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It’s a shame, with such a long event and such good conditions, that the PWA wave competitions only run one round, ie. one single & then one double elimination. Whereas the freestyle comps go on for days with up to four rounds of heats and the slalom racers complete at least thirteen rounds to decide an overall winner, the poor wave sailors only get two chances to prove themselves; don’t sail that well in the two seven minute heats and you’re on the next charter plane home having to explain your poor performance to your Team Manager.
| So most sailors tend to really go for it, and with howling winds and logo high waves, we saw the standard of windsurfing taken to another level as new moves were landed scoring more 10 plus points than at any other wave competition. But it wasn’t all about jumping, remembering that wave riding scores were being times by three. This is where some of the older and even more so the local sailors shone through, showing the young jumpers just how to wiggle on a wave and rack up those points. But, come the final stages of play, this wasn’t enough and the two sailors who landed new moves with consistent and style found themselves in the final. To be honest, this event was really about the outstanding performances of Kauli Seadi and event winner Victor Fernandez. |
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Photos courtesy of PWA/John Carter
The Moves That Mattered
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Sailor: Victor Fernandez
Move: Everything!
Overall result: Champion
Everything has just ‘clicked’ for Victor this season. It’s like he has graduated from the New School Jumping academy and is now a Professor at the University of Impossible Landings!! When everyone else looks like they just make the move, Victor makes them look so smooth, so floaty, so perfectly landed – just watch the video clip. Other than Kauli Seadi, no one got near. He now lies second to Kauli in the overall wave rankings with four more events to go. It’s going to be a heck of a season. |
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Sailor: Kauli Seadi
Move: Pushloop forwards
Overall result: 2nd
Kauli has already won a PWA Wave title in 2005 and now seems to be either 1st or 2nd at every PWA wave event since, and he is only 24yrs old! But what he has done more than most is push the boundaries. In Cape Verde he rode the waves with a style not yet matched this season. His fellow competitors are now clamouring to get twin fins on their boards to try and ride like him. Then he turns up to cross onshore Pozo and is the only sailor in the world to pull off a pushloop forward in a heat. Now wait for the rest of the copy cats to follow. |
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Sailor: Julien Taboulet
Move: Table Top forwards
Overall result: 3rd
Julien didn’t have a good day at the office on day one in the single, losing to Dario Ojeda. A changed man on day two in the double elimination where he won seven straight heats beating Scott McKercher, Levi Siver, Orjan Jensen, Pete Volwater, Marcos Perez, Dario Ojeda and finally Vidar Jensen before succumbing to Mr.Seadi. That’s an impressive run and was mainly thanks to some super tweaked table top forwards. |
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Sailor: Vidar Jensen
Move: Big doubles
Overall result: 4th
The double forward master. He was one of the first to do them, he rarely goes through a heat without one and if you’re lucky, or unlucky if you’re sailing against him, he may take a hand off sometime during the first rotation. He also really works those Pozo waves, stacking up the turns and therefore the points. Second in 2004, 10th in 2005, 6th in 2006 and now a 4th, all from one of the only wave sailors in the world to still wear a seat harness! |
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Sailor: Dario Ojeda
Move: Wave 360’s
Overall result: 5th
Like Taboulet on day two, Dario was ‘on a roll’ on day one in the single elimination. Dario ripped through the fleet taking out Kevin Pritchard, Julien Taboulet & Nik Baker before Victor put a stop to his fine flow. Pozo is his local break which is a definite advantage as Dario picked the meaty waves to perform his wave 360’s and backside 360’s – sweet! |
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Sailor: Marcos Perez
Move: The Perez + pushloop
Overall result: 6th
Another local sailor who loves his Pozo and always loves this competition. Solid jumper and also tricky in the waves, enough to beat an ex-local Bjorn Dunkerbeck then Klass Voget, Jonas Ceballos and Nik Baker. His trade mark wave move is seen in the video. We will call it The Perez, but it looks like a backside sail duck into bottom turn! |
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Sailor: Pete Volwater
Move: Neat double
Overall result: Joint 7th
Pete has been around for ages but he is still performing at the very top, never out of the top10 if jumping is involved. Big doubles, big backies, solid wave riding – he can beat any sailor in the fleet using his double trump card to good effect time and time again. |
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Sailor: Nik Baker
Move: One-handed table top, Crazy Pete, backside air
Overall Result: Joint 7th
No longer pushing the boundaries with the new moves but still very consistent and technically perfect as well as a canny ability to know how to win heats. Combination moves are what are needed these days to break into the top16 at PWA events, and Baker’s table top forward as well as these moves shown here, see him through for another season. |
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Sailor: Ricardo Campello
Move: Doubles
Overall result: Joint 13th
Hopes are still high for this young man. He conquered the world of freestyle with ease, but waves are a different story and often take years to master (unless your surname is Seadi). He can double on the way in and he can pushloop forward but not in a heat when it really matters. He’s in limbo land, not too sure what to concentrate on. But you just wait, Ricardo will get it together very soon and then Kauli and friends are in big trouble. |
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Sailor: Jaeger Stone
Move: Various
Overall result: Joint 17 th
Fifteen year old Jaeger is from Geraldton in Western Australia. A dust bowl of a town with one major attraction: wind! With Coro beach 30mins up the road, Gnarloo another few hours away and with Scott McKercher as your father figure, it’s not surprise young Jaeger is ripping. He doesn’t look like a kid when he sails. One-handed tweaked table tops, pushloops, big backies, doubles…this guy is the real deal compared to all those Maui kids who talk the talk but don’t walk the walk (yet). |
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RESULTS PWA Pozo Wave Top 10 1. Victor Fernandez
2. Kauli Seadi
3. Julien Taboulet
4. Vidar Jensen
5. Dario Ojeda
6. Marcos Perez
Joint 7th Pete Volwater/Nik Baker
9th Kevin & Matt Pritchard, Jonas Ceballos, Orjan Jensen PWA Wave Overall After 3 Events 1. Kauli Seadi
2. Victor Fernandez
3. Josh Angulo
4. Jonas Ceballos
5. Vidar Jensen
6. Nik Baker
7. Kevin Pritchard
8. Julien Taboulet
9. Levi Siver
10. Alex Mussolini |
A healthy fleet - the world's best. |
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All photos courtesy of PWA/Carter.
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