A week ago Alex Mussolini got his new Tabou boards from Barcelona. Here the style icon is showing off his new wave twin on the balcony of his luxurious crib in Tenerife. What can we say, the man’s a legend…

Thomas is clearly excited about his new Tabou quad. ‘This board measures 220 x 53 cm with a volume of 64 litres. For the shape, Fabien Vollenweider took my twins as inspiration, but shaped the board with a little less tail width, a bit fatter rails and a shorter nose. And of course: four fins! I have not really been able to try out this quad in real conditions, but it works very well in small waves: it accelerates on its own in the turns and is even better to control than a twin! For Pozo Fabien made me another quad, which is even smaller. Can’t wait to try it out!’

What
After a two days stay in sunny and hot Costa Brava for some promotional activities for Tabou and Vandal Sails I took a plane back to Tenerife, hoping that the trade winds had kicked in after ten days of no sailing on the island. That night I checked the forecast thinking: what’s going on?! A north westerly wind was coming for Tuesday 16 June, together with some swell and sun. I knew I had the chance to sail, but the wind was going to be starboard tack! I love to sail on both tacks but starboard is probably my favourite after my long stay on the Hawaiian islands when I was a teenager. Also it’s kinda fun to sail on starboard tack when I am supposed to be sailing port tack before Pozo!

Where
The spot of our choice was La Fitena in Playa Las Americas. It is only fifteen minutes from my house, maybe five to ten when I get my VR6 and the cops don’t stop me haha. La Fitena is very accessible for medium to high level sailors, on this session the swell came a bit south and the wind was strong enough so the spot wasn’t dangerous. Generally La Fintena is a pretty safe spot, the only problem is the wall downwind from it. When the north swell kicks in you can have a real chance of going there, this winter before going to Cabo Verde I ended up on the rocks, breaking one of my favourite boards, breaking my boom in four and my mast in five little pieces, completely ripping my sail, plus almost losing my life! If you would have seen my girlfriend’s face watching the show…

When
All long time windsurfers know that if you want to enjoy, first you need to suffer. After a quick check with a friend in the south I decided to go in the afternoon. I waited at the beach for almost two hours before the wind and waves kicked in. My friend and local hero from the island Dany Bruch called me, he was 45 minutes away checking a different spot, well known for being a massive and crazy wave but the sets were too small, which makes the wave too heavy, breaking literally on dry rocks. Around this time La Fitenia was starting to work, some head high sets where coming through and the gusts were picking up 15 to 20 knots. Around 4.30 pm we were sailing: sunny, warm crystal clear water, what else can you ask for?

Aerial Dany Bruch

Session
My final decision was to go out on my new 4,8 Vandal Sails Riot and 67 litre Da Curve, I was having lots of fun as the sets came through more often than what I saw from the beach. The waves were about head high with wind around 22 knots, and water temperature around 20 degrees or something like that, really hot, but I always need to sail with a wetsuit, if not I freeze! During the session the wind kept picking up and gave me a chance to jump, nothing special but all just a bonus as 30 minutes before I thought I was going to go back home without getting wet! On the waves it was easy to make takas and some nice turns, it was much harder to make goiters and wave 360s, but I still managed to do some. In the end some other local riders came to join us but basically it was just Dany, me and three locals, just perfect! After the session I was laughing inside, thinking: I am on Tenerife and I just had a decent starboard tack session!

All pics (c) CMD 2009

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What
The weather forecast announced three days of super good conditions in Galicia, with beautiful weather, so together with Antony Ruenes we jumped at the occasion to sail in nice waves without a crowd, with such pure surroundings, a dream!

Where
Galicia, the north west corner of Spain. West of La Coruna, along the road of the ‘Costa de la Morte’ close to Cabo Vilano lies a spot without crowds and without a name.

When
First week of May 2009, a little 4 day trip from Marseille.

Conditions
The wind was side-offshore coming from the north west, between 20 and 30 knots. Starboard tack sailing with a nice swell the first day of a bit over logo high, then two more days of nice head high waves. The wave breaks over a sandbar and there’s also another peak right in the middle of the beach. Easy and not dangerous!

Thomas

Antony

Spots
The spot we sailed didn’t have a name, but it is the only beach accessible via the route ‘Costa de la Morte’, and lies about two to three kilometres north of Cabo Vilano, close to Camarinas. We called it ‘Spot de la Morte’! The wind is better than at other spots in Galicia, it works with north west (side off starboard tack) and also with south/south west (side off port tack). The spot takes all the swell, but works best when it isn’t too big. A nice spot with grass right up to the beach, and best of all: no one to bother us on the water!

In short
It really is a little corner of forgotten paradise, pure with beautiful scenery. The water is full of fish for those who like to do some fishing, I even saw some dolphins while I was sailing. The shore lends itself for camping, the ancient villages give you a true feeling of tripping! The dialect makes you feel like you’re on another planet, it holds something between Spanish and Portuguese, funny to hear (not so funny to understand!). In short: total relaxation, a real nice dose of calm, nature, good windsurf and all that without having to travel to the end of the world!

When you think of wave riding, you think of Josh Angulo. During the world cup in Cabo Verde he showed he is one with the waves, always sailing in the critical section, with vertical smacks in the pocket and big aerials. Angulo’s effortless and fluid style was captured in High Definition enabling us to show some of his rides in slow motion. Dream away with us on this one…

Your style looks very effortless and fluid, even in these massive waves. What’s your secret?
‘I’ve been surfing and wave sailing all my life, I grew up riding waves of all types and I have more experience at Ponta Preta than any one person in the whole world. I have a very loving relationship with this spot; Ponta Preta is a perfect canvas to paint some lines. I’m riding waves the way that feels best to me, the timing and fluidity is crucial to me. I feel it when a wave was really well ridden or kind of jerky; I always want to be fluid. I believe it’s something inside, you don’t think too much about it but you do have to be conscious of your timing and approach.’

Do you enjoy watching yourself sail?
‘I do enjoy watching myself, especially at Ponta Preta where there is so much emotion involved. Even more during those events… I think the clip really shows what’s going on out there and it actually makes the sailing look like it feels.’

Your style seems to have got more radical again.
‘That’s good to hear. I am motivated in waves of consequence such as Ponta Preta and Hawaii and my equipment works extremely well so I want to keep pushing while I can.’

You are the king of aerials, you seem to get them on even the smallest of waves. Do you really plan this ahead, aim for it, or just let the wave guide you?
‘It’s only natural that if you hit the lip in the critical part of the wave, the wave will throw you into the air, so I guess the aerials are more so a testament of me being in the vertical part of the wave at all times, which is especially challenging to do at Ponta Preta.’

What gear were you using?
‘I was riding production gear borrowed from the Angulo Cabo Verde Windsurf Center. Mostly a 5.7 MauiSails Legend and Angulo Chango 88.’

Your boards seem pretty old skool.
‘My boards are so old skool that they are now new skool. I’ve seen the whole circle happen fifteen years ago and people will be riding single fins with longer more drawn out outlines in the upcoming years more than they have recently, simply because the water flow and characteristic make it a much easier and user friendly type of ride. You also gain more control and thus confidence on the wave. That’s extremely important for wave sailing.’

The new Angulo line up has a twinzer as well, have you tried them in Ponta Preta?
‘I haven’t tried the new twinzers in Ponta Preta yet, I’m sure they’ll be fun. I have buddies who wanted twinzers, so why not. We were the forefathers of shortboard twinzers back in the day, so we have the experience and background to support a twinzer model.’

Finally: how did it feel to ride the waves with all the locals cheering from the shore?
‘It’s unbelievable. The local support pushes my energy level all the time. When I am tired and cramping I hear my friends and family yelling and I push through the pain or difficulty in a heat to come out on top. It’s great to have this kind of support in CV!’

Josh ripping up ‘his’ wave – photo by John Carter/PWA