The Week In Review
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Eric and I are living on the north shore of Maui, in Sprecklesville, a windsurfing mecca that is not only home to the many world champions weÕve discussed but also draws windsurfing enthusiasts from around the world. Our condo is one of a handful other units on our beach and most are typically rented out by the week. And so many of the people we meet are vacationers who are here for 1-2 weeks and strangely have jobs to return to after their visit to paradise. Hmm? As we are here for four months IÕm not sure it dawned on us completely until this week that there will be lots of helloÕs, goodbyeÕs and promises to keep in touch. This being our third week, weÕve now seen almost a complete turnover of each of the dozen or so rental units here at Camp One. So we spent the beginning part of the week saying goodbye to the folks we spent our first two weeks getting to know and in the process were graciously offered lots of marinade, salad dressing, coffee filters, and other leftovers as our friends cleaned out their kitchenettes -- and by the way the shitake mushroom vinaigrette that Pete and John from Seattle left behind was superb. We then spent the rest of the week meeting and greeting our friends for the next two weeks Ð kind of strange but we have met some characters and are sure to meet many more. Our favorite characters to date are Patrick, a firefighter / EMT, and his girlfriend Jen, a police dispatcher. They are from Salt Lake City although far from Mormon (I.e. I donÕt think theyÕre doing a whole lot of singing in the Tabernacle choir). We met them as we meet most of the folks here, bringing our rigs down to the water and the usual windsurfing banter -- ÒWhere you from, what do you do, what size sail you going out on, etcÓ but soon found these two to be quite the funny pair and very outgoing Ð so much so that they invited themselves over for dinner. Well, not exactly, they suggested coming over for a beer after sailing and the next thing we knew we were hosting four guests for a BBQ and video showing from the dayÕs filming out on the water. The video camera has been a great way to meet other windsurfers as it seems everyone loves to see themselves sail on film. (Note to other social lepers Ð good to have a gimmick). The BBQ included Patrick, Jen, Pete and John. PeteÕs wife, who had joined him in the past, had stayed back in Seattle this time as she was 7th months pregnant with their first child and Pete was on a bender the entire time he was here Ð he claimed getting his last play months in before fatherhood but basically spent the nights sitting on his porch sucking down martinis, the mornings recovering and then all day sailing only to repeat. I guess that beats going to Lamaze classes. This was the first time we had people over and it was pretty funny having everyone tell their Ôwar storiesÕ about everything from other sailing spots theyÕd been to college stories and beyond and poor Jen had to put up with five guys rambling on but she held her own pretty well. Later in the weekend we had a late knock on our door and it was Patrick and Jen informing us that they had just gotten engaged. We were the first people they told after the calls home to the parents which is telling of the short, fun and sometimes bizarre friendships we will make on this trip. Congrats Pat and Jen and best wishes! The Yoga studio, where we are now regulars, has introduced us to some characters as well and many of the regulars there actually live on Maui full time so that scene is quite different from the vacationers who we hang with at Sprecks. The studio is up the road in Paia, which is sort of a misfit town on Maui. Paia is the town where you can find an all hemp clothing store, a vegan restaurant, two candle stores, a tattoo parlor, several ÒIÕm not an artist but I play one on TVÓ art stores and at least three Yoga studios. Needless to say, throw on your Burkenstoks and pass the granola Ð this place can be a bit of a freak show. However, there are some good restaurants up there and we are now regulars for NadiaÕs ÔMaui YogaÕ classes (www.maui-yoga.com) getting up there 4-5 times a week and slowly making progress. We are now starting to see some familiar faces and occasionally even greeted by our fellow YogiÕs. Even Nadia has not been shy about using us as the Ôwhat not to doÕ examples and on Wednesday sent us to the corner (no joke) to do some basic stretches while the rest of the class was in headstands. ÒBoston boys Ð to the wall Ð work on your hips.Ó Actually despite the drill sergeant like commands, its been great that she knows we are here for a while and committed to practicing regularly as sheÕs been helping us focus on our many problem areasÉhips, backs, hamstrings, calves, quads, shouldersÉoy! We continue to log about 100 miles a week on the bikes alternating between a hilly ride and a flatter ride where we take turns drafting and try to push our speed up. Thursday we did the Kihie loop averaging 19 mph which is our best so far. The ride of the week, however, came on Sunday as we brought a tradition with us that we started back home last year Ð Òthe ride and gorge.Ó That is where we get up early, on the bikes at 6:30, ride hard for 90 minutes and then end up at a breakfast place, in this case IHOP, and over justify our workout by gorging on pancakes, eggs and the occasional meat product, of the kosher variety of course. (you can visit one of our hopeful sponsors - www.ihop.com) Of course we sailed every day Ð this week the trade winds were in true form as we were overpowered on our 4.7s three days straight. We were told this week is typical Maui summer wind and if so our aching bodies are in for some serious work and I think our wallets might be as well as it looks like we will need to add some smaller sails to the quiver, probably a 4.4, to help cover all wind possibilities. Despite the tough conditions this week we both continued make progress. I sprinkled some jumps and clean jibes (click for Quicktime video) in during my all day wipeout and catapult show and Eric rotated his first back loop ever Ð he didnÕt quite sail away but the rig came all the way around and he is not far from checking this tough feat off the list. So we are progressing on the bikes, slowly, I mean really slowly, gaining flexibly and making big strides in our windsurfing. Tuesday was our first trifecta of the trip which included a 6:30 AM hill ride, a 10:30 AM primary series ashtonga class and an afternoon out on the water. While we are getting in shape, the trifecta took a lot out of us so we decided to grab a movie from Blockbuster to cap off the day. We picked up Zoolander, thinking anything with Ben Stiller must be funny, but were sadly disappointed as it was pretty lame or at least the first 10 minutes was lame which is all either of us lasted. Many of you asked about the social life on Maui and so far itÕs a BBQ with 5 guys and 10 minutes of Zoolander. We are however on the lookout for two much cooler guys and as soon as we find them we will surely link you to their web site Ð for now, this sure beats the hell out of working. This weekÕs best and worst: Carol, Peabody, MA (EricÕs mom) Ð this was sent after logging in to the J.E.W. and not being able to view any of the pictures. ÒYou guys made it so that my machine canÕt see the pictures that everyone else can see ÉI know itÓ Ð Carol, please note if we were smart enough to pull that off your version would have shown Eric wearing a helmet and a lifejacket and Kris and Doug would get a version with me throwing Photoshopped loops and Vulcans. Sarah, NY, NY ÒI just tried to log-in to the J.E.W. and the site was down Ð I WANT MY JEWÓ Ð Sarah, thanks for reporting this by e-mail and phone, the many J.E.W. subscribers are grateful for your efforts but please lay off the Maneshevitz Ð IÕm sure youÕll get your J.E.W. Lorraine, Boston, MA ÒOhh that Craig - He is deliciousÓ Ð Sorry Lorraine he is married and clearly your computer is on the blink as you should have noticed a stud to his left in a shiny white helmet Ð please drink more Maneshevitz (see Sarah in NY, she has plenty) Meager and gratuitous attempts
to get published in the J.E.W: Ed, Boston, MA ÒWhat was baywatchbarmitzvah.com already taken?Ó Ð Sorry Ed, youÕll have to do a little better than that if you want to be a member of this tribe.
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Eric continues to work on back loops, getting closer to sailing away from one every day. Here is a shot Jon caught on film. Unfortunately, this one didnÕt come all the way around, but it does give you a good perspective on the conditions here in Maui. This is actually a medium sized wave. Always playing to the
camera, Jon realizes he is framed up with USA 6, Josh Stone and gives a wave
to the camera. The wind blew solid 4.5 conditions all week, so after tiring of trying loops in the waves and working on short board tacks, Eric ventured into helicopter tacks. If he had completed one, this would be a video instead of a photo. Check out next weeks edition as Eric is getting close. Jonny races into the beach and throws down his sail. He saw one of the pro freestylers do this earlier in the day. His outcome wasnÕt quite as graceful. Eric tries to clean his bike after an epic 25 miler in an early morning rainstorm. Two things to note: -The tan line on his right arm is actually mud from the ride. -We are unable to provide a picture with the bike reassembled, but we are learning. See caption above. Eric enters the water ÒMaui StyleÓ Never turn your back on the water. Meet our new friends Patrick and Jen. This picture was taken just after they got engaged. Rather than 4 months in paradise, Patrick opted for a diamond ring and a lifetime ofÉ.. |
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