Utah Windriders Association

Matisse and I are halfway into our unexpected windsurfing trip in Brazil. A short-notice biz trip to Sao Paulo, which took a mere 24 hrs of travel, and we were within striking distance of Jeri, famed for its constant wind, point break, huge dunes, and no paved roads. Another 12 hours of travel, by plane and 4WD and here we are.

We arrived to ¨no wind¨, according to the locals, so it was only blowing 5.3. We and the other mostly French, German, Italian and Finnish (!) sailors made the best of it. The locals were on their ^big^ 4.7 sails. Yesterday it got better yet. Matisse took a class, but got blown off the water and her instructor sailed her 3.5 back in the footstraps. Today 4.7 was the call for me, as, in true Utah-sailor style, I hung on to my big sail, just in case it dropped. Well, it doesn`t drop, it just stays windy. Lots of 4.0s, 4.2s and 4.5s around. Big chop and swells outside, long waves inside, mostly about the size of Oahu north shore in summer, but not as powerful. Long down the line wave sailing sometimes 8-12 turns, but ya gotta thread a crowd by midday, and then, at the end of the wave, there`s some hula to get through the wind shadow back to the wind zone. Sandy bottom, just barefeet. Wow, do I like that..

The people in Brazil are so nice, both here and in SP. We are loving it. Too bad it`s (now) 5 time zones away and takes 3X longer to get to than the Gorge. Four more days left...

Could the forum moderator please erase the offensive post above?
I mean it's offensive to land locked wind deprived Utahns right?

Hey Emmanuel,

I'm having a great time and wanted to let you know. With the bigger winds of the last two days the outside swell and chop are getting huge, and the break is getting rougher. Outside swell is 6-8'. Unfortunately, the Dimitri guy you loaned me to can't sail the big stuff as well as you, so I"m taking a beating from all the crashes. The main swells in the break aren't so big and he does OK there. Lots of other harnesses out there and it's a bit crazy, he's always twisting around, looking in front for sailors headed out and then behind for shaka-flaka-goiter-whatever hopping guys coming in at 30 kts over his shoulder. He should just chill out and sail faster I think.

Some Euro champion is here getting filmed and his harness is really cool. Lots of cute Brazilian and Euro harnesses out there too, so good eye candy. I love it! Good news is that it blows from 10:00 am till sunset, then into the night. Bad news is, I'm on the beach half the time 'cause the dude is "too tired" to sail 7 hours straight. What a lamer! Might be 4.0 today...

Thanks for the trip! Wish you were here, cuz I won't be coming back!

regards,

Yur buddy and friend,
da kine waist harness

I looked at Jericoacara a couple of years ago after a BASEJUMPER in Idaho Falls about to jump off the bridge told me he had bought a house in a place called Jericoacara. He was going to learn to kiteboard there so he bought a house!?!?

I google earthed it and could see that it had several signs of wind. The dunes etc. It looks very windblown from above... So I set my sights on getting there and haven't yet. But I look forward to it. Emmanuel, let's plan the trip!

Now we know it will live up to the hype!

And I can't delete the post because it has mezmerized me into a daydream... sandy bottom... barefeet... Waves... 4.0- ... 5.2 is a big sail!!! But soon as I come out of the daze I'll look into deleting the post! Great info Dimitri... thanks!

Rick.

Tonite we pack it in. Been 4.2-4.7, Matisse on a 3.5. First time ever for me sailing a 78 l board day after day. Went to the 84 when it got light for better wave catching. Tried Starboard Evo, but they have spinny fins so stuck with the JPs, which had nicer decks anyway for bare foots. Great challenging sailing, except Emmanuel´s harness kept making snide remarks about my outside jibes and ònly sailing 3-4 hours a day. Wiseacre.

After 3-4 days of waterstarting in the shallows because every place else was too rough, Matisse got a perfect morning and sailed waves. Kid can´t turn, but has a bombproof waterstart and was getting 100 yard wave rides. Big grins at last!

Chilled fresh coconuts out of a cooler on the beach for $1.00. Caiperinhas, a rum drink made like a dacquiri but with a whole fresh lime and rum, for $1.75-$2.00. This is my kinda place. Climbed to the top of the 300-foot dune to watch the sunset last night. Tried some sand boarding -- not pretty. Rode it backwards since the guy was goofy foot, buried the nose (tail) and went over the handlebars. Recovered and made some turns, sorta, but had sand in every orifice. Funny. Redlined my heart hiking back up. I´ll take snow...

Not too many kiters here. Only see about 4-5 out. Not a lot of hang time. Maybe because it´s blowing 4.5 all the time and the next stop is Africa? Makes me realize how good our Utah teabagger friends really are.

30+ hour trip back starting tomorrow. Yipes. Bummer having to put socks and shoes back on...