Man, it really doesn't get any better than this for slalom sailing. Imagine being on one of the most beautiful islands I have ever seen, staying in probably the nicest hotel I have ever stayed at, The Villa Lodge, and being surrounded by some very nice people. What a visit. It is always a gamble going somewhere you have never been. It is either going to be fun and nice, or can sometimes be a waist of time. Lets just say I am pretty happy I took this job!

Tomorrow we are doing a 15km race. Actually they are saying that it is going to be two 15k races. I haven't sailed on a slalom board for a long time, I can remember doing a run or two in Hood River, being the last time I was on a full on race board. I can tell you that I am going to be very sore. I only brought my 9.5 and 8.5 Lion, and we will have to wait and see how the two cam Lion stacks up against the Antoine Albeau on his new RRD's and his racing sail. I had a hard time keeping up with him on my race sails, so will be interesting to see how the freeride sails go against the former champ. Plus long distance races are not really my forte. I am out of breath after about 2 minutes. It should be fun. I will try and get some fun footage playing around with the boys!

So many exciting things happening. Matt and Daniel just got the new site up and working and it looks killer. Finnally a professional site, not just my hack job attempt! I am loving it. Now seeing how it all works with the posts and everything. I am pretty sure that I will be able to post from my new Iphone, so get ready for hopefully too many iphone posts. Anyhow, just made to the beautiful island of Saint Barths's and wow, some amazing energy around. Nice to meet some new people and see a beautiful place.

Well the time has come to update and get a little more fun into this site.... We were getting a little bored with the look and our friend DMan helped us create this new layout- Hope you like it! Feel free to drop any comments and let us know what you think!

We also want to provide you with more content that YOU want to read about or see in videos. Go ahead and send us your requests and we will make it happen. The world of technology is amazing these days.... We can update straight from the Iphone- so watch out for a good day at Hookipa, a beautiful rainbow sailing session or anything else that might catch our attention.

Be sure to check out our How TO page for some video techniques!

Ready to up your sailing game this season, come take a CLINIC we can help you get your game on no matter what level you are at.

We are currently working on the PRO SHOP, right now we have a display of our top 10 items and can get you all set up with a simple email. Just hit the button and we are connected. More to come on this so stay tuned....
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So we are jumping off the cliff again and trying to find some budgeting for a new film.

What does it feel like waking up in the morning.? What does it feel like riding a monster of water? Power so strong it can twist and pull you down so hard with no letting up.

I want to make a film about what it feels like to be deep within the mind of different athletes, and see just what it feels like to be in the mind of Philip Koster doing a double forward, Graham Ezzy hitting the lip at Jaws, and find some incredible locations. We will see if we can pull if off but we are going to give it a try. Check out the trailer and see what you think. If you know of anyone who is looking to fund something like this, feel free to give out a contact.

What Does It Feel Like – first teaser from Johannes Neumann - mnp on Vimeo.

A little video action in case you are wondering if conditions are any good here in January......

Kanaha Fun from Pritchard Windsurfing on Vimeo.

Check out the new Ezzy Lion. It is fast, fun, and easy to use. The sail rotates like a dream.

Introducing the Ezzy Sails Lion from Ezzy Sails on Vimeo.

So I was chatting with my brother online yesterday and he asked me what my goals were for the new year... I told him my main goal was do have at least as much fun as the last year and what a great year it was. For me it was a new venture, off into the unknown. I left the World Cup Tour, took huge budget cuts from a couple of my sponsors, but yet found more richness in life. One of the best years of my life, no titles, no championships, and not making money.. Pretty funny really to a guy who has pretty much had it all, and to think the year i did none of the things that the world thinks as cool, it has been one of the most fun... Scary sometimes, but still fun. Went to Vietnam right out of the gates, to be at a PWA competition without competing was a first, but for some reason it just felt right. I think that is when I knew I made the right decision. My friend Johannes and I manage to product two 27 minute TV shows for ESPN Asia without having a clew at what we were doing. What a learning experience that was. From there went to Maui and had a great spring time working with the Ezzy Sails team, doing photoshooting and just having a blast. Went to Santa Cruz for a Family reunion Waddell Classic event, which was fun to see all of our childhood hommies there! Then to Thailand, Denver, Jackson Hole for some late season snowboarding, the Gorge, where I hadn't been to in over 15 years, to Pistol River, then to Aruba, filming again, wow that was pretty fun, then to some more windsurfing trips, then over to some Motocross filming which was amazing in Orlando, Kentucky, and over to Mississippi , then Baja, Maui, then back to Cali for an amazing road trip, back to Jackson, then to Maui for the finals of the AWT, and bam the year was done, just like that. What a year.

For this next year, I am going to try to get back into blogging. Sometimes I get so tied up in other things that the last thing you want to do is get on the computer. I was so dedicated to it before and now have been lagging on it. So I am back...

So Happy New Year to everyone... See you in the wind somewhere!!

Happy New Year from Ezzy Sails on Vimeo.

Clinic Schedule 2012

The time of year is here!!! If you haven't quite figured out exactly what you want for Christmas, here are some hints below to suggest to your dearest loved ones....

Aloha Windsurfing Clinics

May 26th-June 2nd

Matt Pritchard and Shawna Cropas

June 30th-July 7th

Matt Pritchard and Shawna Cropas

Oct 20th-27th

Matt Pritchard and Shawna Cropas

Punta San Carlos

April 21-28

Matt Pritchard and Kevin McGillivray

July 21-28

Matt Pritchard and Kevin McGillivray

September 22-29

Matt Pritchard and Kevin McGillivray

One thing is for SURE- you will have a lot of fun and you will learn some new tricks!

If you are a beginning windsurfer, don't be shy about coming to Maui! It is a great place to hone in your skills in warm tropical waters. Shawna and I have a great program to get you hooked in and sailing upwind with the right stance.

Here is a video of our last clinic where we taught a lot of improvers... Check it out!

Aloha Windsurfing Clinics with Matt Pritchard and Shawna Cropas from shawna cropas on Vimeo.

If wavesailing is on your mind and you want to learn how to catch the right waves and what to do on them once you get em, either Maui or Punta San Carlos are great locations. Come on over!

If you have any questions regarding these clinics, hit the contact button on the site and drop me a mail.

Will look forward to seeing you in the wind!

Matt

I got an email asking about some jibing tips so I thought i would share them with you guys......
As for your jibes, you want mast foot pressure and front foot pressure. The back foot you don't want too much pressure, use it as your guide to keep the rail engaged in the turn. Try to keep your weight forward, look into your turn where you want to go, keep the front arm extended so the rig stays away from you. If you get the rig too close to you, all your weight goes back and the board will stall or do funny things. The name of the game for making a nice jibe is speed! Make sure you over sheet with your back hand to take control of the sail, use speed to guide you through the turn. Keep your weight low, knees bent, hang from your booms! Don't move your feet around too much, think of the jibe as a slow dance with a hot chick that you want to be close to- nice and smooth, no fumbling around. Get it in your head how you would do it, visualize and flow through the movements….Always remember, look where you want to go!

Check out my brother's jibe here- watch it a thousand times until you see yourself doing it!

How To Jibe from Pritchard Windsurfing on Vimeo.