JUMPFEST RESULTS & Reflections

The offical JUMPFEST Results and Reflections article has now been published on WindsurfingMag.com, check out the full article which looks into the contest results and considers whether the US should try to mirror the UK's wave and slalom circuits.

More to follow...

Windy Surf and Jumpfest Results - 60 Days of Summer Day 53

Following a few less than optimal surf missions I decided to make an attempt at catching Ho’okipa without too much wind early on. Despite being on the water by 8am the wind was already on the up and the left overs were not really epic. I caught a small bunch of waves on the 8’0” and got some exercise and was certainly much more fun than running!

I arrived later in the day of my windsurf segment and again it was far from the best session of the summer season but these are the days that you just have to work at it and get what you can, a few waves, a few jumps and it was time to call it a day.


JUMPFEST Update:

The voting closed on Sunday night (HST) and I am pleased to announce that the winners were:

Pro Men – Graham Ezzy


Am Men – Olaf


Girls – Tamara


Funnies – Tom Hammerton

Graham's winner! Contact Jimmie if you would like to purchase a print.

A full report and more pictures will be on WindsurfingMag.com soon. Congrats to the winners who all now receive a mounted print of their winning shot courtesy of Jimmie Hepp, I have seen them and they look fantastic and you really should consider ordering one for yourself! I hear that Tom has a good idea of what to do with his but I will save that for another post!

Sailing record: 85% 44/52


On Water Record: 88% 46/52


More to follow...

Camp One, SPEED and Jumpfest Update - 60 Days of Summer Day 50

It looked as though it would be another day of rainy sailing and I didn’t even drive all the way to Ho’okipa because I could see that there was now wind at all. I had some board repairs to do in preparation for the speed event so that kept me distracted. As the day progressed the weather settled down and for a change of scene I decided to sail between Sprecks and Camp one. It is so great to just drive 1 minute then be at the beach. As expected the small wind swell combined with the local wind waves and 20 knots meant that there was great onshore bump, jump and slash. One thing I love about summer here is that there are so many hours in the day that you can sail, in the winter you really have to be on it between 12 and 3 to get the best of the wind but I didn’t hit the water till gone 4 today and had a great time playing in the waves with massive planes flying over. Having spent so many of my teenage years sailing Camp One I always love to get out there with a few waves, I was totally alone and it was great fun.

This shot was taken back in Spring 1996 at Camo One. We spent so much time there back then as did many others.

Tomorrow is all about SPEED but the not the type that Madam Hilton would be interested in! The F2 Missile is almost ready to go and received a little paint before it was dark, just needs some grip, straps and a fin now. Luckily a big box of Black Project fin samples arrived from China yesterday and I got my hands on some in the evening, pics will follow but they look fantastic. I was immediately really impressed with the CNC quality and finish and can’t wait to stick one in my board tomorrow.

For more info on The Black Project Maui Speed Challenge check out the Maui VMax Blog.


JUMPFEST UPDATE: with just 40 hours of voting left the positions currently stand;

Pro Men: Graham Ezzy 25%


Am Men: Tom and Morgan are tied on 25%


Girls: Tamara 35%


Funnies: Tom Hammerton 33%

Tamara's leading shot... rumor has it that she'll be competing in the speed event too...

Support your favourite shot/sailor by voting each day. You can check out the action and cast your votes at WindsurfingMag.com. Also remember that by adding your name to the comments puts your name into the hat to win a signed and mounted print from the contest.

60 Days of Summer Records:

Sailing record: 84% 41/49


On Water Record: 88% 43/49


More to follow…

2012 Goya, Backies, Speed & More - 60 Days of Summer Days 47 & 48

By my own admission I have been taking it a little easy of late and I have been rather slack on my writing. I didn’t sail on day # 47. One reason for my lack of water activity on the north shore has been the state of my board quiver which has taken rather a beating. Thankfully after three days of sanding, filling, laminating, sanding, spraying, sanding, my wave board was ready to get back on the water and considering the amount of water that had come out I am confident that I will notice an improvement in performance! The added bonus of smashing up the Tabou was that I could fix the speed board at the same time and that is looking great. There is a speed event coming up this weekend so it will be ready for action, my personal aim is 37 knots but that will be difficult on the extremely bumpy course that we have here, the best guys are maxing out here at 40 knots but usually in the 39 area.

On Day # 47 (they are going so fast) the wind was good and with a few waves so I decided to make up some lost ground and got to Ho’okipa early for an all day stakeout. I have really been trying to improve my backloop statistics as I can crashing far too many landing and I had earmarked today; BACK, BACK, BACK and MORE BACK and when I first went out I found ramp after ramp and did just that. I tried a few ideas to improve my landings with mixed results but practice does make perfect so I need to keep at it. The second session was not as productive, the wind was a little more inconsistent and it was harder to find waves, I found myself rotating a lot but generally in the forward plane. A really fun day on the water. Almost forgot, had a good run this morning, I have been wanting to increase my distance and today I did with an 8km stretch, will look to do a 9 and a 10 later this week. Legs are now sore!

Back, back, back...

Both the Goya team and Ezzy crew were out in force testing sails today. Dave and Graham have been working with their Wave Panther III recently and I guess that a few more arrived on the boat today as they had other sailors testing out the new gear. Personally I like the look of Graham’s orange version but am not so keen on the green/blue colour scheme. Performance while they look great (as always). The Goya crew including Francisco were all sharing one all white 2012 FOUR BATTENED wave sail prototype which looked to have a very short mast and very high clew with the batten layout much like that of my HSM Bolts. So it looks like a totally different and more compact look than the 2011 Guru or Eclipse but I guess it is the earliest of days yet in the 2012 cycle.

JUMPFEST – the contest continues to get good press and voting continues. It looks like Graham is pulling away from the pack in the Pro Men while Morgan and Tom are battling it out in the Am Men. Nadia is fighting off stiff competition but it looks like she may take it. In the Funnies Bjorn has stormed into a substantial lead but I wonder if Tom will be able to catch him. Check out the action and cast your votes. Remember that you can vote once in every 24 hours and that by leaving your name in the comments section you stand the chance of winning a signed and mounted print of one of the shots of your choice.

CAST YOUR VOTES at WINDSURFINGMAG.com


On the Horizon:
Friday, Saturday & Sunda - SOUTH SWELL: looks like we are in for a treat so it'll be bags packed and off south for early sessions.

Saturday 28th – The Black Project Maui VMax Speed Challenge: do if you are in town dust off your speed board and GPS unit and let us see how fast you can go. There are divisions for Men, Women, Wave and Kids. There will be a number of GPS units available for loan so if you have never tried before then this could be the day. Confirmed entrants include Tom Hammerton and Dan Ellis fresh from his travels on the PWA tour.

Time to get back on the 6.0 GPS...

Sailing record: 83% (39/47)


On water record: 87% (41/47)


More to follow…

JUMPFEST Voting Day #1 - 60 Days of Summer Day 45

As JUMPFEST voting for day #1 comes to a close we have a number of early front runners. Currently in the lead in the pro section is Picture #11 Graham Ezzy and his no handed backloop with nobody else close at the moment. In the Amateur Men's section Tom Hammerton (HSM Desigmer) and Morgan Henderson are currently neck and neck with 31% and 29% of the vote respectively. Nadia has moved into a clear lead in the Girl's vote with 42% of the votes cast, Shawna is currently trailing in 2nd with 24% of the audience. Finally but very importantly Tom Hammerton's 2012 Beer Prototype is holding of stiff competition from Shawna and Bjorn.

CHECK OUT THE ACTION AND CAST YOUR VOTES @ WINDSURFINGMAG.COM

As we move into Day #2 (of 7) of voting remember that you can vote once in every 24 hours so support your favourite picture/sailor and remember to leave your name in the comments section so that you can have the chance of winning a signed and mounted print of the winning image.

Graham currently has the leading image, I wonder if that will last?

60 Days of Summer Update: Since the conclusion of the Jumpfest I have been rather quiet and actually took 2 days fully out of the water, my tiredness was neatly paired with my cracked and water logged wave board so I have been grinding, filling and laminating in the hope that I'll be back at Ho'okipa for day # 46. This morning I went for a short surf on the west side but the surf was too small and choppy although it is expected to be better tomorrow. Late on the wind was light on the north shore so I got out on my 8.0m for the first time in a while but didn't manage much in the way of speed.

Sailing Record: 86% (38/44)
On water Record: 91% (40/44)

More to follow...

HO'OKIPA JUMPFEST VOTING - Now LIVE

VOTE NOW: Check out the images and cast your votes on WindsurfingMag.com

Jimmie's Jumpfest at Ho'okipa last week pushed sailors (and their equipment) to their limits. The explosive action was all caught by Jimmie Hepp (Photographer). Pro and Amatuer riders were pushing it hard to get the best shot and none more so that Skyler Haywood and Graham Ezzy who for three days worked tirelessly to get the perfect shot - and they both have a couple of crackers. In the Girls section Shawna and Nadia were battling hard and going BIG! The Amateur Men's section produced some great shots and I think that you'll agree the Funnies section got people thinking and it will be hard to choose between Tom's new 2012 HSM Beer Sail Prototype, Colin's Deep Impact and Morgan's Hawaian Skirt!

A simple and very popular format had sailors pushing their limits for three days.

Did somebody say JUMP?

Graham Ezzy JUMPED, JUMPED and JUMPED some more, I think that you'll like his shots.

It was a little crowded at times but is was all great fun.

Voting will now run for a week and close on Sunday night HST / Monday morning GMT. So check out the shots and cast your votes. REMEMBER: you can vote once a day in each of the sections.

WIN A SIGNED PRINT: Leave your name in the comments section either here or on the post on WindsurfingMag.com and you'll be entered into the draw to win a signed copy of one of the images of your choice from the competition.

VOTE NOW: Check out the images and cast your votes on WindsurfingMag.com

More to follow...

Jumpfest Day #3 - 60 Days of Summer Day 43

The wind was stronger and more consistent for the final day of JIMMIE'S JUMPFEST and with some remnants of the swell from yesterday and a bit of wind swell it was again great for jumping and the regular crew too full advantage of the conditions in search of the perfect shot.
This was one of my favourites from today but it didn't make it into the top 20!

Graham was pushing hard today.

I have plenty of writing and editing of photos to do will have to leave you with a slideshow of some pics from today, note that none of these made it into the photo contest which should be live soon and I will post a link when it is so that you can see all the action and cast your votes.

Created with flickr slideshow from softsea.

More will follow...

Jumpfest Day 2 - 60 Days of Summer Day 42

The day that we had been waiting for arrived with small waves and a very gusty wind. The sun was shinning and Jimmie was keen to get shooting the numerous sailors at the ready to impress. It actually turned out to be a rather testing session with the shifty and gusty wind making it difficult for riders to hit the ramps on cue which led to a ton of crashes. It was great to see so many people out all trying to get a decent shot and for a while it was a complete zoo. People were getting into the spirit of the Jumpfest and Tom Hammerton and Morgan Henderson do deserve a special mention, obviously both aiming to win the funny picture contest. I expect that they’ll both be in the running for that crown!

Jimmie is still working on the 1600+ images but these are a few that he has sent through to me so far, I will add more to the slideshow when they are available. ENJOY!

Created with flickr slideshow from softsea. 

Jake Miller and Skyler Haywood were both charging in the Pro Men section both hitting ramp after ramp and scoring sick air but on looking Graham Ezzy was unfazed as he launched into a no landed backloop and landed it clean. It will be interesting to see how the readers rate these images when they are released. The girls were pushing hard too with Tamara Bockius and Shawna both making some moves which should score highly.

This is part of an eight shot sequence and I expect that it could make it into the top 20.

There were a few waves to ride if you could avoid flying objects.

The sunny conditions were perfect for photos and Jimmie tells me that he got 1600+ shots during the two hour session. With one more day to run it looks like it will be hard to pick the best shots which will be included in the WindsurfingMag.com vote. The forecast is for better wind and some waves tomorrow so I am hopeful that there are even more great shots out there just waiting to be snapped (urhhh like my board today!) Jimmie's Summer Jumpfest concludes tomorrow (Friday) and he'll be choosing his top 20 shots in each category Friday evening with the aim of getting voting underway on Saturday morning,

60 Days of Summer Update:

Sailing record = 88% (36/41)

On Water record = 93% (38/41)

More to follow…

Jumpfest Day 1 - 60 Days of Summer Day 41

Are your cursed the minute you try to organise something? Well that’s how it felt when we arrived at the beach today with the wind somewhat dubious and rain on the horizon. Despite the conditions it was great to Skyler already out there catching some waves and managing to find enough wind to get some jumps. It wasn’t long before others turned up. All were eager to get out there motivated by Jimmie to make the most of it and have some fun. While most stayed at home or took advantage of the south swell those who did venture out all had fun and got a few shots in the bag. Tomorrow looks like the day and Friday could back that up with a windy one. Skyler was the man to watch today, I wonder how he will fair when the rest show up tomorrow?

Skyler was working the conditions hard today, respect! This is my personal fav of the day, lets see what tomorrow brings.

Graham Ezzy was at the beach checking things out but didn’t go as far as getting wet. Jake Miller, Bernd Roediger and friends are waiting to get in on the action tomorrow and I am sure they things will hot up when they hit the water. The girls were out in force today and impressing in the light winds. Nadia and Shawna will certainly be ones to watch as the days progress.

Some shots from today's action:



Created with flickr slideshow from softsea.

See you at beach tomorrow, Jimmie will start shooting at 1:30pm for two hours. I can't wait to see the pics.


60 Days of Summer Records:
  - Sailing record = 88% (35/40)
  - On Water record = 93% (37/40)

More to follow…

Jumpfest Preview - 60 Days of Summer Day 40

So with just a few days planning Jimmie’s Summer Jumpfest is almost under way and by this time tomorrow the first day of shooting will be complete. The forecast models show that the best action is likely to be on Thursday with a small NW swell expected currently predicted in the 3ft range with 12 second intervals. If we get some wind this will produce some great jumping conditions and it’ll be perfect for the photo shoot. Today the technical details were put together and tested and the plan is for the slideshows and online voting to be live by Saturday morning on WindsurfingMag.com, (the slideshows and a link to the voting will be provided on this site and elsewhere online.)

There will be having separate votes for Pro Men, Amateur Men, Women, Under 18, & Funniest Photo. Readers will be able to vote once each day in each of the categories and the polls will close one week from going live. When you vote you should also leave your name in the comments section and your name will be put into a hat with a winner drawn at random who will receive a Jimmie Hepp signed print of the winning photo. The most popular images will be made available as Wallpaper downloads once the competition concludes.

Some recent images from Ho'okipa.

Being a photo shoot contest it is a little different to normal competitions for most of these guys. Previous experience working with a photographer will help but I have also heard rumours that in an attempt to sway the judges (i.e. you) that a number of costumes normally reserved for Lahaina’s Halloween parade might make an appearance later in the week!

Jimmie will start shooting at 1:30pm Wednesday for 2 hours and then be back Thursday and Friday at the same time, the images will not be made immediately available but I am sure that a few of the best might be leaked this time tomorrow but we will see. I am looking forward to seeing as many sailors out there tomorrow, it may be a good day to get a few shots in the bag early. The best thing about Jimmie’s Jumpfest is that it is all for fun and it is bringing the Maui windsurfing community together at a time when things are normally fairly quiet on the Valley Isle. If you are currently on island get yourself down to Ho'okipa and get your jump on.

ARE YOU REAY TO JUMP?

Today’s North Shore action: The trade winds stay light to moderate. I had a fun late and uncrowded session at Ho’okipa on my 5.0m. It seemed to pick up after 4pm and there was a hint of a few teeny waves. It was again fantastic to be on the water and having fun.

Sailing record = 87% (34/39)


On Water record = 92% (36/39)

More to follow…

Sunny Sessions - 60 Days of Summer Day 39

The lighter than normal summer winds seem to be holding at the moment and again I was surprised if more prepared when I arrived at the beach. I rigged 5.0m at first and that was fine but it was clear that the wind was on the way down so it wasn’t long before I changed to a 5.6m. I was a little quicker to change in the knowledge that I had a 2011 5.6m Hot Sails Bolt in the car and hadn’t really had much chance to try it out before and was really keen to see how it worked. I really love the increased stability which will be great in the waves when I get hold of the smaller sizes. It feels like it has all the best bits of the Fire with the weight of the Bolt and the softness of the Smack. Think that it'll be killer and I really want a full set but unfortunately there are none available so I'll have to wait...

Old School Fun: Nice bit of Photoshop from Jimmie.

Taking the new 2011 Bolt for a spin.

To be fair the sailing was not much to write about but egged on by Jimmie and Colin I stayed out for quite a while and was just having fun even though the conditions were not epic. You can’t beat being in the water on a sunny day and even on these days when the conditions are not great I love the fact there is always a bunch of people just having a ball.

Stoked on life...

Hopefully the wind will be better for Jimmie’s Jumpfest later in the week.

Sailing record = 87% (33/38)


On Water record = 92% (35/38)

More to follow…

Jimmie’s Summer Jumpfest Photo Competition – Ho’okipa August 18th thru 20th 2010

Updated: 6:35pm 15th August 2010:
The recent strong winds and explosive jumping at Ho’okipa got Jimmie Hepp thinking. He’s taken tons of great jumping shots of the North Shore crew recently and we decided to spice things up a bit. So next week as a bit of fun and in the true spirit of The 60 Days of Summer project we’ll be having the first annual Jimmie’s Summer Jumpfest Photo Competition. With the emphasis on fun the format is going to be super simple;

• Sailors wanting to take part give their name to Jimmie either at the beach or by email letting him know what gear they will be riding. 
• For three afternoons Jimmie will shoot from his spot on the rocks. 
• The photoshoot will run on Wednesday 18th, Thursday 19th & Friday 20th between 1:30pm and 3:30pm each day depending on weather conditions. N.B. There is a small NW swell forecasted for Wed and Thurs.
• The best shots, one from each sailor will be posted online on WindurfingMag.com and readers will be able to vote for their favorites.
• The winning pictures (one MALE and one FEMALE) will be the ones with the most votes and receive a special prize (which is yet to be decided).  
• This photo competition is all about having FUN at a time when not much is normally happening at Ho'okipa and all those taking part will get a little exposure too which never hurts!

These are two of my personal favourites of late both for very different reasons, I wonder what next week will produce?

The winner may not be the biggest jump; it could be the worst crash or funniest picture so get creative. If you are in Maui on these dates and fancy your chances or just want to have some fun then get yourself down to Ho’okipa, put your name down on Jimmie’s list and get out there and see what you can do. I can’t wait to see the pictures!

Spread the word, more details will follow…