The Cabo Verde PWA World Cup – Day 4

Offshore wind put a halt to the double elimination’s progress on day four. While competition was on hold we pinned down Josh Angulo to quiz him on the Cabo Verde World Cup, Angulo boards and more…

Angulo takes some time out to compete

Man with a plan: Josh Angulo

PWA: You’re the man behind the Cabo Verde PWA World Cup; can you give us an idea of how much work goes into putting on a competition like this?

JA: “Well the event’s primarily run by the government, but my brother-in-law, myself, and one of my companies here in Sal are the international force behind the event. We put an unbelievable amount of work into it, which we’re starting to see the fruits of this year with things like the beach football championships, and the massive event tent. Ultimately, the realisation of this event is a testament to the Cabo Verdean peoples’ attitudes, strengths, and the union as a country and group of people. Even in difficult times everyone came together at the right time to help make this amazing event happen.”

PWA: The event seems to be growing every year, what’s new for 2009?

JA: “There’s a whole bunch of new stuff for 2009. This is the first year we’ve had the event tent. It’s 1200 square metres, and the very first of its type in our country, so the very first time this tent has ever been used is for the World Cup, and now the Island will have access to it for numerous other events like the big music festivals out here. I’m also psyched to have a better judges’ stand and sailors’ area. Also we have Roberto Hoffman out here commentating on all the action in three different languages. There’s also a dedicated event website, and numerous smaller measures the people don’t really see, but all go towards making the event that much better.”

PWA: The local guys seem to be ripping, how much windsurfing talent is there on the island?

JA: “Well if you have a look at the guys here, the current kite boarding World Champion is born and raised here in Santa Maria, he’s also competed in the windsurfing for the last two years. A lot of the guys are getting into kiting, windsurfing, surfing, body boarding…they are a really multi-talented group of people. The talent pool runs so deep, and as the infrastructure grows they’ll be more sails, boards and equipment for people to learn on.”

PWA: Your board brand, Angulo Boards, have just become a corporate sponsor of the World Tour. What made you decided to back the PWA?

JA: “I’ve always supported the PWA throughout my windsurfing career, and as Angulo Boards have expanded as a brand we though this was the right time to fully commit to the World Tour by becoming a corporate partner. I think having a professional relationship with the PWA will give me the opportunity to share my ideas and thoughts for the future of the sport, it’s something I’m really happy to be part of, and excited about what the future holds.”

PWA: Can you tell us a bit about the 2009 Angulo range?

JA: The 2009 Angulo range has taken a big step forward this year, we re-did our whole range and introduced a twin fin board. We’ve also remodelled our Chango line, which is a proven hardcore wave board. We re-did our SuperGu line; the sumo we chose to keep the same as last year. It’s a proven board with a really good shape, but now with a nice new graphic. We’ve also brought in a whole new freestyle-wave line called the Creola, based around the beauty of the Cabo Verdean women and the Creole culture. It’s the jewel of our line. And we’ve also come out with the Magnum, which is a three board slalom range to cover all the conditions we get on the PWA World Tour. The three boards literally cover everything, we’re really excited about them. I think this is going to be a big year for us!”

Josh Angulo is sponsored by Angulo Boards, MauiSails and Dakine. You can find the 2009 Angulo board range at www.anguloboards.com

Tomorrow’s skippers meeting is set for 8.15am, with a first possible start scheduled for 8.45am local time (GTM -1). Be sure to tune into pwaworldtour.com to follow all the action as the double elimination is gradually narrowed down to the final two-man showdown.