Another summer begins...

Ah, Memorial Day. I remembered to go early, as today can be one of the most crowded days of the year. It didn't matter. The waves were chunky and choppy and slow as peanut butter at the pier. I went home, after reporting in to Andy that it wasn't worth the drive.

Around ten o'clock, I saw the wind looked a little lighter. Tom called and said maybe it would be worth just getting the exercise? I decided to take a look again. The parking lot at the pier was already a zoo, so on a sudden whim I decided to just make the drive to Matanzas. The tide would be high in a little over an hour, the perfect time for whatever dribblers were coming in at the overlook.

I realized I had forgotten my cell phone, my drinking water, and my lycra.

Perfect.

Perfect for good luck. Whenever you have everything perfectly organized and prepared is when you get foiled. Ever notice that? So, when I pulled into the parking lot and saw it was only half full, I smiled. I walked out to look, and surprise... it actually looked rideable - and green. Hardly a soul was in the water or on the beach. I speed-walked back to get my board. As soon as I got to my car, Tom pulled up. He was ready to paddle out in anything, too. I told him how I forgot everything. He brought a bottle of water over to me, and then threw me a lycra! You can have it, he said. His son has so many freebies from sponsors. He had just won the "King of St. Augustine" contest this past week. He just barely beat Chris Rapero at Crossovers. I still haven't even ever seen him surf! Tom said he is off to California tomorrow with someone from Cocoa Beach. Lucky me, the lycra was a small and fit.

We walked out, and there were about six guys over at "Buttrash," where it was breaking the hardest. Once I was out, I noticed it was bigger than it had looked from shore. There were some thumpers. The seas were five feet at six seconds, a windswell, and it was focusing its energy pretty nicely at this particular spot. Once I got in the right spot, I had some pretty nice drops and cutbacks, but they were far and few in between the closeouts. It was worth it, though, just to get out in the ocean.

Once I got back to the parking lot, it was full and the overflow was spilling out onto both sides of A1A. Time to hit Quizno's for a veggie sub and then home to hide out from the Memorial Day mayhem.

My mind was made up

Despite the onshore wind and dropping surf, I had to get in the water. I had my mind made up yesterday, when I listened with clenched jaw as Michael Arnold told me what I had missed while I was at work. He had been at tenth street riding glassy lines all the way from the outside all the way to shore. Oh, the inhumanity! I, meanwhile, stood listening to kids sing off-key in the school talent show, and dance (twice) to the song "Party in the USA."

I should be happy for him. I guess if I really try I am. But, more than anything, it feels like a part of me died yesterday.

So, despite everything, I decided to just ride the bike to the point. Matanzas looked smaller than anywhere today. There would be something to ride at the point, the tide was coming up, and it would be the best bet for miles around.

When I got there, there were three guys out. It looked crumbly and small, olive green water. I saw one guy get a pretty decent one, so out I went. It was better than it had looked from shore, and I am glad I went. One chest high left, especially, made it all worth the ride out there on the bike. It walled up nice and steep, all the way inside, not closing out like a lot of them did. It was a good hour or so of sunshine and warm surf, restoring the soul back to its former self.

Just Shoot Me

Andy and I paddled out at tenth street at dawn again. It was some kind of unrelenting torture that only a surfer could understand.

The conditions were perfect wind-wise, and the leftover swell was just enough to get you thinking about how, if you were free and unencumbered, and some kind of lucky... you would be at the point at that moment.

But, we have responsibility, and that was making my neck seize up. You can't get these moments back. I knew what was happening just down the beach from us that may as well have been a million miles away. We caught a couple good ones in the little time we had, but the walls were just enough to tease and show a spark of what they could have been if the tide had only been low. The tide was all wrong for tenth street, almost high. I did catch one really good left, way outside, that this photo duplicates in my mind's eye. But, overall, it just always seems to happen this way. When the conditions finally get right, it is usually too small to break anywhere but the places you just can't seem to get to at that moment.

Maybe in the morning there will be something left, and I will be at the place I wish to be.

Custom sail discussion with Jeff Henderson part 2

Part 2 of the custom sail discussion with Jeff.

Lil update on the battens part of the discussion. I stopped by again and convinced Jeff to let me experiment with the batten length, because I would really like to feel the difference between long and short battens on the same sail. He wasn't too hot (joke!) on that since he knows that difference very well, but then he thought that it might be interesting for the blog readers to read my report. So, thanks guys for reading this blog...

So here's the plan.
He's going to make those pockets for long battens all the way to the mast. I'll test it for a couple of weeks. Then I'll bring it in and have the pockets shortened with a quick fix (I'm thinking to test only one first and then two).
If in the end I will prefer the long battens, it will be easy to remove the quick fix. If I will prefer the short battens instead, he will have to do some sail surgery to do a proper shortening job and avoid that lost of sensitivity on the luff he mentions in the interview.
Can't wait.



Lil forecast.
As Thursday's weather map clearly shows, there has been a respectable fetch oriented towards Hawaii that will send overhead waves to Hookipa over the weekend (Sunday being the best day).


South shore might get some action too, probably the usual Maui waist to belly high stuff at most spots. It's actually a bit of a difficult forecast, because the low on the right of the southern pacific weather map of May 25th shown below is more east than usual, so we'll get some angular spreading of a bigger swell headed east of us and that's always difficult to predict.
What's easy to predict instead is that the internet will soon be flooded with photos of huge Teahupoo (Tahiti is around 18S, 150W you can barely see it on the map).


Part three of the custom sail discussion with Jeff sometimes next week... stay tuned.

Post update. As soon as I published this post, I received a press release from Watermanleague.com announcing that Dave Muir won the third event of the Standup World Tour.
They attached two photos... good timing, uh?

This is the winner.


This is Duane Desoto.

Surfing in the morning, surfing in the evening

When I heard "six feet at ten seconds," I was out the door in the dim light of morning. Andy and I had some fun at tenth street this morning. It finally glassed off. The waves were lumbering and fat, but every now and then a sneaker set would rear up outside and take us by surprise. It made me think of Trestles. Andy's first one was a gorgeous right that he took all the way inside.

The water is already so warm. The forecasts are calling for an ugly hurricane season. Let's have one like '95, when the storms rolled up the Atlantic just close enough to keep us in waves for days on end, back to back, and then turned, churning off to the north, away from land.

In the afternoon, I went out again at the same spot. Hardly anyone was out at 3:30 pm when I got there. The lines were still distinct, ruffled only slightly by a light NE wind. Soon, I saw someone paddling over to me from the north. It was Tom Harding! I hadn't seen him in so long. We had fun, laughing and catching up on everything. The fish that were all around, an osprey diving for dinner. One school of fish, with blue bands on their heads, raced up to the surface toward me, and then dove away and disappeared. A turtle popped its head up near someone. I stayed out for a couple hours, until the crowd grew and there seemed to always be someone in the way.

The waves were just what I needed after today. There was another fruitless interview at a high school far, far away. I guess it's good practice, but it seemed like such a waste - in more ways than I care to count. I didn't try too hard, and was honest to seal the deal. I have no experience teaching a high school reading class, nor do want to gain any. What will be will be. That job would eat into my surfing time, anyway.

Today's other challenge: I was asked to substitute for a first grade teacher this afternoon. Now, that is something that appeals to me, oddly enough. I read them a story about a Panda who opens a restaurant. They listened, and answered all the questions so sweetly. They made books and drew pictures. And I got goosebumps, looking at the artwork they did. This is where I need to be. I only hope, somehow, a job opens up before summer's end...

how Levi puts it in (and turns her around)

More Goya photoshoot, this time with the presence of Francisco himself.

But the photo of the day goes to Francky. The infaticable Hookipa water photographer used to be a pretty good sailor, but he kinda quit because of back pain.
After the photoshoot, he grabbed Francisco's board and went out. On his second jump, a beautiful shove it, a screw of the back strap came loose and this shot caught that moment.
You don't think it's worth the photo of the day? Hey, I'm building my photo credit for when I'll be able to sail again... ;)


Rest of the photos in chronological order.
This is Skyler (who was not in the photoshoot).


Levi was being filmed while rigging. The videos at the end of the post will clarify the title.


Francisco beautiful table top.


Argentinian Goya importer and ex Maui resident Mariano Pecora knows how to loop.


Mauisurfreport team rider Nico.


Mariano table top. Francky is in perfect position and must have taken a great shot with the beach on the background.
You won't find these shots on his website, but eventually they'll be on a catalog/magazine ad in a few months.


Laurent not sure doing what... probably going for a crash shot.


Goya is going for color coordination.


Three jumps from Francisco.





And now let's finally check how Levi puts it in.


And puts it in again.


And turns her around (and leaves...).


Ok, the windswell is about to subside and it's going to be flat until the weekend when a small NW bump should arrive.

Next post will be the part 2 of the custom sail discussion with Jeff Henderson, I promise.

We all are to blame

We are not part of the solution.

a perfect double

Yesterday I took photos till 1.30 and Browsinho had just hit the water. Nonetheless, the only shot I took of him gets the photo of the day award, since he landed this perfect double forward.

Unfortunately, doubles are jumps that require a sequence, but you get what you get. This is after the first rotation. You can see from the little leftover water coming off the nose of his board how fast he's rotating.


Chronological order for the other shots.
Some Goya riders were having a photoshoot.
Jake backloop.


Laurent push loop.


As soon as I saw this girl at Middles I thought:"guaranteed she's gonna need help to come back!"
I taught enough surf lessons to identify a classic beginner position: ass off the center and open legs.


Jake keeps on looping.


Keith hits the water in green photoshoot attire.
In case you never sailed Hookipa, this photo shows how to time the shore break. Keith just dropped the board on the water of an incoming wave that is about to hit his legs. By the time he'll be able to put both hands on the boom and jump on the board (with both feet!), the water will just about to start flowing out and he will get enough speed to pass over the next incoming wave.
The summer shore break is more challenging that the winter one, because of the shorter period between incoming waves (especially the windswell, around 8 seconds).


And Jake keeps on looping.


Oh, looks who's there! The beach is to the left of this photo and in that place the current is strong and going right, away from the beach. That's why she couldn't make it and chose to come in through the rocks.
BTW, at the downwind end of the beach, the current goes left, still away from the beach. If you're surfing or swimming, your only chance to come back to the beach is in the middle of it.


Left foot up.


Right foot up. Seems like she's loving it!


Her friend was directed by the lifeguards and managed to come back through the middle of the beach.


Keith. The wave riding was marginal... it was all about the jumps. Good, I'm not missing much.


There we go. A little lesson on how the current works at Hookipa. Geez, those girls have some serious tatoos!


Doesn't do it for me!


Today I'll be at the beach at 2.30 and tomorrow I'll post the photos together with part 2 of the custom sail discussion with Jeff. Stay tuned.

Surfing after work...

It didn't matter that it was choppy. After today's interview stress, the ocean was fine just the way it was. The Dominator felt like it wanted to just take off and fly ... with me attached.

It didn't help that as I sat in the waiting room of the school where I had a job interview, the lady before me came out crying. I hadn't considered that they might make me cry. That made my hands begin to sweat, I admit. But, I think I did fine. I actually had them all laughing at one point or another. I knew I didn't get the job, though. Two out of the three things they are looking for are things I do not possess. Confidence and experience. The most important one is one I know I have going for me. I love kids.

On to the next interview. Anyone need an ESE teacher in training?

Meanwhile, in Nicaragua...

May 22, 2010

Sunday Fun

The swell seemed a little more organized today. It was a bit bigger, too. I drove to the pier, but the tide was too fat. Still, you could see some promise. Plus, the wind wind had just turned light offshore

I went to Matanzas, and walked out to the overlook. There were some little green lines, but the tide was going out, and I knew it wasn't the optimal place. Over at Summer Haven, one guy was out to the right where the sandbar bends. That looked okay. A drive to the end of the road proved fruitless. The tide was still too high there, too. I drove back to the cliff, where Brokeback Brian was calling out to me, so I stopped. He had been on the paddle board all morning. He had fun, he said. I looked over at that right, and decided that it was the best thing I had seen.

Once out, it was a bit disappointing. The tide was funky, and the water was not that pretty. But, as the tide dropped, it got better. A lot of people paddled out, mostly all longboards. Andy showed up with the eleven footer. Things got more interesting as time passed. We noticed that on the inside, there was a really fun section, where it would wedge up and peel off, which was good for fun sweepy cutbacks and racing the sections. We had some good ones for what lasted all of about a half hour.

Andy was tired from yesterday's car overhaul on the new found jeep, so he went in. I stayed out for a bit longer, until it seemed like it was changing and losing that fun section. It was only ten o'clock, so I decided to check 8th street on the way home.

That turned out to be a good call. It was a bit crowded, but I sat way outside, and caught the bigger peaks that rolled through. This was the day that I really felt like I was one with the Dominator. It was so much fun! It just felt like it was an extension of me, and would turn on a dime and fly like a bird, which made for fun cutbacks and off the tops all the way to shore. If you look closely at the photo, you may notice the empty peak popping up outside. No one wanted to wait for them, I guess, but to me they were well worth the wait. I stayed out until nearly noon. The sun became too much by then. I didn't want to go, but any more time in the sun and I would surely pay with my leather hide, burnt and dried like beef jerky.

It was worth it today!

windswell days

Last year's May was an unprecedented streak of no wind days and glassy surf: very unusual.
This year is the exact opposite. A super strong high pressure is creating blustery trade winds and the related windswell is pretty much the only form of waves you can see on the north shore.

The photos of the day from yesterday afternoon at Hookipa go to a couple that recently lost a young daughter after a long fight with cancer.
This is the firefighter dad.


And judging from the gear, I'm pretty sure (but not 100%) that this is the mum.
My big respect goes to them for the incredible pain they must be going through.
Windsurfing is a great way of getting thoughts and feelings out of your mind for a few minutes.


Here's the other photos in chronological order.
Skyler Haywood tried to go to college on the mainland. Understandably, it didn't work out. He came back to Maui and signed up at the Maui Community College. Might not be the best college on Earth, but his sailing is now improving by the day.



On most of his waves, you can expect Browsinho to throw either a taka, a goiter or a 360. Just a regular aerial or top turn must feel like average moves to him...
Notice the very close hands on the boom.


Skyler.


This was a sweet very hesitated forward by Juanma.


Two nice windsurfing asses in one shot... that's a rarity!
The one on the left is well known, and I had the pleasure to meet the one on the right at the party for the inauguration of Sara's new boutique in Paia later in the afternoon. Lovely girl.


Well, judging from this photo stolen from FB, it looks like I left too early and missed the usual Ulli's show.


Browsinho 360.


Nico. I missed two of his backloops way higher than this one... da hell, I should be more focused on the only mauisurfreport team rider...


I heard a few people say that the Mark Angulo's Mutant is just a wave 360 off the lip.
Right.


Hey Jeff, can you design me a sail as light and efficient as that?


Bernd managed to find a wave that was head high for him!


I missed the good ones, but I got a bail...


Elena shows off her self designed rash guard. What a figure!


Next three is Skyler, showing that he was aptly named.




Browsinho goiter.


This is Mark riding clew first. He has all three fins out and just a bit of rail in the water... too bad I don't remember if he fell or not.


Aurelian.


The end of another day at the office for Francky. Here's the photos he took.


Browsinho.


Skyler.


Most of the times, when you break the mast you damage the sail too. The best you can expect is a hole in the mast sleeve. But most times you end up tearing one of more panels of the sail. Unless it's a Hot Sails Maui, of course.
The webbing they put on the mast sleeve is incredibly tough. I remember one session in which Andres broke the mast one foot from the top and he kept sailing for almost an hour looping, ripping and wipeing out. He wanted to see if he could break that thing and he didn't manage to.
Nonetheless, I asked Jeff not to put the webbing in my new custom sail (stay tuned for part two, coming soon) in order to reduce the weight. He said:"Nah, your sail will be built light enough and we better put the webbing on the sleeve, otherwise breaking the mast will mean the death of the sail". You can see he has a point...

Total amount of money this guy will have to spend to fix the sail: zero, nada, nil.


More (and way better) photos of the day from Jimmie.