I've Decided to Switch to Kiteboarding

Hey guys,

I know this is going to come as a surprise to many of you but I just have to come clean. After much careful consideration, I've decided to sell all my windsurfing gear and make the switch to kiting. While I was in La Ventana, I met a whole bunch of really cool kiters and took a few lessons and found it to actually be a lot more fun than I have had windsurfing in years. I bought a 12 and 8 meter kite while I was down there along with a board and it's a big reason why I've been blogging so little about windsurfing lately.

So this is also going to be my last post as the Human Catapult. I really appreciate all the support and all of the close friends I've made through the years windsurfing. It really has been great, and I'll hopefully be able to swing by and say "hi" now and again.

I did start a new kiting blog, so if you want to keep up with me check it out.

Good winds to all,

Aaron, the artist formerly known as the "Human Catapult".

The Most Fun Windsurfing Video, maybe ever...

So the windsurfing season is underway here in the SF bay. I'm starting to get a little more dialed in and on schedule with getting out now, which is great.


Last Sunday was an awesome 3.8 day at 3rd avenue. Pretty amazing! During the week I got out to Candlestick once or twice and Crissy a couple times. I really need to try to document this stuff. Saturday was great sailing late, but I had other plans... Sunday was really nice 4.7 (many on smaller) at Coyote point. I tried out a boom-mounted cam but I only managed to grab a few frames... I need to figure that thing out...

Looks like everyone in the blogosphere is getting breeze this time of year... cheers!

Crissy, I'm sorry! Take me back! I still looove yooooouuuu!!!

My last 3 sessions of windsurfing have been super fun laid back days at Crissy Field.

Perfectly powered 5.3 conditions, smooth sections of water, occasionally nice ramps. Sun. Happy beach goers. Such a great scene. Nice ebbs, no worries of getting home.

Crissy, I hope you can forgive me for my previous negative posts and comments. Yes, I still think you're beautiful. Yes, you tempt me like no other. And I know that when I break beneath that chilly exterior, the reward of your love will be unmatched. I promise to be more patient with you if you promise to be more patient with me. I'm so drawn to you, I feel like it's almost meant to be.

Er uh... where was I?



Hope everyone gets some this weekend! (wind)

Half-assed footage from Baja

Hey folks,

I finally threw some of the video I took in Baja into iMovie and stuck it all together. Just some freestyle video from Wyatt and Tyson. Toward the end I started getting very cold from filming in the water, so you can see the camera shaking like hell! In any case, there is an easter egg at the very end if you manage to hold your lunch for that long...

aaron

I'm a bad blogger

I know, I haven't written about Mexico yet. I suck. I've been very busy since I've gotten home and just haven't had the time or creative juices to get it done... I'll do it eventually!!!

Today I sailed 3rd Avenue on a 4.2 and 86L board. Slightly overpowered at times in the channel, which boasted the biggest swell I've ever seen at 3rd. I believe the ebb was 5+ knots... some occasional sets that were like big brown school buses trudging across the bay. Very cool.

I guess it was kinda cold, but I got away without gloves or boots and a 5/4... The sun was showing bright which I think helped quite a bit.

Regarding Ballenas

Hola!

I felt as though something needed to be posted about the drink of choice for wind-travelers on the Baja Peninsula. It is a beverage called a "Ballena" which is 32 ounces of glorious Pacifico beer. It also is environmentally friendly since you bring back your old bottle(s) and exchange them for new ones when you buy them. I'll not say how many of these I've drank thus far on this trip, but I will say that these beers have been very, very good to me.

Salud!

The first few days...

I'm not going to write much poetry about this trip until it's completed because there is a lot to say about the beauty, the culture, and the desirable lifestyle of La Ventana and the Baja Peninsula. So for now, I'll just report on things that have happened. I've been extremely fortunate to have met some really awesome people down here. I've mainly been hanging out with windsurfing royalty down here; Namely Wyatt Miller and Tyson Poor. Those guys and their friends have been super friendly and we've shared a "few" beers and some great stories.

On my first day, I had a 5.5/95L session that was pretty fun. The water condition here was like laid-back bay conditions. The period of the chop and swell is a little longer and the wind is maybe a little steadier. It was a fun warm up day. By strange coincidence there was a huge party that night called "Burning Bush" which was a miniature version of burning man. The crowd was about half gringos and half chicanos. Things were being lit on fire in every direction with flame throwers, there was live music, and delicious food. It was a really fun event that's put on every year by a couple guys who normally sail in the Sacramento River Delta.

The second day the wind was too light to windsurf, so I ended up going to a real Mexican cockfight. I'm not going to post much about this because PETA will most assuredly find my blog and try to take me down, but I will say it was neat to experience a slice of real Mexico. The locals there were also really friendly and willing to take my money with their superior knowledge of razor-wielding poultry.

Yesterday was supposed to be very light wind, but I ended up sailing a 5.8 for a few hours, should-have-been 5.0 for the last hour. I was way juiced up and I must have planed out of 10-15 jibes. It was sooo much fun.

No windsurfing pics -- I've only been windsurfing when it's windy!