Man, it just doesn't get better than this. Wind, waves, and sick action. It was great having Levi and Brawz and the best guys in the world battle it out in great conditions. If you dont believe me check out the action, here.
AWT 2012 - Santa Cruz - Day Two from American Windsurfing Tour on Vimeo.
Just a quick update to say thanks to Punta San Carlos and the AWESOME crew of WaveCampers we had this last week. We had a GREAT time, got to hit some lips, teach some tricks, ride some bikes and eat great food! The wind played games with us for a couple days but we got out there pretty much everyday. The whales and dolphins also showed us some impressive tricks! Here are a couple photos of me and my right hand man, KSMAC testing the conditions making sure they were good enough for everyone!
Photos by Clark Merritt- SOLO SPORTS
Just back from a great weekend in Dallas. Wasnt too much wind but there was still tons of fun. It is always nice to get to meet some new people and have a good time and boy do they have fun in Texas. Everyone down there was just awesome. Aris at Mariner Sails runs a great program down there and there is no lack of his enthusiasm for having a great time. Terry from the North Texas Wind Riders was the boss down there getting everything set up and torn down and moving everything around. Jet made the party just tons of fun with some great tunes all night long.
Thanks for the great times and hope to see you guys again soon!
Baja BOUND!
Punta San Carlos has called my name once again. I LOVE this place and can't tell you how great it is, you have to see for yourself. I'm on my way- I'm pretty spoiled flying in with Solo Sports- they handle everything…. well almost, you have to shower yourself off and feed yourself the amazing food they prepare for you and figure out what size sail you want to ride…. a little bit of thinking never hurts to keep the brain in shape!
Here is what I'm bringing down with me:
2012 Pocket Wave 85 with single fin option
IQ 4.5/5.0/5.3
Chinook Carbon 135-185 Boom
30" Harness Lines
No Limitz 400 Skinny Bottom/ Sumo top
Streamlined Carbon Skinny extension (new product)
Short Arm Camaro Wetsuit
Long Arm Camaro Wetsuit
Da Kine NRG with 12" bar
That covers the basics!
Other essentials are:
UGG BOOTS
DOWN JACKET
LIGHT CAP WATER BOTTLE (www.sollight.com) This little gem saves me in all sorts of predicaments…. Don't go without one. You can store you water in it, pee in it, read by it, stumble home with it and whatever else needs to be done!
This weekend is the Texas State Championships, and I am here and ready to have some fun. If you want to come out and check it out it should be a ton of fun. The wind looks good at the moment and we have some new Ezzy Sails and Starboard boards. We are teamed up with Mariner Sails for the weekend and should be some big fun for all!
My Aussie mates were over for the past 2 weeks of EXCELLENT windsurfing conditions... if you haven't noticed we have been a little slack on the blog updates.... that is because Kev has been Starboard photo shooting and I have been busy as ever showing people some new tricks!
It has been almost 2 years of talk with my buddy David about getting his kid Ben out on the water! I threw Benny boy on my back for a blast on the 6.9 Cross and Rocket 125! It was blowing a good 25 knots, most of the boys were on 4.7's pretty wound up so I figured we should have no excuses for going slow. I wanted to give Benny the ride of his life out there, we had talked about doing a forward loop but decided (with his mom's input) to wait till next year!
Thanks to the CLEW VIEW, I got some pretty cool clips!!!
Got a couple nice shots at Baldwin Beach the other day. Would look great on someone's wall I think.
Boy, it has been raining and some wierd weather around here. I have been out on the 4.2 a couple days and that is just strange. I cant remember how many days I have used a 4.2 ever at Hookipa and this year it has been almost 10. Pretty crazy.
Yesterday, it was almost nice out so I ask my friend Tom to take some shots of me. His shots were great but my performance was mediocre to say the least. Well we tried, lets say that. I am saving some of the shots for the next Windsurfer International so we will see if the shots get published.
After my two sessions, I went for a photo session and tried to get all artsy. Usually artsy=drunk, but today, no beers were required, just some plain straight up blurry artsy shots. Some call it blurry, I call it artsy.
I thought this one looked pretty good in a panoramic view of Morgan.
Windsurfing is such a great sport when you know what you are doing. I have spent a lot of time out there and have learned most things the hard way……. So here are a few of my best learned tips to help you along the windsurfing way!
NEVER LEAVE WIND TO FIND WIND! Growing up in California, hours and hours of driving in search of perfect conditions, I learned this rule more than once....
GET A BIG BOARD. Don’t be afraid to get a 140 liter board if you live in a windless area. Having more volume is going to get you back to the beach when things shut down and leave you hanging. What are the drawbacks of having a big board? You might lose some control in the high wind and not be able to turn as tight as you want- but who cares. If it gets windy, get on a smaller board. Learn to sail the board in higher winds. You can also adjust the range of the board by getting a bigger or smaller fin. This makes a big difference for early planing or better control in the top end.
LENGTHEN THE LINES. Whoever came up with the idea of using really short harness lines has me scratching my head. This goes against the mechanics of efficient sailing. I may be on the extreme side using a 30” fixed length line but I have seen some people use 18” lines! It is not easy to get into such short lines and once you do get in them, you have the mast raked over to windward so far that any change in the wind or bump in the water and you are going to get flung over the front or drop in the water. Try your best to keep the rig more upright rather than pulling over to windward. This gives you a better balance point on your board and allows for you to adjust to the gust!
GET DOWN. Most people that have a hard time in rough water and learning to jibe have their legs too straight. The knees are locked and there is no forgiveness for the board to turn. You have to get down as low as possible- straighten your arms forward and bend those knees getting your weight low and forward to carve through the turn. The same goes for sailing in overpowered conditions. Get low and absorb the chop-bend those knees, think of your body as a shock absorber. This is where the longer harness lines can really help you out.
FLYIN HIGH. Jumping is a goal of most all windsurfers. You can take it as high as you want to. One of my favorite tips is to stay centered over the board. Don’t be leaning out to far over the water. Load up the board and rig to get some spring in your step. To start, I like to find a nice piece of chop and bear off at it. I’m always looking to find the ramp about 15 or 20 feet ahead of me. When I hit it, I spring with my whole body. I compress my legs, pull in on my arms and as I take off from the chop, I suck my legs and arms in and upwards toward my center. I weight my toes to get the windward rail up so that the wind can get under my board and lift me up, carry me along and gently set me back on my way. When landing, I am careful not to straighten my legs out. This will cause an immediate spinout. Try to keep the tail of your board under your butt- this will help you continue along without losing your speed.
FOLLOW YOUR HEAD. Look where you want to go. Especially in turns, look where you need to go. The body always follows the head. Focus on what is in front of you and you will get there. I am always watching the water in front of me. I like to find a smooth spot to jibe and try to always be going downhill to keep my speed. I use the chop like mini mountains and utilize the downside of them to go faster in and out of the turns.
TWIST YOUR HIPS. If you are looking upwind your hips should follow your lead. By having your hips facing forward and where you want to go, it tells the board to go upwind with greater authority.
FEAR NOT. We are playing with water here everybody! It isn’t going to hurt to fall in???? Don’t be afraid to try something new. The beauty of windsurfing is that you never get bored- so if you are getting a bit lazy and thinking you got it dialed, think again and try a trick or two! All it takes is a little practice and lots of patience and you can tackle whatever you want! Commit to the move, don’t be afraid. It’s all in the mind, so open it up and take a leap of faith!
Now its your turn- Hit the comment button to share some things you have learned the hard way.... or easy way!
Knees bent, arms extended, looking where you want to go
I finally got back on the horse after almost 2 months of a nagging rib injury..... The conditions have been all time over here for most of the winter so far. Kev sent me a text saying, looks good, get down here! There were maybe 15 guys out there including the King- Robby Naish, the legend-Mark Angulo (who is leading the charge out there almost everyday) Victor Fernandez (world champ ripper) Graham Ezzy (ripper), Keith Teboul (ripper, who let me try out one of his new boards), some other friends of mine (rippers) and of course my brother (who came back out after firing a few shots below! The waves were coming in nice sets with some easterly direction mixed in them. Sometimes you could find a mast high bomb if you got lucky but for the most part logo high sets were rifling in! Hope you enjoy some more shots.... Thanks Kev for taking the time!
Rigging the 5.0 Manic....a bit big most of the time!
You can see how windy it is out there! Hangin on tight!
My favorite move, the wave 360..... invented by the man in the orange out the back!
Got a couple airs.... been a while, getting back in a groove!
Chicken jibe time...... yes I made it thankfully!
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