Tuesday was a rest day inspired by the small waves and fluky wind. The forecast is looking fun for the end of the week with good wind and a decent NE swell to hit on Friday. Don’t expect epic heavy waves, but do expect fun very trickable waves.
For now, check out these pictures from the last days:
Flipping through a goiter at Hookipa point.
I love back loops.
There's nothing like a good old lip smack.
Emotion released...
Windsurfing is an art of Passion. And what to better breed passion than pain?
At some point over last weekend, I realized the sacrifices that I’ve (happily) made to be windsurfing on Maui. If it were not for windsurfing, I would not be on Maui. Rather, I’d probably be in New York City working on my writing and my art. It’s true that Manhattan isn’t going anywhere, but friends and relationships do. And I can definitely say that I’ve lost friendships and relationships in order to dedicate myself to windsurfing. I can’t say, though, that I regret my decision; I don’t. But I think that it’s important for me to remember the sacrifices all the time. I can’t flippantly take days off from windsurfing– that’s not fair to the people and and things I’ve had to sacrifice, and it’s not fair to the thousands of people that would kill to be in my position. I guess all I’m trying to say is that this epiphany of mine fueled a passionate desire not to take a single day on the water for granted.
And then the anger. I’ve been frustrated with certain small bits of windsurfing lately. 1) Hookipa has been crowded beyond belief. The crowds of tourists swarm over the waves like insects. I guess it’s good for our sport and the windsurfing industry, but it makes wave riding very frustrating. 2) I lost a bit of the middle finger on my right hand while holding on to my kit and getting worked after a big 360 crash. It’s nothing serious but it constantly reminds me how annoying small physical pain can be. 3) I may have broken one of my toes after slamming it against my universal while trying (unsuccessfully) to get over a large set wave.
Pain and frustration and anger are normally considered bad emotions, but I’m loving translating these emotions into waveriding. Every time I squeeze my boom, I feel the pulsing pain in my finger and I use that energy to force myself to push harder against the board. Letting out a shout of rage as I project full speed into the lip and smash it to pieces.
And it’s therapeutic too. The anger let out on the water is washed away by the waves. When I step back on the sand after the angry session, I’m cleansed. Clean and free. Anyone can step on a windsurfing board and clean themselves of all anger and frustration to be left pure… what an amazing sport.
Pitching some angry spray.
Rotating a big 360.
Hitting the lip and leaving a mark.
With the contest over, the weather decided to bless us with some fun waves and gusty wind. I’ve been on a single fin trip, riding one of Levi’s single fin boards and loving the speed through the bottom turn and the ability to fly vertically into the lip.
Brendan fom umi is coming on Tuesday. Also, Kauli is here, and he is ripping too.
I had an interesting talk with Levi about the state of modern wave riding. There are a lot of really good guys who can stomp sick tricks and slash slidy turns. But lacking are the fully committed bottom turn top turn combos that were made famous by Polakow back in the early 90s. Part of our mission for this winter is to bring those turns back. To set up way behind the peak, rocket down the line, throw a wickedly fast bottom turn straight back up into the curling lip, and smash it to pieces. The forecast is looking good for this week, so hopefully we’ll get an opportunity to work on pure, radical wave riding.
Throwing some spray off the lip on a single fin.
Cranking the bottom turn.
Coming up vertical to the lip.
Getting tweaked on an air.
(I know it’s late, but don’t you love the tease? … And hover your mouse over each photo for comments.)
Im in Hana at the moment on a mini vacation with a really close friend from princeton. I haven’t been out here in over 10 years and its been even longer for my friend. Such tranquility! I can hear the panting of the ocean as it hurdles against the rocks. This is exactly what I need to regroup the pieces of my self after setting up for and competing in the AWT event, which went off really we’ll I should add. Next week Brendan from umi pictures is coming to stay with me till the end of november. Im really excited because we will do some good work but also because he truly is one of my best friends and its been too long since we last hung out.
I’ll update more once I return from Hana. Until then!
Forcing a bottom turn on the big board
The closing ceremony of the Makani Classic wrapped up the 2011 AWT circuit. I finished 3rd overall behind Kevin Pritchard in 2nd and Nathan Mershon in 1st. I only did 3 of the events (Oregon, Baja, and Maui) but each one had elements of being a really good event. And for a 1st year, the AWT proved that it has the energy and motivation to become a staple in the world of windsurfing.
I’m exhausted from the competition with my skin burned brown from the sun and my lips chapped. So, I’m taking a mini vacation to Hana for Wednesday and its night. I’ll be meeting up with a close friend of mine and a professor from Princeton. And then the forecast is looking to be sick at Hookipa starting Friday. Now that the contest is over, it’s time to go big!
And here is some vocabulary:
The AWT contest is over here on Maui. The final day had very light winds and some occasional good waves. I chose to ride my big floaty board and had no problem catching waves but many problems turning on them. Oh well… Kai Katchadorian sailed an amazing final, and in my opinion was the best of the 4 men out on the water for that last heat.
More reportage to follow along with photos.
Maui this week is dominated by the AWT’s Makani Classic. Hookipa is closed for the event, so all windsurfing is contest windsurfing (unless you head down the coast of course). The Pro division drags on, and I’m in the 3rd round waiting for the competition to start again.
The wind forecast is a bit iffy for this Monday. Windguru gives it no stars. But my most trusted forecast source, University of Hawaii Meteorology, claims that the wind will be good for both Monday and Tuesday:
.MONDAY…SUNNY. HIGHS AROUND 84. NORTHEAST WINDS 10 TO 15 MPH.
.MONDAY NIGHT…MOSTLY CLEAR. LOWS 65 TO 70. NORTHEAST WINDS UP
TO 10 MPH.
.TUESDAY…SUNNY. ISOLATED SHOWERS IN THE AFTERNOON. HIGHS AROUND
84. LIGHT WINDS BECOMING NORTHEAST 10 TO 15 MPH. CHANCE OF RAIN
20 PERCENT.
Let’s hope for big waves and good wind! I really would love to compete in massive swells– that is what Hookipa is known for, after all.
I haven’t really noticed much else on Maui this last week; the contest has really consumed my mind, making it no longer mine (temporarily I hope). My only thoughts are on the competition, making my thoughts quite boring to the outside world. But, I want to win and I think this is the focus needed to claim that 1st place trophy.
Oh! Also, on Sunday I pulled one of my new moves for the first time ever. Unfortunately, only 1 or 2 people saw it. Oh well… I guess that means I have to do more!
Here are some pics from the event so far:
I hit the lip and Anne Marie carves a bottom turn.
Throwing a goiter back inside the wave during my heat in Round 2.
Taking the hand off in an off-the-lip.
And in honor of both halloween and Princeton:
Is this halloween or Princeton parent’s weekend
Hitting a late lip in my heat
Carving a cutback.
Friday’s competition saw head-high waves and light wind. We were able to complete 1 round from the pro, amateur, masters, and women’s divisions. I was nervous before hitting the water, which was unexpected– I guess I’ve never before gone into an event anything other than an underdog. It feels different now! Standouts today included Brawzhino and Kevin Pritchard. Both were pretty confident on the waves. Nat Gill also surprised with some great riding and powerful off-the-lips. The biggest upset was the knock-out of Bernd in his 1st heat.
Saturday should be windier and possibly better. Fingers crossed! I feel that I’ve done the work to win and now it’s just a matter of delivering. I think there’s a saying about how delivery is more important than substance? I don’t know if that whole statement is true, but at least there is a good deal of truth hidden in it.
Also, you can still vote for me using the widget on the right side of this page: http://americanwindsurfingtour.com/ .
(No wind Thursday in the AWT contest, but Friday looks promising. In both biology and psychology, the 4 basic actions (fight, flight, feed, sex) are abbreviated to “the 4 F’s”. But scientists are confused because sex doesn’t start with F. However, foto friday does! And therefore must be the missing 4th basic action.)
