Diony Guadagnino made a dream come true

Guillermo Sfiligoy is a windsurfer, who he had a terrible car accident 9 years ago. Since the accident he needs the help of a wheelchair to move. Diony Guadagnino made his dream come true to make it on the board again and feel the sensation of windsurfing once again. Guillermo was tied to Diony’s body with tape and straps and together they made it into planing. What an incredible achievement by both. For Diony it was for sure a very exhausting adventure with a major responsibilty. But all worth it when you see that smile on Guillermo’s face.

We caught up with Diony for some background info on this adventure.

Continentseven: How many days did you practice to make it on the board together?

Diony Guadagnino: Just the evening before, his flight arrived late noon and we only had 40 min to buckle up with tape and straps, 1 hour more trying to water start! But the wind dropped and it was impossible! The next day we did it which you see on the video! So all added up to 1 day and 1 hour!

Continentseven: What is Guillermo’s connection to windsurfing?

Diony Guadagnino: He actually started to windsurf with my sister Colette years ago! After the accident he started to kite also in a special chair, he does so many sports and an amazing individual setting boundaries to another level, so motivational!!

Continentseven: Is he from El Yaque or Isla Margarita?

Diony Guadagnino: No he is not from El Yaque but from Venezulea, from Valencia.

Continentseven: Who had the idea for this attempt?

Diony Guadagnino: It was an idea that came together out of the blue 1 year before he came to El Yaque for a National windsurf event, we started talking about it and slowly made it a dream come true!

Continentseven: You had double the weight on the board as usual. I can imagine it needs a lot of effort to start planing?

Diony Guadagnino: Tied together we were 180kg. It was blowing about 26 knots, I used my 7.8 Loftsails racing Blade and 122L SL2 AHD board. It was not easy with the slalom sail. Especially when we fell, it was almost imposible to water start with the sail full of water, once we fell hooked in under the sail and we were able to unhook calmly without drowning.

Continentseven: Diony, you are a machine. Thanks for your effort. All worth it.