Kai Katchadourian has a long distance relationship with Cabo Verde. He prides himself on keeping his passion for Ponta Preta alive by fly in fly out strike missions for the best swells. He recounts one of his latest ventures on the island nation and the highs and lows of commuting from Northern Europe to Africa in search of wind and waves.

Words  Kai Katchadourian  //

Photos  João Barbosa

It’s been a long time since I got to rock and roll at Ponta Preta, Cabo Verde, as two years had passed very quickly since the last mission. It’s driven home a few points. You only have what’s in front of you so the moment you see the chance you have to take it. Forecasts are merely a model for guessing – the actual conditions waiting on the other side can often be up to chance, although if you know what to look for – exactly – you can open the gates of the treasure chest if you can make the right decisions on time.

THE CHASE
Living in Finland part time has afforded a great starting point to score Cabo Verde regularly, as getting there is very cheap and direct – as opposed to starting the mission from Maui for instance. All my chips were stacked on a February swell sequence, this is the time of year when wind and waves are most likely to combine for my favourite spot Ponta Preta to turn on with the legendary hollow peeling ‘African Green Machine’ coming to life. No sooner had my family arrived from our Maui stay than the charts came alive with a low pressure coming off the US East Coast. As I watched the news go on and on about blizzards and brutal weather I began making my plans as the storm was forecast to go out to sea and send a solid shot of NW swell to Cabo Verde.

My typical strategy has me leaving a bulk of my kit in Cabo Verde, my trusty OG Flywave board, masts, booms, and a quiver of surfboards. Only needing to bring sails greatly increases the ease of arriving ready to go as soon as the swells hit. I ordered my sails expecting them to arrive right on time for departure. Everything was going to plan, the storm had moved off the East Coast and a solid swirling system was due to send swell as if on cue right after Valentine’s Day. Even my wife would be happy to see me go get some epic waves; this was all too good to be true.

Double-checking my small order of sails from Sweden turned into a bit of a shocker as nothing was on the way – the warehouse guy had a serious flu and no gear had been dispatched. 5.3 and 4.7 are the essential sizes for my mission and now I had to act fast. With a flight leaving the next day, I contacted my good friend Petteri, Finland Simmer distributor and firearms specialist for Finnish special forces, who had a few of the latest Simmer Style Icons for me. Alright! 5.3 and 4.7 here I go, I just needed to take a 3 hour train ride to the Eastern town of Imaatra, minutes from the Russian border.

Upon arrival I met Petteri and he handed me a 5.0 and a 4.5, not entirely the sail sizes required. Left with no option, I grabbed the sails now with less than 12 hours to go and took my train back to snowy cold Helsinki, thinking the whole time that my entire mission was setting up to be an underpowered failure. Visions of being passed by kiters and others on bigger sails haunted me. Checking the forecast again and again lead to misery, the wind was actually getting lighter and lighter. At least the surf would be good, if not epic.

ARRIVAL
Upon arrival I met my high school pal Josh Angulo, who needs no introduction. Everyone reading this knows the history of our many epic missions out in Cabo Verde. All we do is score. We drew up a plan to maximize our opportunity to sail Ponta Preta while fitting in every nook and cranny that might be working in between the tides and predicted wind shifts and such phenomena. This was the one swell in a season full of near misses that was sure to be breaking solid at our favourite point, everything was lining up. My only concern was the wind. 7:00 am at the Angulo centre, after double cappuccinos downed and bold plans being drawn up – we ended up detouring considerably and about to surf a questionable spot when it became clear I had loaded the wrong wetsuit for Josh, so back to the centre we went. That delay helped us remember our most important goal. It was 9am by the time we returned to the now sloppy looking surf break. My immediate observation was that it was suddenly getting windy. That was it. The wind siren had sounded. Scramble mode back to the truck and directly to Ponta Preta, which had positively turned on since we checked it early
first thing.

THE POINT
Mast high plus waves greeted us. Reeling perfection with what looked like just enough wind for me to sneak out with a 5.0. Nobody was around – we knew it was just a matter of time until there were more people. Josh and I snuck out there and the wind shifted and really picked up. Perfect 5.0 weather as if I had planned it all along.
Ponta Preta is truly unique. You come flying into the wave from way behind the peak initially. Wave selection is paramount. There won’t be a second chance if you choose wrong. There is an upper peak that does not connect to the point that breaks off the fearsome left into the bay upwind. It usually shows bigger but is shorter and offers no mercy for incorrectly judging where to drop in and run for the exit.

Josh headed up to this area straight away, and the next thing I knew he was dropping into an over mast high bomb and it exploded him into the rocks. Round 1. Meanwhile at the point, I was left all alone and picking off several serious gems. As I watched Josh peel himself off the rocks and walk his gear a full 200 metres to launch again, wave after wave rolled through the point, and connected all the way through.

Josh launched again and went directly to the upper zone again – and essentially repeated precisely the same sequence again. Big bomb and too deep with the exit denied and directly back to the rocks. Round 2. He expertly dealt with the situation, but as he did, even more epic nuggets rolled straight to me at the point. Again, I was all alone at firing Ponta Preta. This trip was going better than I could have possibly imagined!! I could even afford to be selective and let the first few through, get on the best waves of each set and head out for more. Josh launched yet again and this time he stuck with me at the point and we traded off like it was a class reunion of sorts, which it was, and always will be whenever it happens because these moments like we were experiencing are in fact rare, and sacred to us both. We both sailed for over an hour more before the crowds turned up and we shared and carved to our heart’s content until the swell slowed down a bit and we called it a day.

DREAM TIME
The rest of the trip was mainly surfing – in truly epic waves – and a few sessions at some new locations, which will not be named here. New friends were made with Josh welcoming a crew of workers from many different corners of the world. Big shout out to the Irish lads, Duncan Knox and friends, those were good times and I’m always encouraged to see the next generation pursuing the dream. It’s clear that Cabo Verde remains a location where one can search for and find it. Sessions like we had create memories for a lifetime. Even after all these years, nothing truly replaces the feeling of lining up a long clean green wall at the place that I first sailed over 21 years ago in awe that it even existed. A place that offers an unlimited level of riding, matching the perfect canvas with simple yet bold lines. Iconic images and historical moments in our sport etched forever in our memories.

It’s impossible to consider any yearly cycle without even just a few moments with my many friends at the place we all love to shred in peace and we’ll always be coming back for more. Ponta Preta, the African Dream.

“ A solid swirling system was due to send swell as if on cue. ”

The post CABO VERDE – HIT AND RUN appeared first on Windsurf Magazine.