Wyatt and Tyson’s La Ventana / Baja Report Season 3 and 4

[wyattmiller]

As if wavesailing at Punta Marquez was not a good enough find our wanderlust also brought us to our new secret spot (which after this won’t be so secret anymore). February was cranking on as usual and after about 8 days straight of 5.0 or better and almost 4 months of sailing the same area we were getting a little tired of the same old game and a little beat up. We had not been to El Farro in a long time and figured why not load up the van with windsurf gear and some ballenas and see if it was as windy out there as it was in La Ventana. It takes about 20 minutes to get to El Farro and the tunes were rocking as we pulled up to solid wind and a reef that extended a lot further out than we expected making great jumping waves that did not have you pushed right up against the beach. I hit the water first and as soon as I got far enough off the beach it was perfect back loop ramp after back loop ramp. The rest of the boys quickly took note and we were all hooting and hollering launching them on both sides. Tyson was the first to get curious about the sand point we knew was just a bit further east and downwind. I was having too much fun jumping and was unsure how the wind would be down there but after Tyson was gone for about 20 minutes without sailing back up I figured he had found something he liked. I headed down wind and found Tyson shouting “Its Perfect!!!”. The sand point was stick out upwind of a small bay blocking all the swell. The Sand finger lined up perfectly for a starboard broad reach and dropped off to a few feet right away so you could literally sail by it in butter flat water dragging your hand on the beach. It was some of the flattest water I have ever seen giving off that particular board chatter that comes from cruising across butteryness. We were both laughing at ourselves for not heading over to El Farro earlier in the season and Tyson was so stoked he ditched his gear on the beach and ran the quarter mile back to the car to grab the camera. We sailed and filmed for a couple hours, the conditions were insane. The water was so flat you could stand chest deep in the water with the camera and get great shots with perfect turquoise water.


Next season it is going to be a regular thing to head out there. If it is honking in La Ventana but the swell is not firing it’s the perfect place to go train in ultra flat, and it’s a pretty fun drive too. We managed a couple more prime sessions there before we left Baja, and we will be back in force next year for sure. We have been telling people for years that there is no really flat area in LV, but I guess we just hadn’t looked hard enough.

[wyattmiller]

Being part of the American Windsurfing Tour, the Gorge Freestyle Frenzy event took place from 17th – 21st July at the Washington side of the Columbia River Gorge.
JP Team Rider Tyson Poor participated in the competition. Here is his report:

Just got finished with an amazing 5 days of wind and competition!
Last week we had three contests going on, over the course of 4 days. The first of the three contests to happen was the amazing return of the Gorge Freestyle Frenzy. It had been 3 years since having any freestyle contest in the Gorge. The forecast was looking pretty bad, with Wednesday looking like the only day for wind. With only two days to run the event, organizers Sam Bittner and Casey Hauser decided to pull the trigger and call for a 6:30 skippers meeting on Wednesday morning. As we pulled into the Hatchery parking lot that morning, the wind was already cranking! Blowing a little from the north, the inside flat section wasn’t very filled in, but as the day started to heat up, it pulled to wind in to shore, making for an epic setup. I rigged my 4.2 Wizard and my 90 JP Freestyle board for the whole contest, and was lit out of my mind!!!

We were just running a single elimination, with 3 or 4 person heats, and 2 advancing. I made it through my first couple heats all the way up to the semi finals. By this time the swell on the outside was pumping in, and the inside was butter flat. Everyone was so overpowered! I ended up not making it through this heat to the finals, crashing on a double loop attempt, and not filling my starboard trick list. I was pretty frustrated, but knew that I would be able to sail again and fight for 3rd place. I sailed really well in this heat, landing back loops on both tacks, a tweaked pushloop on port, a double loop on starboard, as well as a big shuvit spock and shaka flaka on the inside. Rob Warwick was sailing really well, but ended up going down hard on a big pushloop, landing face first on his boom. It was a pretty nasty crash.

Congrats to Neil Pryde teammate Bryan Metcalf-Perez, as well as Wyatt Miller for putting on a great show in the finals! Bryan ended up taking the victory, landing some good backs, as well as a big Skopu on the outside. Couldn’t have asked for better conditions for a Gorge freestyle event!!!
Thanks to all that helped make this event happen. Looking forward to next year!

Bests,
Tyson Poor

[Mulekick84]

Go to La Ventana! Sail like Wyatt!

[wyattmiller]

I man I love that shot, just a second pre-squirell cheeks haha.

But Ya come down to LV and sail like Tyson and I....ssssssoooooooooo much FUN!!

[wyattmiller]

For the 5th Season in a row Tyson Poor and I will be running our La Ventana Baja Windsurf Center : www.prowindsurflaventana.com

Its a total blast, 4.2-6.0 winds in a protected bay with great swell, cheap food & beer and all sorts of non-windsurf activities.

Hop a flight to Cabo San Lucas from just about anywhere and you are 2 hours away from paradise.

We are offering a November special with super cheap rates. November is our favorite time of year, fully trunkable water and steady wind.

If you are looking to bring down any non-windsurfers November is your month since the water and air are so warm and the snorkeling and fishing are unreal. Swimming or SUPing at night is a perfect temp and the phosphorescence light up the water.

Plus we have ATVs for you to cruise around on and explore the town, desert, epic snorkel spots and empty beaches.

Come down and sail with us, its cheap warm and windy!

[PoorBoyUS22]

POOR WINS US NATIONALS

Tyson Poor US-22, known to be one of the very best American freestyle riders, reports from his latest Slalom success:

The US Nationals were held at Cabrillo Beach in Southern California. We had an amazing 5 straight days of very consistent winds and nice weather. The wind came up every day around 1:30, allowing the formula fleet to get a couple races in, before moving into slalom when the wind got a bit stronger. I sailed my JP Slalom-IX 68 and my Neil Pryde Evo V 8.6 the whole time.

Day 1
….went really well for me. We ended up with 3 races on Monday. I pulled out 2 firsts and 1 second place, with Phil McGain close behind. Every race was really close, making the starts very important. With such close results on the first day, I knew it was going to be a fight to hold off McGain and the other competitors.

Day 2
The hardest thing on this day were the starts. Everyone was starting to get their timing down, as well as figuring out that the boat was really favored. On one start I got stuck behind a group of 10 people, having to dive really, really deep to get any sort of clean wind, allowing a couple more people in the fleet to shut me off at the buoy, and I ended in 4th place. The last race of the day, I found myself in the same position at the start line, but this time I dove really deep right off the bat, allowing me to carry more speed and head up in front of the rest of the fleet and stay in the lead with plenty of clean air. So, I was able to end the day with 3 firsts, a second, and 1 fourth.



Day 3
The final day of racing I was able to leave again with 2 firsts and 1 second. The wind this day was much lighter, making passing impossible. On the last race of the day, McGain was able to get to the mark about 1 board length in front of me, but I was able to cut tight under the buoy and pump like crazy to get up on a plane before him, allowing me to come down on top of him and shut him off. This ended up being the last race of the contest, securing my first place with a total of 7 firsts, 3 seconds, and one 4th.

Stoked to take home the National Slalom title!!!

————————-
photos – Cliff Hauser

[H2OJoe]

Congrats Tyson!

[drblanke]

Nice job on the rematch!

[wyattmiller]

Ya Tyson was pretty fired up not to let it come to a tie breaker over throw out races He won it solidly this time

[wyattmiller]

Oh Man September is here which means the last few weeks of wind along the west coast before La Ventana Season hits in November!! Getting so stoked for the Baja, going through photos from last season and droooooolllling!

Tyson and I are going to pack everything up in the Bay October 10th or so and then head down to the Wave Sailing and SUPing paradise of Punta San Carlos Baja. We have 2 back to back clinic weeks there with solosports.net which are going to be a total blast.

The weeks are October 19-26 and 26th - Nov 2nd.

Both weeks are in combo with the Windsport Mag Gear Test, so if you want a chance to check out the 2014 stuff from all the brands San Carlos is going to be the place to do it. We are also combining the camps with our sponsors Makani Fins who will have all the sweetest fins down there to try out. Its gonna be a GEAR-O-THON!!!!

If you have never been in the waves there is no easier place on earth to learn to wavesail. Its like a skatepark for windsurfers, the wave is slow and crumbly not pitching like Maui or Cali and the side-offshore wind means you have tons of power in your sail on the wave face and it is super easy to get back up wind/ up wave after your mile long ride.

Then Nov 2nd after the last crew leaves we high tail it down to La Ventana to open up our place there freshly stocked with 2013 and 2014 Naish Gear!!

We are running a extra cheap November Special this season since that is our lowest occupancy month. Its also our favorite month because the water is so warm you can take a swim at night after a couple frosty brews, and you sail and snorkel with no suit. Plus the desert is crazy green and alive which makes all the ATV trips super fun. Sometimes sailing there in NOvmber you look back at the hills and it looks like Maui its so green.

Plus town is pretty empty so you have the whole place to yourself.


Ahhhhh I can't wait to head down to Baja!!!