Wyatt & Tyson's La Ventana/Baja Report

[wyattmiller]

Windy EVERY SINGLE DAY. I think we are waaay past the 2 week mark of straight wind. The thermals are defying all the measly forecasts. Last two days were 5.0 by 11:00 easy.

Had some great slalom races about a week ago and once again the windsurfers dominated the kiters.

Also had some great tow-in windsurf sessions in the early AM behind our lady the Ruby Brigiette.

Check out the shots.

[hahn2]

Guess I timed it right as the wind ranged from great to epic every day during my stay. I guess one day of rest was too much to ask for! Thanks Wyatt and Tyson for an awesome experience in La Ventana. Lots of firsts for me this trip including popping my ATV cherry, sand surfing and nailing tacks (thanks Tyson! Guess I'm not too old to learn something new afterall). Also thanks to your folks for the nice Christmas dinner and their hospitality in general! Looking forward to the next time! Keep up the good work!

[PoorBoyUS22]

Sorry guys. Been off here for a while. been suuuper busy for the last two weeks with the Lord of the Wind as well as the La Ventana Classic. Here is a little update with some pics. Stoked on the results from the Pro Windsurf LV crew!!! (video to come soon of Wyatt's 2nd place Course racing dance)

Just got finished with the first two contest in North America for 2012. The first contest was the Lord Of The Wind Showdown in Baja, Mexico. It is a 4 day long contest with Slalom, Course and Freestyle windsurfing, as well as a long distance race between the kiters and windsurfers. The first day we had good wind for an 8 buoy slalom course that was very very tight! Jibes were the key in this course. I was using my Neil Pryde 7.8 and JP 68. This combination seem to be working very well for me, ending up with four 1st place finishes on day one.

Day two was a bit lighter, having to put up a 8.6 for the one slalom race that was held in the morning. I ended up winning this race, firmly securing 1st place for the slalom.

Two hours later, they put us straight into course racing. Everyone was doing the course racing on their slalom kit, making it a bit more even. We ran a two lap course in lighter 8.6 winds. I ended up winning every one of these races, including one where I gave the rest of the fleet a 1:30 second head start.

Day three, good friend and fellow JP/Neil Pryde team member Bryan Metcalf-Perez and I entertained the crowd with some no wind/choppy water tow-in. Bryan was killing it throwing down some clean double air funnels as well as a sick on handed burner. I tried to match him with a air funnel 540, but was unable to pull it out in the end. Both Bryan and I really hoping for the wind to come up so we could hold the freestyle competition, but it never did, leaving the freestyle undecided.

The final day was the 3 mile upwind/downwind race against the kiters, winner takes all. The only way we were going to have a chance was if it got really windy. None of us had the proper gear to match the kiters in the 12 knot wind. Overall the kiters were good sports, knowing that it would not be a contest. There were a couple that were talking smack, and we knew we would have our chance to redeem ourselves the following week at the La Ventana Classic 11.5 mile Island Crossing.

We had a three day break before getting up at 6am to load our gear onto the fishing boats and motor over to the island. You are allowed to bring one board and two sails. Forecast looked lighter, so I brought my JP 68 and my Neil Pryde 7.0 and 7.8. We were racing against 5 of the top kite racers in the world, as well as the fastest kiter in the world, Rob Douglas. I knew in the lighter winds that it was going to be hard to put enough distance in front of the kiters before the 1.5 mile straight downwind leg.

The race started with some good conditions for the 7.8 and my JP 68. I started putting as much distance in front of the kites as possible because I know their downwind angles and speed are amazing. By the time I hit the upwind mark, I had put about 400 meters in front of the first kiter behind me. I knew this wasn't a safe amount because the wind was really really light on the other side, not allowing me to reach very far off the wind with speed. I managed to jibe at the perfect time to hit the downwind mark, for a straight line to the finish. John Heineken had made up some serious ground on the downwind leg, making the finish an exciting one. I beat him by only 5 feet at the finish. It was a great race, and it felt good to take it back for the windsurfers!

Stoked on my results and really looking forward to the next contests!

[NickB]

Congrats!

It was really exciting to be able to see you guys (and gals) race live on day 1 of LOTW through EpicSessions TV.

[eswan]

Geat finish on the crossing race for the windsurfers, but you didn't report that you also schooled the kiters at Lucha Libre wrestling.

Windsurfers vs Kiters in, Greased Pig Catching, Tyson scored another
victory.

Hey, maybe you could score another sponser..?? Oscar Meyer or Spam??

[PoorBoyUS22]

Check out the latest and greatest in La Ventana!!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mopEph0CPPo

[MrFish]

Good thing I look at the photos here every once in a while...or I'd have no idea what the kid was doing on light days...cool..