San Carlos is situated deep in the desert of Baja California, Mexico, hours away from any towns so I was pretty happy to finally arrive after long flights, dragging 60kg of gear around customs in LAX, overnight hotel stays and 10 hours in the car. It was a mission. Unluckily for me I was greeted with no swell, and no wind. Everyone at the SoloSports camp assured me this was amazingly uncharacteristic for Spring, but it had me thinking 'I've flown half way around the world for this?? Maui is 30 knots right now...' The first few days went by slowly, it was torture but it looked like there was swell and wind on the way so I just had to wait it out.

Finally after one day mucking around in small waves in the beach break the Point and Chilli Bowl came to life. After kicking off my third wave I couldn't wipe the smile off my face - 'this is why I have come all this way!' Long, smooth waves up to logo high were racing along the Point. Perfectly powered on my 4.8 it went something like this - turn, turn, smack, turn, aerial, turn, aerial...

Over the three weeks I ended up scoring some great conditions, the swell was typically over head high and the wind ranging between 15 and 30 knots. Still I've been told that it gets much better and I've been (relatively) skunked! I would love to see this place on a giant south swell – it would be epic!

On the no wind days we had some fun sessions surfing and out on a SUP.  If you feel like a change though there is excellent mountain biking to be had. We also hiked up to the top of the mesa that overlooks the area. The geology and diversity of plants was impressive, I have never seen stuff like that in Australia. Some of the Cactus were probably 6 metres high!

The camp, food and service at SoloSports was excellent, taking the hassle out of going windsurfing in the middle of the Mexican desert! I would definitely recommend that every wavesailor make the effort to get over there at least once – I will be going back for sure!

Check out more from the trip at www.wavesnwind.com

To celebrate the outstanding performance of the current PWA Wave World Champion, Red bull has teamed up with NeilPryde and NP team rider Philip Koster to release a limited edition Philip Koster branded 4 pack of Red Bull.

The cartons will be available in Germany throughout summer.

However, we were a little bit unlucky with the wind. Last year we had some decent North West winds with pretty cold temperatures. But this year, we had South Wind and about 30° with sunshine. On Saturday and Sunday there was enough wind to sail the whole single elimination. The wind was pretty gusty and most of the guys were on sail sizes around 5,2m².

My first heat I had was against Max Matissek AUT-97, who advanced from the first round. Max is THE LOCAL of the lake and he is really experienced at his home spot. I knew I had to be concentrated and give my best! In the next round I had to face my team colleague Andy Lachauer G-171. He is a really light sailor and planning very early.He also puts a lot of power in his moves and he had already advanced through 2 rounds, so I knew it wouldn't be easy. I advanced into the next round of the TOP 8 and had to sail against Bjorn Saragoza NB-11! Bjorn is super talented and one of the best riders on tour. He trained hard in winter, but I was able to beat him and advanced into the half-final. Now there were only 4 riders left. Gollito V-01, Taty Frans NB-9, Kiri Thode NB-61 and me. I had to sail against Taty, which I knew before, would be a really hard heat. Taty is training every year very hard in the winter and a really consistent sailor. I was very unlucky with the wind in this heat. It was so so gusty that I wasn’t planning for 7 minutes. I did some moves, but not the once I wanted to show, because I was really missing the power to perform them. Taty sailed very well and advanced to the final where he had to battle it out with Gollito V-01. Kiri and I faced each other in the small final for the 3rd place. The wind was a little bit stronger now and the judges saw Kiri with a very close decision as the winner of this heat. The final result of the single-elimination was:

1st Gollito Estredo V-01
2nd Taty Frans NB-9
3rd Kiri Thode NB-61
4th Steven van Broeckhoven B-72

Due to the lack of wind, the double elimination could not be finished and so the result of the single elimination was as well the result of the event. So I finished the event on a 4th place, which is good, but not what I really wanted. I did train hard this winter and wanted more out of this event. I hope that we have some decent winds at the next PWA stop on Fuerteventura, so that I can perform all the moves I was missing, especially in the half-final.

Besides the normal windsurf competition, the CHIMSEE EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIP in TOW-IN took place. I didn’t train any TOW-IN over the whole winter and I knew that some guys are really good in it, however I could win this event with a TRIPPLE Funnel Diablo. I am really happy about that and now I can call myself EUROPEAN-Champion in TOW-IN… J.

After the closing party, we had a lazy day and I started my trip home with Maarten van Ochten H-73. Unluckily I had some problems with my car on the way home, so that it took us a little longer. All in all it was a really nice event and I am looking forward to come back next year. Now I am going for some days to Dahab and train, before the next tour stop on Fuerteventura is coming up in the end of July. Thanks for all the congratulations and thank you to my sponsors.

Met vriendelijke groet/ Best Regards,

Steven Van Broeckhoven B72

www.stevenvanbroeckhoven.com

Pijnvenstraat 63
3920 Lommel
Belgium
Tel: +32 474 322993
Skype: stevenb72
twitter: www.twitter.com/stevenb72
facebook: www.facebook.com/stevenvanbroeckhoven

JP-Australia/NeilPryde/O'Neill/ChocoFins/Different-eye

Photo Credit: John Carter

Tonight saw the final of the EFPT tow in event and it definitely didn’t disappoint with big moves being thrown left, right and centre. In the end Steven Van Broeckhoven (JP / NeilPryde) was crowned champion after a super sick triple air flaka diablo. Jose ‘Gollito’ Estredo produced a moment of magic with a funnel burner, but it wasn’t enough to budge Van Broeckhoven from the top. Kiri Thode completed the top three by jumping a perfect double air flaka diablo.

Last night was the final qualifying round of the tow in before Monday nights final. Steven Van Broeckhoven was the last rider of the first round to perform, but he instantly booked his place in the final with the highest scoring move of the last 3 nights. Van Broeckhoven delivered a sick triple popping flaka to blow away the rest of the competition. Joining him in the final would be Julien Mas (Patrik / Hot Sails) who popped an almost perfect culo, Dieter Van Der Eyken, after the young Belgium landed his first ever burner in the tow in. The lucky fourth placed rider also progressing into the final went to Maarten Van Ochten (JP / NeilPryde / MFC).

Tow In Results

1st Steven Van Broeckhoven (JP / NeilPryde)
2nd Jose Gollito Estredo
3rd Kiri Thode

Photo Creadit: PWA John Carter, gruberpictures.at, Walter Kölbl, Martin Reiter

]]> riost@pryde-group.com (Administrator) Latest Wed, 02 May 2012 02:09:16 +0000 http://www.neilpryde.com/news/latest/blue-lagoon-tony-2012.html http://www.neilpryde.com/news/latest/blue-lagoon-tony-2012.html

Once again I had a trip to the vast desert grounds. This time I stayed there for 2,5 months and the main location for windsurfing was Blue Lagoon - a quiet paradise with very laid back lifestyle. The training company was all the time awesome ( Sten Aava, Christofer Kalk, Yegor Popretinskiy, Stefanos Damianos and some locals). Outside of the water it was nice to spend time with wise beduins. Blue Lagoon provided us wind almost everyday what makes it one of the best freestyle playgrounds. Hopefully every windsurfer has a chance to visit this pearl in the Red Sea. Here´s a short clip I made from the the trip. See you in Podersdorf!

For more information on this film or to order a DVD visit: http://planetblow.com

This is why we decided to set up the first and only windsurf and kite center in the region of Ilocos Norte.  Located in the heart of the Kingfisher Resort, this new Green Yard Wind and Wave Treasure Center is loaded with the latest NeilPryde Windsurfing and Cabrinha Kite equipment.

The Kingfisher spot is the true wave magnet, in the 5 months that I was there this winter it never went flat, and it was not uncommon to ride mast high plus waves.  The 250 meter wide windy lagoon facing the waves makes it ideal for picking up speed to hit the waves and jump as high as possible, and it is where your gear will safely wait for you after a good wipe out.   The lagoon is also perfect for teaching windsurfing and for sailors to improve their skills on flat water if they are not ready for the waves.  This spot is the dream location for a windsurf and kite center, offering good conditions for the beginners and challenging and high performance wave conditions for even the pros.

It was the ideal spot for me to spend my winter, to train in consistent and perfect wave sailing conditions and also to work on new video and article projects.  A variety of pro windsurfers and pro kiters came through this year to experience the best that the South China Sea has to offer.  Every one of them had the opportunities to ride the Kingfisher spot and its surrounding secret spots at their best and I believe they were all impressed by the conditions.  What make the Pagudpud region so ideal for traveling Wind Riders are not only the perfect weather conditions or the most beautiful rural surroundings, but also the friendliness of its locals.  It is obvious to most travelers how clean the area is, and I believe it is a reflection to the local population.  They take care and respect their environment and they take care and respect each other.  The crime rate is probably as low as it gets anywhere and contact and communication with the locals is super easy, especially since their English is at minimum basic.

I was able to spend some time with some of the Kingfisher’s staff and teach them the basics of windsurfing.  I was very happy to see the rapid progress that some of them were making.   Now they got windsurfing in their lives and with our center they have access to the best gear.  They will be riding while I’m away, and I’m looking forward to next season to take them to the next level.

We’ve been keeping Pagudpud secret for couple of years, but now the time has come to share the wealth. If you are looking for a beautiful, perfect conditions, and a unique windsurf vacation destination, come and visit us.
For more information on the Kingfisher Resort and our Wind and Wave Treasure Center, look us up online at www.kingfisherbeach.com and on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/kingfisherresort