do what makes you happy
by Graham
(Here are some new photos added to the post)
I love this photo of Russ Faurot. The sail looks amazing against the clouds.
Throwing a goiter at the point at Hookipa
Tweaking it a bit differently
And here I tweak one the normal way.
I love back loops lately-- I think they're my new favorite jump.
Today was a good day on the water– medium size waves and good wind. I was back on my dumpster diver quatro quad (repaired after being run over by a tourist) and loving it! The shorter board feels so good in the top turns and even though the board is wider, I feel that I can really project it up the wave in my bottom turns.
I was even working hard on a new move. Well, that’s my excuse for spending an entire hour of my session falling on every single wave. But falling is the only way to learn!
Hookipa was (and has been) ridiculously crowded lately. There must have been 100 people on the water! This means that catching a wave is a -expletive- -expletive-. I didn’t have any run ins, but I saw a bunch of people get into arguments and little tiffs on the water and the beach. One was for a guy snaking another guy and the snaker threw a 360 where the mast almost hit the other guy. That one ended with an argument on the beach. And on another wave, one pro tourist snaked a local and wanted to ride the wave for the photographers (some companies are doing photoshoots now); the local didn’t put up with the tourist’s arrogance and rode wave. This ended with an exchange of words and another blocked wave (with the local blocking the tourist). Really, arrogance like in the latter case shouldn’t be tolerated. Respect is the only rule of the water. Respect for priority, respect for seniority, respect for ability, respect for locals, respect for the fellowship of other windsurfers.
I don’t have any pics yet, but I’ll post them once I do. And until then, here is a fun photo (I can’t wait for foto friday tomorrow!):
Nice picture at the end! The comment makes a lot of sense, I’m happy I like my day job. 100+ surfers is crazy!! Btw, in recent photos you are not wearing a helmet, why is that? I loved it that you protect your head.
Thanks Lucas! I still have my helmets and I still wear one regularly, but over the last few weeks, I’ve been experimenting without it to see if my performance is better without the added weight on my head. Plus, the wind has been light lately, so the helmet has not been as needed for protection. As soon as it’s windy, the helmet will most definitely be on. I feel really comfortable in a helmet, especially for jumping. So, you’ll see helmet photos soon too.