Well Finally an end to a rocky season for me. I have to say that I am pissed off, with myself, with my results, and I am bummed for my sponsors cause I feel like I let them down a bit. I have some of the best gear I have had in my hands, and for some reason I just didn't perform of how I know how to do it. I got into crashes, I got crashed into, I had bad starts, I don't know what happened. I trained so hard for it, put so much time into it and it was probably my worst season in 14 years. I had the speed most of the time, and just couldn't get it done. Was I worried too much about winning? Was I worried too much about losing? Did I not train enough, did I over train? I get these questions running through my head and trying to figure out what the problem was with my season.
Lucky for me, my sponsors still believe in me and are giving me another chance. Starboard has continued their support for almost ten years now and Gaastra has been there for a while as well. Dakine, an amazing brand has been with Matt and I really since the beginning, I can remember going into the offices in Hood River and talking with Pat Frodle and seeing Rob, and we must have been 12 and 15 at the time,, boy has time flown. What a great run we have had and we have been so blessed by the sport over the years! What a great ride. Looks like I will be doing it another year and now is the time to get back on the horse and work everything out and figure out what why when and how.. I am heading down to the south of France to test out the new Gaastra Vapors, and Remi, Tiesda and the Starboard boys are on the program working on the 2011 stuff already. So it is good. Push on and upwards!!
I would also like to thank all you guys out there who read my blog and put up with my up and down results. I try to give you the inside stuff, not just the good or just the bad, but to get you to feel like you are there. To hear what is going on , to know what I am riding on, to give you the fin sizes, the sail and board sizes to get the feel of what it is like to be a pro on the road.. Hope you enjoy the ride!
Well today we had a break in the wind. It was cold and crisp and they decided to go on hold for freestyle. I really wanted a shot at some more racing but hey, we have had 8 or so events this year so it is good to get the freestylers out there.. although I am not sure if they were quite so happy for the opportunity to get out there in the cold and not so optimum conditions. Anyhow, no racing or waves for me today.
I did get to go to the Four Dimensions premiere and that was a great film. If you are interested at all in windsurfing, and want to see the best of the best.. check out this movie. It is one to go down as one of the best films produced in windsurfing.. ever.. They put a lot of time and effort into it and it shows. Definitely a video you want to have in your video library. I am going to put it in our shop here at Pritchard Windsurfing.. so check it out and get your copy now!!!
Well the wind and waves came ripping in.. It was even starboard tack and the boys, and girls were out there ripping. I waas on my 5.3 Manic and Big Starboard Kode. I managed to sneak through one heat and then had a pretty good run with some good wave riding but just got ousted in the jump category.. So needless to say that I was pretty bummed. Well as they say there is always tomorrow. Big congrats to Alex Mussolini for his sailing. Lets see if he has what it takes to stay in the number one spot!
Well that was not how I envisioned starting out Sylt 2009. I am super bummed right now.. Painful.. The only positive thing is that I have my health and my family so that is the positive. The negative is that I sucked today. I went in with a lot of confidence.. and speed.. and just sucked. I was in third or 4th in the first round, and crashed with Gonzalo, then I was in 3rd in the second round when Ross took me out, and then had a bad start in the 3rd round giving me the losers final on a silver platter.. I managed to get second in the losers final and then in the last round of the day I was winning the race, and they called it off, I went in to the beach to see what was going on and then went back out and missed the start. That was a real piss off, I can tell you that. I went in, went back out only to see the heat being run without me in it.. Man I was mad. I guess if you dont yell and scream at the race officials they don't do anything about it. No excuses. You dont see Antoine whining.. Onwards and upwards tomorrow.
I was using my Isonic 111 for most of the races with my Gaastra Vapor 7.6 and 8.4. I used my 42 and 40cm Deb SL 4 and they were working great. Perfect here in Sylt. I seemed to have good speed just stupid mistakes and a bit of bad luck leaves me with bad results. Everyone better look out tomorrow cause I am coming for them!!!
Well up early.. 5:30 am to get some food in us, and try and wake up. Lucky for me I am still a little bit jet lagged so the 5am wake up is not so so bad. I was up and ready to go.. Ate some breaky, then down to the beach.. Looked pretty promising but they decided to go with the Freestyle. Which I think was a good decision. The waves and freestyle are both in the same position with only two events so far and with the non epic waves, light winds, I think they made the right call. Team Bon Air was on fire with the freestyle today finishing first second and third. The Frans brothers were on form which is great to see. Taty has been not doing as good as he coiuld do for quite a while so to see him in the top is great. Those guys are some of the nicest guys on tour. Tonky has some of the best style on the water of anyone in my opinion. Finished up at 7pm.. what a day. I went out for a wave sail, broke down and had to swim in.. not too much fun in the cold. I did rig back up and go back out and had a fun little wave sail. Man the conditions in Sylt are pretty tough to make look good. It was nice to get on the water and loosen up a bit. I was on my 5.7 Gaastra Manic and Big Starboard Kode.
Looks like we will do some racing tomorrow.. But you never know!!
Another day, another not windy enough day. It was really REALLY close to make it but just wasn't there. The race crew just got some new wind meters, and they were awesome today. Right on the limit but not enough. We will see how it goes when we get down to the end of the week.
Well no wind today but we are looking good for some wind tomorrow. They are saying waves for Monday, but you never know.. They are pretty on it for weather around here in Germany so we will see.. Nice and chilly here.
Man it is cold.. but it is warm for Sylt. Had a nice session on the water today.. Sailed on 7.6 Vapor with the Isonic 111.. It was pretty fun and pretty choppy and radical. Nothing like turkey that is for sure.. In fact it is as far from as it as possible..
Well the time has come for Sylt! The last event of the year and it is all coming down to this. Looks like we might have some good conditions but Sylt is always a mystery. Just sitting in LAX getting ready to hit the plane. Everything is tuned up and ready to go. Hope all the bags make it.. OH MAN... the check in was TERRIBLE.. if you are heading to Europe from Maui with American Airlines.. wow.. it is expensive. They charged me $450 per two bags.. Then gave me a discount of 2 bags but the total cost was $1800 for the 8 windsurfing bags I had. WOW>> EXPENSIVE... now I really need perform to break even!
As they say off to the races! I will try to keep you guys up to date!
It has been a while since I last blogged it for you guys out there but a lot has been going on to say the least…… the biggest news is that I am now officially a dad! That is one of those things that you can’t really explain until it happens to you. I have done some pretty cool stuff in my days and nothing really comes close to this one. Smacking a 50 foot lip at Jaws or jumping a 90 foot triple jump on a dirt bike are not even in the same ballpark. I thought I had done most everything, but this raises the bar! I’m sure all you dads out there know what I’m talking about. Needless to say, I have been pretty busy adapting to changes…. Not just diaper changes- that is pretty easy! All my friends that have had kids were telling me, “JUST YOU WAIT, YOUR LIFE IS GONNA CHANGE!!!” That kinda scared me because I have a pretty dang good life and didn’t want to change too much!! Well a little less sleep at night and spending more time loading up for outings is all worth it so far. I’m looking forward to teaching the little dude everything my dad taught me- we had so much fun growing up, I think I never really have grown up! Well ok, maybe a little….
The other big news is that I finally got myself back on the water after breaking both my legs pretty badly over 6 months ago!!! Talk about a year full of excitement- wow! 2009 goes down in the record books that is for sure! I can’t say I’m back to 100% yet, but I can feel it coming. My right leg feels totally fine, the left side was a much more complicated break and I’m still gaining movement from all the other muscles and tendons that all clamped up for being immobile for so long. Considering the damage I have done, everyone is pretty impressed with my recovery. My first day back on the board was just for a 45-minute cruise. I went out with Kev and watched him out training buoys with the North boys. I was sporting my new Tabou 3S 96 and a 4.7 Manic- I wanted some stability with the bigger board in case things didn’t work how I wanted them to. I jumped up and sailed off the beach no problem. Just like riding a bike! For the last 3 months, that is all I have been doing- pedaling my bike. It is great rehab for getting that joint to move!!! I talk to my left ankle all the time- we are pretty tight, ha ha! Since day one on the water, I have been out about 6 times and getting better each time. I went out at Hookipa with a buddy from New Zealand the other day- I didn’t really want to go out there because it was actually firing…. Head high surf and full power 5.0 wind with 3 other guys out???? I thought the world had ended or something- In any case, I did pick off some waves and made some turns and got that adrenaline pumping once again. I was pretty sore the next day but new movement has come since then…. Nothing like water therapy!!!
Life is good without a doubt. I have had an awesome last 6 months even though I was in some serious pain for the majority of that time! If you haven’t been following my career, I have chosen to lay off the pro tour and just be at home more. To fill my days, I have been distributing Gaastra/Tabou for the USA as well as keeping up with the new Shop at Pritchard Windsurfing- oh yeah, and learning how to master the diaper change! I’m getting pretty good, only got peed on a couple times- little man has a good aim! Not only are we selling stuff, we also have a full service gear rental operation going on- all the latest/greatest Gaastra and Tabou/Starboard gear- comes with 100% carbon masts and carbon booms, and all the top notch stuff that Kev and I use! We have been ramping things up and people are getting new and used goods from us almost everyday!!!! The late spring/summer months have been very busy- thanks everybody for all your support! I’m just about ready to get back into doing the private lessons- I have done some lessons from the beach with the video camera and that has worked pretty good. There is nothing like being on the water- I love it! Hope you haven’t fallen asleep after all the blah blah- see ya out there!
Well Maui is setting up for a good winter that is for sure. We have already had a couple swells and it looks like it is going to hit pretty big tomorrow. Could be fun. Yesterday we were already seeing signs of it and it was ok at Hookipa. It had a bit of west in the swell so that makes for some power in the wave. I was going down one wave and I had so much speed, I was like wow, this feels pretty nice.
Come on over, there is pleanty of room on the waves! Matt was out sailing at Hookipa doing some lessons. It was great to have him back out on the water. He wasn't exactly throwing down some big moves but I bet it is just nice to be wet and feel the wind in your sails.
Well the time is now to get ready for your next Vacation. The kids are back to school, the swells are starting to roll in, send us an email for the latest available dates! We are set up and ready to make your vacation more than you have ever dreamed of!
What a dream I am living. I get to sail with Legends.. I am not talking about going down to your local break and sailing with the local hot shot, I am talking about ROBBY NAISH.. That guy is a legend. I grew up dreaming of doing what I do now.. I mean, I dont think I ever dreamed of bottum turning with Robby, but sailing with all the boys.. Today was a legend day... all of the guys that I drempt about being were out on the water. I saw, Jason Prior, Sierra Emory, Rush Randle, Naish, Tebule, Stone, Talma, Simmer, they were all out there. You know it must be good. Erik Adder was on the beach, everyone you have ever seen in the magazine growing up was there.. It was so cool. I felt like a kid again.. I was like, Oh theres Naish Ripping, Rush doing his areals, Josh Stone, Brian Talma... So cool.. Prior was killing it.. The only thing that brings me down a bit is that these guys never sail and then they go out there and just RIP.. I sail everyday and what a life I have. I am so stoked right now!! What a day. What a dream. What a life.
North swell in August!! That was the most fun I have had since Cabo Verde out windsdurfing. That was so much fun! What a treat to be back here and catch the perfect north swell with 4.7 wind, smooth waves and just down the line attack. Plus there was nobody out. Just Naish and me for the first hour with a couple others but we were having so much fun. I caught a wave with him and we must have hit the lip 5 times each! Too much fun. Nice to know how sweet it is to go out after a long summer of jumping and slalom racing. Makes you want to do it forever!! The other thing is it makes you never want to leave.
I love this video. For a windsurfing video this is awesome. I know Branden has a background in photography and it really shows here. Lots of great action, smooth edits and a pleasure to watch. I just wish I was in it!!
I get happy when I get in the magazines... but what really makes me stoked is when I get my photos in the mag!! That is more exciting i think! But the best is when We do a travel story and get my photos and my girls photo published of me!! How cool is that. Anyhow, I am super stoked on the 8 pages in Windsport Mag. Those guys do a great job, and I think they are one of the best mags out there in the world! I love how the do interviews of up and commers, they do cool travel stories, a magazine I can actually read with cool articles in it. And their website is really cool too. Check out www.windsport.com if you get some time. It is a nice one!
Well now that things are settling down from the new arrival it is time to get the end of summer sale going... So here is my list of stuff that needs to get a moving. Some great stuff in there, there is always more, just send me an email to see if we have what you are looking for.
Please find attached Press Release and information regarding the launch of Windsurfer International Magazine - an eco-friendly, free to read monthly page-flip publication.
Thanks in advance for your attention and assistance,
Well I am pretty happy to have the hardest leg of the tour over with. Nearly two months away from home and now finally on my way back home. 15 years living out of my bag and what a ride it has been!
I have mixed feelings about my result. I was happy to pick it up in the last couple days and I really feel like I improved and learned a few things to get going faster in that light wind stuff. The only thing that bothers me is that I didn't find my speed a bit earlier and I blew a couple high wind races by not being on the right size stuff. Chalk it up to expirience and learn from it. I was happy to get my gear tuned up and going well.
For the last two days we had no wind and that is always stressful. We were on the edge and the race crew did a great job by sticking to the minimus and waiting for proper conditions. But this is really hard for the compteitors. We are on hold all day with 15 minute announcements, with your carrer in the hands of the wind.. This is our lively hood and every place counts, every point, every penny, everything! Maybe I put too much pressure on it but I guess my desire to win is unsatisfied when I dont. I know I can do it, I just need to put it together.. Congrats to Antoine, Finian, and Bjorn, they did a good job and worked hard for it.
I managed to move into 3rd overall for the year for the racing which was good for me after starting in 8th this year and slowly ticking away at getting up on the podium for the end of the year!
Now I am off for a couple weeks. We have some new Gaastra Sails to test back at home and other than that, time to get ready to fight for the Sylt Crown.
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