Author Archive
Jimmie’s Jumpfest
We just got an early season swell here on Maui. It was small, but quite fun.
It just so happened that Jimmie Hepp was hosting a photo contest for best jump at the same time. It was a 3-day event which I was only able to attend once, but I got the biggest wave day. It was cool to see a lot of people out on the water going for it. Voting for the best picture is taking place at www.windsurfingmag.com, so go check it out and vote if you haven’t already. I’m number 5 in the Pro category. Here are a few pictures from that day at Hookipa. I was using my OES Quad 72L and Ezzy Panther 4.7.
Middle two photos by Jeff Bennett at www.mauiwindsurfing.net.
See ya on the water,
Russ
Trip Report II
So, with the conclusion of the contest, we had a good time at the closing party. There were free drinks and lots of prizes for the competitors. I scored a sweet new wetsuit from O’neill, which will definitely be put to good use. Having a good wetsuit makes all the difference in the world when it comes to cold water.
Here’s an Ezzy team shot from the party. Unfortunately we missed Jesse Brown for the photo op. Let’s just say we were all having a good time, and the hand sign was supposed to be an E for Ezzy.
Photo from left: Sven Esslinger, Russ Faurot, Sam Bittner, and Diego Femenias
Next Sailing Stop; The Gorge!
With limited time, I was only able to get a few days in before flying back to Maui. I managed to score a nuclear 3.7 day at the Hatchery over the 4th of July weekend. That was really fun, and quite intense. Control is always an issue when it’s blowing 40kts! There were plenty ramps to be had, and lots of rolling swells to carve.
I didn’t get any pictures from the Hatchery that day, but here are a few from a more mellow Mosier session with family. I was sailing with my Dad and girlfriend, while my Mom took a few photos.
That’s Sam in close (http://sambittner.blogspot.com/), My dad in blue, and I’m leading the way in green. We all love the Ezzy’s Panthers!
All in all it was a great trip, and I even got to see the Windsurfing Movie II premier. It’s an awesome flick, and everyone should see it when it’s fully released.
Trip Report
Time for a trip report. On the second week of June, I left Maui for the Oregon Coast. I headed straight for Pistol River, site of the newly revived Wave Bash contest, and scored some epic conditions. In the days prior to the contest, we were rewarded with blasting 3.5 winds and mast high swell. It was a great way to warm up for the event.
photo by
Trudy Lary <trudylary@gmail.com>
Conditions backed off a little for the beginning of the comp., but I still sailed with my 3.7 Ezzy and 72L OES Quad fin on the first day. Throughout the 4-day window, we received a mixed bag of conditions, ranging from 3.7 powered to 5.0 underpowered, and waist to overhead waves. I was knocked out on the first day in my first heat, which was disappointing. Fortunately, we ran a double elimination format, and I had a chance to climb back through the ranks in the second bracket. I ended up climbing to a reasonable 15th place position out of 32 competitors in the Expert division. I felt like I could have done better, but that should provide some good motivation for next year. Let the training begin!
Photo by Kevin Pritchard
Photo by Linda Reed
Check the videos produced by Kevin Pritchard chronicling each day’s events.
Pistol River Wave Bash Day 1 from Kevin Pritchard on Vimeo.
Pistol River Day 2 from Kevin Pritchard on Vimeo.
Day 3 Pistol River Wave Bash from Kevin Pritchard on Vimeo.
Pistol River.. The Super Final from Kevin Pritchard on Vimeo.
Trip Report:
To be continued…
Moroccan Mag
While I am not the feature piece in this shot, I still thought is was worthy to post here. It’s an article about Boujmaa, and I am sailing in front of the wave that he took off on. The picture was taken during the Ho’okipa Jump-off.
Here are a couple more pictures from the Jump-off. I am looking forward to the next one which was just announced by Epic Sessions, to coincide with the upcoming Pistol River Wave Bash. Check out all the details at www.pistolriverwavebash.com and www.epicsession.tv.
Pics by Joe Foster.
Spring/Summer Transition
Maui seems to be switching gears toward summer conditions. I am sure we still have a few North Swells to come, but the trend is seemingly less waves and more wind. It’s good because you get more days on the water, and bad because wavesailing is what I like to do most. Fortunately there are plenty of jumping spots on Maui, and with plenty of wind, you can go very high off of small ramps.
Today was one where the waves were inconsistent, but still fun. I sailed a few North Shore spots and scored some decent waveriding and jumping. Ho’okipa was the best spot with gusty 4.2 wind and steep head high waves to be ridden.
Shot taken by Kevin Pritchard at Ho’okipa recently.
The Jump Contest
Many of you may have seen or heard about the jump contest that went on in Maui recently. I had the privilege to take part in this event. I had some pretty tough competition, going up against some of the top pros in windsurfing. Conditions could not have been better for the contest. We had sustained 40 mph winds and mast high waves rolling in at Ho’okipa. Check out the video to see the insanity, that we called a jump contest. I finished with a respectable 30 foot back-loop, but that wasn’t even close to what Levi Siver did. He won the comp. with a landed 50+ foot back-loop. Boujmaa was going nuts too, with a huge stock air and his recently invented move, the Blackshot.
Here are a few pictures from the day of the jump contest. I went out for a run on my 4.2, and after two reaches decided to go with the 3.7 for the jump-off. My board was a little big at 75L, so I thought that with a smaller sail, I would have more control in the air. It definitely helped with the control, but I think I suffered some height going with the small sail. Check out these pics taken by Eric Sinclair during my 4.2 practice run.
Maui
Wind and waves. What more can you ask for? Maui has continued to offer outstanding conditions. The winter swells haven’t slowed down too much, and the spring/summer winds have started to kick in. I sailed 4.2 today with head high waves. It was small compared to what was here the last few days. Check Giampaolo’s blog to see some pictures of Kanaha a couple days ago.
I found this video on beachtelegraph.com, but it was originally posted by Rille here. The video is long, but it’s good. Check it out, and you’ll see my brief appearance around the 17 minute mark.
Finally, here are a couple pictures of me on a recent big wave day at Kuau. Thanks to Kate and her blog for providing the shots.
Great Shots By Dave Baker
Maui has been a good place to be lately if you are a windsurfer. It has been blowing all day and night for at least a week now. The forecast is for more of the same and there is another big swell coming for early next week. It’s nice to see this weather pattern, because the last couple months were not very windy at all. Hope it continues!
Here are two shots taken by Dave Baker. He is an amazing photographer and always comes out with some really quality pics.
Before the Tsunami
This morning I was woken up on Maui’s North Shore with sirens blaring at 6AM. I checked the news and it said there was a Tsunami on the way, generated by a massive earthquake in Chile measuring 8.8 on the Richter scale. Thankfully, the Tidal Waves were rather small, and nothing serious came of it on the Hawaiian islands.
Yesterday, I rode giant waves that were much bigger than the Tsunami. My estimate from the biggest one that I caught would be double mast high! Conditions were very difficult with the wind blowing nearly straight offshore, and most of the waves were closing out across the reef. I was lucky to get out and catch a few before I got cleaned up by a big set. I had a long swim for my gear while I ducked mast high white water. Fortunately when I tracked my gear down, it was unscathed. I was pretty tired, but I wanted to catch one more. I tried and tried for about 30 minutes to get back out doing chicken jibe after chicken jibe, when the waves finally opened up to let me through.
Giampaolo stopped by and took a couple pictures of my efforts. You can check out all of his shots on his blog at www.mauisurfreport.blogspot.com. Check ‘em out and see the size waves we were out in. I was glad to return to the beach without any broken pieces, myself or my gear. Not everyone was so lucky. My friend Art broke a mast and tore his sail, but he made it back in safely. That was one crazy session.
Thanks again Giampaolo for taking these shots.
A Good Day
I just had one of those days that makes you feel very thankful to be a windsurfer on Maui. The forecast was for no wind, and there was an advisory level swell on the way. My expectations for windsurfing were low.
I had work in the morning from 10-2 and the wind started to build by mid-day. When I got to the beach after work, I was welcomed with an uncrowded break and mast high waves peeling across the reef. The wind was blowing perfect side-shore at about 15-20mph. This was just enough to make it out with my 5.0 and 75L board. I sailed for over 3 hours, catching wave after wave. It was an epic day, considering I didn’t even expect to sail.
One of the first waves I had was a big one that peeled for what seemed like, forever. I probably got 6 or 7 solid bottom turns before kicking out to catch the next one. It was one of those days where you could just pick and choose any wave you wanted. On my last wave, I went for an aerial on a big one, and shot up to clear the breaking section. I landed in transition going down the face of the wave. Unfortunately, upon landing, my back foot came out of the strap and I was riding with only one foot connected to the board. I rode it out for a second, but decided it was better to bail, than to risk reinjuring my foot. I dove off and got tumbled for a bit. I had a short swim, but it was well worth it.
Check out these pics that Steve Hamman sent me. The shots are from a recent session I had with fun sized waves. Thanks Steve.
