Of all the clinics and private lesson’s I do around the world, one thing that is most overlooked is….. where you look. It sounds so simple and many people are convinced this rule does not apply to them, no matter how good you are I am willing to bet that a lot of crashes could be prevented by keeping your head and eyes up!

One of my favorite sayings ( I do have a lot of them) is, “Look down= go down!” Following people around studying their windsurfing skills constantly shows me of this truth. I tell clients, “your feet are always at the bottom of your legs” so no need to look down at them. They might come back to me saying they need to find their footstraps and so they look down. Well that right there is mistake number one and sets you up for the great catapult that we all know and love.

To nip this one in the bud, take your fin out of your board, put it on the sand or grass and start dancing on her. Learn where the footstraps are by FEEL. Practice getting onto your board from a beach start, having that front foot up by the mast track with toes pointing forward and shuffle into your footstraps. I like to have a wide stance on the board at all times for balance. When the front foot moves back, the back foot has to move back as well. I usually move my back foot back first, then front foot back. You don’t want to be caught with both feet really close together at any time as this causes major instability. Work the front foot into the footstrap. Having the straps large enough for your foot to easily get in is very helpful. Just because your front foot is in the strap doesn’t mean you have to get you back foot in immediately. Take your time. Feel where the back strap is and smoothly get to where your foot is just in front of it. When you are ready, slide it in without picking the foot up to high, this causes the board to get confused and normally a big stomp into the strap causes the board to round upwind and you lose all your speed.

This dance you are creating with the board on land is gonna give you confidence and comfort once on the water. Next step is to get your rig out and practice the same thing with getting in and out of your harness lines. It helps to have a little breeze in the air and someone to hold the mast so you don’t get catapulted on land…. that can hurt! Being able to hook in and out without looking at your hands or lines is HUGE! The minute you take your eyes off where you are going, what the water is doing and seeing where the wind is coming from you are asking for trouble.

A good way to remember this when sailing is keeping your chin on your shoulder. This keeps the head looking at the wind and chop coming at you. Watch for gusts and be ready for them. Watch for lulls in the wind so you can anticipate getting out of your footstraps and harness lines.

If any of you are struggling with your jibes, this tip greatly applies here. I like to teach you to look into the turn. Look at the chop 10 or 15 feet in front of you so you can pick a clean line through it. Once you are exiting the turn and clew first, get your chin on your shoulder looking in your new direction. Many people follow their boom and look back on the rotation of the sail causing you to lose balance and speed which usually ends in a very slow exit of the jibe.

One of my favorite tips for those of you learning to tack is to keep your head looking upwind with chin on shoulder. For some reason everyone likes to look down at their feet when doing this move. You have nothing to focus on and lose balance every time unless you are very lucky. Keep the head up!

For all your jumpers out there having problems landing or knowing where you are in the air, I’m gonna bet you might be looking downwind or down at your board. Keeping your chin on your shoulder.  Looking at the horizon is my go to spot when I’m catching air. It gives me a reference of how high I am and I can tell when I’m getting close to touchdown so I can extend my legs, sheet out and drop the tail of the board down first rather than landing flat with a shocking explosion that radiates up my spine and out my eyeballs oftentimes wreaking havoc on the structural integrity of my favorite board!

If you need further proof of this simple and effective tip, get in your car and take a drive while looking down at your gas pedal. I”m gonna bet you might run into some problems……. Enough said?

It was seven years ago today that I was laying face down in the dirt with shooting pains going up my legs and into my spine all the way up my neck and into my head. Pulses of intense sharpness that radiated my core. I was hurting and I knew right then and there I had a long road to  recovery. The date was February 26, 2009 just 1 year after officially retiring from professional competition on the PWA tour. My competitor side of me was still running strong, I was in the best shape of my life and feeling like superman….. nothing like a hard landing to take the wind out of my sails, breaking both of my legs that required some serious surgeries and a solid year of intense rehab. A wheelchair for 6 weeks, crutches for 4 more months, a baby on the way….. Life was getting exciting!

People always ask why do you do that to yourself? Motorcycles have been a part of me since I can first remember anything. I need adrenaline I guess……I also believe motocross was one of the best tools to learn to fly, how to control the body, instill sharp and quick reflexes all of which are required to do just about anything. My dad was on the verge of a professional motocross career until I showed up! Our entire family lived in the dirt and loved every minute of desert camping and traveling around riding different tracks and racing in local competitions. I will never forget my dads advice when telling me how to race, “you should be either full throttle on the gas or slamming on the brakes as hard as you can!” It took me a couple races and some pretty good crashes to work out that exact technique but in the end it has served me well, not just in motocross and windsurfing, but life itself.

Windsurfing started for me at 11 years old trying to flex every single muscle in my body to lift up a full size windsurfer one design sail! This addiction led my entire family into the world of water, searching for wind and waves every chance we could all across the state of California and beyond. A passion turned into an amazing career traveling the world there and back again. Meeting great people and creating friendships that will always be. Learning the ropes of life by living it! Windsurfing is where I got my university degree. 

What’s the point? Life is short, play hard.

OUCH!!!!

My first cover was from the fall of 1990, I was a junior in High School and it was one of those gusty light wind days at the Hatchery in the Gorge that you would have never guessed a cover would come out of! I can remember photographer Eric Sanford yelling out SMILE and LOOK at the Camera in his over animated crazy lingo!  Over the years I don't know how many cover shots I have amassed but there have been a lot! Some of them are on my office walls and I can pretty much remember the exact shot and how they all set up- Nothing like a picture to tell a great story!

This most recent shot came for the Gaastra/Tabou photo shoot and was taken by John Carter from a helicopter off Hookipa Beach. Nothing too radical, just some cool colors and a look back to the copter to make sure were were getting the job done!

A big thanks to the guys at Windsurf Warriors for the great interview and photos! If you are looking for a great read on some windsurfing tips and tricks and all around interesting stuff have a look HERE! To make it a real no brainer, punch in this code and save some bucks- MATT16

See you on the water!

Yep, even Maui shuts down when it comes to wind- and to tell you the truth I'm enjoying it! There is never a dull moment living in this paradise we are blessed to call home. Team Pritchard has been keeping sane with some epic Mtn bike rides, Unkle Kevy has been taking some cool shots so wanted to share the stoke coming from a 6 year old learning to fly! Maui offers some spectacular pedaling opportunities both on and off the road- if you happen to be here and the wind won't fill your sails come ride with us! Donny and the crew at Maui Cyclery will take great care of you!

There are a lot of great people in the world and Sarah Hauser is one of them! She is a ripper on the water and off the water she is always smiling..... She sent me over this blurb about a project she is working on and I wanted to support her and share with you all! Here is what she has to say.....

Hi guys! 

I’m contacting you today to let you know about the launch of our crowdfunding campaign to finish “Girl on Wave”, the movie I’ve been working on with EchoHouse Films for the past 5 months  (http://www.girlonwave.com). 

As a professional windsurfer I’ve realized over the last few years how much our sport is underestimated. When I travel out of the windsurfing community, I meet people who cannot even picture what our sport looks like! 

The movie “Girl on Wave” can help change that! 

As much as I love “actions” focused films which highlights the skills of athletes, this time EchoHouse Films and I are making a movie that is different. Our producer/cinematographer/director of photography Steven Esparza is based in Phoenix, Arizona. He never heard about windsurfing before he met me. With his unique way of filming and his ingenuous vision, we’re making a movie that a layman audience can watch and be amazed with as well as the water sport community! And we need your help to finish it.

Here is the link to our campaign: http://igg.me/at/girlonwave/x/13141516

Every little bit of help counts, even if it’s only a couple $, small bricks can build big walls!! 

Also sharing that information with as many people as possible is crucial for the success of our campaign. I hope you can help me do that!

Thank you

Sarah

If I could box up 25 knots of wind and send it to all of you, I would do it in a second! Could you imagine how HUGE our sport would be if we could do that? I think of all the times our family drove for hours and hours chasing wind only to show up and hear the infamous line, "you should have been here yesterday!" With the way technology is going, maybe one day we will get a windsurfing park with some kind of naturally funneled wind that sets up side-shore to whatever size waves you want. Yeah yeah yeah.... it is free to dream. I guess that is what makes windsurfing so special, the challenge and the chase. Windsurfing weeds out the weak and strengthens the strong! To all of you badass windsurfing boys and girls, we wish you a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Here is some eye candy from the last couple weeks..... Come join us one day!

Kev in the right place at the right time!

Matt back at Hookipa throwing some tail

The power of wind and waves- amazing!

Magical World....

No wind, no problem!

Just want to have fun!

As I watch my 3 month old learning to walk, I have noticed some common problems with his approach and his focus! He stands up, looks down at his feet as he slowly moves them and loses balance! It made me think about all the people out there trying to jibe while looking down at their feet- just like driving a car while looking at the gas pedal, this is simply a disaster waiting to happen. I don't know how many times I have said this, "look down = go down" but it takes time for it to sink in for people. In all sports, looking where you want to go is key, the body always follows the head essentially so put this mindset into your windsurfing and see how you go. For general sailing I like to tell people to put their chin on the shoulder looking UPWIND so you know what is coming to you. A lot of people are looking downwind and guess where they end up? With your chin on shoulder, your hips shift and if you really want to crank upwind, think about twisting your belly button upwind as well. You will need to find balance of your foot pressure from front to back to keep connected to the fin and if you are using your harness lines correctly you are achieving mast foot pressure and will be on your way to easy effortless windsurfing!

If you haven't seen the boom slide video here, watch it and get these movements in your head over and over till it becomes a DANCE- you can practice all these tips in your living room, outside in the snow, in the bathroom...... When you can visualize yourself doing the correct movements your body and brain knows what to do, it becomes instinct and inspires confidence that going into your jibe, you know you are gonna make it! Just like learning to walk......

If you missed out on the last Pritchard Wave Camp of 2015 don't worry there will be more next year! We had a blast and a full on stoked group of wave rippers. The only bummer was that the water was so warm we didn't get to wear wetsuits, the air was really warm and had to wear shorts and T shirts at night and we didn't see any rain. We did get to ride waves and lots of them. We rode on SUP's, Surfboards, Windsurf boards and even boogie boards. When class is in session, its time to buckle down and get your game on! When the wind pulls in around noon, the carpeted walkway down to the mighty pacific backs up with eager boys and girls ready to put their newfound skills to use. If you ever had Punta San Carlos on your list, make sure you check it off one day! It is an amazing place to say the least. Here is a teaser to show you some of the fun we had- Enjoy.

Here we go! First look at the newly designed ever so popular Ezzy Cheetah-

If a picture is worth a 1,000 words, how much is this video of Kev ripping worth? Watch it and let us know what you think.......