Kauli with a big Back loop in Gostoso (Photo: André Zinsly/Windpaparazzi)

Kauli with a big Back loop in Gostoso (Photo: André Zinsly/Windpaparazzi)

Although Kauli Seadi has not been competing regularly since 2012 and you don’t see many footage or pictures from Kauli, he is still considered as one of the best wave riders nowadays. Just in a recent video interview Morgan Noireaux mentioned him as his “favourite sailor and most important person in windsurfing in the last 10 years” and Morgan himself is a three times Aloha Classic winner.
Last summer Kauli and his wife were exploring the South Pacific by sail boat for a Brazilian TV channel. We wanted to know more about this trip, what Kauli has been up to, his time on Maui, board development and much more. And we would like to congratulate, as he and his wife Maria are expecting a baby in 2018. The Seadi family is growing.

Continentseven: Hi Kauli, how are you doing?

Kauli Seadi: I’m doing great, especially now that I found out that I will be father next year… super motivated!! Good to be home for the season. It has been very windy in Sao Miguel do Gostoso, lots of practices every day!

Continentseven: How was your 2017 year? A lot of traveling?

Kauli Seadi: I was until May in Gostoso and then we started our boat trip journey to the South Pacific Ocean. We travelled for almost 4 months to film “Waterman TV show” for Channel OFF here in Brasil. We were in Tonga, Samoa and Fiji all in a sail boat exploring remote islands, which has been never explored before until mid September!! Then I went to Maui for the 99NoveNove photo shooting and returned home to work at my windsurf club (clubekauliseadi.com) as now it’s high season for us in Gostoso.

Continentseven: You travelled to Maui in the middle of October. Not for the Aloha Classic, but for testing boards and photo/video shootings. How was it to sail at Ho’okipa after riding many world class waves in Fiji?

Kauli Seadi: It was nice to be on Maui when it was not so crowded, see some of my friends and get some Ho’okipa practices. We had lots of east swell and super windy days, so not the most epic but consistent conditions to practices and shoot every day. It’s hard to compare Ho’okipa with really amazing breaks like Cloud Break, because Fiji has a huge variety of amazing waves, peeling into the perfect reefs. But most of those spots were super scary and hard to sail, very shallow of totally dry reefs during low tides, so no room for mistakes .

Continentseven: You have seen almost all famous waves on the planet! Ho much did you enjoy to be back on Maui, the Mekka of wave windsurfing?

Kauli Seadi: Let’s say Maui is the place to practice, get photos and develop the gear. All is there, what make it so easy and you have steady wind conditions normally. But of course there are better waves around the globe in question of wave quality, but most of them are way more risky to sail than Ho’okipa.

Continentseven: You were in Maui before the Aloha Classic event. Why didn’t you compete and did you think about competing at the event? Many people still believe you are the best wave windsurfer overall.

Kauli Seadi: I was excited to do the event if it was PWA, I love competing with good waves, but as it was canceled as PWA I bought my ticket to return home earlier and then once I got home I receive a email from the PWA 5 days before the event announcing it as a PWA qualifier.

Continentseven: You love competition. Do you miss competing?

Kauli Seadi: I do miss it. The competition kept me driving to improve and develop better gear, as well as the mind set challenge that it brings, to put all together in those 12 minutes.

Continentseven: Did you watch the other riders, like Levi, Marcilio, Morgan or Bernd. Do you think wave windsurfing in Ho’okipa has evolved since the last time?

Kauli Seadi: Sure it keeps improving every year. Brawzinho is really bringing the surf tricks and jumps to a new level, Levi Siver also super fast and fluid line as well as a lots of those new kids that are ripping like Jake Schettewi, Bernd Roediger and  the king of Ho’okipa Mr Morgan… 

Continentseven: You developed new board designs. What are the changes you made in your pro models?

Kauli Seadi: I’m constantly trying and experimenting new things on my boards to bring the best outputs to the production board KS. It is a real wave riding board that I can take and ride out of the box, they are designed to perform best in side shore conditions.

Kauli Seadi in the testing mode in Ho'okipa (Photo: Fish Bowl Diaries)

Kauli Seadi in the testing mode in Ho’okipa (Photo: Fish Bowl Diaries)

Continentseven: Why have all your boards a swallow winger tail?

Kauli Seadi: It is a way to keep the outline more parallel in the center of the board, but at the same time  I have a narrow tail to turn quick.

Continentseven: Many riders changed to Thruster boards in the last years and the Quad hype is less. What are the reasons you stick to a quad set up?

Kauli Seadi: I think quads have more drive and are more aggressive. They have more rail control for my way of riding. Also Brawzinho is a rider that I see that loves the quad setup. I think thruster setup makes sense for more onshore conditions.

Kauli Seadi gets his fins ready (Photo: Fish Bowl Diaries)

Kauli Seadi gets his fins ready (Photo: Fish Bowl Diaries)

Continentseven: What sizes of boards do you use most of the time?

Kauli Seadi: I use 79 liters in almost all conditions. Unless if its very windy, then 71 liters.

Continentseven: If you could choose only one windsurfing board for a world trip. What size of board would you take?

Kauli Seadi: This year I only took my KS 79 liters.

Continentseven: How many sails, masts and booms do you normally bring for a trip? 

Kauli Seadi: Normally on boat trips I take 3 sails 4.3 / 4.6 / 4.9 KS3 Hotsails Maui, 2 sets of 370 masts and one AL360 carbon boom.

Continentseven: Your boards are extremely radical, skatey and according to test results in magazines not really suitable for wave beginners. Do you agree and what makes your board so extremely radical?

Kauli Seadi: My boards do follow my concept of board shape and they ride how I like it. So for me they are great, but maybe for a person that is used to have a wave slalom board, which planes all the time, it’s different. This person could feel it’s difficult to ride in straight line, because my boards want to turn way more because of more rocker. They are made to surf waves fast and not to sail fast on straight line. If you want to be planing around we have the Chameleon. This is an amazing onshore board.

Continentseven: Windsurfing was once the biggest part of your life. How is it today. Do you spend the same amount of time on other toys like foil SUPs or with a kiteboard?

Kauli Seadi: I still windsurf every single day at home, as there are great windsurf conditions here, more bump and jump and a mix of freestyle. But for sure I like to do a bit of everything especially now, with the foils on the surfSUP, which makes any shit wave an amazing perfect wave.

Kauli after a windfoiling session (Photo: André Zinsly/Windpaparazzi)

Kauli after a windfoiling session (Photo: André Zinsly/Windpaparazzi)

Continentseven: What are you winter plans? Where will you travel next? Any trips planned?

Kauli Seadi: Stay home is the plan for now. I will be in Gostoso for the next 5 months to work in my club.

Continentseven: Thanks for the interview, obrigado!

©continentseven 2017

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