Interview with Dario Ojeda

We sent Dario Ojeda a few questions about the Spanish Wavechampionships 2009 in Tenerife, which he just won in front of Marcos Perez and Eleazar Alonso.

Is this your first Spanish title?
No, like 10 years ago I had won 2 spanish titles, one in waves and one in the slalom discipline. Back then we had a quite good spanish tour.

How were the conditions in Cabezo / El Medano?
When I first arrived at the beach there was no wind at all. I was a bit surprised, because at the day before in Pozo it was so windy. Around midday the wind started to pick up and we were sailing with 4.5-4.7. And not much wave, because the tide was going down. The conditions were enough to start the competition.

Some heats were close. What was the reason you could be in front (a special move, radical sailing..)?
Well, my surf it was essential to win,vertical and tail sliding,takas and backside 360 was what I was doing mostly,then also the jumps.try to get the umps first because was hard to find good ramps and it was really risky not to have the 3 jumps done.

Who was your hardest opponent?
I lost in my second heat of the single elimination against Aleix Sanllehy. So I had to start from the beginning. I sailed 9 heats that day and all of them were hard, because I were not allowed to make a mistake, if I want to be in the final. The level of all were pretty high. Each heat was a hard battle for me.

Are the sailors from Gran Canaria on a higher level compared to the sailors from Teneriffa ?
Not really. The spot El Medano is pretty much the same compared to Pozo Izquierdo. The only difference is the windstrength. Pozo always has stronger wind. But there were competitors from all over Europe: from Tenerife, Spain, England and Italy…

How did you celebrate this title?
With a BBQ at Dany´s home with a couple of friends and some beers and that´s, what we did.

What do you expect for the PWA season, especially for the next event at Pozo? You finished 21st on CV!
I´m training a lot and feel really comfortable with my new Simmer sails now and I expect to do well this year. Hopefully top 3 in Pozo! Many sailors, who were in front of me in Cabo Verde, will not compete in Pozo. And some of them, who were in front of me and will compete in Pozo are not fancy of my homespot. After Pozo I can be in the top 10 or better, if everything will run well. But I will focus in sailing on each single heat, without thinking in the result. Just heat by heat…

Thanks for the interview.