I was looking through the blog and realizing I had been posting a lot about wavesailing. I guess those sessions are more memorable or I feel like they're more worthy of posting than freestyle sessions. I don't really consider myself much of a wavesailor, I actually prefer freestyle, but I guess wavesailing sessions feel like more of an event.
Anyway these are some pictures from a recent FREESTYLE session a large group of us shared at Candlestick. It was super fun, I even sailed away from a couple body drags for the first time. Always wanted to do that one (it took something like 20-40 attempts, I wasn't really counting or really focused on it).
Top Caption: Mike Z from New York turns hard -- he tells people this blog motivated him to move to the bay area. Seems like it's working out well for him.
Leonard Nimoy, doin' his thang.
Jacob getting serious about coming full circle on the spock.
Asma and Sofy on Mauisails? They must read the blog.
Can you name this crash? (all who sail with me are disqualified)
I'm off to Florida for a wedding this weekend and I'm bringing gear. Looking forward to light wind freestyle in boardshorts!
7 comments:
NYer's want to know what is Mike Z.'s blog called? Link?
i don't think Mike Z has a blog
Hey Tom and rathokan, true I don't have a blog. But what Aaron wrote about me ("he tells people this blog motivated him to move to the bay area") is ENTIRELY true.
If you want to be convinced that this is the best place to windsurf and live start reading Aaron's blog at the month of June 2008.
If you want the story about me and this blog read on. It was September of 2008, I was living in Rochester, NY, I was in graduate school and therefore have a very open schedule, and I sailed with these guys http://www.rochesterwindsports.com/
I had just started attempting to fall on my face while maybe thinking about attempting to jibe. The windsurfing addiction level was beginning rise to dangerous levels. Then a friend asked if I would like to go to Hatteras the last two weeks of October. I go. We score 12 out of 14 really freaking awesome days of wind.
In the middle of the Hatteras trip I started having a quarter life crisis about where I'm going to live when I graduate (late summer 2009). I had to windsurf. I had to sail 5.0. I had to get lots sessions all the time since that is the only thing I want to do with myself. Maui? South Africa? Morocco? Cabo Verde? ... Exciting, but they were all way too far away from friends and family. And how was I going to get there? I start thinking that I should just move to Hatteras and clean vacation houses ...
Then my friend says, "There is this kid named Aaron that just moved to San Francisco. He writes a blog about being catapulted.... Looks like he is having fun."
I find his blog and start not reading but studying the entries. During the summer of 2008 Aaron sailed all the popular local spots and he wrote about them.
Start reading here:
http://humancatapult.blogspot.com/2008_06_01_archive.html
You also got the feeling that this guy was sailing a huge amount.
The rest is history. I applied for a job and got it. Then I graduated and by October 2009 I had arrived in San Francisco. I'd have to say that everything about Aaron's blog is totally realistic. He isn't sugar coating anything. The conditions are very very good, the sailors are very very good, it is a really fun place to live, and you will definitely be doing yourself a favor by moving here.
- mike Z
Aaron, how were you sailing 4.7 that day? And you were trying that new move you are trying. I was on 4.4 and totally overpowered in survival jibe only mode.
Hey Mike -- was on 4.7 which was perfect early, not so perfect later! I was definitely OP'd for the 2nd half of the session, but on the inside there was a nice hole to go into to work on port freestyle.
I sail candlestick a ton, so I've gotten used to big gusts... I miss them when I sail places like Berkeley!
THIS blog, not HIS blog... My bad. Great story MikeyZ. I live in Syracuse and have been toying with the idea of that same move you made. Nice!
Hey Tom, Syracuse cool! I was born in Rome and my parents and extended family live there. I was raised mostly in Potsdam, and got my schooling in Rochester (as you know).
If you don't have anything too serious tying you down I'd definitely move here. If you want to windsurf you can't beat it. I almost never get skunked and the conditions are outstanding. Are you a finger lakes sailor or great lakes sailor?
I'm told the season here is longer than the one in the gorge and depending on how you set yourself up with where you live and work you will sail a lot. Aaron, for example, has set himself up perfectly - he drives past a number of good launches on his daily commute and he gets out of work early.
Post a Comment