The 2022 SOMWR 10x Cabo Verde PWA World Cup started with a bang
The first round of the single elimination at Ponta Preta has been completed on day 1
The PWA returns to Cabo Verde for the 5th time (for the first time in 12 years) and runs the 2022 SOMWR 10x Cabo Verde PWA World Cup together with Josh Angulo and a few partners on the island of Sal from February 20 – 28, 2022.
Kai Katchadourian, who knows all the spots on Sal very well traveling to Sal almost 20 times in the past 26 years (for free-sailing or competition), guides you through the livestream on day 1. It’s a stream of almost 6 hours and 40 minutes with a few breaks and adverts in between. As the swell was still a bit inconsistent the heat duration was set to 45 minutes. The heats were 4 men heats with the two best waves to count. The top two sailors then advanced into the next round.
Aerial View on the event site by Ricardo Campello
Eight heats got completed on day one! Advancing from the first four heats were Thomas Traversa, Camille Juban, Ricardo Campello, Josh Angulo, Graham Ezzy, Robby Swift, Marcilio Brown & Morgan Noireaux. All of them are experienced down the line wave windsurfers. The y showed great skills in not perfect conditions. The third heat got cancelled because of the too inconsistent waves and re-sailed.
Later heat 5 was cancelled with 8 minutes to go only by Duncan Coombs. Marino Gil and Victor Fernandez were in qualifying position. The competition saw a break. The competition re-started with heat 6. Antoine Martin and Boujmaa Guilloul showed great wave selection and set their turns in the steepest sections of the waves. It paid off and they went through into round 2.
The tide went down and better swell kicked in during the afternoon. Clean sets ran at Ponta Preta. The young guns Jake Schettewi and Liam Dunkerbeck showed extremely nice wave selection and landed big Aerials in the re-sail of heat 5. Both qualified for the top 16 fleet. Victor Fernandez, the 3 times PWA Wave World Champion (2010/2016/2018) and Marino Gil, the young talented rider from Pozo Izquierdo went out in the single elimination.
Young talented rider Baptiste Cloarec from northern France showed incredible wavering skills combined with a firework of massive Aerials. He advanced with the total wave score (two rides count) of 14.62 points into the second round. His fellow countryman Jules Denel showed great experience at Pont Preta and worked up his points through the heat – he overtook a strong performing Julian Salmonn – making it in 2nd place with smooth riding.
Ponta Preta pumping late afternoon on day one (Photo: Carter/PWAworldtour 2022)
Heat 8 was the final heat of the day. It got darker and darker, the wind dropped, but very clean set waves arrived at Ho’okipa. That’s exactly the magic mix “Samurai” Bernd Roediger was looking for. He showed smoothest wave sailing and was one of the three riders with the high score for a single wave ride on day 1 with 8.12 points. Ricardo Campello in Heat 2 and Jules Denel in Heat 7 managed to create the same score. Thumbs up! Japanese hot shot Takuma Sugi made it through his first round heat. He was so much connected with the wave and landed all his Aerials off the lip. 5 times PWA Wave World Champion Philip Köster (2011/2012/2015/2017/2019) showed solid wave sailing, but wasn’t able to collect enough points to advance into round 2.
Let’s see, if day 2 will bring proper conditions with swell and wind. 7 heats need to be completed and we will know the winner of the single elimination. A lot of riders are ready to fight for the podium and it’s possible to see a few further upsets in the second round already. The young generation with Dunkerbeck (18), Sugi (19), Cloarec (21) or Schettewi will definitely challenge the older, but experienced riders at the point break of Ponta Preta. 4 out of 16 qualified riders in round two are younger than 22 years of age. Three more are in between 25 and 28: Bernd Roediger (25), Morgan Noireaux (27), Antoine Martin (28). The remaining 8 riders are above 30. Jules Denel (31), Camille Juban (31), Graham Ezzy (32), Marcilio Browne (32), Robby Swift (36), Thomas Traversa (36), Ricardo Campello (36), Boujmaa Guilloul (37) & Josh Angulo (47). Josh is the oldest man in the fleet, but he retired from the tour in waves (put the focus on Slalom and did some single wave events) in 2009 after winning his second World Wave title in Sylt.
2022 SOMWR 10x Cabo Verde PWA World Cup – Livestream Re-Watch Day 1, February 20
PWA Cabo Verde – The Elimination ladder (first round completed)
More about the location and absent riders
The Island of Sal is located in Cabo Verde, which is an archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean situated approximately 350 miles off of the West Coast of Africa. Sal boasts a variety of waves, but the one in focus over the next 9 days will be Ponta Preta, which is a reeling starboard tack point break, which on its day can be one of the best right handers in the world. Ponta Preta is an intimidating wave, which makes it an experts only location as this fast peeling wave breaks over razor sharp, sea urchin infested reef. If that wasn’t enough it also breaks extremely close to the rocky shoreline, which means any wipeouts are likely to result in plenty of broken equipment with a gear crunching shorebreak on the inside. With high risk, comes high reward, so get set to see some of the best wave sailing on earth over the next 9 days as the world’s best wave sailors go for broke in the search for victory with a variety of tricks and turns.
Most of the big names are registered. Some riders had to withdraw unfortunately or decided to not join the event: Marc Pare (he recovers from a foot injury), Henri Kohlberg (he recently broke his ankle) and Flo Jung (Meniscus tear in his knee) are injured. Leon Jamaer, Alex Mussolini (works as a PWA judge at the Cabo Verde event), Adam Lewis (works in Maui full time), Dieter van der Eyken (runs windsurfing camps in Tenerife), Dany Bruch or Jaeger Stone (works & windsurfs in WA) are missing from the draw.
Cabo Verde 2022 PWA event poster
