Just a quick update! Well Matt is recovering day by day. Getting through the days, the wife sets him up in his chair, with computer, phone, urnal, and remote control and goes off to work... So his job is to get better, and he seems to be getting better. He just went to the doctor and got some MRI's and the doc said that the left leg just might heal on its own. Looks like there is quite a few bones chipped away but hey what do i know?? Check out the size of that rod they put in there!!
Well not to rub it in but Maui has started to get a little better. I had a fun session at Kanaha yesterday. I have been also training hard with my trainer Jan at Upcountry Fitness and we have been starting out on getting some bigger legs this year. Squats, press's, speed, you name it she has been working me! I have also been out a couple days on the new Gaastra Vapor's! We have them in stock at the Pritchard Pro Shop so send us and email or get them online now!! We are still offering FREE US mainland shipping as well as a chance at winning a free 2009 Gaastra Poison!
Well sometimes it doesnt all go as planned. On a recent fun trip ended up going very bad. Matt and I were in California doing some dirtbiking and Matt ened up casing a double jump and came out with two broken legs. As Matt usually likes to do things right, he definately did it right here with two compound fractures and is out for a couple of months. Not fun at all. So if you start getting newsletters and emails from Matt pushing his Gaastra/Tabou business you will know why. He has the time now to buckle down and focus on the business instead of heading down to Hookipa when the right swell comes. Anyhow, I send him a speedy recovery!!
Well it is nice to be home that is for sure. It is windy here and just nice to finally unpack the bags and take a deep breath. A deep breath for summer that is rapidly approaching. Time to get on the slalom stuff and get training away. Try and get on top of the podium a couple times and bring home a world title.
Have you guys checked out the shop lately?? Did also know that from now until May 31, 2009 anything you buy at the Pritchard Pro Shop will enter you to win a 2009 Gaastra Poison of your choice! The more you buy, the more chances to win…… Tell your friends! Since it has been winter time we havent been getting too many orders so your chances of winning are very good. Even buy a video, it is like a $30 Lotto ticket with way better chances!!
Well that's it for Cabo Verde, and once again this place has lived up to it's potential. Wind, Waves and epic conditions. I managed to get through one heat against an on the role Marcillo Browne and then lost to Josh Angulo. Josh was firing on all cylindars and ripped the wave up to pieces. He definately knows every part of this wave and managed to go out and beat Kauil twice. Thats pretty hard to do!. Congratulations to both Josh and Kauli for their great performances!
I am pretty stoked on my third place here. This is a tough place to compete as it is mainly about wave selection and if you dont get the waves then you are out.. So to come here and get third I am pretty happy!
Well it wasn't too good on day two. Well I say that and if you compare it to GC or Maui or pretty much anywhere in the world it was still epic, but not really great for competitng. So they only did 4 heats and that was it. The wave here is so perfect here one good day and you are pretty much spoiled for life. It is so good. If you have never been here and love good hardcore down the line sailing, do yourself a favor and come over here at least once in your lifetime. You will not regret it. Hands down one of the best windsurfing wave in the world.
Looks like there is going to be a swell coming in tomorrow so should be some good action to come. The swell looks to be bigger than the last one so we could be in luck. I would like to have my boards arrive as they still havent becasue the wind is supposed to get lighter. If not the Kode will have to do the job again!
I had some more time to play around today and took some photos as well as some video from the water which I will get out to you when time permits. The last shot in this series is by JC/PWA
Today we had a great day with good waves and great wind for here. I woke early because my boardbag has still not arrived and I went down to the airport to try and find it. I has been aver 6 days and still not bag.. Anyhow luck for me Boujma brought an extra Kode 80 and I was on it. I rigged up my 5.7 and my Kode 80 and just went for it! The board was way too small for these conditions but it was the only board I could use... So I went with it and it ripped. Just goes to show the diversity of these new Kode boards. I managed to work my way to 3rd place in the single elimination and I was pretty happy considering how small the boar was. I would normally be at least on the 86 Kode and this year I even made a 93liter board for here. Needless to say I was really happy to get through some heats on a borrowed board. Looks like there is a good forecast and we should be back out there tomorrow.
The results so far are 1st Kauli 2nd Josh who sailed amazing, 3rd me and 4th Fransico Goya. Kai Lenny sailed really good here, Levi was ripping, Robby Swift was sailing really good along with Nik Baker from what I say. The biggest shock was JP going out in the first round. The big wave legend only caught one wave in 18 minutes and failed to pass through his heat!
I guess every year is going to be interesting but this one in the racing should be something fun to watch. Bjorn on new sails and boards, Antoine on new boards, Jimmy, Ciryll, all new boards...I am sure they are going to be fast still but it will be fun to see. For the waves, we have Brazino and Victor going to North Sails, so that will be exciting. It is only time before one of these guys crack Kaulis winning streak. I think Victor needs to do good in Cabo Verde and then it will be a battle to the end. Last year, Victor was heads above anyone else in Gran Canaria so it will be interesting to see how he does on his new ride. I am sure there are a bunch of other changes that I didn't think of but should be fun!!
Another year down for my bro! It is official, today is his Birthday and I hope he is having a blast…. He is somewhere in Europe right now, I’m not even sure where but he is on his way to Cabo Verde to hopefully score some sick conditions.
We grew up together as best friends and keep that going to this day. We have always pushed each other to try new things, jump higher, go faster and always push the limits in most everything we do.
Looking back over the past couple years or decades I should say, there were some moments that stand out- Like the time when we were out digging in the backyard making a bike jump- I was probably 5 or 6 and he was 3 or 4….. I had the big pick, lifted it up over my head and took a big swing into the ground- Kevs timing was perfect as he put his head down right in front of it and I cracked his head open- blood gushed everywhere, my mom and dad saw it happen and came running. Off to the hospital they went- I always said it was me that knocked some sense into him! Or maybe that is the reason he is so hard headed these days.
As we grew up we had a couple big arguments- we didn’t really fight or beat each other up- probably because he knew who would win… ha ha. Once windsurfing took over our lives, we never looked back. We worked off of each other- in the earlier days, I was stronger and faster- then he caught up and would whoop me in the course racing stuff when we were in our early teenage years. Nothing like losing to your little brother…. This sort of thing is what was probably the biggest key to doing well in the contests. We both hated losing and would do whatever we could to avoid that!
When Kev won the PWA world Title in 2000, that was a very special moment. All the hard work and energy that went into that was intense. That was the dream. I got to watch from the sidelines with a badly broken ankle and it was pretty emotional. From that day on, he kept up his win streak and has been a dominant force on the World Tour. Not sure how many World Titles he has won but there are a lot!
The list can go on forever- the real point is to say HAPPY BIRTHDAY KEV!!!!! Kick some ass in Cabo for us- we are watching and cheering you on.
That sounds funny, to have new boards in the used gear section of our shop but what i meant is that I have some more boards listed in the used gear area! I sold three boards this last week so I need to put three new ones in. I got two new twin fins in and a like new single fin. The boards have been flying out the door this past week so I am really stoked. Need to keep it going. Hope everyone is enjoying life these days. I am on my way to Cabo Verde, and I am sitting in Chicago, man it is cold here! Now I understand why Maui is such a good option in the winter time!!
Was a good long day for me. I got off to an early start doing some slalom bouys at Jimmys house where it was pretty windy and gusty but good to get out on a bouy course Sailed there for a bit then went up the coast to Hookipa to take some waveriding in. It was actually really fun out there despite how it looked.Sailed there for a while and then went to do some photos with Jason Stone's wife Ruthie. She is having another baby and thought it would be good to get some porfolio work in there and get some cool shots. Anyhow I think they are pretty nice and I hope that they like them. Jas is a top notch guy with a beautiful wife. He always helps me out with my computer issues an I figure if I can give him some cool shots he would be stoked!
Check em out and let me know what you think and if any of you guys out there need some photography sevices please feel free to contact me.
Man I love Maui in the winter. Theres wind some days theres waves somedays, rain, sun, and tons of fun. today i dont even know how many sports I did, went to the gym, rode my bike to the gym, then went sailing, then went dirtbiking, too much fun.. Well it sure has been nice being here. I am trying to get ready for Cabo Verde. I hope it is going to be good there. That should be fun.
Well I went out, I had a couple nice turns, had a couple big scary bumpy waves, sailed for an hour and a half or so all by myself and came in. Got closed out on once and then on my way in i got swallowed up pretty good but I got in with no rig failures and that was good enough for me. It was pretty windy and choppy with some big sets coming through. Konas are always pretty knarly sailing.
Anyhow, I got a couple nice landscape type photos if anyone is interested in ordering a copy, I am happy to sell off these shots for your wall, office, GARAGE, whatever.. I had an accident with my camera and broke my 500mm lens and my 1dmk2 so any sales will go directly into getting that equipment back up and running and keeping you guys stoked with cool shots on this blog!!
Well it wasnt quite as big as expected but still really big and out of control Kona winds. I was saling really bad and just didnt hit the lip at all. Oh well. I went out and went in unscathed by the powerful ocean. There was some pretty good carnage out there. There was also about 1000 people littering the coastline watching with traffic backed all the way up to Kahului I heard.. Looks like it is supposed to be bigger and gnarlier tomorrow. It is cranking through the night right now!!
Lots of new stuff up in the shop! New boards, new sails, new used gear. Check it out.
Today was a fun warm up day. Had some Kona winds sailing on 5.3 Manic and was good fun. Sailed at Lanes and was mellow. I think tomorrow is going to be off the charts. Hopefully not too big.
So I was reading the comments on the Rocky Shot post and I got a comment from one of the best photographers in the Windsurfing world, Darrel Wong!! How stoked I was to read that.. Anyhow.. had to blow my own horn as Darrel is pretty much the man when it comes to shots. We have had some amazingly beautiful days here. Although it looks like it is going to get a little bit out of hand. Check out Wind Guru for the forecast.. Looks like it is going to be big and windy Konas... I am scared already.
So I think I got some cool sthost but i am always overenthusiastic! I just went down and saw this cool look and went to town, I know they are probably a bit to rocky but hey at least they look somewhat different. I got a couple of better ones but I am keeping those to try and sell to the magazines... Who knows. We will see.. Check them out and let me know if you think they are too ROCKY!!
Well I dont really need some help but I could use some new homes for all my slalom and wave boards! I just got all my new stuff and have an overstock of stuff. So if you or any of your buddys, their moms, your cousins, aunts, uncles, dogs, needs a board, sail, or pretty much any piece of windsurfing gear send me an email and let me know what you are after. I have 122's, 101, 86, all ready to go. I also got a new array of Kodes, 09 Isonics, and Futuras, the time is now to get some great deals on some great gear!!
Well I am happy for this year to be over to be honest with you. For me it was a tough year with a lot of things going not really to plan. I didn't feel like I had the best year on the race course and off the racing was filled with good and bad. Lots of surprises, lots of time to look deep inside yourself and find out what you really want in life and who your real friends are. I think for me this year I learned that you cant really get much better than your family. I am truly blessed to have my family that supports me through my good and bad. My parents are amazing and my brother and his wife, well lets just say I wouldn't be where I am today with out their constant love and support. I also met my new best friend this year that has really amazed me by teaching me so much, making me smile when I am down and taking me to places I have never been.
It has been fun having this blog with all of you supporting me along the way. It has been fun for me to hear your comments, learn from them, and try to accommodate as many suggestions to make this a better site with more info, tips, and fun stuff to keep you guys entertained. Thanks for reading and hope you continue on for many years to come!
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