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| A trip highlight: Windsurfing with Kevin Pritchard in the Pro/Am |
Jennifer and I woke up too early to catch our direct flight down to San Diego. After settling into our hotel we headed to Balboa Park for lunch and to check out a few of the museums. I hadn't been to that famous park in my 5 past visits to San Diego. It is very cool. And wow the city has changed since my first visit in 2006. A quick afternoon refesh in the hotel and we walked to Spike Africa's for a fresh fish dinner.
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| Enjoying San Diego |
Jose picked us up from our hotel in the Gaslamp district and took us to brown Field for our small aircraft flight to Baja. Jen even got to take the controls for part of the flight which was a first. We landed in time for lunch and Jen got the Solosports camp tour. I did a short SUP session in the unusually calm afternoon wind - which was actually wafting in from the south at times. We had delicious seafood tacos for dinner and headed to our 'luxurious' two person tent.
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| Ready to fly! |
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| Good times on the plane |
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| Approaching Solosports camp |
Our first full day in camp and it was pretty mellow. After the first skippers meeting and introductions, the fleet was put on hold. Jen and I went for a 4.5 km hike before lunch. In the afternoon we SUPped and got to know more of our fellow guests. An international crowd was in camp as usual. Dinner was roast pork which made for a full pork day with bacon with eggs for breakfast and hot dogs for lunch.
Monday Aug 1
While the event was on hold for the morning, Jen and I went for a quick 7.5km bike ride up Dad's trail to the badlands. After lunch the first heats were called for 3:30. We rigged and slogged down to the point. I actually sailed a SUP down in the light wind but then used the RRD Free Wave 108 that I sailed so often last year.
I was against JP in my first masters heat. I caught the first wave just as my new watch beeped to say the heat was starting. I rode it pretty well and did 6-10 turns deep into the Chili Bowl. I think Joey caught that ride with the drone. Nice to have one of my two waves already on the scoreboard, but it took me around 5 minutes to get out of the breaking waves.
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| Finding the waves! |
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| The judges' tent |
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| Action! |
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| Down the line! |
After a few futile small waves I caught my second good long wave close to the end of the heat and rode it satisfyingly to score my second of two waves. We all slogged back upwind and bruised a few ankles landing in the powerful shore break and reflecting waves during high tide. Sadly Jeff lost his gear at the point and while he salvaged the board the rig wasn't claimed till the next day. It was all a little intense but not as intimidating as I remember.
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| Jeff's broken gear! |
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| Joey's drone catching the action from above |
Carl Baja Drone Waves from Canadian Guy on Vimeo.
Camp had quite a bit more energy as people were talking about their first rides. I checked the rankings and JP had beat me but I still felt good about how I had sailed, especially my first wave. It's clear in the video I was having fun. We had delicious steak for dinner and headed to the tent.
Seeing the photos from the AWT Blog, it is evident from the photos why JP won!
http://americanwindsurfingtour.com/day-two-contest-up-and-running/
Tuesday Aug 2
After a hearty pancake breakfast the skippers meeting predicted a solid day for the amateurs and masters. Indeed I sailed three heats. I was on the 5.7 Elite and RRD 108.
I caught a good number of waves in each 18 minute heat and rode a few deep into the Chili Bowl. My transitions were pretty solid including a planing tack. I didn't win any of the heats, coming in 2nd or 3rd each time. So I was satisfied with how I sailed but didn't advance into any finals.
After a delicious fish dinner and nice conversations we headed to bed early again.
Here's the Day 3 AWT blog post
http://americanwindsurfingtour.com/another-day-at-the-punta/
Wednesday Aug 3
Mmm, omelets with salsa. And then off to the water for a SUP session with my wife. Jen used the whopper XL 10ft, 36in 208l and I was on a starboard 9ft 33in 149l which I found easier than I expected.
Jen caught her first SUP wave ever and had a great smile as she tried for a few more. I caught 4 waves and felt more confident than I've ever been on a SUP.
Then it was time for lunch and down to the contest area. We watched the amateur and master finals and the first pro heats. Jen and I worked the flags and got to overhear what the judges were looking for. We had been sheltered by the wind in the judges tent but it got chilly by the end of the session and on our walk back to camp.
I went for a late afternoon mountain bike ride to get warm and then enjoyed getting the dust off my skin in the 1 gallon shower we are allocated. Delicious salmon was on call for dinner.
Thursday August 4
Jen and I started the day with a nice 8.5 km hike. The best trail was Dammit Jim, which definitely looked like a location from a Star Trek episode.
After lunch I had a great SUP sailing session. I had the waves all to myself as everyone else was down at the point. I didn't even fall in for 40 minutes. The SUP heads out through the breaking waves very well. Jen was on shore reading and keeping an eye on my smiles every time I rode a wave into shore.
Around 4pm we headed down to watch the final heats of the event. The pros, grandmasters, youth and women were putting on a great show whenever a set of waves came through.
The camp was the most lively it's been all week. Ribs for dinner and then some Fußball with Joey and Quinn showing me and Jeff how to win. Off to bed feeling happy for the AWT getting another event scored.
Friday August 5
Jen and I had a quick morning SUP session. I got 6 nice waves and then missed around a dozen which was frustrating. But real fun was just around the corner after lunch.
The Pro-Am part of the event was announced with 9 Amateurs being paired with 9 Pros. The names were drawn and I was to sail with Kevin Pritchard! We talked a bit of strategy while rigging virtually identical looking gear. We were in the third heat of 3 pairs of sailors.
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| Getting ready for my Pro/Am heat with Kevin Pritchard |
The goal of the Pro-Am was for the best shared waves. Same 18 minute heat duration. We headed out and I just tried to shadow World Champion KP. He was in charge of wave selection, so I turned and started heading back in whenever he gave the signal that he liked the wave coming to us from the outside.
As planned, on the first wave KP followed me and tried to mimic my rhythm. On the second wave he and I alternated top and bottom turns. And on our third wave I sailed left while KP came close and put his foot on the front of my board and he 'waterskied' the two boards. We cheered, waved and then went on to slash the rest of the wave. What an absolute riot!
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| The crowd watching the Pro/Am from the cliff |
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| Kevin waterskiing on the front of my board |
Sharing Waves with a Pro from Canadian Guy on Vimeo.
I wasn't as solid in the second heat and got crushed by two really big waves. We tried the same trick riding each other's boards but it didn't work as well as the first heat. Oh well, we had fun.
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| Kevin and me celebrating our great rides! |
The awards ceremony after dinner was fun and Jeff wowed the crowd by winning both the masters and amateur. His age was just one year larger than the 3 other amateur finalists combined.
Fireworks and a bonfire capped off a super fun day and excellent competition week.
Saturday Aug 6
Right after breakfast Jen and I headed out for a SUP sailing session. But the wind was offshore and light and neither of us got going. Jen made the most of it by using the SUP as a surfboard and grinned as she got up a couple of times. I went for a last mountain bike ride before our delicious chicken soup lunch.
Then we said our good-byes to all our new friends and boarded the small plane for San Diego. I really don't know why it took so long to suggest that my wife come with me, it was a great week to share together.
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| Ready for the ride home after a great week in Baja. |
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