YES! To Windsurfing’s Future

All I can say is WOW! This incredibly amazing sport that we all know and love is still alive and kicking no matter what the critics are saying! People are asking me how the sport is doing and in my world it is certainly full power! Is the sport growing? Are there more kids getting into it? My answer is YES!

I think what is happening is that the weak are being weeded out or just a little distracted right now….. the passionate windsurfers out there are still charging, buying new gear, working on improving their performance and constantly chasing the wind at all costs! Windsurfing will never die that is for sure- it is way too much fun! Kiteboarding has added a new level of fun in the wind. Has it stolen windsurfers away? Maybe it has to some degree but it is a choice and for a lot of people, it can be more simple, less hassle and more easily accessible for them. Stand up Paddleboarding has breathed new life into many shops and has kept the doors open! The SUP world is blossoming into new realms and almost everyone is doing it! This is GREAT. Exposing fun to more people will attract them to discover new sports and windsurfing could be one of them! I don’t know about you, but I would rather hook into my 30” lines and effortlessly blast over the water at 30mph vs paddling my guts out at 10mph, … maybe I’m just lazy : } We all want to have fun and that is what is most important, right? YES

The past month has been photo shoot mania on the intoxicating waters of Maui. All the who’s who have been out gathering photos and video for upcoming 2016 product releases! Most impressive are the freestyle guys without question. These kids are doing some of the coolest moves windsurfing has ever seen! These freestyle rippers are unbelievably talented- AMAZING in fact! Could it be that equipment has evolved so much since my days in the early 2000’s? Is it just a new crew of kids getting bored with the usual and jumping out of the box? The easy answer is YES and YES.

Wave riding has taken some new lines in the past 5 years with the multi fin boards making a strong comeback from the early days of thruster boards. What started out as a twin fin movement inspired by Kauli Seadi and his incredible performance at the 2007 PWA Cabo Verde event has now turned to a quad fin setup with some Tri-fin boards all in the mix as well. As for the moves on the water, speed and angle all come into effect. Trajectory, timing and power combine for anyone to take their pick on what they like to see out there. The beauty of wavesailing is that no wave is ever the same, you have to adapt and adjust with instant reaction time. There is always a search for better turns, tighter lines and bigger waves. Where will it stop? It won’t…… new names are here to stay and along with them come new moves never thought to be possible. Have you seen a no handed taka off the lip? Google it and see riders like Graham Ezzy pushing the envelope. Watch Levi Siver helicoptering over the falls in an all out impressive attack on the wave. Kevin Pritchard takes hands and feet off while backlooping to the moon! The list of names goes deep and you will never get bored searching for glorious perfection of the ultimate wave ride. YES!

Racers are pushing speeds of 60mph! YES, that is right….. windsurfers are getting close to that barrier and it will happen one day soon. Can you imagine going that fast over the water powered by the wind? Why not? Boards are getting faster and easier than ever with new shapes shorter, wider and more efficient. You don’t have to be a racer to feel this- the new freeride boards take all this into their conception and if you haven’t tried the latest 8.5 Freeride sail combined with a 128 liter free-ride board you really should! A mind blowing experience compared to what was going on 10 or 12 years ago! Bottom line, windsurfing is kicking into gear and now more than ever its time to grab the bull by the horns and get back out there! Spring is here and the wind is blowing…… Go find it! Sound like fun?

YES YES and YES!!!

See you on the water-

and PS, if you don't have any wind this weekend, check out this video that Graham Ezzy posted up.... shows you some of the tricky wave moves that are sure to impress!

Published by Matt Pritchard in Blog

March 20, 2015

Spring Time Travel Tips

It's time to go WINDSURFING!!!! You deserve a break today..... log in to the www and pick a place to GO WINDSURFING this year- Find below some of our favorite USA mainland spots for windsurfing in the Spring!

Both my brother and I grew up in the California desert, and we wanted nothing more than to be closer to the ocean once we discovered Windsurfing! We know what it is like when you are land locked and don't see wind, waves or even water for that matter.... it hurts!

With all that in mind, here are some pics to get you fired up on the season.... and a picture is worth how many words????

JALAMA STATE PARK

Jalama View

The Jalama wave is often called a garage door- it closes out quickly!

Too close for comfort? Not in California....

This is the view from your beachfront camping spot! Awesome....

This place has some legendary burgers..... fuel for the fire!

If the wind quits at Jalama, Drive north for a couple hours and you will find....

ARROYO LAGUNA

KP Showing Cali what a tweaked aerial is all about

KP likes to hitchhike with his foot out.....

Can you say Perfect Timing?

Another ALL TIME favorite is none other than......

PUNTA SAN CARLOS

The Baja Wave is always begging to be HIT!

Beautiful smooth waves that never end....

Line em up..... 10am and it's GO TIME!

When you can't hang on anymore.... it's Beer O Clock up top.

Watch and Learn.... Baja Wave Camps happen 3 times a year with Matt

For all you Californian's out there..... what is your favorite beach? Comment PLEASE...... Share the love-

See you on the water,

Matt

Published by Matt Pritchard in Blog

March 1, 2015

Jumping Tips

Jumping is so much fun, it takes practice and RHYTHM! I see a lot of people try to jump right before they hit the piece of chop and nothing happens. It is said, "timing is everything" and this very much applies to jumping. In order to get sent upward, it is nice to have a piece of chop or even better, a wave that will send you up up and away! Although neither are mandatory, if you don't have them you gotta learn "POP". Pop is also known as load and explode, or pushing down then pulling up. In flat water you can do an exercise to learn this- Start out by sliding your back hand back on your boom, unhook from your harness lines then push down with your front foot, then your back foot very quickly trying to push the board DOWN into the water so that it will explode back up. As you push down with your legs, pull in with your arms trying to use the sail to LIFT you up. Pull down, then upward on your booms. Try to suck your back leg up through your body and out your nose! The exercise here is to try it 3 or 4 times in a row to get into a RHYTHM and wham/bam you just learned POP. This is the start to your jumping game. You don't have to go high on your first attempts, just get the flow and learn the basics here and before you know it you will be sky bound!!!

Had a great session with iron man George the other day and asked him to share some notes...... figured you guys might want to think about what he got out of his lesson..... He sent over his top 10 take-aways, here they are-

1. Pull the back foot under you when jumping

2. Harness tighter and lower on my waist

3. Extend the front arm and reach back further on the boom with the back hand in general sailing as well as jumping

4. Don't be overpowered with sail size-it wasted my energy

5. Don't carve up wind when hitting the ramp

6. Snug foot straps to perfect fit

7. Sheet in on take off then extend the arms when I'm in the air- don't choke to rig, let it pull me up

8. Looping- Not so high or off big waves at first . I Can do loops off the breaking Whitewater- knee-high chops

9. In reviewing the pics, I have to look back! But man it's so counter intuitive

10. Having a world champion instructor makes its very easy to just let go and completely trust what needs to happen

That really helped me- So stoked Matt !

Published by Matt Pritchard in Blog, Video Technique

February 2, 2015

Waist Harness vs Seat Harness

A lot of people are asking me what harness to get..... what is the difference between a waist and seat harness, why do they make so many options??? I was taught that options are good, this means you have a choice... so what to choose? Here are a few things to consider-

Girls can find the right waist harness that works for their body

The advantages to the seat harness in my opinion are few. The big boys can make the best use of them as they are heavy and can hold down the pull from the sail. I have seen women that like them because they don't "RIDE UP" like the waist harness can do, most of the time this is because the waist harness they are using may not be the right size or style for their body type. It takes some trial and error when choosing a harness, especially with the girls and much respect to them for getting this right!

The lightweights are going to get picked up in the gusts and not be able to handle keeping the rig steady!

You really need to sit in the Seat Harness and stay LOW to keep from coming unglued when a gust hits you. If you can accomplish this task, you will be able to sail faster. For flat water and steady winds, you will have a much easier time than choppy, bumpy, gusty conditions. When the going gets nasty, the waist harness is a no brainer, even for the big boys!

Even the big racer boys use waist harnesses now!

Waist harness advantages are many- the first is that you look WAY cooler!

You don’t have to walk like a duck on the beach and you get more forgiveness using this style of harness!

Your friends will stop making fun of your diaper and you can finally graduate to cool guy or girl status! When you get hit with big gusts, the harness moves up rather than picking you up and throwing you over the bars! Next is that the hook sits up about 3 or 4 inches higher than a seat harness. What does this do??? Let's think about that for a quick second- and if you know me you will know my preaching about long harness lines.... and yes, the higher hook translates into a longer harness line length. This enables you to bend those knees, use your body weight and get nice and low while generating Mast Foot Pressure without even thinking about it.

Bottom line- If you are used to a seat harness and have used them all your life and don't care about walking like a duck in a diaper, keep on your program. If you sail in gusty and bumpy conditions, the waist is a no brainer! Here are some recommendations for the best options for both.... and YES, we are a little biased to Da Kine products.... note the top featured image of this post back to the early days of us brothers dating back to..... Can you guess the year????? If you are in need and want to BUY, we have some discount specials now on the T6 models-

The new T-7's are going to be available soon! Watch our Pro Shop for some special deals to get you into one!

Perfect for those that want a compromise of waist and seat, the Da Kine XT Seat offers the best of both worlds.

And for you beautiful ladies out there, check out the Wahine from Da Kine-

Just say NO to Diapers!

Published by Matt Pritchard in Blog

January 22, 2015

Teaching Techniques

Someone told me the other day they took a lesson 10 years ago and it was a big waste of time.... the instructor was having a hard time keeping up with him, they could not communicate and all in all he had a bad experience! Times have changed in this day of technology and learning to progress quickly is at an all time high! I have seen people really GETTING IT by watching and understanding what THEY are doing right and wrong- It is one thing to see someone who knows how to do it and watch them, but when you compare to what YOU are doing on the video playback, this tells the real story and what you need to work on.

Speed into the turn = speed out of the turn!

Here you can see what happens if you pull back on your booms- no mast foot pressure=no speed!

People working on jibes may only need to tweak 1 thing and then BINGO! They are off and rolling. For those learning to Jump, following and mimicking certain maneuvers really helps out. Wave riding is another tough one to learn, you need wave knowledge or someone putting you onto the wave in the right spot! The best way to learn waves is to get out there and find them, if you are swimming, boogie boarding, surfing, whatever.... get on it! SUP is a perfect solution as well....

Paula is determined to learn to waveride!

It's all about having fun and sharing the STOKE!!! K-man and Unkle Kevy on fire!

If you want to learn some tricks and watch your windsurfing improve no matter what level you are at, come join us for an Aloha Windsurfing Clinic on Maui.... Warm water, sunny skies and magic air! We are ready..... Are you?

Come on, let's go says Shawna!! See you on Maui....

Published by Matt Pritchard in Blog

December 31, 2014

Jibing tips for the new year

Another year gone bye...... what a great one it was! Now it is time for those resolutions, what's it gonna be for you? A lot of people want to master their jibes, so start thinking about that now!!! Even if you are in the snow, you can visualize and walk yourself through them in the living room. Here is a video of Leo getting learning some tricks on Maui.

My buddy Neil who is an instructor down at Vela Baja has a great story that he tells to jibers..... It goes a little something like this-

“Imagine that you are approaching a small town (Jibeville) by car. You have been on a major highway going as fast as you wanted- In this town there is a rule that says you cannot leave your engine running. There are signs posted outside the city limits warning you of this rule- you have plenty of time to prepare for it. You are able to coast through the town as fast as you want but no engine noise is permitted. The road is on a slight uphill and the distance your engine has to be shut off for is about ½ a mile. If you do not make it through the town by coasting, you have to pay a fine of $10,000. You are not allowed to push your car or have it towed. As soon as you stop, you are instantly subject to pay the fine or spend life in prison! Ouch."

The moral of the story is that in order to make a great jibe, you have to have speed. Speed is what gives you the freedom to “COAST” through the transition zone of the jibe (also know as the town Jibeville).

As you “COAST” through Jibeville, this is the time to make your move and transition your feet and flip your sail. If you have your speed, you have stability and can easily maneuver the sail to the new position to head on out of town. If you slow down and stop “COASTING” flipping that sail and changing your feet is going to be a lot more difficult- Chances are you are going to be subject to a $10,000 fine.....So keep your knees bent, your ankles bent and your arms LONG!!! Don't pull in and back on your arms!!! This causes your legs to straighten up and the game will soon be over!

The time is now to start thinking about speed into your turns. Hopefully the little story above gives you a better understanding of our goals. Obviously the flatter and smoother the water, the easier it is going to be. The windier and choppier the water, the more you have to bend your knees and be ready for a bumpy road. Speed is still your friend in all cases, in fact it is more key the windier it gets. Stay low and look where you want to go!

See you on the water in 2015!!! Happy New Year

Published by Matt Pritchard in Blog, Clinics

December 24, 2014

Merry Christmas!

merry_christmas_matt_kevin_pritchard Merry Christmas to all- Hope everyone is having a great time with friends, family and everyone in between! This quote kinda sums it all up.....

Christmas is the spirit of giving without a thought of getting. It is happiness because we see joy in people. It is forgetting self and finding time for others. It is discarding the meaningless and stressing the true values.

Thomas S. Monson

Published by Matt Pritchard in Blog

December 19, 2014

Super Sale Saturday

If you don't know exactly what new board you want to see under the Christmas tree, the 3S range would cover you for just about anything. There is still time...... get one right here: Buy Tabou 3S Now! Any size, any construction is ready for you in either 2015 or some deals on 2014 models!

buy_tabou_3S_pritchardwindsurfing

Arguably one of the best all-round boards on the market, the 3S just gets better and better.The key word to describe these boards is “EASY”. The boards just do what you want them to do; you don’t have to work hard to make them turn, they know how to do it. They jump onto the plane with ease and rocket to the moon on the jumps. One board … do what you want!

buy_tabou_3S_pritchardwindsurfing

Which construction to buy? If you can afford the LTD version, don’t question it. You get a lighter stiffer more responsive board. It will accelerate onto a plane more quickly, drive through lulls and give you that extra bit of boost to your jumps! The “standard” or “CED” construction is a perfect blend of performance oriented materials that give you a great product, just a bit heavier than it’s more expensive sibling!

The S3 is what I like to call the NO BRAINER Board! You step on it, it starts going. You think about turning and it is ready to do as you say. It planes early and easily, it jumps, it turns, it goes fast it can ride waves. It is your best friend when the conditions get funky. For anyone looking to have FUN on any water condition, this range of boards is hard to beat.

Published by Matt Pritchard in Blog

December 13, 2014

Lesson Notes

Can you believe December is already halfway down.... YES, I love this time of year. Christmas time is my favorite.... Maybe because the kid in me still loves getting PRESENTS!!! And giving them of course... but I LOVE surprises! The windsurfing on Maui has been few and far between, if you are really on it, you can find it. I have been doing a few lessons all with great success stories and lots of things to share! Had a good session with Alex here and he had some notes he asked me to go over with him and I thought you Bloggers might be interested to get in on it! My comments are IN CAPS! In case you are wondering if I'm shouting, YES I am.... ha ha

From Alex: It was great to have the lessons with you last week. I appreciate the insights you shared with me. I hope for more in the future. YES, LET’S KEEP IT UP!! MAUI IS VERY CLOSE TO YOU…. AN EASY FLIGHT!!!

I'm following your advice to take notes for future reference. It looks like it will be a while before I get back on water and those notes will come handy indeed. It is windy in Oregon, but oh-so-cold. COLD IS DIFFICULT!!! YOU GOTTA BE TOUGH AND GET OUT THERE…..

Setup:
- Center of gravity on the boom and two fingers front/back for harness line positioning FIND CENTER, THEN 2 FINGERS EITHER SIDE OR A FIST IN BETWEEN THE LINES!
- Alternatively, back of the harness line 1/3 of the way from the front edge of the sail YES
- 30 cm lines YES
- Do not drop the boom. There is enough control in long lines already. Drop the butt. Boom at shoulder height YES!

Stance:
- Wider. Back foot closer to rear straps. Control tail sinking by putting weight on harness lines and driving through front foot, near mast foot YES!
- Relax, weight on the harness, no weight on arms YES
- Do not look at the board/feet/turtles. Look where you go YES YES YES!!!!

Jibe:
- Do not look back at the clue when initiating the turn, it's too early. Look at the apex of the turn YES, LOOK WHERE YOU ARE GOING…. ALWAYS- SEE THE BUMPS, BE READY
- Look through the triangle formed by the mast and the nose of the board - this ensures weight forward and carving off the front foot YES
- Practice foot work on dry land YES, GET IT IN YOUR HEAD, VISUALIZE YOURSELF DOING IT!!
- Practice balancing on my toes, not heels. Practice standing in balance in the tack position: sail back AND AWAY, body forward, counterbalancing. Toes on the center line. Get stable in this position
- Scissor the board into the wind. Beginner tack: get board as far as possible onto the new tack before switching sides. This way, when I switch side, I can power the sail and it will help balance JUST FOCUS ON KEEPING YOUR BODY WEIGHT OVER THE CENTER OF THE BOARD AT ALL TIMES…. MOVE THE SAIL OUT OF YOUR WAY RATHER THAN MOVING AROUND THE SAIL.
- Really wrap front foot around mast, get toes and foot further to the other side YES
- On transition, slide the new front foot VERY close to the mast foot and step far enough back YES, STEP WAY BACK AND DROP INTO THE SUMO STANCE, NICE AND LOW READY FOR ANYTHING…
- With front hand REALLY through THROW the sail across my back shoulder - this will create space for me to move and will make it easier to balance YES KEEPING YOUR BODY CENTERED OVER THE BOARD AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE. FAST FEET AND FAST HANDS MAKE IT HAPPEN. KEEP THE HEAD LOOKING UPWIND, NEVER NEVER EVER AT YOUR FEET!!! LOOK DOWN= GO DOWN!

Published by Matt Pritchard in Blog, Clinics

December 11, 2014

Video of the year……check this out!

https://vimeo.com/112698235

We had the privilege to watch an early release of this incredible Movie at the Aloha Classic Awards presentation..... When Red Bull does something, they do it right! Flying all the athletes around the world chasing the most radical windsurfing conditions is no easy task, filming and documenting all this makes it all worth while. If you are a windsurfer, check this movie out and you will be amazed at what these guys are doing!

3 STORMS, 10 SAILORS, 1 CHAMPION.

THE ENTIRE PLANET AS A STAGE.

These were the breathtaking ingredients for the most challenging windsurfing contest the world has ever seen.

What started as a four month global hunt ended in a two year long journey with Ireland, Tasmania and Cornwall as the final destinations. The criteria were simple: winds greater than force ten and ten world class windsurfers (including four world champions) from eight different countries, in a frenzied and passionate fight against giant waves and storm force gusts.

Red Bull Storm Chase has delivered a new era of windsurfing performance. Previously, nobody thought it was possible to even sail in the strength of storm-force winds that each one of the three missions delivered. So Red Bull Storm Chase proved to be the most challenging windsurfing contest in the history of the sport.

"We had to turn our fear into respect to face such extreme forces of nature. The movie sums up everything about Red Bull Storm Chase: the amazing locations, incredible conditions, all of us pushing our limits and just how dramatic this competition was!"

THOMAS TRAVERSA, Red Bull Storm Chase Winner & World Champion 2014

The result was footage of some of the most extreme windsurfing to ever take place and images never seen before in any windsurfing movie! Get the inside line on how the storms were chased with exclusive behind the scenes footage. Look deep into the souls of the riders, as they face their fears and push the limits of wavesailing time after time.

Get ready to feel the full force of the ultimate windsurf movie.

Red Bull Storm Chase pits the world's best sailors against ocean conditions anyone else would be running away from as quickly as possible. An epic competition like no other, filmed and edited to the highest standard and showcasing our amazing sport like never before. An absolute must see!

ROBBY NAISH, Windsurfing Legend

Published by Matt Pritchard in Blog

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