surfing and wave sailing

WOW Olaf:

Super cool link ;)

I took a quick look but I don't have time to really peruse the site right now.
There are some great vid's there. I like the 'Fred and Laird' vid. I remember those early daze of speed training/trials. Big Fred would train at Ma'alaea. In the beginning the theory was the bigger the sail the faster you'd go. History proved that to be fallacy. Regardless, BITD Fred would sail this humongous sails and hang on.

I also got a kick out of the '80's boards' vid. I did not even take time to watch it I just saw the tail of a wave board with a 'Tinkler Tail'. Just the one image triggered an 80's Maui Flashback ;)

I'll never forget the first time I bumped into Naish. It was in a little cafe' in front of Hank's '360' flop house. The cafe' was called 'La Vie en Rose'. Classic brush with fame. I looked at the guy and thought 'Jeez he isn't very big'. Funny how our heroes, Gods and Demi Gods always seem like they should be 6'2".

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"sail 4.1, board 68 ltrs, wind 40mph + = 2 stinkin windy 2 b out on the ocean!"

4.1 square meters is equal to 44.13 square feet <-- just had to do that for myself.
Well I don't know how much you weigh. I weigh around 160lbs wet. For me my fav' sail for a good windy day on Maui (22 - 28kts) was my 44 sq' sail. I would imagine you were radically over powered if it was blowing 40mph. Blow'n 40? I have sailed in mid 30's with total fun but I was sailing on my ice sail which was about a 3.0 mtr or about 32 sq'.

In the vid it does not look nearly that windy but...
There is never a look upwind. At a little over 30kts you start to get those bad arse streaks coming down line. I don't know how to explain the look of them but if you've ever been on the water when it's blowing hard enough you know what I mean. I love it when you on the water and rigged light'n right, (be it on a sailboard or sail boat) when it's blowing hard enough to start to generate 'sea smoke'! Not fun if you over powered, then it's merely survival.

Next time you get to sail in that kind of breeze and video it, get shots up and down wind ;)

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Masonville's signature bottom turn:
He was/is a big guy. He would sail with a pretty good size sail even for his weight. He would drop and as he initiated his bottom turn he would just lay the rig down really low (often dragging/skimming leeward side of the boom set). Part of his style was to also rake the rig way, way back.
Another major part of his style was... as he started to drive off down wind instead of sheeting out (as is natural reaction of a sail boat sailor) he would do the opposite. He would way over trim and rake way back. This does two cool things errr actually three cool things for you when trying to really stomp an over powered bottom turn. 1. it got the rig way out of the way. Behind the sailors view of the lip and 'line of projection'. No need for squinting through foggy, vinal window material. Just look right up, direct view, into the jaws of the beast at hand. 2. The technique effectively completely de-powers the rig by bringing it into a stall just before getting back winded. However, at large wave, bottom turn speeds you are travelling predominately on apparent not true wind. So although a boat sailor might fear getting the old slammer from a back winded, 'flying gibe', it virtually can't happen on a rig that is sailing on mostly apparent wind, be it sail board or ice sailing. 3. Raking the rig way back puts the mast head back around or even behind the skeg. The board tends to want to spin around the mast tip of the de-powered rig. Much the same as that feeling you get after you lay down the rig and have fully initiated/committed to a 'duck gibe.
(if that makes sense^^^ ?, hard to explain well in simple text.)

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"Didn't Masonville refuse to wear a harness ?"
Yes I had forgot about that.
I am not sure why? But I think it was for a couple of reasons.
1. the dude was mega strong and I think he felt he put a lot more power into his moves when he was not coming in and out of the harness.
2. I know he quit sailing because of back problems. The back issues may have started before sailing from football or some other sport IDK. But this I do know... sailing waves in a 'butt bag' or seat harness sucks when you have to swim fast for a rig. Sailing in a waist harness is very hard on the lower back.
To this day if I have I hang dog, or have to hold a 'dogger' for any amount of time then the next day my lower back will be really sore. I think it is from years of sailing and wearing nothing but a skimpy waist harness. I say this because the soreness is right where the top of my sailing harness was. Sailing sloppy water or at high speed with nothing but an old school waist harness (regardless of using a spreader bar) is really tough on the outside, lower back.

"Didn't he also give up sailing and start a church? "
No not entirely true.
Craig used to have his construction shop up at Pauwela cannery. His retail shop 'Hytech' was right next to (uphill side of) 'Mana Foods'. Masonvillle lived in a quonset hut at the back of the drive way between the retail shop and the little parking area across from Hank's 360. Any body remember 'Joe Kuell' (yes pronounced Joe cool)... the Lawyer turned wind surf bum that lived upstairs above the Hytech retail shop?

Any way, Craig was/is a devote Christian and started a church of sorts. He would hold services in the quonset hut evenings and Sundays. I do not think that he gave up sailing to do the church. Rather I recall is more like as he faded from sailing due to his back problems it just gave him more time to put attention/energy into his church.

Damn... what's the name of the guy that owned/owns Mana Foods ?

I get such a kick out of this vid:

Short Boards

In the start of the vid all those cars with boards that turn the corner...
I remember most of them. The last one looks like KenMarc's Old Dodge ;)

What a howl though 'eh ?
Short boards... sure but it starts off with short boards but before Fred and Mike started chopping sail foot deminsions and boom lenghts down. That's some vintage shit there man ;)

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Oh yeah:
"Ed" that's the name of the founder of Mana Foods ;)

Hey Olaf do you know who KenMark is?
(Kenneth Mark Levy, the artist)
I would really love to get contact info for him if that is possible?

Another Great post trundlebum, Karen edited that video to look like it was casual but the fact is that most of what she shot was of me getting launched, blowing jibes, getting slammed and generally getting my ass kicked!
Joe Cool is a friend of mine and has left Maui and lives in San Francisco/Baja. He no longer windsurfs but sails boats and kites a lot these days.

I am getting so stoked about the Pistol River Wave Bash! The compition will be fun but the tribal gathering is what really excites me. Along with all my old friends from the Pistol River area there is a vast groupe of Maui sailors attending including Robby Nash,Josh Stone, Francisco Goya,Keven and Matt Pritchard, Sean Aiken,Jake Miller, Kieth Taboul to name a few.
My buddy Mark Johnstone is playing one of the night with his band Wave Train and is also competing. Mark is the piano player for the Mic Fleetwood Blues Band.
Check out the web site at
wavebash.weebly.com/index.html
Also Dana Millers site has some great stuff on the area as well
boardheadinternational.com/
I haven't sailed in a wet suit in a decade. I pit my 5/4/3/w,hood on the other day and BOY did it feel strange! I think it might have shrunk a bit since I used it as well!
epicsessions.tv/pistolriver…

So cool you were the only one out!!!!! Good luck at Pistol

Olaf Mitchell wrote:http://vimeo.com/12438056

Ha Ha! That's hysterical!

Check out our event! @ boardseekermag.com/features…

Damn it was good summer north shore wave sailing today!
It's been good for week now and we sure did need it!

Like they say...
A picture is worth a thousand words.

But I don't think 10k words would do that kind of power justice!

Derric and I worked together on the "Tow In world Cup" at Jaws(that footage became part of the Billabong Odyssey) and three separate "Red Bull King of the Air" events. He was also a life guard at Wyamia and is accredited in saving many a strong surfer. He Buzzy and Laird were the first to tow into really big waves. Derric is true Surf Royalty in my opinion!
youtube.com/watch?v=l8_38LH…
Hey Olaf,
Yup this amazing shot keeps on popping up and I think it's the most widely watched shot online.
It was shot by Pete Fuzard in Super18 from the helo.
I was shooting from the spot you built me and ran thru twenty 400' film mags (80 minutes) that day, the most I ever shot in one day, ever.
I begged Pete to let me do the helo shooting since I had already done almost 200 hours in the past but he was the director and it was his call.
It was Pete's very first time of using the Tyler Mount in a helo and he friggin nailed it!
The shot of Parsons is jaw dropping and will live as one of the best ever.
That was an amazing day we all had courtesy of the Brazilians.
I just ran into Ricardo Fonseca, the Brazilian producer of that event here in Santa Barbara.
He was visiting a rich Brazilian surfer who is a mutual acquaintance and Ricardo came over to my house and visited.
He still has a surfing TV show in Brazil.
Hows the Maui life for you?
Cheers,
Greg

Greg Huglin
Santa Barbara

O M G!!!!!!!!!! that is some insane shit!!!

That is an amazing photo.
Isn't there a video of Laird riding that break?

I love the name 'Teahupoo'
I assume (using hawaiian word meanings)...
It means Te=the, Ahu=alter, Po'o=head

"The Head Alter"
phew... heavy !

"Hoh Mahn...
Yer Gunna Die!"

No body gets out of here alive John! I think ?