for the future of the sport, it’s something I’m really happy to be part of, and excited about what the future holds.”

PWA: Can you tell us a bit about the 2009 Angulo range?

JA: The 2009 Angulo range has taken a big step forward this year, we re-did our whole range and introduced a twin fin board. We’ve also remodeled our Chango line, which is a proven hardcore wave board. We re-did our SuperGu line; the sumo we chose to keep the same as last year. It’s a proven board with a really good shape, but now with a nice new graphic. We’ve also brought in a whole new freestyle-wave line called the Creola, based around the beauty of the Cabo Verdean women and the Creole culture. It’s the jewel of our line. And we’ve also come out with the Magnum, which is a three board slalom range to cover all the conditions we get on the PWA World Tour. The three boards literally cover everything, we’re really excited about them. I think this is going to be a big year for us!”

Josh Angulo is sponsored by Angulo Boards, MauiSails and Dakine. You can find the 2009 Angulo board range at www.anguloboards.com

Tomorrow’s skippers meeting is set for 8.15am, with a first possible start scheduled for 8.45am local time (GTM -1). Be sure to tune into pwaworldtour.com to follow all the action as the double elimination is gradually narrowed down to the final two-man showdown.

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