Locals Only

It was an exciting week at Cabo Verde, for the PWA World Cup windsurfing, with magnificent surf to test the skills of even the top competitors and putting many on the rocks. In a rerun of the 2007 World Cup, Kauli Seadi, who had won the single elimination, had to defend his throne from local, Josh Angulo, but his defence was overcome by Angulo’s wealth of knowledge of the Ponta Preta venue and the pair had to go head to head one last time to decide the outright event winner.

With a big local crowd chanting the name of their windsurfing hero, the final began. Angulo drew first blood with a colossal off the lip hit, but landed deep in the bowl and ended up getting washed onto the rocks. Seadi seized the opportunity and putting Angulo on the back foot with two solid rides, but Angulo came back to blow everyone away with a nine-point wave ride, a rare and inspiring spectacle. Following this up, Angulo launched into his usual routine of insanely late under the lip hits and perfectly timed aerials. Seadi knew he had to deliver and, right on queue, threw a perfectly landed goiter on the wave face, but the championship belonged to the local boy who, before hundreds of ecstatic fans, had reigned supreme, returning the Cabo Verde crown to its motherland amid emotional scenes rarely seen at windsurfing events. The story of the week’s events is here. This pic is from John Carter and there are loads more here.