Hello from Columbia Gorge,
Sophie and I decided to get away from the NW fall rain/cold so we escaped to Maui for a bit. It was really fun to stay right near the North Shore beach (Spreckelsville) and windsurf mostly at Kanaha and a bit of Ho’okipa.

What is really cool in Maui is that you just bump into and meet some of the sports legends. David Ezzy foils at Kanaha almost every day and is always willing to stop by and give advice and pointers on rigging Ezzy sails. Francisco Goya and Yarden Meir were on the waves at Ho’okipa and after their session they were extremely helpful and willing to spend an hour with us to talk about board setup tips. Jason Polakow and Robby Swift were at Kanaha pulling off big jumps and at least one double forward loop at Kanaha while we were on the water. Sophie’s highlight was meeting Sarah Houser at Ho’okipa, and chatting with her for half an hour.

Very fun trip and very good wind for late fall – which can be iffy some years. Wave windsurfing is definitely another dimension, it’s all about learning to read the water to find the best incoming swell, then slowing down for the wave, timing your turns down the wave, and learning to climb back upwind while getting through the breaking waves to get another ride.

PS…and brush up on the wave etiquette to have a happy day. Honestly, all the locals and pros were very friendly and fun to talk with and offered good local advice. Many wing foilers, lots of kiters, lots of windsurfers on fins, and few on windsurfing foils.