MATTEO IACHINO
That day was so much fun. We were just a bunch of friends sailing together after the event. We headed 20 km out to Amedee and then sailed over to another lagoon where we were gybing in this crystal clear water in the middle of nowhere. This lagoon was a real freeride paradise. I don’t normally go freeriding when I sail, but for places like this it’s easy to make an exception! You can explore the reef, the lagoon and all these sandy islands just with the power of the wind. I have friends in New Caledonia that go out in groups of five or six and sail out in the lagoon for the day checking out the islands. As long as you have a phone it is relatively safe. You cannot be alone, obviously with a boat it is better. The colours are amazing, you are just in board shorts and your only worry is if you have enough sunscreen on! The boat ride is quite bumpy, but on windsurf gear the ride out there is quite smooth. You just hang on the boom and let the wind take you. The reaches were so much fun, when you are just cruising it was quite easy sailing and not too tiring on the body. If you move your feet in the footstraps then you don’t get any cramps. I had a GPS on for the day and it said I sailed more than 100km. I was on an 8.6m Severne with my medium board. It was my first ‘long ride’ on a Severne and I really appreciated the ease of use of the sail. The islands were stunning; we headed to a shipwreck around 30km downwind from Amedee. From the wreck we could reach all the way back to the main island of Noumea. As you head downwind you pass more amazing islands, some are just sandy atolls. I was so impressed with New Caledonia. If I lived there I would head out freeriding around that lagoon at least once a week. That is what is so special about being a windsurfer in a place like that! You have the perfect vessel to go out and explore.
“You have the perfect vessel to go out and explore.”