African waves

2nd stop: GKA Dakhla: after Dakhla and Cabo Verde Nobile rider Justyna Sierpińska in 7th position in the championship ranking!

Just got back from the second Global Kiteboarding Association Championship which took place in Dakhla, Morocco. Dakhla is a place in Western Sahara, very well known to the kiters. The constant wind, huge lagoons for freestylers and many wave spots for wave riders make it a must-go among top 3 kite spots to visit. That was also a reason why GKA decided to make one of their stops in this mystic place! For me it wasn’t a first time that I went there. I also had some not-so-good experience with Dakhla, as few years ago before my first PKRA competition I suffered from an accident on the Oum Lamboir spot, where this competition was being held. I got washed out with a wave so powerfully that my knee ligaments broke. So this travel was to face my fears and become a stronger person as well.

On the first day of arrival in Dakhla I went kiting straight away from the airport. I had the image of my accident in my head, as the conditions looked just the same. Powerful break on the shore made my head spin lightly. However I was getting comfortable little by little and didn’t feel the water before I would ride the wave with confidence this day.

Surprisingly on the day of competition a swell dropped significantly and we had to search for the waves on the horizon to catch some good ones! We did the double qualifiers, in which I ultimately took the 9th place. It means that overall after Dakhla and Cabo Verde I’m in 7th position in the ranking. This gives me motivation to train more and advance to the podium during next contests! I’m happy to see that there are more and more girls joining the competition and doing strapless wave riding, as I try to promote this discipline among the ladies!