„… take me one day onto the hills of Sinis, in front of the Mediterranean, and put a green shell under my neck so that the voice of the sea can sing into my ear. That I should sleep there, between the lentisks, the rock roses and the asphodels with the sound of the waves on the sandstone, under the wings of the hawks and the large and soft flight of the seagulls. That I should sleep on the stony grounds of Sinis…“ These verses written by the great professor Pau sound like an act of love towards the Sinis and they are words that testify the attachment of the Sardinians, those who have „seawater running in their veines“ towards the sea, towards what the sea can give them.
Many things have been written about Capo Mannu and sometimes with very little real knowledge of the place. I was practically born in the sea and and can really say that I have lived the discovery of windsurf and surf from the first row with the arrival of the first sails and of the first surfboards as well as the mythical school boards Star Cut and the first „wave“ Rocket in polyethylene.
There is no doubt about the fact that the first men who sailed the waters of the Gulf of Oristano and therefore also the waters of Capo Mannu were the Nuragic people in the period between 2000 and 1500 b.C. With a high probability these men arrived on the west coast of Sardinia from the Iberian Peninsula, having overcome their fear for this to them unknown element, the fear of the unknown and being pushed by the constant currents and Atlantic disturbances. Surely they arrived with primitive and unsafe crafts. Let’s try to imagine their approach to the West Coast the sea being active or with waves as after a big perturbation…
I don’t think it would be wrong to say that these people must have been the first surfers of history. After them there was a continuous attack on the Sardinian coastline by the various peoples that claimed the dominion of the Mediterranean. In the Sinis Peninsula there is the biggest density of Nuragic towers to be found in all of Sardinia, that together with the Aragonese towers, built from 1300 a.C. to defend the coastline from the frequent raids of the Saracene pirates, formed an efficient look-out system to sight everything that came from the sea. On the promontory of Capo Mannu there is an Aragonese tower that is still well conserved. With a bit of recklessness I sometimes climb onto the top of the tower. The beauty of the sea that you can sea is incredible, the line of the horizon is far away. I imagine the warriors who scanned the sea … they were surely the first to see the wind coming, the waves grow and break on the cliffs. Who knows if any of them have ever thought about playing with the waves…
The history about this part of Sardinia is really fascinating and it’s easy to get carried away, so therefore I’ll try to cut it short and arrive at our days.
After a numerous amount of wasted waves during the milleniums, two scanty groups of aspiring windsurfers, one from Cagliari and one from Oristano, began to get their first experiences with huge boards, fins and wooden booms, in the ’70ties. While it was easier to get hold of the gear and of enthusiasts in the area of Cagliari, a fin, a harness and a wetsuit were precious things that were very hard to find in the area of Oristano. The first beginners were those few fortunate who thanks to their families since their childhood had lived on the coast. For a while the two groups remained separate, but then with the happening of the Windsurfer Class and the first regional races, contact was established and the names of the real Sardinian pioneers in windsurfing and surf came out. From Cagliari it was Barrella, Ciabatti, Brianda, Strazzera, Loi, Sanjust, Racca, Stagno, just to mention some of them. From Oristano it was Blumenthal, Bobo Lutzu, Giangi Chiesura, Angelo Fadda to mention some of the most representative Oristanese guys. After the first years of practise with the „rabbasoni“ (very big boards), and having leafed through the first magazines in the sector (Windsurf Italia), we understood that you could sail the waves!! And off we went to Cagliari to the first Sardinian shapers, Giovanni Fabbri and Stefano Diana. I still remember the enthusiasm and the craving to try those boards immediately in the waves and I also remember the slaps in the face in the close out in S’Arena Scoada during my first times in the waves…. It was in the late ’70ties. I personally believe to have surfed my first wave in ’78 in Mandriola with a waveboard in polyethylene of the Star Cut called Rocket. Then one day the guys from Cagliari arrived… You could compare their descent on the west coast as the umpteenth invasion of the Sinis, but it wasn’t like that. Actually the pure passion for this new and fascinating sport went beyond every limit and together we shared the discovery of new spots or the happening of something new, either it was a board or a sail. Localism has never been a part of the history of neither surf nor windsurf. I’m sorry that many of the surfers from the young generations don’t feel the extreme and deep contact with nature, with the element water and with the person who is sharing your passion with you, doing these sports. Doing a bottom or an aerial on a 3-metre high crystal clear wave cannot generate hate or envy… I agree though that with the fact that a foreigner who goes surfing in an unknown place must have a lot of respect for the locals and most of all for the „historicals“ respecting the uses.
Talking about wavesurfing, I, historically speaking, believe to be able to confirm that the Capo Mannu was first „taken“ by a waveboard. While Doc Bobo between his medical exams was constructing his first waveboard, Andrea Racca arrived from Cagliari. He was a young student in California, where he had learnt the art of surfing and surely he was one of the first to surf the waves of Capo Mannu. Surfing the waves togehter with him was certainly Giorgio Pietrangeli, one of the big fathers of Italian surf. This happened around 1975. Bobo and I were surfing the terrible closeouts of S’Arena Scoada. Then challenging the big Capo, we also dived into its waves. In the beginning it really was a big challenge. We knew very little about the Capo and its waves and every straight wave was an enormous joy. I still have the memory of endless days in the water, passed sharing two fantastic waves. In those first years, many were attracted by this fascinating sport. Some gave up but others continued to surf a wave that has probably lasted all their life. Wave after wave the group of primordial surfers was established, a group that has created the basis of Sardinian surf. The really skilled Giorgio Stagno, who arrived from Cagliari with Gigi Barrella and Pinzo Antonello Ciabatti come into mind. As well as Andrea Racca he believed in surfing and in the potential of this place. Soon the compact group started to explore the spots in the area. When the Capo was too big and the waves were foamy, we discovered the potential of the Mini Capo: beach break with both a right and a left and sometimes with a tube and very quick. When the swell is very big, with wind from north or from the north east, its wave knock off and is really fantastic and challenging. With time, the number of surfers grew and therefore also the need for new wavetops… that’s why the Medicapo or also called Gozilla was discovered by the strong local Fofo. This spot is still today only for local surfers from Oristano. Between the end of the ’70ties and the beginning of the ’80ties the voice spread, also to mainland Italy, about incredible great wave conditions on the west coast of Sardinia. The first „foreigners“ began arriving: Maddaleni, Pietrangeli, D’Angelo and the other historical surfers of the peninsula. After them the sound of the waves began to travel with the wind… and suddenly the big names started coming. I still remember the huge waves surfed with a 7′ by Anders Bringdal, brought here by Roberto Ricci. After him in mid ’90ties the Hawaiian legende Josh Angulo showed off with some really impressing surfing. While the pros were showing off with radical manoeuvres, we other poor mortal surfers began to higher the level and to discover new spots. Chutz‘ point, close to Medicapo, is historical and has its name after the by now resident local, Chutz. The true blessing of the Capo was made on a sunny day in spring of ’99 when the legends of worldlevel surfing, Dave Kalama, Jeff Hackman and Rusty Keulana, for the occasion of the Quiksilver Pro Tour entered the waters of Capo Mannu…the stile and the radicalisme that they showed really impressed the few fortunate people who that day with their own eyes saw such a sight. Also the three „guys“ remained impressed by the quality of the waves. They had thought that the tour that they were on, was only to sign poster and not to surf…! It was fantastic to see Kalama with various curses put on a full wetsuit and surfshoes …things he has never worn!
Let’s go back 20 years more or less to see what happened when you surfed the Capo with a sail on your board…
In windsurfing as in surfing a historical group had formed of guys from Oristano and from Cagliari; Ciabatti, Barrella, Sanjust, Fabbri, Diana, Chiesura, Blumenthal, Fadda, Tore and others…who surfed the first waves when the big mistral sea storms arrived at the beach of Mandriola. One nice day, sailing along the promontory somebody noticed the huge waves that followed one another with great regularity along the promontory of the Capo. The sparkle was born! The most reckless, Barrella, Ciabatti and I began to take the first straights and to ride the first foams, discovering on our own skin and on our own masts, how to surf, where to enter and how to dominate those stupendous waves. The first great pro who made the first aerials at the Capo and at the Minicapo was surely Cesare Cantagalli. Cesare immediately understood the potential of these spots and was really fascinated by them and from then he has remained connected to these waves and that’s also why the tests of his new sails often take place here in fact.
As with the surf also in windsurf the pros like Anders Bringdal and Josh Angulo were astounded by the fact that they could find such radical conditions in the Mediterranean. Also the Australian Scott McKercher has on several occasions had the pleasure to bend the waves of Capo Mannu, with or without a sail. The last great pro who has sailed at Capo and at Minicapo in mythical conditions in April 2001 was the kiter Max Bo… In fact kitesurf was the only thing missing at Capo Mannu!! From the Fassoni, the boats in bulrush, made by the ancient Phoenicians, to the kevlar in the boards and the ripstop in the sails, progress will never stop…
Some curiosities about Capo Mannu:
- the Capo has not always been joy and happiness but also blook, pain and money thrown away…it is thanks to the surfer Doc Bobo and his first aid bag, that is always ready in his car that many a surfer has been sewn together again on the beach of Capo Mannu or Minicapo. This happened because they underestimated the capacity and the power of the waves combined with the danger of the rocks and the current.
- Two Rolex Mariner, one watertight Philipwatch and a big golden bracelet lie on the seafloor of Capo Mannu, taken from their unlucky owners during the numerous washings.
- Capo Mannu means the great cape…. the main spot.
- Gozzilla, also called Medicapo is a reserved and restricted surf area and has its name from the panettone rock that sticks up to the surface of the water. This spot is only for local surfers.
- ..the son of the Capo, but often it isn’t actually mini…
- Chutz‘ point has its name from its local discoverer.
- Some local names: Nas’e pompa, Salame, Pisisi, Gioccattoleddu, Crosta, Cerniotto, Millimetrico, Legenda, Miziga, Uaca, Tecà, Taba, Fofo, Giando, Orsetto, Nik & Mig…
You could write a big book about Capo Mannu, the people on Capo Mannu and its history. Perhaps one day it’ll be done. For now I’d like to make my excuses to the ones who haven’t been mentioned because surely there has been someone who some time ago alone has surfed these incredible gifts from the sea called waves, with an immense joy.
A si biri in su mari…
Giangi