Kitesoul Magazine #17 English Edition

THE winner
Romi de Jesus
strong emotions, from the flying fish to my dad's hug
at the finish line
The event was something
very good and innovative with
all the credit to my friend Ulrich
Frank who had this brilliant
idea and who dedicated
himself 100% in the organization.
It was a very good novelty
which will bring great benefits
and help the development
of the sport on the island of
Boa Vista. Going to Sal Island
was a lot of fun because I had
the opportunity to do kite in
Ponta Preta and Kitebeach
for the first time.
The night before the event
was marked with a very important
safety meeting elaborated
by Ulrich with all the
details of the Downwind. The
athletes had the opportunity
to present their doubts that
duly clarified. The Downwind
day started on the right foot
with breakfast as nothing
less than a good "Cachupa
gizada" a very famous and
strong traditional dish. Then
we checked out all the nec-
essary equipment and headed
to Kitebeach more exactly
at Mitu & Djo' s kite centre.
Olga, Yuri and I were the last
ones to leave the beach. In
Santa Maria, we met with the
two support boats and from
there we started the descent
to Boa Vista. The beginning of
the descent was exciting because
many of us were shouting
and making some jokes to
pass around the others. In the
middle of the sea, my brow Elton
and I hit a Hi5 and that felt
good. We had the opportunity
to see many flying fish and
as we approached them, they
flew in different directions.
The waves were considerably
large. I remember Yuri a few
times, some 20 meters ahead
or behind and I could only see
the lines and his kite as he was
hidden by the waves. Yuri was
the guy who most helped to
control the entire downwind
team. He was always behind
to check that everything was
in order. We had a small situation
where one of the riders
had some difficulties during
the downwind but Yuri and I
had about 60% of the time on
downwind with him. The arrival
at Boa Vista was marked
with the start of the race. It
was very tiring because the
athletes had to use the maximum
of their physique to
achieve the best result. I managed
to pass 1st place some
700 meters before the finish
line with some luck. A very
strong emotion on arrival at
Kite Kriol where I was hugged
by friends and my father."