By Matt Smith of Gower Kite riding school.
Kiteboarding in Cape
Verde
If you like your islands raw and
untouched and free from crowds they are your utopia!
10 islands in the chain some leeward, some windward so those NE Trades can
really blow on the windward islands.
Sal is one of the most barren of the
group of ten islands and five islets in the archipelago of Cabo Verde,
1500 km south of the Canaries Dakar SenegalAfricaand
approximately 450km west of Senegal.
Although Sal is very barren, there are few who don’t succumb and fall under its
spell without plans to return.
We visited Sal and Boa vista and both seemed quite similar to the Canary
islands of Tenerife,
Lanzarote, Fuerteventura, and Gran Canaria,
albeit more african and untouched, but time will tell before they are developed
in the same fashion.
Sal has plenty of waves to surf on whether your a surfer or a kiteboarder, with
Ponta Preta looking super hollow on our last day there, alas I had no
surfboard, just my small dinner tray of a kiteboard, I was tempted to sponge it!
Boa vista was even more undisturbed than Sal although the cement churners and
brick layers are starting to develop things now just like on Sal.
Boa has loads of surfing/kitesurfing
potential as its basically a large beach island. Some of the spots however are
really remote and can only be got to by 4x4. There are also plenty of Big fish
swimming around and No decent hospital on the island as of yet! (October 06)
We Surfed two spots ‘Cabral beach’ and another wave which brakes in the channel
between Sal rei (the capital) and a small offshore island. It has loads of
potential and rumour has it Josh Angulo is inviting Laird Hamilton over to
scope out the Tow in possibilities of
one of the islands many offshore reefs in December.
Like any spot though it may not get the swell or the right conditions so take a
fishing rod and catch your supper as there is not much else to do on the island
if your not super keen on your watersports or the beach.
kiteboarding wise if your a beginner and not particurlary confident in cross
offshore winds the flat water spot just off Sal rei is not great - with the
wind coming over various isographics its gusty and the brazilian kiteschool
owner 'Atila' will rub his hands in glee as he charges 30 euros for a rescue if
you drifting into Tiger shark heaven! And not able to swim in.
There are however various spots on the East side of the island which are cross
shore/cross onshore but like I said remote and a little spooky.
Santa Maria is
a awesome place to KITE with the backdrop of a huge wreck behind you and nice
waves and flat spot lagoons in between sets.
Flat water spots are far and few depending on the swell, I
took a 135 and a wave board which covered me fine for the conditions.
Cape verde is not as cheap as you think its going to be, as they have to import
everything.However in November ASTREUS will fly direct from the UK offering a
cheaper flight than your usual lisbon stop-over and therefore bring things into
a more comfortable price bracket.
True Potential and Other activities
Deep sea fishing
and boat trips: Grouper and yellow fin tuna are plentiful inshore off Sal and Boa
Vista and further out marlin, wahoo, barracuda and tiger shark can be caught in
Cape Verde
waters. Bookable through many hotels or wander down to the pier and book there
for as little as €35 for three hour trip on a catamaran and if you’re lucky
you’ll come across some dolphins.
Marine turtles: The turtle is the national symbol
of Sal, and every year, from late May to September, more than 3,000 loggerhead
turtles (Caretta caretta) come ashore on s beaches, with Salinas
Diving: Diving in crystal-clear warm Cape Verde
water reveals brilliantly coloured
reef fish and there are three wrecks off Santa
Maria
(Sal) at 10m to explore
The other islands also apparently have good surfing and kiting spots especially
the island of st Vincent.
If your thinking of checking them out give us a mail and we'd be more than
happy to reccomend accomdation etc
Until then keep dreaming of White sand beaches and empty waves
