MISSION FUERTEVENTURA: SUSPICIOUSLY NO SUPRISES

Thomas Traversa and Antony Ruenes reflect on a five day boys trip to Fuerteventura where they scored wind and waves everyday!

Words: Thomas Traversa and Antony Ruenes // Photos: Pierre Bouras

THOMAS TRAVERSA

RUNNING LIKE CLOCKWORK

Sometimes things go as planned – other times they most certainly don’t. However, on this occasion we were pleasantly surprised precisely because there were no surprises. On this Saturday morning in question, somewhere on the north coast of Fuerteventura, the sun was shining, the parking lot was empty, the waves were rolling in perfectly, gently caressed by light winds, while looking majestic in the early morning light. Just as on the previous five days, we were treated to a real spectacle, and thankfully it felt like we were invited to be a part of it.

LEISURELY APPROACH

Antony [Ruenes] prepared his windsurfing equipment without hurrying while Adrien [Bosson] and Pierre [Bouras], our photographer, both did the same. They entered the water one at a time, and reached the waves which continued to arrive at almost metronomic pace. I calmly watched them surf these perfect lines, which completely satisfied me. Then, as the minutes passed by, something inside told me that I should join them. My body however was comfortable laid right there on the beach, absorbing the rays of the sun, the warmth of the volcanic rocks, and the captivating images which presented themselves before my eyes.

FUERTE DELIVERS

This was actually the fifth day in a row that the sailing conditions corresponded to what the weather forecast predicted a week earlier, and I am still unable to say how many waves I surfed until now, how many turns I made, how many aerials I landed, how many falls I experienced, how much time I spent swimming after my equipment. Everything mixed together in a sort of long waking dream and I was almost reassured when I saw another windsurfer coming upwind to partake in the party, as well as a few kitesurfers too, while others opted for to wing-foil. A little further downwind, surfers took advantage of the same swell trains we’d all been frothing over for almost a week.

Over the preceding days, approximately 100 people found themselves paddling, floating, gliding, flying and sailing in apparent harmony, while sharing those waves. Everyone seemed to be in their element, experiencing a few moments of excitement, or relaxation in other cases, all the while still enjoying those magical moments which we all so desperately crave. In those sacred little moments, your brain is occupied only with bliss, rather than other things which we’d usually rather not think about. We are here to live in the now, all while enjoying and sharing this abundance of positive energy.

INTUITION

Just a few days later, I was back home in another reality where I don’t share waves, but instead, I share meals with my children, household chores, life projects, my bed with my wife, among other things. As this is part of my work, I took a few hours to select some of the images which Pierre had filmed and I found myself once again immersed in a contemplative state, I rediscovered the sensations of innocent pleasure which I had experienced when I was on the water. Intuitively, I decided to leave all the images in slow motion, I added a hypnotic guitar tune stolen from YouTube, and I was finally ready to post the result on the internet, because it’s my job to broadcast my performances, because I find it beautiful and I imagine that other people will also be able to appreciate it, but also because it flatters my ego. In recent years, the distribution of images has become an important part of my best windsurfing sessions, a way of exploiting them, but also a way of magnifying them, of extending them if you like. Or simply, a way of sharing them.

A BUMP IN THE ROAD

Once the images had been online for a few days, I received a message from my friend Gilles, who is windsurfer and surfer, based in Fuerteventura since 1996 and recently retired from a long career as a photographer. It was Gilles who first introduced me to “professional” windsurf trips, and through our numerous trips, which took me many places across the globe, while interacting with a variety of people and culminated in a certain practice of windsurfing with a desire to tell the tales, the need to search, to risk and to question. Gilles was disappointed, even annoyed, by the title I had given the video on my YouTube channel, “Lente Ventura”, in relation to the slow-motion images and the island on which these sessions took place. Beyond the dubious play on words, he criticised me for giving an indication of information concerning one of “his” spots.

I had begun to think that everything was all so good, after all the week had been almost perfect. However, this unexpected surprise, which had been missing from the trip, finally arrived. So, I had been too greedy, I had eaten and shared a cake that was not intended for me. I offered something that didn’t belong to me. However, at the same time I had found a story to tell, even if Pierre’s photos say it all and show all the beauty, hopefully this makes you want to get back on a windsurf board.

ANTONY RUENES

THE MASTER

Thomas is the master of reading forecasts. He has an uncanny knack of picking out perfect conditions, so when he called me and told me that he thought it would be good in Fuerteventura for a few days, he peaked my interested right there and then – plus Pierre was available to shoot too. Adrien [Bosson] was also checking the same forecast and called me to register his interest in a mission to Fuerte.

Upon hearing that, I grabbed my phone and immediately made a booking for Fuerteventura. Going on a trip with friends in a great spot on a solid forecast is the best it can get. No stress, just having fun and riding! The conditions were amazing and we scored five hours on the water each day we were there.

TT

Like always, Thomas was destroying the spot with some epic, critically late takas and huge 360s. After sailing we would go home and check all the videos/photos with some beers, laughing and making fun of each other, but also watching with a keen interest to see how we could improve our technique in certain areas.

LIVING THE DREAM

Adrien was also ripping – going for big airs. Overall, it was just a really nice week. Every day, the one who tested the conditions first was different. On the three days that Adrien went to try the conditions, it was quite light with big waves. We were watching him waddle around as he got eaten by a mast high wave. Luckily he didn’t break anything other than a mast base, so in the end it was funny to watch. Fuerte is always such a special place to go sailing. I love the place and going on a strike mission like this with my best friends is always amazing. I think we were quite lucky with the conditions as normally you don’t get this wind direction. It was like a living dream!