SOMWR 10x Cabo Verde PWA World Cup

With the conditions remaining relatively flat on Day of the 2022 SOMWR 10x Cabo Verde PWA World Cup the sailors were released at 3pm local time. With plenty of downtime, we managed to catch up with the winner of the Single Elimination, who almost didn’t make it here in the first place - Bernd Roediger (Flikka / Hot Sails Maui / Black Project). You can read our interview with Bernd below:

Hey Bernd, congrats again on your victory in the Single Elimination, that was your first time sailing Ponta Preta, right? It seemed you figured out the spot pretty quickly… often getting yourself on the best waves - were you getting tips from Josh or some of the boys who have sailed it before or did you just figure it out yourself?

- Josh Angulo, his son Noah and wife Claudia have all been extremely helpful the entire time we’ve been in Cape Verde, helping us to read the forecast, providing transport and accommodation, feeding us! And yes, providing some much needed local knowledge, just by virtue of watching Josh out there ripping. It’s funny, I’ve spent most of my career as a wave sailor trying to emulate Kauli Seadi, but it was only when I started paying attention to Josh’s riding that I felt I had an understanding of Punta Preta, and the way it “wants” to be sailed. In any event, that 2007 PWA event at Punta Preta shaped my understanding of waveriding and I did my best to convey that understanding during this contest.

You’ve obviously got a great track record at the Aloha Classic, but Ponta Preta is quite a different wave to Ho’okipa, how much do you think your surfing / SUP background helped with reading the line up?

- I’ve spent a lot of time imagining what I’d do when I finally got to Punta Preta, how I would ride. It’s true that this wave is a totally different beast when compared to Ho’okipa. Ho’okipa is world class, but it’s unruly and messy a lot of the time. It’s a wave that provides opportunities for huge close-out hits, and manoeuvres, but it's more challenging to draw the kind of lines possible at Punta Preta. That is why surfing and SUP helps so much, I’ve undoubtedly surfed a wider variety of waves than I’ve sailed, simply because there’s a larger variance of surfing conditions that exists in Hawaii. So many fast, hollow, waves to cut your teeth against. Not to mention my travels to the Marshall Islands with the Indies Trader and Martin Daly; as well as the fantastic surf venues of International Windsurfing Tour and APP events. Still, I haven’t had many opportunities to apply these lessons from surfing in the way that I could here in Cape Verde.

In a little bit of an interview I saw you mentioned that you almost didn’t come to Cape Verde - can you tell us a little bit about why that was and how it came about you making it here in the end? Turns out it was a great decision ha!

- Truly a wonderful decision that I was undoubtedly pushed into! The pandemic was difficult on every human being on the planet, and I count myself as among the luckiest humans to have rode it out at home on Maui, in relative safety and assurance. Still, I felt like covid had kind of ended my opportunities for travel and international competition. Aside from financial worries, I no longer felt the hunger for far away places and the lofty goals of victory abroad. I guess I just wanted to feel safe at home, to have my family and the stability of knowing exactly what was going to happen the next day, the next week, and throughout the year. The thought of leaving and casting my fortunes into the wind used to excite me, it used to be my reason for living and windsurfing, but I guess I kind of lost that. If this victory means anything, it is a revival of the desire to live courageously again, and to believe; not only in myself but in the magic energy of the world.

A lot of people online have been speaking about your boards being quite different to what everyone else is riding… people love to know what the pros are riding, so you can tell us a little bit about your board design - length, thruster/quad? Do they have more rocker than what most people are sailing these days?

- It’s possible my boards are the shortest on tour, at 216cm. While I myself might be one of the shortest people on tour, it's still a stark contrast compared to other designs out there! I cannot claim that this design choice is key to universal success at Punta Preta - just watch Josh Angulo rip it to pieces on a 7’0” single fin to appreciate the diversity of viable designs applicable to such conditions! However, I must say that Flikka has tapped into some magic with my wave boards, I am beyond impressed. This particular board was shaped just days before the contest, and hand delivered (a day before the start) to Cape Verde by a friend in Slovenia. I sailed it only once before the start of the event, and knew immediately this was the board I wanted to compete on, it was everything I wanted to feel: a short rail-line that is easy to engage/disengage with minimal effort and input helps me to commit to a line then bare off and realign my turn without losing speed!

At Ho’okipa, it looks like you are sometimes riding the Hot Sails Maui Superfreak, but here you were riding the KS3 - why did you opt for that instead?

- The KS3 is the “Kauli” sail, and I wanted to sail like Kauli as much as possible here. The Superfreak is an amazing sail for trying new manoeuvres and improving your rail-to-rail turns without too much sail pressure. It’s a sail unlike any other in windsurfing, something that can totally change the way you think about wave sailing. Totally quiet in your hands, it depowers completely with a simple flick of the hands, and it rotates through the wind easily. I have one in my quiver for Cape Verde, that I might still use if the conditions are right, like if it becomes super windy for example, because the range on a Superfreak is much greater than the KS3.

You mentioned in a post on Instagram how the Windsurfing Movie inspired you - you’ve referenced Kauli and Josh in 2007 - but you have your own unique style… are there particular sailors that you have looked to emulate?

- I’ve already said that Kauli and Josh are windsurfers I’ve looked to for inspiration, throughout my life. But I would also note Levi Siver for his incredible talent on the water, and undying determination to maintain a pure wave sailing spirit. Mark Angulo is probably my greatest inspiration, my windsurfing Uncle, as it were, who passed on a lot of wisdom during my formative years at Ho’okipa. I still watch videos of him hitting massive sections, throwing his body into impossible manoeuvres. I see that and realize how much more work there is to do, just to reach that level.

Finally, from the forecast at least, it looks as though there could be a long period swell coming for the for the weekend - how are you and the boys feeling about potentially getting to sail Ponta Preta at its absolute best?

- It builds everyone’s anticipation! There’s no denying that the conditions played a huge part in how the single elimination went down, there are a lot of people who didn’t get to perform their best simply because the sets didn’t align with their heats. I’m predicting there’ll be a lot of shaking up within the contest ladder, here’s to more action next weekend!

Thanks, Bernd, congrats again, and all the best for the Double Elimination.

With the possibility of there being a brief 12 second swell tomorrow afternoon, the skippers’ meeting for Friday will be announced later this evening once the latest forecast model has been released, so stay tuned for that.

To stay up to date with all the latest developments from Cabo Verde — including the live stream, elimination ladders, entry list, images and live ticker simply click HERE and scroll to the bottom of the page.

Result 2022 SOMWR 10x Cabo Verde PWA World Cup - Men’s Single Elimination

1st Bernd Roediger (USA | Flikka / Hot Sails Maui / Black Project)
2nd Marcilio Browne (BRA | Goya Windsurfing)
3rd Thomas Traversa (FRA | Tabou / GA Sails)
4th Antoine Martin (FRA | Starboard / North Sails)
5th Takuma Sugi (JPN | Tabou / GA Sails / Black Project)
5th Josh Angulo (CV | Angulo)
7th Boujmaa Guilloul (MOR | Goya Windsurfing)
7th Morgan Noireaux (HI | JP / NeilPryde / Black Project)

*Results may still change