Kauli Seadi returns to an international competition, to the NoveNove Aloha Classic. Kauli loves to develop new board shapes and it seems he found a good partner with NoveNove. Besides traveling and working in his windsurfing club at Gostoso (Brazil), he is constantly working on specific shapes, which will be offered to the masses, too. Kauli still knows how to compete as he finished the single elimination of the Aloha Classic event in second. The double elimination is not finished yet and Kauli is definitely one of riders, who can win this event.
We hooked up with Kauli Seadi to speak about his competition comeback and his latest KS pro models.
Kauli Seadi with his new pro model
Continentseven: Kauli, how are you doing and what have you been up to lately?
Kauli Seadi: All fine, travelling in the first half of the year and then the last 2 months I stayed at home and worked a bit on my windsurf club in Sao Miguel do Gostoso.
Continentseven: You and your wife Maria Fernanda travelled a lot, riding uncrowded waves around the globe, from Cape Verde to Brazil?
Kauli Seadi: Yes, we did an awesome trip by sail boat from French Polynesia (Society Islands) all the way to Tonga, a lot of awesome spots incredible and heavenly islands.
Continentseven: Are you 100% fit after your foot injury last year?
Kauli Seadi: Yes, I recovered 100%, basically sailing normal with no pain since that AWT event on Cabo Verde!
Continentseven: Your board sponsor 99NoveNove invested some money in the 2015 Aloha Classic and you are competing. What means competing at the Aloha Classic for you?
Kauli Seadi: I love competition, and specially the ones that have potential for some good wave riding, and I’m happy that 99Novenove is supporting this event and made it happen, because this is one of the coolest locations on the planet to do a wave event. Ho’okipa is the mecca of the windsurfing in waves since many years!
Kauli Seadi – Aloha Classic 2015
Continentseven: Are you hungry to compete or a little bit uncertain what to expect?
Kauli Seadi: I am super exited about the event and I hope I can do well. I have worked on some new board designs with Gianni Valdambrini, the 99NoveNove shaper and we develop some really magic wave riding boards with some unique design.
Continentseven: We saw the 99NoveNove KS Pro model. Will you use exactly the same boards or are you riding a modified custom version from Gianni Valdambrini?
Kauli Seadi: Gianni is shaping all my boards and we develop the production boards from my custom prototypes that we design together. I never stop to experiment and now I have boards with same outlines like the current production. We also test some crazy outline change we made on the tail what is super interesting and I’m still testing that. But people can always order any file I have custom made in Italy (Tuscany)!!!
Continentseven: How would you describe the character of your KS pro models?
Kauli Seadi: I try to design a real waveboard and I put all together what I experimented during all the years I have been windsurfing, the best combination of outlines, rocker, volume flow, bottom shape… I think people will appreciate once they ride those boards, apparently in the Planchemag test this was the favorite board from testers.
Kauli Seadi at Hookipa
Continentseven: Do you think you are on the same level at Ho’okipa like 2013 or even better? 2013 you finished the JP Aloha Classic in 3rd behind Levi Siver and Bernd Roediger.
Kauli Seadi: The level is very high over all, so many incredible riders and I’m actually away since 3 years from competition. So I just want to have fun and try to ride some good waves.
Continentseven: Who will be the strongest contenders at Ho’okipa and who are the names we will see on the podium?
Kauli Seadi: It’s very difficult to say, but many rippers, lots of local with good knowledge of the spot. PWA guys are also good competitors and can perform extremely well. So anybody is a threat!!!
Continentseven: You are 32 now. Almost half of your live was competitive windsurfing on a really high, world class level in several disciplines (wave, freestyle, super-X). You collaborated with many brands like Naish, Quatro, JP, NeilPryde. You won the most prestigious events and you won titles. If you look back, what was your absolute highlight in your life so far and what are you aiming for in the near future.
Kauli Seadi: I really apreciate my years on tour, made me a better sailor. I have learnt to sail conditions that I have never thought about sailing, like those windy Pozo days… cold spots in Europe with stormy conditions, all that made me conquer one of my biggest goals , that was to win a Wave World Title in 2005 at my homebreak in Ibiraquera. Now I’m a happy camper who wants to keep the dream alive of improving and developing better gear to find new feeling and new ways to improve wave riding! Aloha…..Classic!!!!!
©continentseven 2015
