Saturday, May 28, 2011

pawel smosna KILLING IT

As promised, here is the footage from Thursday's big day at Greenwood.  Paul, was killing it.  So glad I put the camera on his rig!  Great sailing, Paul!

anticipation

Except for getting a new board, not much beats the anticipation of packing up for a day on the water.  I love the process of loading the van with all the gear, the excitement building as you organize and gather everything.  My favorite thing about this shot, though?  It's that tiny wetsuit hanging there on the left.
My four-year-old daughter Tizzy is as stoked for spring as any of us.  She couldn't wait to pull on her suit and get out on the lake last weekend.
She's comfortable going pretty far from shore, too.  This is one of my favorite things about stand up... it's a great way to introduce kids to the water.
"Look, Mom, no hands!"  Tizzy is ready to rock.  The next wavy day, I'll paddle her into a few and see how she does.  What an awesome parenting experience, sharing the freedom and adventure of the water with your kids.  One more reason this is going to be a great summer.  But enough blogging for now... have to go out and load the van... Tomorrow it's back to the beach.
But before I go, a long overdue THANK YOU to my wife and lead staff photographer, Kim, for all her support and her talent behind the lens.  You're the best, Kim!

Friday, May 27, 2011

BIG day at greenwood

Yesterday we had a BIG day at Greenwood Avenue Beach in Evanston.  It had been blowing thirty knots plus all night and the swell was gnarly.  This is me working up the courage to push out into that mess... Waves were breaking out as far as the eye could see.
Well, I did manage to get out, but I was so overpowered on 4.6 (my smallest sail) that I didn't put on much of a show... But it was still super fun to be out in these conditions.  Mother Nature in all her glory... what a great adventure!
Fortunately, Paul showed up and showed off, staying out for over two hours in the frigid conditions and entertaining us all with huge airs, forwards, back loops, waveriding and even a bit of freestyle in the surf.
Here he is mid-forward...
... And launching into a back loop.  A big THANK YOU to Rich Sidell for shooting these photos.  To see the full photo album from yesterday's session, click here.  I also mounted the GoPro camera on Paul's boom for a while, so I'll get some video footage up in the next day or so. 

We've got a nice looking weekend coming up... warm and sunny... I'll see you all out there!

Monday, May 23, 2011

technical difficulties

Sorry, but this post is more about what you're missing than what you're getting.  After an epic day yesterday I loaded the girls, the gear, and some snacks and we all headed to the beach today.  It was a second day of perfection... 85 degrees, sunny with those fluffy midwest clouds, windy.  I was all set to have a great time and capture it all on film.
 Unfortunately, the GoPro had a different agenda in mind.  After these three shots it took while I was adjusting the settings, it decided to refrain from any further effort. 
I dropped into the 50 degree water several times to try and make the thing work, even regaling the contraption with some colorful language, but to no avail.  I was really bummed, because it was a west wind, which means you're sailing right into the Chicago skyline and it's an amazing view that most people don't often get to see.  I'll try to capture it for you soon...  More wind and waves coming later this week, so get ready!  See you on the water.

what a day!!!

Finally, some decent weather!  We've been having a cold, rainy spring and I think I can speak for everyone when I say, it's getting on our nerves.  Today we scored a taste of summer with temps in the 80's and a strong Southwest wind.  I'm celebrating by pulling a double... An early morning SUP session on the river followed by windsurfing in the afternoon.

The weather wasn't the only reason I was amped up today... I was pretty excited about taking  my new race board out for a first paddle.  More about that later, though.  First, here's thirty seconds of bliss from the afternoon windsurfing session...

Saturday, May 21, 2011

wavesailing action

Sorry I haven't posted... been busy with a project that you'll all be hearing about soon.  In the meantime, here are a couple shots of the wave sailing action from last weekend.


This is local sailor Alfonso Segreti getting some action on a cold and windy spring day.  I love the colors in these shots... the gray-brown water with that surreal blue sky... classic Lake Michigan.

The shorebreak was pretty decent, so you could sneak in a couple bottom turns and pretend you were at Lanes before you headed back out into the soup.  Man, it's exciting to be through with winter.  So much fun to look forward to this summer...

Friday, May 13, 2011

battle of the paddle


This weekend the annual Battle of the Paddle, the biggest SUP race in the world, will be run at the famous Waikiki Beach.  Fortunately for those of us who can't be there, the whole event will be broadcast live on the web at the Battle of the Paddle website



The website isn't clear on broadcast times, so I'm going to tune in late morning (remember, Hawaii is 4 hours behind us) and see what's happening.  I hope to at least catch some of the action.


In the meantime, we've got a bit of action of our own brewing.  Look at this BEAUTIFUL iWindsurf page... that is a lot of wind and waves coming our way! It's going to be a great weekend!  See you out there.

Sunday, May 8, 2011

the promiseland

For any waterman, Maui is the ultimate destination and an experience bordering on religious. Longtime blog reader (we're talking a good couple of weeks now) and first time contributor Ed Coyne sent me this photo from his recent trip to the valley isle.


Maui has the best conditions in the world so all the pros train there, and since the training ground is the ocean and everyone has access, it's not uncommon to find yourself sharing a wave or session with a pro athlete.  Tell me what other sport offers that?  Imagine if you could just walk on to the court and shoot some hoops with Derrick Rose on any given day.  Pretty cool.  Ed took this shot of legendary waterman Laird Hamilton SUP surfing the giant wave at Pe'ahi known as Jaws.  Click on it for a closer view.

Sounds like I'm a real Maui expert, doesn't it?  Well the truth is, I've never been there.  I've been to some amazing spots to windsurf - the Columbia River Gorge, Cape Hatteras and Baja Mexico to name a few - but I've been saving Maui for a special occasion, and this year is it.  I'll be making the pilgrimage in October and needless to say, I am SUPER excited (check my sidebar... I'm counting the seconds).  But this still begs the question, how do I know so much about Maui?  Well, dear reader, there is this fantastic new invention I've recently discovered called the 'internet'.  I'm sure it's just a fad, but while it lasts it will sure be fun, just like the parachute pants I wore every day of seventh grade.

 If you search around this so-called 'internet' you can find lots of content about Maui and all the action happening there and it can be really inspiring, like this shot of Francisco Porcella launching a HUGE air.  So, to keep us fueled for our own adventures, I thought that once in a while I'd feature a blog that I follow so you can check it out.


This post's featured blog is www.mauisurfreport.blogspot.com.  Blog author Giampaolo Cammarota is a dedicated waterman himself, but when he's not on the water he's snapping photos of all the action going on around him, like this shot of Ben Severne's wave 360.  Whether you're looking for inspiration, info on travel to Maui, or just want to escape for a few minutes during your lunch break, GP's blog is great, so check it out!

Sunday, May 1, 2011

opening day session report


It was looking windy yesterday so we got into work early, got all the cooking done and high-tailed it to the beach... Just in time for the wind to pretty much die.  Oh well.  I snuck in a quick session on the remaining gusts and it felt great to be out on the water.  The mottled sky of low clouds and the winter-grey water gave the lake an eerie feeling... check it out.



This time of year is traditionally pretty windy, so we'll be keeping a close eye on the weather for more windsurfing days.  In the meantime, SUP training is in full swing.  More on that soon...