Italian freestyle windsurfer Rossel Bertoldo (26) lived his windsurfing dream during autumn and winter. He travelled to Brazil and Australia and enjoyed every second on the water. Read about his journey, click through a gallery from Australia and watch the clip of Rossel with windsurfing action from Praia do Maceio, Brazil.
Rossel Bertoldo (Ita-832): “It was a life in paradise. This year was a turning point for my training and development as I had the chance to experience two of the most captivating countries in the world: Brazil and Australia. It was the end of summer when I left Sant’ Antioco (South Sardinia, Italy) to continue the working season in Praia do Maceió, 600 km north from Fortaleza, another idyllic place proving that paradise can exist on Planet Earth. Here, we got a lot of surfing done and kept on working in a small but promising school which is growing up year by year, wave by wave. Such a mesmerizing place with dunes, silky sand as a beach and a continuously consistent wind is the ultimate place to learn some jumps and easy wave-riding.
After two months of this Brazilian dream, I was woken up one day by the bip of a message on my phone: “Do you want to come to Australia with me? I am afraid of traveling solo”, my auntie Enrica texted. Since ever Australia was a dream for me: the idea of going there had always been as remote as longed-for …until that message.
It took me a week to decide to go, and cannot hide how much excited I was: l was in Brazil, spent 5 days back home and after 5 days I was landing in my dreamland: Australia. In fact, I flew out from Brazil on the 3rd of February and flew in Down Under on the 8th of the same month – flight tickets can be provided as an evidence. On my long haul way down there, I was already projecting in my mind and hearth the thick waves, long miles to ride and my biggest fear: sharks.
On my arrival in Perth, Federico Infantino and my cousin were waiting for me, ready to take us to Margaret River. Once on the spot, all my fears disappeared and my only thought became windsurfing: the first wave was just crazy, it gave me the same feeling as when I took my first plane. Unfortunately, I had only a month to enjoy all the good things, but that month was perhaps the best month of my life so far as far as for windsurfing. When you jump on a plane you realize that the world is not big as it seems, and your dream are closer than you think.”
Rossel Bertoldo at Praia do Maceio, Brazil
