James Carew heads to Mauritius for the GKA to beat Airton Cozzolino, while one dream got crushed he discovers another magical moment just around the corner he wasn’t expecting that puts everything in perspective… What’s your best kiting moment in time?

Imagine a mountain, a big mountain. There's an old road leading to its peak and it's long and stretches as far as the horizon. You're alone, but there are people around you, people who are constantly fighting to reach the top. However, this is not a simple road; it's moving, there are obstacles, there's thunder, there's injury, and there are people in your way everywhere you look. It's almost like the road is speaking to you, telling you to turn around; it’s too hard, you'll never make it. The only thing pushing you is that little voice inside of you, forcing you to go as far as you can no matter how hard the road tries to unhinge you. You don't know if it's worth the fight or if you'll ever get there, but all you know is there's a chance, and any chance is good enough. This, to me, is what competition feels like.

A location people dream about and get anxiously excited and overwhelmingly scared all at once over. A place only the fortunate will ever physically visit while others, only in their dreams, a place called Mauritius. Where the ocean can change your life in an instant, making you the happiest of all creatures, then turn its back on you and make you work to keep your life.

A setting like this blended with top-level riders will naturally bring out the best and present the most driven minds with gold. Mauritius is one of those locations that I, personally, have always wanted to win and didn't stand a chance, although last year was different.

Last year, I put in the time, the money and created the mindset to win, everything was perfect. I won heats, scored exceptional results and pushed through the field. Even though I was fighting an injury, on the water, everything felt right, and I could see the top coming. After fighting off a hungry Brazilian, Sebastian Ribeiro, it was time. The final came, Airton Cozzolino VS James Carew, wave after wave we fought it out, refusing to go down easily. This time, however, I wasn't the pick, I fell when I needed a score and lost my chance - 2nd.

Not a bad result, but after being so focused on the top, but it felt like last. So close yet so far. I was filled with a feeling of relief, chopped up with anger and disappointment; it wasn't fun.

After weeks of training and fully committing myself, at this point, all I wanted to do was push it away and enjoy myself. Remind myself where I was and what I was doing.

Fortunately, we rented a house with all the Duotone boys; full of beer, cameras and the credit card 'Craig Cunningham', with the idea in mind of creating one of the best kite surfing videos to date; and that was precisely what I needed without even knowing it. My mind was utterly transferred from competition to just living, being myself and kiting some of the best waves in the world with arguably, some of the best kiters in the world.

I had no idea what to expect or how serious this project was about to get. However, the first night set the vibe. Let me set the tone, it was our videographer, Lidewij Hartog's birthday. A house full of drunken kiteboarders just out of a competition, fireworks, beer, the floor turned into a cake slip and slide, a pool and no wind the next day. I'll let you imagine what went down, but I will say anything that happens in the competition was the last thing on my mind after that night.

Fortunately, no one else had birthdays coming up and the days that followed were entirely focused on capturing those rare, un-foreshadowed moments that make all the effort and time of every trip worth it. I couldn't count the sessions we had this trip, but I can remember every detail of one in particular.

The forecast was improving every day towards the end of the week, and every day that passed, we would wait for the pot of gold scratching closer to us knowing it was going to be epic.

On this particular afternoon, we had been positioned at the world-famous One Eye break and realised we'd hyped this day up way passed its potential. Although the crowds were thinning, the sun was fading, and the waves seemed to be disappearing, it felt like everything we had hoped for was slowly coming to an end.

Our photographers were back on the boat and waved me over, letting me know they were going in and handing me a GoPro and the words, "record everything". The boat motored off into the lagoon and I was left with the job of telling everyone the cameras were gone. I turned to sail upwind and realised the crowds were gone, all who were left were friends and immediately the whole vibe changed.

The rain was passing in thick blankets and the waves which seemed to be "disappearing" proved me wrong as always, starting to pick up and thunder down the line like nothing I had expected. We all quickly changed perspective, and the follow-cam was on fire, filming wave after wave of perfect turns and meaty barrels.

What followed was one of the best sessions I've ever experienced in my life, with the light slowly fading and waves growing bigger every set, they were constantly tearing down the reef. Every time we passed each other, it was like a terribly out of tune symphony, everybody on the water was constantly screaming, not believing what was happening the stoke was real!

The most memorable moment by far from this session was ironically the last.  GoPro in hand, I had the duty of filming Oswald (Ozzie) Smith, we waited out the back searching for the perfect set as we knew it was going to be one of the last before the light completely died. The horizon started to grow, and we both looked at each other, knowing it was the one. Swinging wide this wave was like an uncontrollable beast just waiting to unleash itself on the razor-sharp reef. Knowing I had to be deep to get the footage, I wasn't sure what was about to happen, positioning myself behind Ozzie we both went for it. Ozzie opting to shoot down the line and go for the barrel, I followed, but it was late, and I had nowhere to go.

I was locked into the ever-growing dark wall of water.

Seeing the barrel section coming I had two options, go straight and get blown to pieces but maybe get a shot of him getting completely drained, or follow him.

I hesitated, and it was too late, I had to go with him. Not knowing if he knew I was there or not, I grabbed the rail and went for it. At this point, I hadn't really noticed what was happening, but as the lip came over me, it felt as though everything slowed, for a few seconds both Ozzie and I were in the same barrel, both fully focused on coming out. A barrel out on this wave, you feel the pristine blue with an aspect of danger, but with a weird safe feeling added in. This was not that, this was dark, thick and wanting blood. Not even remembering I had the GoPro on record, I was mesmerised. Not only was this one of the roundest barrels I had ever seen, but there was also someone in front of me fighting to come out of it; it was beautiful!

Then in a split second, the foam ball attacked me and sent me flying to another dimension, trying its best to tear me apart. Surfacing, I found myself incoherently screaming at absolutely no one - pure stoke! One of the wildest experiences I've ever had the pleasure of being in and for me made the whole trip worth it.

It's moments like this that make kitesurfing the ultimate sport for me. We've all had those sessions, those split-second moments; maybe it was a really long run without crashing while you are learning. Perhaps it's boosting the biggest jump you've done to date, or even just cruising and watching the sunset with your mates. Kitesurfing is full of these magical moments, and that is what draws us back time and again…

That's enough of the serious stuff, go get yourself a beer and look for that next moment!

Videos

MRU - Issue 81
Mauritius Go Pro Edit - Issue 81
By James Carew

Comments