longboarding with the ladies and a few windsurfing shots

Inspired by this little video by Jason Hall, I took my GoPro out yesterday at Hookipa in a small day.

His surfing is way better than mine, but I got some ladies in my video! The editing of which took me exactly 5 minutes, so excuse me for the lack of uplifting enlightenment.





Well today I didn't feel all that good, so I only sailed like half an hour. That means that I had time to take photos like the good old days. And like the good old days, here's the best ones.

Photo of the day goes to Andres with this beautiful aerial in the sunset light.

Uncle Robby turned 50 yesterday and Facebook was full of annoying happy birthday messages. Nothing personal Robby, they bug me also (and specially) when they are for me.
So, sorry Uncle, but you're not getting one from me... I wish you happy any day though!
Despite that huge, polluting truck you just got!

This is what I'm talking about.

Browsinho was in fine form.

This swell was generated pretty close to the islands and the Maui Buoy read about 5f 13s from 340. This photo shows a head high wave (Keith in front) and a logo high one (Kevin on the back) ,but there were actually some mast high ones too.
Very consistent due to the relatively short travel distance.

As many know, Kai Katchadourian is not only a great sailor but also a phenomenal drummer.

What I didn't know is that he actually won the official WFD (World Fastest Drummer) in 2003 with 909 beats per minute. Here's a photo of him claiming that trophy back then.



Back to Browsinho.

Always good to Sean out there.

Browsinho.

Robby.

Klaas Voget.

There's a Red Bull troupe in Maui to film a documentary about Philip Koster.
For some mysterious reasons, they asked me for an interview. At the end of which, they also asked me to film my declaration that Red Bull could do whatever they wanted with that footage without me claiming anything ever.

Here's what I said:
"I declare that Red Bull can do whatever they want with this interview. But I also declare that I absolutely dislike Red Bull, because it's one of the most extraordinary example of how people can be easily manipulated. In fact, it's a beverage that:
1) sucks (for most people, at least)
2) it's expensive
3) it's very unhealthy
and yet, they sell tons of them because they know how to market it and make it look cool.
It is an example of how fucked up our society is."
I kind of doubt the interview will make the final cut, but you never know...
Anyway, I wanted to point out that the cameraman is hanging halfway out of the 'copter.

Marcelo having a Mark Angulo moment.

Here's my reply to Robby's new truck. A pair of brand new shorts that I didn't strictly, necessarily need. $28 with the employee discount. Should have donated in charity, I know...

BTW, that is the lovely studio in which I lived some of the best years of my life.
Unfortunately, it seems that I have to move out at the end of July. I'll miss that place for many reasons, but mostly because it taught me to live in simplicity. Since there was not much room for stuff, I didn't get much stuff and I realized that most stuff is not really necessary.
Board shack is different.

Please let me know if you know of a similar place for rent. The area I'm interested in is from lower Kuau to upper Kuau. Would prefer downtown Kuau though. Thanks.

Jeff Hernderson interview

In the remote case that someone is still checking this blog, here's a sweet interview with Hot Sails Maui founder Jeff Henderson.

I am lucky enough to have known Jeff for quite a few years now and I can say that he's one of the best guys I've ever met. Sure, I'm supported by his company, but, believe it or not, that has nothing to do with it. He's just a real, true, passionate, innovative guy.
And he absolutely loves windsurfing.

Here's the link to the interview. English version down below.

And now a bit of catching up. Just a bit though.
After an abornormally (or should I say abnoxiously) windy February, March has been so far extremely poor for windsurfing and, as it often is, extremely good for surfing.
Tons of windsurfers have been bummed for the lack of wind (and complaining a lot with me, seen my job as a rental technician at Hi-Tech).
My answer was always the same: "no wind? get a surfboard and go surfing!"

That's what I did and totally loved it. I usually don't like March much, because it's when the spring starts showing up (which means windy and choppy waves), but this one was totally epic... from my point of view.
Now the wind seems to be back (although very light) and all the international sailors that are here for the usual industry photoshoots are going to be put at work (tough one!).
There was no parking today at Hookipa and that's just the start...

Well, I don't like posts withouth photos, so here's a few gopro shots.
This first one is drop at Lanes on a sizey one.

This one is at Kanaha.

And this is Lanes again this afternoon.

Aloha.

little interview with Browsinho

I asked Browsinho a couple of questions yesterday.




For once that I remembered to put my hand around the microphone so that you can finally hear what the person has to say, I still fucked up by filming at very low resolution...
But that would not be a big deal, since it's just an interview, not an action clip.
The real problem is that I had to cut the first minute because it came out at super slow motion... what da?!?!

No big deal either, he was talking about the Storm Chase in Ireland thing which was mostly a commercial operation setup by Red Bull who need to spend a lot of money in marketing in order to sell their dreadful and very unhealth beverages.

The second part of the interview is the most interesting one, instead.
Nothing to sell (other than windsurfing gear, of course), but those guys sail Jaws mostly because:
- they can
- they like to push their limits
- they have fun doing it.

The one above is the most breath taking shot of that backloop off the lip I ask Browsinho about.
The whole sequence was shot by Jimmie Hepp and can be found in this gallery on facebook.
If you're not friend with him, just subscribe to his updates and you'll see windsurfing photos from Hookipa pretty much on a daily basis.
And you should do the same with me (Giampaolo Cammarota is my full name), since I post A LOT more stuff there. Just subscribe if you don't know me and don't friend me please. Thanks.

The brazilian sailor is not new to this kind of performances.
This is a shot I took of another huge backloop off the lip he attempted (and went off the back) on a Kona wind day at Lanes (dec 3).

And this is a table top off the lip he actually perfectly landed that same day which, IMO, was one of the most amazing windsurfing moves I've ever seen.
Let me remind you that:
1) the wind was very offshore, so he had to hit the lip very late in order to be pushed in front of the wave
2) any manouvre off the lip is at least 10 times more difficult than when done sailing out straight towards the incoming waves. Actually that is just a safe guess based on the fact that I once in a while do try a regular table top, but I would never-ever dare trying one off the lip...

Well, what the hell do i know, really...
Here. Looking for those shots, I just ran into this photo of me taken at Kanaha (dec 23) on a really big day (thanks Alex).
Needless to say, even though I did start a bottom turn, I ended up bailing and going straight once I realized how late I was.
Browsinho instead (or any of the top guys) would have gone up there and done something off the lip.



What I'm trying to say is that, despite the fact that I sail Hookipa almost every day, the skill level difference with these guys is nonetheless huge.
The level to which these guys have brought windsurfing in the last few years with all those rotations off the lip and the double jumps is ridicolously high.
I'm just so honored to sail together with them.
When I'm on a wave, I'm just as excited as when I'm done riding the wave and I'm sailing out in the channel and watching them doing their crazy stuff.

As a confirmation of that, here's one my most radical jumps that was caught by Jimmie lately... can you tell the difference? LOL!

Oh yeah, here's the interview! I almost forgot!




PS. Quite timely, as soon as I finished posting this Jake Miller posted his video of that day at Jaws. Unfortunately Browsinho's backloop off the lip is not there...

PPS. Oh wow! I also just learned that Katie "the cutie" McAnena has joined the Hot Sails Maui team!Enough brazilian guys, I can't wait to do a little interview with the most beautiful eyes of the windsurfing world as soon as she gets back to Maui!
Here's the link to the announcement.

Kauli Seadi interview + a bunch of photos

Three times PWA wave world champion Kauli Seadi has joined Hot Sails Maui.

Here's a little interview.



Kauli is an amazing sailor (three times PWA wave world champion) with an incredibly fluid surfing style. I once wrote that he was born "in the pocket".
He's also a very motivated professional. Many years ago I wanted to interview him for Windnews. I called him in the morning of a very rainy and onshore wind day, thinking it would be a good time for it. He answered:"no let's do it another day, I heard there's wind in Kihei... I'm gonna go practice some freestyle".
"Sure no problem, I'll call you tomorrow".
I hung up, looked outside the window in the pouring rain and thought to myself:"are you kidding me?!?"
We eventually made the interview at Hookipa, between sessions.

He's also a very committed tester. I can't remember one single session in which he's not switching boards, fins, sails. He's animated by a strong will for improving his gear and he tries to achieve that restlessly.

That's why I think he's an fantastic "acquisition" for Hot Sails Maui. Jeff Henderson is a good friend of mine and I'm really stoked for him.

Kauli and blog author smile below.

And now a bunch of photos that were waiting on my memory card.
I swear I just wanted to take a photo of Levi, but this lady got in the way.

On January 11 I lucked out into some epic conditions at Hanamanu. It's not a secret spot (that's why I'm posting photos of it), but good luck at getting it as good as I got it that day!
This is Ian Gentil, who is up next in the Volcom Pipe Pro that I'm watching in the other window...

The left at the outside of the bay was going off. I wish I had a SUP board to just paddle there and check out how big those waves were.

Kaleo was surfing the right on his standup.

You can't do that to me and not expect me to sneak a shot without been seen...

Nice nose ride with a beautiful background.

Here's a wide angle view of the bay. The left is on the left and the right is on the right.

The drive is not a bad one.

Jan 13 saw many beautiful ladies sun bathing at Hookipa.

And some serious surfing action!

Now a few GoPro shots. This is Dave Kalama, who that day greeted me in Italian:"buon giorno, come stai?"
What a nice guy and a great surfer!

I'm going to use this sequence to illustrate a very common mistake I see beginner and intermediate surfers doing: looking down on the board in the take off.
BTW, this precise moment is one of my favorites of a whole wave ride. You know you caught the wave and I just love how that push up feels.



Here is where it's the most difficult not to look down, but no matter how stiff you are (and I'm not famous to be extremely flexible), you got to keep that head up and look forward.

 

The steeper the drop, the lower you need to be.


Because, if it turns into a bit of a air drop, you can extend your legs to try to keep contact with your board. Which is exactly what happened here.



Last photo of the sequence. I stuck the drop and I'm now looking down the line and feeling out what line to make.
Remember, the body goes where the head goes. You're looking down, you're going down.

 

Couple of more shots to illustrate what kind of awesome session it was.
I actually had a similar one at Middles two days ago, so I feel like spending a few words about the winter we're having.
Even though I cherish the glassy days more than everything else, this year (so far) we're a perfect  alternation between spells (5 to 10 days) of great surfing and of great windsurfing.

In other words, it's been absolutely epic in my opinion.

Last, and definitely least in this case, here's a little gopro clip that I shot at resolution 1440.
I struggled to play it back on my computer and the quality on youtube is not that good at all.
In other words a lot of pixels are not always a good thing.
The photos above, for example, are taken at 7Mp, which is the lowest res of the GoPro 3 (the other one is 11Mp). They are about 4MB in size and it took forever to upload them here.
It seems to me that camera's technology (more precisely sensors' technology) has advanced more than networks and computers.

I wish they would stop adding pixels (who print photos anymore anyway?!?) and focus more energy towards more useful features. Like the possibility of uploading the photos to the internet directly from regular cameras (not cell phones cameras). Or at least, the possibility of tethering them to a cell phone in order to achieve that.
Anyway, enough Steve Jobs kinda talk, here's the clip.



It's the start of a spell of great windsurfing (at least I hope so), so I'm going to post a couple of photo that Jimmie Hepp took of me lately (look him up on facebook.. he's always shooting at Hookipa).
Here's my magic 4.3 which I now use 95% of times, from super light wind pure slog and surf to up to 25 knots. More than that, I rig my 3.7 Superfreak (also because winds over 25 knots in Maui are always super gusty). Only if the wind is light and has an onshore component, I then rig a bigger sail (4.7).
That's how efficient light sails are. You can get away with way smaller sizes.

Well, let's hope to get this stoked again soon!

the best show on Earth

Since 1970 (I was 7) and up until last Friday, the best thing I have ever seen on tv or internet had clearly been Italy-Germany 4-3 in the semifinal of the world cup in Mexico.




The scoreline should give a pretty good idea of how dramatic that game was.
8' Boninsegna (Ita), 90' Schnellinger (Ger), 94' Müller (Ger), 98' Burnich (Ita), 104' Riva (Ita), 110' Müller (Ger), 111' Rivera (Ita).

Here's the link to the first extra time and here's the link to the second extra time. On those pages you'll find the first and second regular times too if you fancy watching the whole thing.

Well, 42 years after that game, last Friday I watched something I liked better: the final day of the Pipeline Masters.

For the ones not in the know, let me recap a bit what happened.
The ASP is the association of surfing professionals. Here's wikipidia's definition of it.
Their world tour this year was made of 10 contests. Some were the best waves on the planet, some were locations that were just good for the sponsors... doesn't matter. What the best 34 surfers in the world can do on average waves remains extremely fun to watch for me.

The last event is usually at Pipeline, the most famous wave in the world on the north shore of Oahu.
Well, this year Joel Parkinsons and Kelly Slater arrived there both with a chance of sealing the world title. Here's how it unfolded.

Parko got to the quarter finals and was in the lead. If Kelly lost his next heat, Parko would have been the champ.
Kelly advanced to the quarter finals and was in the lead. If Parko lost his next heat, Kelly would have been the champ.
Parko advanced to the semi finals and was in the lead. If Kelly lost his next heat, Parko would have been the champ.
Kelly advanced to the semi finals and was in the lead. If Parko lost his next heat, Kelly would have been the champ.
Parko advanced to the final and was in the lead. If Kelly lost his next heat, Parko would have been the champ.
Kelly lost his semi final against Kerr and Parko won the title.
Only a final between Kelly and Parko would have been even better than that, but if you think about it, it's nonethelss ridicolously amazing/dramatic that it all went down to the semi finals on the last contest of the year.
Here's the page for the heats on demand. The quarter final between Slater and Dorian ended with a score of 18.73 vs 18.2...

Congrats to Parko (in the photo above) who has been on tour for 11 years and often a runner up. He overcame the extreme bad luck of being a professional surfer in the same years of a guy like Kelly Slater.

That Friday, I pretty much spent the whole day at home watching the contest. As soon as Kelly lost, around 3pm, I decided to go to Hookipa and check the conditions... I would have watched the final later on demand.

The same swell that was hitting Pipe was abviously hitting Hookipa too, but the extreme west direction made the wave sailing look quite gnarly. I was about to leave to go sail another spot when I saw John John Florence, Matt Meola and Albee Layer going out at Lanes.
"Fuck it, I'm gonna keep watching for the rest of the day... I can use a day off the water".

So I sat on the rocks with my chair and took photos of both surfers and windsurfers. How's my comfort level? (thanks Sofie)

Here we go. John John upside down... he landed that thing.
Both Jimmie and Sophie and Paul have galleries of the session on FB.

 

John John again. I thought Matt and Albee were the aerial specialists, but JJ did better... no wonder he's top 5 in the world.

A look at the windsurfers. Philippe.

Rudy.

Marcelo. (sorry about the tilted horizon, but I can't be bothered with editing the shots. I don't have any fun editing, I have fun shooting).

Rudy.

A kiter too.

Andres.

Greg Aguera was drawing old school lines with his old school board... he sure looked like he had a blast.

Sorry Albee, that's the only shot I have of you.

Matt.

John John and Matt. You can call them skinny 'cause they have no fat, but they're all muscles.

This lovely rock at low tide illustrates the light of a very low sun.

The same light hits the Hot Sails logo on Andres' sail while he does his upwind stylish move.

One more from Andres.

I'm gonna finish with a note on the conditions we're experiencing.
Apart from the day illustrated here, there has been no ground swells for like 10 days or so.
The reason for that is an extremely strong high pressure that placed itself in the middle of the north Pacific. For example, below is the weather map of this morning.
100 bucks to whoever can see a wave with more than 10 seconds period being generated towards Hawaii.

The other extremely annoying side effect of such high pressure is the strong trades.
The previous post of this blog illustrated a beautiful stretch of 10 days of glassy surf, at the end of which my surfing improved greatly.
Now I haven't paddled out in a week, I probably lost all the improvement and the only "fun" thing I'm doing in the water is to go ride the windswell in the last hour of light on a 3.7 or 4.3 hoping that the gusts will only be 25 instead of 35.
Not my kind of conditions. Fortunately there's some light at the end of the tunnel. Things should change by the end of this week.
Thank god.

PS. As usual, let me remind you guys that IN ADDITION to posting on this blog I also post stuff on Facebook.
Please, don't friend me if you don't know me. Just SUBSCRIBE to my posts and you'll be able to read them and post comments. Thanks.