My favorite blogs

Ok, here are a few of my favorite blogs i frequently visit to stay connected to the windsurfing community:
First, the Maui contingent:

Giampalo is mad stoked on the Maui lifestyle. He's always on the water, and hes a great resource for current happenings in the industry, and a strong advocate for maui windsurf/surf community during the current facist and xenophobic attempts to curb our great sport on Maui.
www.mauisurfreport.blogspot.com

This one is great too. Has links to windcams, real estate, as well as on the water day to day reports:
http://www.mauiwindsurfing.net/

Kevin Pritchard maintains a great sight too. His an awesome photgraher, as well as incredible sailor. I met Kevin at Hookipa just last week, and told him I check his blog all the time. Very nice and gracious guy. Good luck on the PWA this season Kevin.

Tatiana Howard also keeps a great site. Shes always traveling to some exotic location and its always interesting to peruse her blog.
http://www.tatianahoward.com/blog/
http://kevinpritchardwindsurfing.blogspot.com/

Here is a great site that is heavily weighted toward Maui, but I believe is based in Southern California. Awesome photography of both Maui and So-Cal.
http://tmmaui.com/

Here is another Maui blog that is not so much into windsurfing, but interesting none the less:
http://www.ponohouse.com/ponoblog/

Tomorrow I'll work on my list of mainland blogs.

Some more shots and reflections

Yeah, its tough getting back to being in work mode. I constantly rerun in my mind the time i had on the water. Yah, it was epic, we scored big time, wind and waves 5 of out 7 days. Sure 2 of those sailable days the waves where so big that i was unable to get into any sort of rythem, but even those moments are burned so indelibly in my brain. I look back at all the great shots my wife took, and I more than once have asked myself if it really happened. It most certainly did, and I'm a better sailor for it. Cant wait to ride my next wave. Lemme check the Hatteras forecast..........................

Here is a nice wave, a nice set up, and a bad bottom turn.. wish i could do that one over!





Here is a fun wave from sunday feb 11th. sprecks



Peahi-I love this shot.


Blasting back in after a trip out to Lowers at Kanaha


It was rockin out there.

Helmet cam

My sesh with Anne Marie Reichman

I asked her why she wasn't at Ho'okipa. she told me she was working on her jumps.


Here she is going forward.

Look at that monster at the top of the picture. talk about walls of death! one day, I plan to be competant in surf that size.



right of way? hmmmmm. I bore off

Upwind to suger cove. this is where i cut my foot on some coral.

Here i'm getting some air in front of the friend she came to sprecks with.

Thursday February 14, 2008

Sailed into mast high waves yesterday. Well, ran from them is more accurate, but what a blast. no time for details now, gotta get packin.


lots of big jumps







You can see the big ones at the top of the frame


I went down once on the outside, and it was honestly terrifying, but i cant wait do it again!

Sprecks short-below the boom mount

From a functional perspective, i prefer mounting the camera below the boom. Above interferes w/tacking, and also makes water starting a little touhger as I oftern fly the sail by holding the mast above the boom. The view is pretty cool too.



These are from from monday.



Bad bottom turn. Yeah, I got mowed............AND LOVED IT

Some more shots from yesterday

I like this sequence. on of my better waves. The key is getting yourself in position to catch em.























Look at the big one on the outside!






Anne Marie Riechman






Another fun sequence




This ramp got me all "jimmy jacked up"!! so much fun


This was pretty high. look at my landing on the other side.



Coral cut. Had to wear booties after that to contain the bleeding. didn't want to attract things.


Camera mount above the boom

Adjusting my harness lines

Sprecks 2-13-08

Great day of wave sailing at Sprecks

Today I had the best wave rides of my life. I shared waves with Anne Marie Reichman, had 4 and 5 bottom turn waves, and basically took a huge leap in my ability to sail waves. I'll let the pictures do the talking today. I'm speachless.

Another great day on Maui

Very close to Peahi (commonly known as Jaws)


Nakale Blow Hole

Back loop at Hookipa

Outsde the Naish pro shop

Lanes

They are expecting A huge swell overnight, into to tomorrow. Something like 15-25 feet, along w/Kona winds.

Sprecks 2/11/08

This is my first on the water footage, and i think its not too good. For on thing, the still photographs that follow this post are the same exact session. Watch the video, the water looks relatively flat. then look at the pics. Amazing.

I'll improve tomorrow. I plam to do a mast mount with the camera.

Finally!

I finally got dialed today, and had the best session of all time, surpassing labor at the light house in hatteras. I think i rode a wave with a 10 foot face. I asked a local sailor, and he told me the waves where 2-4 foot, by Hawaiin measurements, meaning from the back of the wave. The wave faces are double that. I rode so many waves today and really learned alot.Just stay high on the wave face, and speed speed speed.
For some of the pictures, we had camera on the wrong setting. sorry about that.

This was a big wave.




I LOVE this shot because it shows that i was starting to get into tighter spots on the wave. Ken, it was epic.

This wave took me down, but didn't pack the punch that one from yesterday did.Yeah, i got worked, and loved it.








here is a jybe on the outside. I started to get into a rythem, sail out just beyond the reef, jybe, then bear upwind and look for a peak.

Here is a pretty high jump that i bailed on. this was my first run out, and i sent this one. you can see me pulling my front foot out of the straps.



I like this picture. I'm setting up to go down the line.



This jump felt awesome. Nice leveled off flight. I hit jumps like this all day!






Here is a small wave.

Heres a bigger one



Waves are supposed to build to 13 foot by wedensday. that means something like 25-30 foot faces. Jaws will be going off.


by the end of the day, my calves where cramping up big time. It was time to call it a day. we took something 400 pictures. Ken, a kodak invite is forthecoming.

Another perspective on yesterdays waves from Giampalo

Swell still pumping

All the pros where at Hookipa today. This is Jason Polakow on a wave he told me was about 5 foot. Looked a helluva alot bigger to me.






Here is JP making a bottom turn



Here is a beautiful off the lip. Not sure on the rider, but he was ripping.



Here is a bottom turn by Keauli Seadi, current world wave champion


I like this one. Thats Kevin Prtichard in front, and Jason Polakow on the wave in back.



Here is a huge back loop, although I'm not sure who the rider is.



Talked to Kevin Pritchard again.


Full disclosure forces me to say up front that none of these Hookipa shots are of me. We sat on the overlook and watched the pros just rip every single wave to shreds. It was awesome to watch. Oh, Jason told us that they are expecting Jaws to go off on tuesday into wedensday. He gave us directions. Ken, it's just past Maliko Gulch on the road to Hana. Turn left just after that cementary overlooking the ocean. We plan to go and watch.

Around two oclock, we went on down to sprecks, where bump n jump conditions prevailed, although the swell was pretty big. Great jumping conditions. Janis took this one of me which i'm pretty stoked about. I think was up about 15 feet at the very apex.



I should of done a chicken gybe in front of this one. It hit me in the face, and let me tell you, i just took 3 alleve. they pack a serious punch. Can only imagine what a Hookipa wave can do the inexperienced sailor. Ken, had to swim quite a ways for my kit.








There where maybe a half dozen sailors here today. So different than summer. Ken and Dave, I wish you both where here. we could have pushed each other to sail out to Spartans, which is where Robby sailed to from suger cover yesterday. Didn't see him today though. Kept looking to se US1111 launch at Hookipa, but he still hadn't shown by the time we left for Sprecks.



The waves on the outer break at sprecks where pretty big. I tempted fate a few times, went down a few as well. No real dues to speak of however. No threat of washing onto the rocks at sprecks.



Dave, the waves where breaking right in from of the main beach, and the sandbar must turned the breakers into a brownish color. looked alot like the walls of death in Hatteras.





Sailing Hawaii in the winter is a completly different animal then sailing here in the summer.

Click here for another take on the conditions yesterday at Kanaha

Few more from yesterday

Here is a shot of lower Kanaha. Never seen waves break on lowers before huh! Guess we came at the right time. Rain and no wind for two weeks, and our first day, the entire north shore is hammered by huge surf and nukin wind. forecast is for the same all week!

these are two shots of uppers. well actually, the wave broke all the way from camp one to lower Kanaha, so you cant really call it uppers. just call it freaking epic.




This is a shot from out back porch looking at the West Maui mtns

In this shot, i'm getting worked. if you look close, you can me down, on the breaking surf. took me the longest time to get it back together, the current was pretty stong in the reef, and it killed the apparent wind, making it difficult to water start.

My take after getting worked.





Heres one of Dave Kalama at Hookipa. This was taken at about 8am, before it got big!

Another shot of Lanes

Welcome to Hawaii

Here is some video i took at Hookipa around 5pm today. epic stuff, but the wind was too offshore, and the waves where closing out. Guess thats why everyone was at Kanaha.


Heres a Makani's take on the conditions http://www.mauiwindsurfing.net/





Everyone was at Kanaha, and it was serious business, well over mast high surf. Tried to ride some waves, but it was survival out there. Hit some nice jumps on the way out, and actually made it out to the blue water, althought it wasn't easy. went down in the middle off the reef and got worked. big white water, but never lost grip of my kit.

Wore the helmet cam, but the video sucks. camera was pointed high. I'll try to improve tomorrow.




Dave, i saw the weird wave. comes at you from left to right. bizarre.



I've never sailed condezions like this before. Ken, let me tell, it made Assateague look like a walk in the park. one of my all time best sessions.
Met Kauli Seadi, current world wave champion. he parked right next to me at Kanaha.


Also met Dave Kalama, who was doing SUP at Hookipa in the early morning. Also saw Kevin Pritchard at Kanaha-told him i enjoy his blog: http://kevinpritchardwindsurfing.blogspot.com/


At the end of the day, we drive over to Suger cove, Ken, we lit the fireworks there last year. We pull of on the side of the road, and Robby Naish walks across the street. We chatted a bit. He was lit up on a 4.7. rockin conditions. Surf is supposed to get even bigger thru teusday. Oh, rode a Naish Global wave today, 87 ltr. started on a 5.2 but quickly rigged down to 4.7. wish i brought my own stuff. took the longest time to get dialed. stopped at HST on the way home to switch to a JP fsw 84 ltr.


This place is magical.

Changing planes in Phoenix

I spent the time on the plane from Baltimore to Phoenix learning how to use movie maker. Still have alot to learn. flight to Maui boards in 40 minuites. gotta run.

Ken Kellar at Hookipa 7/17/07

Here is another video of my friend Ken, sailing Hookipa last june. I can never watch this one too many times. I magicly put myself in his footstraps, and feel like its me riding. Brings to mind so many fun memories of epic sessions, soon to be replaced by new ones. Leaving for Maui tomorrow.

Sprecks 7/7/07

Here is some video of me sailing at Sprecks last July. The video comes from Ken Kellar's helmet cam. I was riding my 77 ltr, fully wound on a 4.5.

Leaving for Maui in 3 days!

This is my first post, and it comes on the eve of my third trip to Maui in the past 20 months. I usually go in the summer, so this will be the first winter trip. In July, you can bank on the trades blowing 4.5 every day. Not sure what the conditions will be this trip, but I'm pretty confident I'll be able to sail somewhere, to say nothing of the exploring my wife and I are planning: the blow hole on the west side, whale watching, snorkeling, searching for waterfalls to swim thru and under, let me tell you, Maui is pure magic, and if you haven't been, make it a point to go at least once. Another exciting change this trip will be my go-pro helmet mount, and I hope to post some video here, so check back this weekend.