Aloha Classic Live

Some awesome sailing in Maui can't wait to be there in a few months.

Press play to watch live competition

Tweets by @windsurfingtour

Day 1 Replay

Waddell AWT Contest

While a giant SW swell didn't hit the west coast the same time the pros descended on Waddell there was plenty of wind and ramps for them to show off their skills. Because of the less than mast high conditions this year I mostly sailed rather than spectate. I had a great session sailing Shotguns even though it was very crowded at times and learned a lot about the other breaks at Waddell while exploring the area.

Shotguns
In mostly small 2-3 ft and occasional 5-6 ft NW swell Waddell was not up to its full potential but I found Shotguns to be an easy wave that breaks slow enough to get a few turns on if you are lucky. There are plenty of bigger peaks breaking further out in other areas but nothing was as consistent and user friendly as Shotguns. Because the sand has filled in nicely the couple times a wiped out were not a big deal. The one draw back is there seems to be a small wind shadow on the inside that can get you in trouble and makes it hard to get speed if you are looking to hit ramps on the way out.

Parking Lot
The Parking Lot sailing area was off limits because of the competition and I suspect it was the best place for jumping that day.

The Hole
There were some big sets coming in here that completely closed out most of the time. I launched from here and watched a fellow windsurfer get wrecked by a wave a narrowly escaped. The few rides I took were either small one hitters or a big guy that started to close out as soon as I got the courage to go for the lip and I put the pedal down and ran from the explosion of whitewater every time. I am sure a good sailor could make it work but I doubt anyone could hit the lip more than twice.

View Waddell Creek Area in a larger map

Here are some pics a friend was nice enough to take while rigging.

Some video highlights of the event.

Waddell Waves, Redwoods & Waterfalls

You could spend a lifetime driving a VW bus up and down highway 1 finding different waves to ride each day, many people have. There must be 100 hidden secrets between Pacifica and Santa Cruz alone. A couple weeks ago we checked out the American Windsurfing Tour (AWT) at the legendary Waddell Creek. All of the pros came from Maui and the spectacle of talent on the water was amazing.

Just across the street from the wind and waves of the ocean, Waddell Creek winds its way past the largest Redwoods south of the Golden Gate.

Follow the river far enough and you will find a 90ft waterfall.

AWT Maui Makani Classic

The American Windsurfing Tour (AWT) has evolved into something special this year. The tour was organized and supported by other windsurfers and kept the grass-root feel that windsurfing in America embodies. Choosing spots like Waddell CA, Pistol River OR and Cape Hatteras NC the tour showed that North America has some of the best conditions the world has to offer. The AWT has exposed many shortcomings of the PWA tour that has a European focus. The AWT has brought back a feeling of pride to the North American windsurfer and has squashed the idea that Europe has the best conditions and sailors.

The last stop on the AWT is Hawaii which makes perfect sense. I think the last windsurfing competition in Hawaii was in 2006. Why the windsurfing mecca has not had a windsurfing competition in 5 years is a mystery to me. Even though most windsurfers in America probably don't relish at the idea of organized competition I think this is a great step for the sport and something all windsurfers in America should embrace.

Check out the competition live!

Competition over live feed deleted to avoid annoying ads.