Cactus Cup Day 3

Day 3

Glassy conditions led to extended surf sessions this morning both down at the point and at the main beach break.
Unfortunately the high spring tides meant that by the time the wind kicked in, the swell wasn't playing ball. Although some waist to head high sets rolled in they were very few and far between.
After lunch it was full on 4.5 weather and the judges called a pro - am event. What is this I hear you say? (Since I wondered exactly the same thing). It's a team event in pairs where each Amateaur picks out the name of a Pro man to team up with. There are 10 minute heats and you are ONLY scored on overall impression.
This obviously ended up rather similar to an SWA event, except for imagine Kevin Pritchard killing a head high wave with a blonde wig, starboard cape on and beer in hand. It was hilarious. There was wrestlers, there was sabotage, there were tears and much more.
The whole event took all afternoon and was certainly a fine display of skill combined with creativity. The moral of the story was.....that to win, you couldn't just bust some amazing moves; you had to do so with a special twist.
The winners were Russ Faurot and Yossy who heat after heat landed synchronised jumps and wave rides.
2nd place went to Morgan and Robert who put up an incredibly good fight with their own synchronised moves.
3rd place went to Nathan Mershon and Josh Sampeiro; whos wardrobes earnt them many points for request. Not only were wrestling masks involved, but also women's swim wear, AND world class wave riding.

Tomorrow afternoon the 'real' swell will be back and competition will (unfortunately) be restored to normal :)

Cactus Cup Update

Day 2

Another successful day and another round complete. The swell ranged from knee high to logo high depending on whether you were lucky enough to score a set wave in your heat.
The family style competition vibe continued with competitors and spectators cheering each other on from the point when not in the water.

The men's final featured Keith Taboul, Russ Faurot, Nathon Mershon, and Matt Pritchard.
When you watch Keith Taboul killing it down the line landing 3 aerials one after the other ontop of 4 turns on the same wave - you know it's going to be a good heat. All 4 of them were killing it and it pretty much came down to who got the biggest, longest waves.

Both Nathan and Keith progressed to the super final where we got to witness the battle of the aerials. Nathan managed to pip Keith on the wave selection to take the win.

In the women's I managed to take the win with Miho in 2nd, Sam in 3rd, and Catherine in 4th.
I have to say that this is the most fun contest I have ever been a part of. The conditions are so enjoyable that sailing in your heat is awesome since you get to sail the point with just 4 of you there for 15 minutes. It's just like cruising around with your friends having a good time.

For a full break down of results please go to www.americanwindsurfingtour.com
Photos courtesy of Kevin Pritchard who miraculously manages to coordinate filming, shooting stills, and competing all at the same time

AWT Cactus Cup, Punta San Carlos, Baja - Day 1

Despite the main bus being denied at the border, despite roof racks flying off the truck on the MX1....

Miraculously the whole crew and all compeitors managed to make it down to SoloSports Camp before midnight on the day before competition began in one piece. Well, sort of.
Day 1
We woke to glassy head high surf which encouraged most to go for a surf or SUP before the first skippers meeting.

If you've never been to San Carlos before then you need to try and imagine rolling out of your tent facing the water every day. There is no phone signal, but there are amazing conditions, good company, and therefore there is such a laid back, chilled out vibe in camp.
With 6 potential days of competition ahead of us it was suggested that we would likely run a series of single eliminations until 2 discards are allowed (assuming conditions permit). The small sized fleet of 30 competitors would allow for a super relaxed event with the main stage being down at the point break.

And the conditions didn't fail to deliver off the bat; head high to logo high waves with the guys on 4.7-5.0's and the women on 4.2's we finished round one before the day was out.

When you look at the board it's really true to say that there were NO easy heats. Most of the competitors live in Maui, and watching the heats is like watching a pre-edited Windsurfing DVD.
Day 1 single elimination results:

Men's
1st Kevin Pritchard
2nd Keith Taboul
3rd Matt Pritchard
4th Graham Ezzy

Amateur's
1st Robert (Norway)
2nd Yossy (Israel)
3rd Jay (The Gorge)

Women's
1st Miho (Japan)
2nd Tanya
3rd Sam (Maui)
4th Catherine (San Francisco)

Junior's
1st Jordan
2nd Morgan

World Premiere of The Windsurfing Movie 2

Living in Socal is GREAT when you get invites for premiers of windsurfing films that you can actual go to.

I made a mad dash up north to the Red Bull HQ in Santa Monica and had the privilidge of watching the first full version of TWM2. It was awesome; and I actually thought it was better than the first. But I won't say any more incase I ruin it.

All the big guys were there too; Goya, Levi, Kai, Kai.... you get the picture.

Trophy!

Been back in San Diego for a little while now and still buzzing from the crazy Pistol winds., and itching for more. Hopefully the S swell will show as anticipated this weekend to make an awesome Baja trip - I love going back to PSC every time.

Loving my little trophy :)

Goodbye Windy Oregon

900 miles later I'm back home feeling absolutely broken after constant 3.6 weather and an awesome time at Pistol River.

Thank you to Chris as always for being my companion and watching over me as I sailed at new spots along the coast not knowing what to expect. And of course for all the awesome photos I now have to remember this amazing journey by.

Pistol River Wave Bash 2010 - Day 4

Pistol River Wave Bash - Day 4 - Sunday 20th June

The wind did not disappoint and with steady 4.7 weather the final decider between Kevin Pritchard and Francisco Goya was on. Enough said really; watching 2 sailors of such calibre battle it out is pretty awesome and it was Kevin who took the win.

See below for the results.

A huge shout out has to go out to Sam Bittner who made this entire event happen. With no previous experience of running an event she seamlessly made it happen - no doubt with the support of many friends and all the sponsors. This was a pretty large milestone in US windsurfing because the last time a wave event took place was 10 years ago. From all the competitors and spectators: THANK YOU SAM!

Pro Mens

1st Kevin Pritchard

2nd Francisco Goya

3rd Kai Katchadourian

Women's

1st Ingrid Larouche

2nd Tanya Saleh

3rd Christine Vogt

Junior's

1st Zane Schweitzer

2nd Bernd Roediger

3rd Morgan Noireaux

Master's

1st Atilla Tivadar

2nd Macrae Wylde

3rd Rhone