La “cippa” blocca il quinto giorno di regata alla Colgate World Cup di Sylt e così non rimane che aspettare il vento che le previsioni annunciano bello tosto per i prossimi giorni, soprattutto nel week-end. Nel frattempo tutti gli atleti hanno colto l’occasione per mandare un messaggio di coraggio, a cui ci associamo, a Baptiste Gossein, fortissimo rider francese, vittima di un gravissimo incidente alla schiena. Nei primi giorni di settembre Baptiste è andato con Boujmaa a fare surf a Teahupoo (Tahiti), lo stesso Bouj dice onde non eccessive, ma cadendo si è rotto due vertebre con rischio di paralisi. Forza Baptiste!

Stay tuned to http://www.pwaworldtour.com
or http://www.worldcupsylt.de
Text and photo © PWA/Paul Griffiths/John Carter

No action  e allora è il momento di scambiare quattro chiacchiere con uno dei wave riders più forti in circolazione, il 2008 Sylt Wave Champion, Victor Fernandez (Fanatic, North, MFC). Naturalmente questa ve la lascio in Inglese…

PWA: Are you feeling confident this year having won Sylt before?
VF: “Well, looking at the forecast it seems like the wind should be blowing with a hint of starboard tack which would be great for me because there is a spot in Almeria, near where I come from, that gets very similar conditions. It’s slightly side-onshore from the right and I’ve sailed there a lot so hopefully I’ve practiced enough. It is a little bit warmer in Spain though!”

PWA: If the forecast is correct, what will be the most important thing for you to do tomorrow? Apart from win…
VF: “I’ll try my best to get a good result in the single elimination. It’s really important here because the forecast for the weekend could just disappear which means there would be no second chance. I’ll give it everything I’ve got - I can’t really do much more than that.”

PWA: Is there anyone you’re more worried about meeting in a heat here in Sylt?
VF: “There are so many good guys on the tour, it’s hard to just name a few. Here in Sylt we’ve also got the older guys like Jason Polakow (JP, NeilPryde) and Nik Baker (Fanatic, North) who have heaps of competition experience. But I won here last year, and I’ve been doing the tour for a while now too, so I think I have enough experience to do well again. I’ll just try my best.”

PWA: If you get through tomorrow in a good position, and the weekend forecast materializes, will the conditions be more of a problem than the sailors?
VF: “If the swell predictions come true, then the shore break is going to be pretty massive, so everyone will have to watch out for it. Often people don’t make it out for their heat if they get caught on the inside - you really have to make sure you get out the back a heat or two before the start. I’m ready for this, and I’ll have it at the front of my mind if the conditions do go crazy.”

PWA: Sounds like you’re well prepared for the event. You held the premiere for your new film ‘Four Dimensions’ recently, what was your favorite moment when producing the film?
VF: “It has to be the day spent filming in Gran Canaria with the helicopters. I was basically the only person on the water for two hours. It was unreal! I had so much fun with the other guys as well. We’ve become really good friends now. It was also really cool producing a movie with a team of young guys, I hope it shows the world that we’re here on the PWA tour, and we’re the guys at the front now. Gollito is the top freestyler in the world, Brawzinho is up there in both wave and freestyle, Andre is also ripping in freestyle, and I’ve won quite a few wave events.”

PWA/Paul Griffiths