2015 Aloha Classic Wrap Up

A decent jump from my 3rd heat in the competition

What a great AWT / PWA event. Highlights for me included:

• watching the pros in epic huge conditions, 
• didn't break anything in my 3 heats, 
• actually competing against legends like Brian Talma,
• tacking in front of some big waves and riding them back in!
• some great free sailing sessions,
• hanging out with friends
• having my wife watch me and take pictures

I definitely achieved my goals. Here's a 5 picture .gif sequence of a decent jump (but not the best by far.)

Below are the details so I can re-read it all when I do it again in a few years:

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Oct 27 - My wife and I arrived in Maui, dropped off our luggage at the house and headed directly to pick up my rental gear.

The massive waves that greeted the first day of competition at Ho'okipa

We stopped at Ho'okipa to check out the massive conditions but there wasn't a soul out sailing or surfing. The enormous waves were coming in and closing out completely.

Then it was off to Pe'ahi to watch the waves coming in at Jaws. Everyone had left the water by then, but it was still awesome to see the power of that wave - even if it looks small from up on the cliff without anyone riding it.

Paia is such a cool town. We wandered around and then checked in at the event registration at Paia Bay Coffee. It was fun to run into so many people from past events this year. Dinner brought back memories at the Paia Fish Market restaurant.

The Hawaiian blessing ceremony

Oct 28 - We got to the beach for the 9am parade of 31 nations and Hawaiian blessing. First day of competition and it was pretty clear that the amateurs were not going to be sent out. The conditions were even bigger than the day before. We watched from the rocks as the trials started for the last few of the 48 openings in the men's pro contest. There were likely a half dozen rigs destroyed on the rocks and many amazing rescues - the wind was light and the waves massive making it so tough to get out. Dinner was romantic with my wife at Mama's - a classic Maui north shore destination.

Oct 29 - The second day of competition saw the first pro elimination completed. The pro windsurfers were continuing to show their skill in the huge waves but light winds. Morgan Noireaux impressed with an involuntary forward 360 into the wave that he sailed out of - and then went on to win the single elimination. It is amazing that Robby Naish is still windsurfing so well and clearly enjoying it. We ended the day with a nice dinner and then drinks with friends at Charley's Restaurant and Saloon.

Oct 30 - We knew that the amateurs were released so it was a great morning to catch up on some work emails and then head into Kahalui. We had the livestream running over the speakers in the car as the windsurfing competition was super exciting. After lunch we headed to Ho'okipa to watch the competition from the cliffs until the last heats were called. A nice swim with my wife at Sugar Cove and then dinner and a movie at the apartment.

Oct 31 - I was a little worried that this would be the day that the amateurs get sent out. I hadn't been in the water yet and the wind was predicted to be light. But the men's double elimination continued with the morning wind being better than expected.

After a lunch from the food truck there we headed back and I rigged up at Sugar Cove to try out my gear for the first time. Small world, Matt Pritchard was there with his wife and kids who were enjoying the beach and he watched me rig up his rental gear! The wind wasn't enough to plane when I went out but I really wanted to get wet. However, the wind completely died on my second tack out and I did low wind waterstarts and slowly uphauled my way back to shore. My walk back upwind along the shore was almost as far as I sailed!

We marvelled at the huge Halloween party that was happening on the street near us as we headed into Paia for a quiet dinner.

Nov 1 - Another morning at the Ho'okipa event site with the Amateurs and Masters released to make room for the women and men's competition. The youth were also on and were very impressive. We shopped and had lunch in Paia and had a lazy afternoon. I'm starting to hope that second half of our trip will bring me more opportunity to windsurf!

Nov 2 - Official Lay Day. There was no competition scheduled to give everyone a break and wait for bigger waves and more wind. We packed up our suitcases in the morning after a nice 5k walk along the beach. Then off to Ho'okipa for a quick warm up sail. It was a ton of fun being out on the water and knowing so many of the sailors.  I swear 15 of the 30 windsurfers were people I now know to some degree. Even Kauli Seadi seems to remember me from Cap Verde. Then off to Wailea to move into our other friend's house!

Nov 3 - Another official Lay Day. We drove over to Ho'okipa for another warm up session. I was starting to feel comfortable getting in and out of the shore break and finding the occasional wave. I was one of the first out on the water and was done 45 minutes later. Did some shopping in Paia and made it back in time for happy hour at Tommy Bahama's.

Nov 4 - My first Amateur heat - the best heat of my life? I sailed out in the transition one heat before mine so I was in perfect position upwind for the start and was so relaxed I had actually been chatting with Sarah Quita while sailing around before the heat.

I landed a jump in my first minutes of my first heat:
the first official jump of the event!

Hit a jump in the first minute of the heat on my first time heading back out (they began counting jumps in heat 9 of this event - my first heat). So technically I had the first jump scored of the 2015 Aloha classic! Then 3 solid wave rides with one off the lip redirect in the white-water. Still came in 4th so I didn't advance against Talma and Aguera which is not a surprise at all.

Didn't spend too much time swimming when I did wipe out. Didn't break my gear on the rocks. And got back nicely power and stepped onto the beach with a huge smile on my face. Felt very competent for being at Ho'okipa my 7th time ever.

Same schedule again tomorrow for the Masters division. Dinner was at Sorrento's on the beach.

Brian Talma and me heading out into a wall of water

I competed against Brian Talma - a pro whose autograph I got 20 years ago!

Rain squalls at the beginning of my 1st Master's heat

Nov 5 - Masters. The conditions were a bit extreme with squalls coming through Ho'okipa all morning. I wasn't as comfortable due to a huge rain squall right at the beginning of my heat. I had to sail with my left eye closed it was that intense!

I wound up 3rd of 4, losing to master Patrick Bergeron who has been a sponsored Sailworks windsurfer for years and again to Hawaiian Greg Aguera. I did feel that my windsurfing and wave selection were ok and felt good about the heat. But 3rd means I didn't advance and my day was over. Great light dinner at the Monkey Pod.

Feeling good about my windsurfing effort

Waiting for results - who will sail again in the contest?
Not me - 3rd out of 4...

Nov 6 - Masters double elimination. Two competitors weren't there for our scheduled heat so fellow Canadian Roman and I advanced automatically. My 3rd actual heat saw me competing with Simian and Roman. Finally some sailors who were realistic competitors for my ability. I felt I sailed well and even got a few jumps in (although they weren't being counted!). I had one nice jump which Jen caught (we made it into the .gif at the top of this blog entry) and I felt I got a second one which was even better right on the next wave which she missed - while she was reviewing the nice first jump! Local photographer Jimmie Hepp captured that one even though I was a bit sideways.

I caught a few waves, even tacking right in front of a good one and riding it back in. That felt awesome. I came in 3rd with one of the 3 judges actually having me in 2nd. It felt good to be out there and feeling competent.

Heading out behind a good windsurfer

My 2nd jump of the day caught by local photographer Jimmie Hepp

I'm done - and happy.

Hiking the Haleakala crater

Nov 7 - With the pros scheduled for the full day we decided to drive up to Haleakala. It was great listening to the event live stream while ascending to 10,000 feet. After a tiring 5k hike in the thin air we drove back down and went to the Goya party in the evening.







Nov 8 - Sailed Kanaha for the first time. Jen even went out for a quick 4.7 back and forth session. Proud of her for that - the conditions were definitely not friendly to intermediates.

I was lit on the 5.3 for 2 hours until the wind died after a rain shower. I really didn't need to bring the 116 wave board all the way here, the 106 Tabou I rented has been perfect for me every day.

For dinner we headed to the 4
Seasons and celebrated our 29 years together. Wow.

My last session. At Sprecks riding some great waves.

Nov 9 - Last windsurf session, this time at Sprecklesville. Sailed the 4.7 on the 106 and had a blast for an hour until the wind dropped. Got some great air, on one jump I sheeted in while airborne and lifted myself even higher. What a rush!  Of course the go-pro was full and had stopped recording. We'll see if I ever edit video from that.

Dropped in on some nice waves and then tacked in front of a monster and rode it all the way to the beach in the dying wind. So fun. I returned the gear to Matt and said thanks. Last nice dinner with my friend and Jen and then ready for a day of packing.

Nov 10 - Departure day. We packed up, returned the rental car and headed to the Awards dinner. So many new friends in the room. What an amazing event.

Getting ready for Maui AWT

I'm excited that my wife is joining me for my 6th AWT event.

Aloha Classic 2015

I went to my first AWT event in Maui in 2013 with some good windsurfing buddies.

I then made more friends in Cape Verde and Santa Cruz and was thrilled to bring 4 family members to Baja and my sister to Hatteras.

My 116 litre Fanatic freewave board is packed in case the wind is light. I'm flying Westjet since Air Canada doesn't allow windsurfing boards (or anything over 200 cm).

We're staying with windsurfing friends for the first week on the north shore, and then we'll stay with my Canadian university buddy in Wailea the second week.

I was asked what my goals are for the event. Very simple:

• To have a great vacation with my wife.
• To catch 2 waves in each of my 4 heats, 
• To have one good photo taken of me on a wave at Ho'okipa
• I also want to get in some great sessions on the days when I'm not watching the pros sail. 
• And not get injured.
• If I don't break any gear, that will be a bonus.

Opening night registration is Tuesday Oct 27th!

BIC Astro Rock throwback Sunday

Board speeds in km/h with sail sizes

The wind was subsiding but we still had a few hours left in the forecast by the time we'd finished breakfast. Len decided to join me as he hadn't windsurfed much at all in the last two years. 

We took two boats and way too much gear. But I wanted to try out my old Astro Rock ‎which I haven't used in years. My recollection was that it was a super easy board to ride and jibe. 

We started out with Len on the 7.0 and Techno. I rigged the 6.2 and Skate 108 bit that was not enough board or sail for me. 

My niece Vanessa came out ‎to join us. I was glad she came - and brought even more gear!

Vanessa tried the 6.2 and the Skate 108 and had a few runs and some long cold waterstart attempts. Len gave her the 7.0 and Techno which was working very well in the 12-15 knot wind.

I rigged the 9.0 and the Ray 122 and had a few fast runs but found the ‎setup heavy and tiring. Especially compared to the Skate and 5.4 in twice the wind the day before. 

So I decided to try the Astro Rock. At 125 Litres it is actually bigger than the Ray in volume, but much longer and narrower. It doesn't let you pump it onto a plane like modern boards. I could feel the 6.2 trying to get it going but the board wouldn't pop or release up from the water. The speed progression is much more sow and linear like the Kona.

  

Len showing off!

I put the 6.2 ‎on the Techno 148 so I could compare the early planing ability of both. Sure enough I could get the Techno planing, even with just the 6.2‎.   

I then put the 7.0 on the Techno and found that to be a tie with the 6.2 on the Techno as the most comfortable setup of the day. While the cambered 7.0 V6 doesn't let you pump and pop like the 6.2 Duke , it has more surface area to get going and then goes slightly faster. 

Len starting up nicely

So the winning board of the day was the Techno. Len said it was the best day of windsurfing he's had in the two years he's been in Canada. 

I packed up the gear and put it into storage for the winter. Next windsurfing adventure will be in Maui for the AWT ‎Aloha Classic. 

Vanessa on a good run!

All smiles

The board test

Canadian Thanksgiving Saturday

The wind forecast was solid and I headed out in the late afternoon once the temperature had risen into double digits. The morning low 2c temperature was due to a north wind that nicely switched to southwest and warmed up as expected.

I was on the Fanatic Skate 108 and rigged the 5.4. It was the perfect combination. Only the 2nd time this year that I had enough wind to rig something that small.

My tracks in the SW wind

I didn't try many tricks for the first hour or so as I didn't want to spend too much time in the cold water. When I did fall for the first time around 30 minutes into my session it did give me a head freeze when I got going again and my wet head got even more chilled in the wind.

I had some great wave rides and laughed out loud at a few duck jibes that I made. I was carving some sweet jibes and planing out the other side. There are some smooth arcs in the tracks on the map.

I did try a vulcan and duck tack toward the end of the session - both were fails. But I nailed a nice carving 360 as I returned to shore. A bit cold but a very good session in all.

The wind built in the afternoon as predicted

The wind kept building all night and I fell asleep very soundly.

Air 11c
Water 14c

Time 1:35
Total distance 40.4 km
Max speed, 46.2 km/h

4th in Masters at AWT Hatteras Wave Jam

Opening party at Wind-NC (get it? wind & sea)

It was a fun 17 hour drive from Toronto to Cape Hatteras. The outer banks are known for their variety of windsurfing conditions. Avon, North Carolina is the epicentre of Hatteras windsurfing - flat water on the sound side, and waves on the Atlantic side.

Getting used to the waves - small on the first day

The American Windsurfing Tour's 6th event of the year was being hosted by Wind-NC and the conditions were looking good. I had brought my sister along to share the driving and cheer me on! We had a fun opening party and headed back to our shared house.

Happy to be back after my 1st warm up session

The first day of competition saw us with an 11am meeting in the parking lot. We hitched rides with people who had 4x4s to the competition site on the beach.

I decided to rent a sturdier 6.0 m wave sail as my 6.2 m wasn't designed for rolling in surf. I was excited though to be using the new 116 Free Wave board I purchased earlier in the year and used just once.


Everyone was getting gear ready and dabbling in the waves for the first time. The conditions never materialized with only marginal planing winds and smaller waves. I went out for a quick sail once it started raining and then we were released for the day.

Day two had a early start with 12 amateur heats being run. I came in 3/4 and 2/5 in my two heats. I was not feeling comfortable though in the big waves and gusty offshore conditions. It really felt like survival sailing to me. I wasn't even able to get back to my starting point after each session and had a long walk back upwind each time.

Survived my first day of competition!

But since I could make it out to the waves, and even turn on one or two I did advance anyway as some competitors couldn't get out through the shore break or find a single wave to ride back in. So that meant I would be sailing at least one more amateur heat again.

I then sailed my first heat of masters and was heading back to shore when the postponement flag went up - no one had found a wave in the 13 minutes as the conditions were too light.

In the meantime, the conditions had built up at the lighthouse. So the afternoon call was to move over there and run the pro division. What good call by race director Andy!

Boujmaa's massive wave at the lighthouse - pros only!

On our way to the competition, we stopped for a sandwich and I bumped into a fellow cottager from Georgian Bay who I'd windsurfed with two years ago. Small world.


The shore break for the pros was formidable but the waves were awesome. We cheered on Sherkston, Ontario reef warrior Casey who made his way through the brackets to be in the final.

Kevin with a kiter who ignored the request to
stay out of the contest area and then wiped out!

For the final, it was decided to add 1 jump to the 2 wave rides to be scored. Naturally Boujmaa hit some nice aerials but it was Kevin Pritchard's one footed back loop that scored him the win. (Even after a kiter dropped his lines on Kevin mid-competition.)

Kevin's awesome one footed back loop for the win!

It was a super exciting final and the champion was crowned right there on the beach as the sun came out. A terrific day.

My paparazzi shot with Boujmaa

Masters elimination ladder

Adjusting my rental sail..

Day three of competition saw good waves and wind so we headed back to ramp 55 to complete the other brackets. I was up in the first master heat and headed out still not very comfortable. The waves were bigger and I wound out putting my knee through my sail during a fall in the shore break.

Found one!

My fan club on the right...

Yeah!

I came 3/3 in my first masters' heat, 1/2 in the second so I advanced to the third round in masters.






Next though I had my last amateur heat and came 4/4 against Casey (who the day before came in 4th in the pros - as last year's amateur champ he had a pro wildcard spot) and two other great sailors. I wasn't surprised that I didn't move forward especially since I'd wasted so much energy trying to get out through the shore break.






I was pretty tired but still had one more master's heat to sail. Boujmaa had kindly given me some great tips on getting out through shore break.






So this time I headed out early and got out through it did a long reach and was upwind, rested, and I was on my first wave when the green flag went up. I caught some more waves and even made it back to shore where I started.




My fan club was cheering and my result came in.... 2/4 in round three so I made it into the masters' final!

Formidable conditions...

Heading out through the shore break for the masters' final

I felt comfortable heading out and sailing in the final but I wasn't surprised by my 4/4 end result considering that I was up against Maui long time pro and windsurfing coach Ferdinando Loffreda and two other great windsurf masters.

A nice wave

The best - last wave ride!

The AWT even used this shot of me on my last wave ride on their site (right under the beach group photo) :

The 4 masters finalists....

The results were announced and we celebrated on the sand as the afternoon drew to a close.

Later that night we hosted a pot luck party at our shared house and got to know all the competitors a bit better.

Beach shot!

My sister heading out on the flat sound side

With all the categories completed, Thursday was a day off. I took my sister back to Wind-NC where we rented 145 and 160 l boards for her to try on the sound side. The wind was light and she was super comfortable on the 4.7 while I planed on my 6.2.

The water was very warm and the soft waist deep bottom makes waterstart practice very easy. She sailed for 2.5 hours and even found her way back during a torrential downpour.  A return to Hatteras with a sound side rental house is in order.

Event video...

The rain started coming down in buckets on Friday and was predicted to continue so we headed home a day early - not a bad thing after a successful week.

Thanks to Andy for hosting, to Si Crowther for the great photos, to Sam for organizing, to Russ for posting, to KP, Bouj and the Schettewi boys for inspiring and everyone else for their stoke and comraderie.



Here's the event video - I'm briefly at 2:29...