Spring is Here?!

If yesterday didn't feel like a spring day, then I'm a pro windsurfer.

It was awesome. Well sorta. It was flooding pretty much everywhere so I ended up at Candlestick on a 4.7/97L combo. Lots of friends showed up to play in the warm air and cool water. I have been working on some new tricks, the kind that take a very, very long time to learn. I'll get into more detail on that one of these days. I've sailed 3 days in the last two weeks, which is pretty darn good, all things considered. This winter I think I've gotten about 5 planing windsurfing sessions, 15 LOS surfing sessions (Lay On Stomach), and 6 snowboarding sessions in Tahoe (snowy this year).

There is a lot of chatter about what "el niño" will mean to the West coast wind scene. Lots and lots of nay-sayers claiming it's going to be an awful wind season, but I guess we'll just have to wait and see. Who knows, maybe it will be even better and longer?

FAIL!!!

I hate to be gone from the blogosphere for a few months, only to come back to complain, but well...that's what's happening.

Winter windsurfing in the bay area is all about timing. I've been fortunate enough to snatch a few sessions this month mixed in with weekend trips to the mountains, but it's all about luck. Luck and information, that is. You have to be able to know where it's blowing and when it's picking up in order to score any sessions at all. I'm not one to throw any company under the bus, it's not really my style. That said, the amount of outage iwindsurf.com has had this year has been nothing short of ridiculous.

I have no problem spending $100 a year to access these wind meters, nevermind the questionable in-season human forecasts (oh really? It's gonna probably blow 18-25 in July here???). But if I'm paying for them, I want to be able to see the readings. Like, all the time.

I understand if a wind meter somewhere breaks and it takes a few days, or even a week to fix (although 3rd avenue was down for like a month last summer, and it probably serves 1000 windsurfers), but errors that appear to be involved with the ISP or hosting are simply unacceptable.

Apologies for the diatribe, just needed to get some whinesurfing off my chest here.

It's freakin' Maui, alright?

I've been back from Maui for a week now, and still haven't been able to muster up a post about it. I can't figure out exactly what I can say about Maui, or how I can offer some insight or perspective about it. It's freakin' Maui. It's this tropical paradise that's a 5 hour flight from anything. The water is transparent and teal blue. Giant sea turtles are all over the place. You cruise over big white UFO shaped pieces of coral. You can sail to a variety of reefs where waves pitch and break, or gently crumble, depending on your cup of tea. These waves often jack up on your starboard broad reach so you can fly through as much airspace as your courage can handle. Point towards a flat part of the wave for distance. Point toward the pitchy part if you want to go straight toward the heavens. No need to think about technique for jumping. Just go fast and target something steep.

It feels like windsurfing on a movie set. Maybe that's because of the ingrained images of chase helicopter shots bearing down on Robby and Laird cruising at Mach 1. Maybe it's because you really feel like you've crossed into another dimension of existence. A dimension with warmer, clearer, water. Organized waves bombard all shores a few at a time, but take breaks so you can paddle out to surf them. Unrelenting wind that just finished a 2,000 mile journey fills your sail, accelerating at the finish line stretched across Haleakala and Mauna Kahalawai, Maui's towering twin volcanic mountains.

It's freakin' Maui. Windsurfers talk about it all the time, mostly complimentary, with some squeaky wheels who love to point out so-called shortcomings. The conditions are just like what they look like in the pictures. The weather changes more than you've heard. There's more to do there than you've heard. The locals are nicer than you've heard.

It's mecca for us. If you haven't been there, go. Don't let anyone tell you it's not worth it. If you feel so compelled, face west and pray toward it. If not, hitch a ride on your own one hundred fifty ton interdimensional flying steel tube, sit for several hours and see for yourself.

It's freakin' Maui.





Here are some pictures, since I know that's all most blog browsers look at. I have an addiction to hemorrhoid medicine. See? I'm not afraid to admit that because I know that no one actually reads windsurfing blogs. You're just here for the pictures.

This was a SUP race put on by Naish called the "doggy paddle" for obvious reasons. I drove down to check it out on a windless morning, and it 'twas rather fun.


A sample of what the conditions look like, with blur, at the spot we sailed at Kanaha beach state park. This was a windy day, 4.2 for me. We got a few of these and that really help us learn a lot about which boards ride big vs. small and are controllable overpowered. That's huge for most people because we can't all afford to also have a 70 liter board for nuking conditions.

Windsurfing babe Sierra returned for the 2nd year. She and a few other Mauians helped out with the test, which is very fortunate, since it takes a lot of work riding a ton of boards when one could be going out there just to ride and have fun for yourself.

Ultra-friendly financial guy Canadian Carl Speiss also returned. He's wearing his "I looped today!" smile because I believe this was his first day hucking them. He says I had something to do with inspiring him to go for it, but I think people mainly are telling me that because they say "damnit Aaron sucks, I can do it if he can!" Which is just dandy by me.


I sometimes see some exotic things going on with windsurfing gear in the bay, but if you really wanna see some crazy stuff, check out the beach at Kanaha. Windsurfing tinkerers are everywhere, but Maui has got to be the most concentrated place for these types.

My really great friend Dave Harrell, who flies for American Airlines.

I'm always skeptical when meeting windsurfing legends about what they're really going to be like as people. Francisco Goya is one of the coolest and most friendly people you will ever share a slice of pizza with. Write that down.

The last windy day, and I went back to my old devices. I had a pretty nice Starboard loop attempt on a gusty 23-35 day... went to waterstart, and just was too lazy to get planing before hooking in. Results above, and actually more painful than it looks.



Even better than going to Maui is enjoying it with good friends. Jake helped with the video work and Russel Faurot guest tested from the pro's perspective despite a dinged up ankle. Silly good times are what it's all about, to me.

Lefty Gomez must have been Thinking of Me

...when he said "I'd rather be lucky than good".

Tomorrow I'm leaving for Maui for the 2nd consecutive year to help with the Windsurfing Magazine High-Wind* Board Test. It's a lot of fun, as you would imagine, but it's also a LOT of work.

I'll do my best to make updates -- the short term forecast is for very light wind. Maybe I'll get some surfing practice in and work on my sloggability ratings for the test boards...

September 29th, 2009 - The Exclamation Point

There has been a sense I've been getting of the windsurfing season winding down this month. The common wisdom in the bay area is that if there was a date to pack your gear up for the winter, it's Oct 1st. Normally as that date approaches, sessions are fewer, further between, and a grade less windy than our normal sessions. Think 5.3 or 5.7 instead of the usual 4.2 to 5.0 days. Then mother nature giggles at our hopeless understanding of her and we got one of those fronts yesterday that felt EXACTLY like a really strong spring cold front.

The best place in the bay, from my experience, to catch a big NW is 3rd avenue. The shipping channel isn't too too far, and the water surface gets BIIIIG out there. Estimations for yesterdays' swell size have ranged from head high (from a local gorge snob) to mast high, or double box car high (from a 3rd channel first timer). Another 3rd avenue vet claimed it was the best he's seen in 18 years of windsurfing the spot.

I don't think there is a picture or video out there of really big swell in 3rd avenue. I think only the people who have been out there have any idea what it's like. I considered for a minute taking my waterproof camcorder out there, but there was no way I could sail out there one handed. Even if I strapped it to my arm, I would have been scared sitting in the middle of the chaos out there, just because people were flying all over the place and it's really really easy to lose track of where the other sailors are. It would have been begging to get landed on.

Bay sailors get a lot of grief for their love of "flat water", but let me tell you, the SF Bay can be anything but flat on some days.

What to do while you're injured...

I've been only windsurfing once or twice a week for the last month or so due to a nagging shoulder injury. I've been going to physical therapy a couple times a week to strengthen my left shoulder in preparation for Maui, but my windsurfing days have been very laid back and short. It's a major bummer to be injured at the end of the season, right as I was getting a hold of the forward loop, but I'm finding other ways to distract myself.

When someone is injured, it's really easy to disappear into the abyss of Matlock marathons and competitive eating... but the best thing to do is get out and hold the camera for your friends. Here's a video I put together from a bunch of sessions at Candlestick this month. Late in the season the wind gets lighter and flukier and only a handful of spots work on a regular basis. Candlestick is one of the only spots that works on warm late-season days, so you'll find a healthy crowd there when everything else has more or less shut down. Like every good thing, seasons must come to an end, so it's best to look at each late-season session as a gift. October and November are usually the lowest wind months before our winter storms come through.

September Sessions from Aaron Vieira on Vimeo.

**In this video, I captured Sofy going for a move called the "Toad", which is akin to a clew-first forward, and Kevin grabbing his first on film shakas, and leche (aka switch stance kono). He's been doing those tricks for a year, but no one has been holding the camera. It's awesome to get to sail with skilled freestylers so much, and it's been a huge reason that I've been able to make so much progress this year.

ppps. For the record... "squishing" people is far from being my original concept... for a good laugh: I CRUSH YOUR HEAD

Feels like losing your virginity... without the guilt and awkwardness...

There are a lot of highs in windsurfing, which is ultimately why we windsurf. We are substances abusers just like any crack head. The primary difference is that the source of our sensations isn't a dirty meth lab or the jungle of a 3rd world country. The source of our drug is within us. It probably looks like little drops of fluid being released from tiny glands hidden in different parts of our skulls that feeds a rush of feeling through the soluble contents of our bodies. It's a feeling we call "stoke" and it unites us as windsurfers.

Just like they say, there is nothing like your first high. Most people can distinctly remember their first day planing. If you've ever planed out of a jibe, you will completely remember that feeling, too. Two of my friends recently completed some very impressive firsts. Juan learned to do a spock 540 and Asma learned the grubby. I captured them doing so last Friday at Candlestick Park.






Jacob, aka "Lofty" lent me his camera to snap these photo sequences, then went the extra mile spending his time stitching the pictures together... outstanding work.

Also, he put together a goofy little clip from the same day of some true "buttsailing":