The vast continent of South America has long been the backdrop for adventures. Inspired by its coastline’s potential for windsurfing, young Italian sailor Federico Morisio hit the road with the International Windsurfing Tour to compete and fulfil his South American dreams.

Words  Federico Morisio //  Photos  Si Crowther

It has always been a dream of mine to windsurf and visit South America. Last year my goal was to compete as much as I could, have new experiences, improve my sailing and be more motivated. When I saw the calendar of the International Windsurfing Tour I decided to give it a try and follow its schedule as the spots looked dreamy! Baja, Peru and Chile were my ‘stops’. Three windsurfing nirvanas, new and different cultures, awesome people and non-stop good times. It was one of the best decisions I ever made and this is the story of my travels.

FIRST STEPS
I had been in the Canary Islands for 2 months competing on the PWA tour, once the Tenerife event was finished I packed all my stuff and flew back to Milan where I met my mother and sister for one night so I could change my quiver to a 75 and 83 JP Radical Quad and 4.2, 4.5, 4.7, 5.0 Neil Pryde Combat sails, a perfect setup for down the line riding. The morning after I flew to Los Angeles, the stoke was getting higher and higher!

I arrived at LAX airport at night and had to wait until 6am for my travel buddy Simeon Glasson, ex Pro Windsurfer and Australian windsurfing star, to pick me up and start our 12 hour drive to Punta San Carlos, Baja California! Unfortunately my gear didn’t make it and was due to arrive 18 hours later, so Simeon and I spent the day cruising in Venice Beach while waiting for it to show up. I’m seriously thankful to Simeon, as without him I’m not sure I would have survived the trip! He waited for me to drive to PSC, lent me his camping gear and gave me so many good tips for my windsurfing career! Thank you Simeon!

BAJA
Once the gear arrived we started our drive, direction San Diego, as it was already too late to drive through the border into Mexico. We spent the night in a motel really close to the Border and left early in the morning. The landscapes and cities we drove through were so impressive that the drive seemed fast, even though I was sincerely a bit scared when we got to Tijuana as this city is well known for crime, but nothing happened and actually the city seemed pretty chilled and fun.

We made a quick stop in Ensenada, Mexico, to buy the food we needed for the week of camping ahead of us and then got back on the road. The last 100 kms were really ‘entertaining’, as it looked like there were no signs at all for Punta San Carlos (PSC) and both our GPS’s weren’t working, but after some ‘blind’ navigation we finally found the PSC signal and started the off-road drive. We were told there was only about 1 hour of off-road driving. Simeon got into “rally” mode and was driving pretty fast so we expected to get there even earlier, but after 1 hour and a half we still couldn’t see the ocean and of course there was no signs! We started to wonder if we were on the right road! Finally after almost 2 hours we saw the Solo Sports campsite, the only real structure in Punta San Carlos, and it felt really good as it was almost sunset and we had spent all day driving through Mexico. We were now in the middle of nowhere with no electricity, no Internet and no water; I was seriously impressed and ready to have an experience I knew I would never forget.

I was in a site with Colby Deer and the legendary Ferdinando Loffreda. The days in PSC were really simple – wake up, have breakfast, windsurf until you couldn’t move or it was dark, have dinner and go to sleep in the tent. All this mixed with lots of laughs, visits to the other guys’ lots, an awesome landscape and some cold temperatures!

There is mainly one wave in PSC, but when it isn’t too big it separates into 2 spots: one upwind called Bomba Point, which is more side-shore and a bit more mushy, and then downwind the completely down the line break, the wave PSC is famous for! It’s unbelievable how awesome this wave is. It gets to the point and from there starts peeling, leaving you time for 2, 3 or 4 turns, then you have to be fast and run down the line as it gets super offshore just before you reach the second peak and continue putting in turn after turn. What a dream!

The IWT competition was a blast and I was satisfied to finish 7th, almost into the semi-final after a tough heat against Kevin Pritchard, Boujmaa Guilloul and Maxime Fevrier where I ended up 3rd but really close to Boujmaa in 2nd. During the last few days of the trip I got a bad infection in my face after a cut while shaving with dirty water, but even so, Baja was still a seriously good trip.

PERU
After one week spent in the middle of nowhere it was time to leave and head back to LA before flying to Peru for the next leg of the International Windsurfing Tour. I drove back again with Simeon, we were both still buzzing from Baja. It felt kind of weird to get back to normal life, but trust me, to have a hot shower again was awesome! Of course my phone was packed with messages, everybody was super interested to know how the trip had been. I then spent 3 days in LA as a guest of a friend of mine, both to recover from the infection and also to enjoy the city’s vibe, which I loved!

I’d booked an Uber XL to bring me to LAX airport, but when the guy arrived and saw my windsurf bags he didn’t want to bring me there. My human relationship skills and a good tip were enough to make him change his mind though! Once I arrived in Lima I had to take a second plane from Lima to Trujillo. Everyone had told me to fly instead of taking the luxury bus from Lima to Pacasmayo, which was the other option. In hindsight it wasn’t the best decision, as between the price of the ticket, the excess baggage and the taxi I had to take from Trujillo to Pacasmayo, I spent way more money and had way more stress than the luxury bus option! It wasn’t a big deal though; with a good attitude and positivity everything went the right way.

At first I was really surprised by Pacasmayo, as I thought it was only a windsurfing spot with a few hotels and buildings around. I was totally wrong! It’s a proper city, with a really nice centre and many restaurants and shops where you could feel the Peruvian vibe. I stayed for 2 weeks in the “La Terrazas” Hotel, as El Faro Resort was fully booked. It was a good and cheap place to stay and only 100 metres away from the launch spot.

Those 2 weeks in Pacasmayo were really special for me, as during my stay I probably had the best setup I ever had between accommodation, people, food, vibe, training, windsurfing and attitude. Something was happening in my mind, I was feeling completely focussed and having a great time sailing the long, perfect and fun waves. Those 2 factors were probably the reason that I gained my first international event win. I still can’t believe it happened and I’m so grateful to all the people that helped me achieve the result. Besides this, I really recommend Pacasmayo as a ‘must visit’ to anyone that loves windsurfing and especially wave riding. It’s the funnest, longest and easiest wave I’ve ever ridden. Riding those waves for hours and then having a cheap and good dinner out with friends talking about it, I could do that every day! Big shout out to Jaime and El Faro Resort for helping organize the event and being so kind to all the riders.

CHILE

The victory of the Pacasmayo Wave Classic brought me 10000 points and helped me jump up the overall IWT Ranking. Of course since the first event of the IWT in Morocco I was thinking of the overall ranking and my goal was to finish in the top 10 in the pro division. But after Baja and especially Pacasmayo’s results, I knew I had a chance to finish higher and that pushed me to go to Chile, which wasn’t actually in my plan at the beginning of the year, as I wanted to go to the PWA event in Sylt, Germany. Deciding to go to Chile however was one of the best decisions I have ever made!

I booked my flight from Lima to Santiago and made the whole trip with Annamaria Zollet and Tom Soltysiak, two awesome people that I’m really happy I had the chance to spend so much time with during the IWT events. We took the luxury bus from Pacasmayo to Lima, which was way better than the domestic flight I took coming there, and then off to Santiago with Sky airlines, which treated us really well with our board bags. Once I arrived at Santiago’s airport I immediately felt like I was back in Europe, as it didn’t look at all like another South American country. It was all so new and organized that it really surprised me. Outside the airport we found Santiago Valdivieso, a friend of the event organizer Alex Vargas, waiting for us with his truck to bring us to Matanzas. The truck was already half packed with alcohol, as they were getting ready for the Chilean national party! Three days of celebration, the perfect moment to be in Chile and enjoy the Chilean craziness and vibes, those were three wild days!

I stayed at the Surazo Hotel, the best hotel and restaurant in Matanzas and one I can thoroughly recommend. Matanzas is between the mountains and ocean with awesome beaches. You can go mountain biking and windsurfing within 5 minutes! The spots are incredible; Matanzas is a nice, powerful and peeling side on – side shore wave, while Topocalma is truly amazing as you get there after 5 minutes driving on the shore, trying not to get stuck between the dunes. The wave is side-offshore, powerful and peeling also, but the wind can get really strong, that’s why you want to get there early in the morning. Then there’s Roca Quadrada, which I only sailed once and lasted 3 waves before I hit the lip and destroyed my sail! This spot is insane and you get here after driving on the beach as well. The wave is steep, which makes it really fun, but when it’s big you don’t want to mess with it! There are also other spots but unfortunately I couldn’t sail them all.

In Matanzas I found a really cool and young windsurfing community with which I had a seriously great time windsurfing, cruising, partying and enjoying the Chilean way of life. The people are awesome; I was so surprised by their values and traditions! Easy going, friendly and positive people that made me feel like I was at home. I made so many friends and I’m really looking forward to go back and enjoy all that again.

Also the IWT competition was a blast, as we could make it happen in two windy and wavy days in Matanzas in front of a really enthusiastic crowd. I made it all the way to the semi-final after going through what they called the “Heat de La Muerte” in the quarters against Kevin Pritchard, Russ Faurot and local Andres Tobar. I was happy with my 7th place, even though my goal was to make it to the final, especially because I was carrying a really good momentum from Peru’s victory. The level of the locals was really high and they impressed everyone with their wave knowledge and riding, in fact, besides Morgan Noireaux that finished 2nd, all the top 6 riders were locals. I wish I had more time to understand and know the wave before the event, but that’s how it goes sometimes and it’s also a good reason to go back there and practice. Overall Chile was an awesome trip and experience with great people and windsurfing conditions, do you need anything else? Big thanks to Alex Vargas for organizing such a sick event, with lots of great nights out and activities, and to all the community of Matanzas which really made all the IWT riders feel welcome and have a brilliant time! After 1 month and a half of travelling and living the dream it was time to sadly leave South America. The trip was over but the people I met and experiences I had will stay with me forever; the dream lives on!

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