After three months in the USA riding waves in Maui, sliders in Hatteras and a month and a half in the relaxation of her home town in Sweden, Erika headed out to the Kite Surf Pro Tour with the first stop in the awe inspiring island of Mauritius...it’s alright for some!
The KSP invitational only event is focused on touring around only the best wave spots, celebrating the best riders in the world in the best conditions. 24 guys and another 11 girls joined Erika on the inaugural tour. And it was a shaky start for many riders as dropping wind conditions meant that the rescue boats were busy, with some even taking mobile phones and lights to avoid any scary situations. As luck would have it though (or maybe just very good planning), the riders were graced with the arrival of the swell a day before the competition and were fortunate enough to be competing on the waves, affectionately known as OneEye.
With the world’s greatest riders out there in pretty hardcore conditions, competition was tough and Erika was unfortunate in both the draw and her riding to fail to win her heats, whilst being up against the eventual tournament winner and the runner-up! Bad luck indeed. On a competition enjoyed with the smaller HADLOW and ION kites however, Erika was still able to take a respectable number of points away from the event to support her overall ranking.
After a short stop at our good friends Kite@North, visiting the island’s only Flexifoil centre, Erika continued with the tour to the next stage in Peru.
Kiting in Peru (so Erika tells us) is a rare treat, with pristine, long, sandy beaches and beautiful surf. The event though was taking place at Pacasmayo on what is reputedly the longest wave in the world...so long so that kiters take a moto-taxi to the start again after a run. Again, it was an unfortunate time for Erika, not being able to make it into the second round, but with awesome conditions it was a great time to practice so we have high hope for round 3!
On kiting in Peru, Erika wanted to share the following with all the Flexifoil fans out there, “The spot in Pacasmayo I can recommend to intermediate and good wave riders, the wave itself is quite easy and the wipeout isn't too hard, the tricky parts are the strong downwind current that makes it hard to go back upwind and the launch is not so easy since you have to walk on slippery pebble stones with barnacles, so bring boots! The place to stay is definitely El Faro Resort where you have a view over the break from your room, and the restaurant, where they serve good food, is also overlooking the waves. The wind was mostly light and I was riding on my 10.5 ION every day, apart from one when I used the 8.5 ION, so bring big kites for this spot”