COMPETITION TIME
The first day of competition, it was off to Fisherman’s Island at a place called, “The Point”. There was a head high wave peeling from the point all the way through to the inner bay and a brisk side shore breeze.
Diony motivated the whole village to follow him to a small outpost, with a single shack facing the point break. It took us about an hour journey to get near the “The Point”. It was a sight to be seen, the children, youngsters, Coast Guards and paramedics all marching to “The Point” with boards, coolers and chairs under their arms.
With the majority of the surf spots around the world doubling as fishing spots, Los Roques is the perfect destination to nurture Beach Culture, which is a blend of the fishing community and the surf society. This island has a rich and authentic beach culture and Diony had energized this village to another level.
The local children were the pulse of this place, the way they strode with their independence. They roamed through the streets and to the outer islands with a confidence I hadn’t seen in a long time.
The competition zone was filling up; the inner point was filled with groms and the outer point was Los Roques elder rippers. The first of the pros out was Diony on his windsurfer; he had this undying glow as he dominated this place with his local knowledge. The sea was packed with windsurfers, kiteboarders, surfers and the lone SUP’er, DeAction Man, “Standing tall not afraid to fall!!”.
Life is a competition and it was competition time. From the corner of my eye I see an explosion of spray, it was Gollito. He was lighting up the sea with freestyle moves in the waves. Next to enter the dance is Airton, he pulled high into the sky, spinning and turning on his strapless kiteboard as he returned back down to earth with his feet miraculously still on the board. His kite high in the blues of the open sky. This man dominated the sea with his pure style and radical wave riding like nothing I’d seen before. He destroyed every lip and wave as they curled into the inner super shallow reef and he didn’t care if it swallowed him whole.
Ricardo “Fly Star” Campello emerged from the beach, not to be outshined, he showed his flexibility by switching from his dominant sport of windsurfing to kiteboarding. Ricardo rode the waves with typical radical ease. His girlfriend already giving him the win from shore with a wide grin.
But it was Airton’s energy and personality on the board which took the win, he was dominating and was voted the victor by the other pro riders.