Pritchard Windsurfing

My buddy Kevin McGillivray called me up and said, “let’s go”………. I thought he was crazy being as there wasn’t a breath of wind anywhere in sight. He said the famous words, “Trust me!” I have to admit I had no faith so I brought a surfboard along as insurance.

We arrived to a glassy and perfect swell- just pumping. We met another friend Taylor down there and he was shaking his head seeing the perfect waves with zero wind on them……..

After being introduced to the local crew at Leo Carrillo (who are a great bunch of guys) Kevin and I decided to paddle out for a surf. Now I don’t surf much because it takes a great wave and not a large crowd to get me fired up…… but I didn’t care at this point, it was awesome out there. Got about 10 good waves and came in- still glassy at 5pm.

The boys were saying another hour….. I think they had been saying that since 3 but what’s another hour right? Six o’clock rolled around and someone said give it another hour- I laughed and said yeah right. I then said, I’m giving it till 6:30 and I’m out of here……….. My friend Taylor gave up at 6:20 and left. This may have been the piece of puzzle we were missing- At 6:31, I set foot in the water on a 5.7 and 3S 97- straight into the line up. Offshore wind was light but plenty to get out and pick off some waves. I caught one after the other, slowly the crew started coming out. I went in and traded out for a 5.3 so Kev Mc could slog out on his Pocket 84- it was a blast!

Here are a couple pics to document the festivities. After the session ended at near dark, the local boys told stories of how good this place can be- I have no doubts in my mind now as this is a one of a kind set up! I’ll see you guys again- thanks for sharing your break with me…… save some wind and waves for later next week!

Photo compliments to Brian Watson- aka theQ

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Since Kev is so exhausted from his success on tour, I figured I would give him a break from the blog since he made the podium at the last 2 events….

I just had one of those trips that opens your eyes and makes you really think….. WOW, this world we live in is pretty AWESOME! Being a California guy, I didn’t really have too much desire to explore elsewhere when I was growing up. As soon as I got out of high school, that all changed drastically!

At the ripe age of 17, I hit the airports- lots of them. I mostly traveled in Europe with some trips off into Asia, Australia, the Caribbean and South America. I didn’t get to spend much time in my home country. I didn’t get to see the Midwest of America, didn’t go and explore the backcountry in the mountains- it was either California, Texas, Oregon/Washington or the East coast for me in the USA. For the past month, I have been expanding my horizons and seeing new things.

After an incredible 10 days of sailing in the Gorge, my wife and I hit the road. We stopped in a little town outside of Bend, Oregon called La Pine. We hung out there with Erin’s family and had the typical summer gathering. We had picnics, went fishing, white water rafting, hiking and other cool stuff.  I felt a great sense of peace and really grounded myself. After a week there on total vacation, we continued on down to Colorado. I didn’t really know what to expect. Denver was a big city and didn’t do much for me as I’m a country boy….

Once we got to Aspen, the world changed. Both Erin and I were in complete AWE of the mountains. Being  9,000 feet above sea level was literally a GASP…. I felt pretty out of shape hiking, riding bikes and even getting up the stairs to our cozy abode. What I loved most about the mountains was seeing a new world. I have always been in the water world and doing the “water thing”. Now I have seen the “mountain thing” and realized how amazing it is. I was humbled looking up at the Maroon Bells at almost 14,000 feet up- knowing that people hike and climb that stuff is unreal and I have utmost respect. It will take me a while to climb those mountains just like it would take a mountain man some time to nail a perfect back loop- we all have one thing in common though- the quest to challenge ourselves to new heights, the desire to enjoy nature and appreciate the beauty of a perfect wave or the tallest mountain.

While I have been climbing mountains, Kev has been battling it out with the boys. Seemed like he had to work hard in Fuerte as that flat water makes the big boys go pretty fast… they can hold the big sails, lock them in and let the board fly- I love watching the results- I feel like I am right in the mix, kinda……

Hope everyone is STOKED on summer- I’m back to Santa Barbara for a week of wind and waves- then up to San Francisco for some more fun in the sun. I’ll be doing a promo at Boardsports School at Coyote Point August 2^nd and 3^rd- come check it out!

Don’t forget, tomorrow is my birthday and I’m expecting tons and tons of presents- send em over!!!!!!

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Well today was a huge up and down day for me. I had two second place
finishes which were good... but then two bad finishes. In the two bad
ones, of course i have excuses.. excuses excuses.. i hate excuses but
just for the blog sake it gives you something to read. So in the first
bad one, i got in a battle for the pin with Josh Angulo.. I got the
downwind position and instead of take it that I won the pin the guy
just mows me down right at the start.. and messes us both up... i
crashed into the water and he just had to slow down and just ruined
the race for both of us. Then I was on the comeback trail and was
pushing hard and went inside of him and he slammed into me again. This
time it really seemed like he meant to take me out.. oh well. that is
racing these days.. no rules no rules.. the one thing is that I hope
that he learns to use his head a bit more an not make himself go bad
as well. This will take time I guess. Well racing is racing.. In the
second one it was a long distance where they drove the boat like
complete wimps and they were just running around everyone trying not
to hit the guys that were just going over the line early.. needless to
say I got a horrific start and fished terrible. Oh well.. chalk it to
experience...

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