Zane's World

Racing weekend in Hawaii with the Maui Olukai and Waikiki B.O.P

2011-05-26T06:07:00Z

It feels great to be in Hawaii after a couple of awesome trips to Thailand to the Starboard factory where I got to work on a new design for an SUP wave board and then France where I competed in the 2nd leg of the Stand Up World Tour wave event at La Torche. I love traveling the world, but I was excited to get home and into the warm water of Hawaii. But I only had a day to organize my racing equipment and get a running start into the stand up paddling racing season. But, this year many elite racers had a big dilemma. Which race do we attend??? Due to a scheduling glitch two of our favorite races were scheduled on the same weekend. The Battle of the Paddle and the Olukai Ho'olaulea were running at the exact same time so it was a tough choice for everyone. But my choice was made for me, when my mom shipped over the wrong board for the Battle of the Paddle, while I was in France. So in a moment I decided to compete in the Olukai on Saturday, missing the Elite Race of the Battle of the Paddle but then get over there the next day to compete in the BOP's Hawaii Kai Race and the Team Relay Race. Many of my friends opted for the same choice rather than choosing one race or the other, we competed in both.

My plan was simple: Organize my equipment, train for 3 days, compete in the Olukai Ho'olaule'a Maliko to Kanaha 8 mile downwind run on Maui Saturday, then rush to the airport after the race and fly straight to Oahu so that I could compete the next day at the Battle of the Paddle Day 2.

The Olukai race was amazing, and really felt like a big event. There were media crews, videographers, photographers, helicopters, and a couple hundred racers all in the Olukai yellow jerseys. There were over This event show cased just how much the sports has grown especially since it seemed like more than 30 of the competitors were women! Luckily, the conditions were perfect, it was sunny, blowing about 15 knots, with a nice little wind swell the entire time. We were all able to get some great glides and the windy conditions on our back helped to push us along down the coast making this a record breaking race. Many top racers including last year's defending champion Livio Menelau. Mark Rhaaporst, Ekolu Kalama, Kai Bartlett, Jeremy Riggs and Campbell Farrell were there. The race started at Maliko gulch and ran 8 miles down the north shore of Maui down to Kanaha beach where we finished with a 300 meter run through the finish line! In the elite race Kai Bartlett finished first in a tight race between he and Livio Menelau who finished 2nd, both breaking last years course record. Livio said he tried to catch Kai since Kai fell a few times on the course but Kai was just too fast. Ekolu Kalama finished 3rd, Mark Rhaaporst 4th, Jeremy Riggs 5th, and I got 6th. There was great food at the finish line and awesome entertainment including Ekolu Kalama jamming on stage. And since Livio and I both made the podium of the Olukai and the awards presentation was held so late we almost didn't make our flight to the Battle of the Paddle. But making the podium is never bad even if it makes you late, especially since we had our prize money in our pockets and our new Olukai slippers on our feet!

After a great nights sleep on Oahu I then got to see how much the Hawaii Battle of the Paddle had also grown. The Hawaii Kai Race had over 200 competitors as well. This promised to be another fast race, since the winds stuck around and the swells continued to push us downwind. But the Hawaii Kai is 13 miles and a lot can happen in 13 miles. This event had the who's who in racing there and ready to paddle their hearts out! Danny Ching was hungry for a victory since he finished 2nd place in the Elite Race to his training partner Travis Grant. And my team mate, Connor Baxter has been training hard all year for this event and he wanted a win here too! The Unlimited division would prove to be the fastest, with Danny Ching in first, Travis Grant in second, and right behind them 16 year old Connor Baxter and Bart De Zwart my other Starboard team mate. I raced in the 12'6", but since my mom sent over the wrong board, I was competing on the Starboard Ace which is an incredibly fast board but designed for flat water racing in lakes and rivers not the ocean and the swells of Hawaii. But I wanted to be a part of the infamous Battle of the Paddle and I was competing no matter what! I was impressed with the Ace and even though I wasn't on the board I had been training on, I was able to make good time and finish 25th overall in a fleet of the best in the world, and 1st in the 12'6" 18 & under class.

The Battle of the Paddle includes everyone, there were kids, women, men, professional athletes and grandpas!!! My 13 year old friend Riggs Napolean raced the Hawaii Kai event with his father Aaron and his grandfather Nappy who is over 70 years old. Even the owner of Rainbow Sandals Sparky Longley and co founder of the Battle Gerry Lopez raced and killed it too! After paddling for 13 miles we had to run through the gates in the sand to the finish. The most inspirational award was given to Brennan Rose who is my training partner on Maui and only been racing for a few years. He loves the sport, trains hard and has a great attitude. Only 2 miles into the 13 mile race his paddle snapped in two just about 12" from the handle. Rather than quitting, Brennan raced the rest of the race with a shorter, broken paddle without a handle. He got a big cheer from the spectators when he got to the beach!!! He deserved the award and won a Battle Paddle.

After a short break the Team Relay began. This is the same course as the Elite Race but each team consists of three men and one woman team mate. It is always a jumble of racers, with organizers scrambling to figure out who is on what team... but it a great race in the surf, through the buoys, riding the waves into the beach, running through the gates in the sand, and passing of to your team mate. Since racing is an individual sport, everyone loves the team race because you are racing with your friends. From the beginning the Starboard Team was confidant we had the best team. It consisted of Connor Baxter who has been on fire all year, Bart De Zwert who is one of the fastest racers and trains with Connor all the time, I was on the team, and then our girl team member is Gillean Gibree who finished 5th at the Dana Point Battle of the Paddle and knows how to maneuver the boards in the waves. I was the lead person, and finished my first leg in second place right behind the C4 team. I passed of to Bart De Zwert, who was feeling pretty good with his 4th place finish in the Hawaii Kai run but now wanted a victory. He passed of the Gillian Gibree who proved to us that we chose the right girl for the job, and she passed of to Connor Baxter. We stayed in second place until the final leg of the 8 leg race. At that point Connor knew that the anchor of the C4 team was a girl and within reach. He paddle faster than I have ever seen and looked like he had an engine on the back of the board. He passed her at the last buoy!!! We were all screaming on the beach, it was so fun to be a part of a great team, my good friends, and come home with a victory at the Battle of the Paddle.

The Olukai on Saturday then the Waikiki Battle of the Paddle on Sunday, and now I am off to the third stop of the Stand Up World Tour in Tahiti today! I have literately been living a dream!

Euro Trip Le Torche Pro Stand Up World Tour

2011-05-18T21:54:00Z

After a rough flight from Bangkok to Paris with a throbbing ear infection I met up with Sean Poynter and we were ready for a trip that is going to get exciting real quick. We gathered all of our board and bags from Charles De Gaule airport onto a bus to the train station where we have one way tickets to Le Torche, only in the middle of dragging our boards through the train station a employee stops us and says, “where are you guys going, with these? If you think your getting on the train with them it is impossible.” And then he walked away. Sean and I have to make an alternate plan real quick because the train did not except boards that big let along two of them each. We ended up leaving our boards in the locker storage at the train station and spend a day back packing in Paris until Tristan and Quipo come up with a car that we will drive to Le Torche together in.

We made the best out of our situations this journey to the Le Torche Pro and had no problem with touring a bit in Paris and checking out some crazy architecture like the Eifel Tower, and ate a lot of great French food!

Sean and I stayed at a nice Hostile with ironically a group of 30 teen girls on a college trip from Holland there so it was not half bad. The next morning we met with Tristan and he ended up giving us tickets to jump on the train with Quipo and he was going to take the burdon of driving up with our boards on his rental car with Buzzy Kerbox, and Guome from Tahiti.

Quipo, Sean and I had a really fun train ride and after a quick four hours we came to Quimper train station where Tom met us to take us to Le Torche! I was eager to jump into the water right when we got there to test my new boards so I got geared and fin’ed up. The waves where small but it was so great to get back into the water and stand up surf, and especially be testing and riding my own Starboard pro model 7’7” x 27”. I met the local line up and every one was really cool and enjoyed having people from all over the world around sharing the Aloha of surfing. My ear was bothering me with my equilibrium all messed up from the blown ear drum staff infection, this was the one thing I was possibly worried about.

The competition trials started the next day, with great riders like

Kirren Taylor from Australia and groms such as Casper and Kody Kerbox from Maui. Kody took the win for the trials congrats to him and the top four trialists that made it into the main event!

We got into the main event quickly and the conditions were up for a few rounds. It was good conditions but I was only barely squeaking through rounds all the way through to the quarter finals and went down then, only to join the peanut gallery on the beach and cheer for my buddies. Sean Poynter did very well making it all the way to the finals and placing fourth place, Leco Salazarre in third, Antoine in second, and Kai in first.

Sean Poynter in the Finals!

Another great trip and more to come!! Olukai and Hawaii Battle of the Paddle right when I arrive home and then off to Tahiti for the next event of the Stand Up World Tour at Sapinus!

Aloha and a hui hou!

Starboard Factory in Thailand Production of my Signature board!

2011-05-04T17:41:00Z

Aloha!

During an awesome and productive trip in Thailand working on my Signature ZS Pro model board, grinding out fins, testing race boards for next years line and enjoying every second of it in the Starboard factory in Bangkok!

Anne-Bell and I relaxing by the lake outside of the Starboard Factory!

It did not seem as though we were in the middle of Bangkok when at the Starboard factory because it is right on a unreal wake park lake, with a really cool natural area surrounding as well as windsurf, SUP and surf boards being shaped all around.

It was amazing to see the Starboard factory and work on my pro model and also work on my own line of fins, it was also awesome to meet the whole Starboard Ohana and to know who is doing what!

To add to the excitement I also ended up spending a night in the local hospital in Thailand from a very bad blown ear drum and staff ear infection from landing badly after one of the jumps on the wake park, and the morning after was my 17 hour travel mission from Bangkok to Paris.

We got a lot done and also experienced a great local Thai experience in Bankok and on Koh Samet island, where we stayed at a beautiful resort and had a fun night watching thai boxing and dancing at the disco. Svein asked if we wanted to do this Koh Samet island adventure 15 minutes before it happened, it was 9 at night and his friend, Michael Nakvachara, called saying he was taking his boat to the private party/resort island and invited myself and Anne-Bell to come. We were stoked on the invite and did not know what to expect.

After a beautiful 40 minute boat ride at night we show up to this amazing asian version of a tropical island!

It was really cool to work with the Starboard crew including, Svein, Scott Mckercherd, Anne-Bell, Nimmit, Margareta, Andrew and Tiesda. I look forward to coming back to the Starboard factory soon and working with the crew!

Now that I have my boards and equipment along with some battle scar stories I am ready and on my way to the La Torche Pro Stand Up World Tour!

Punta Sayulita Longboard & SUP Classic MEXICO

2011-03-25T09:04:00Z

Aloha! Hola!!

After scoring many great waves and sessions on my home island of Maui this winter myself and the Maui Jim sunglasses team all traveled up to Mexico together for the Punta Sayulita Longboard & SUP Classic where we made lifetime memories and some great friends!

Team Maui Jim!

This was my first time out to Mexico and I was not expecting anything like Punta Sayulita, on the news you always hear how dangerous Mexico is but here in Punta Sayulita I and the Hawaii boys felt at home. The weather every day was more beautiful than the day before, the people are super cool and live around the ocean and beach, the food was awesome and the contest was amazingly ran and very organized, the only thing we didn't have were waves..

Although it was knee high the biggest days for our trip and the competition, we all had a great time. Mucho Graticias to all of the organizers of the event, the sponsors, and most importantly the locals for letting it all happen!

My dad and I after my first heat of the event.

Before we started the elite race, a few elders did a great blessing and ceremony right on the beach where the run was.

In between the 4 laps on the ocean we had 3 100 meter runs, this really got your heart rate going!

I ended up getting 3rd place in the elite course 12'6" race and 3rd again in the 10k distance race. It was a blast with a big group of people all starting at the same time from the beach and doing a nice course around 8

buoys. Slater Trout was in first the whole race, with Anthony Vella on his tail, and myself not far behind!

A few of the competitors including myself, Ryan, Anthony, Riggs, Tigre, Geo, and more helped put on and teach a great kids clinic right on the beach at Punta Sayulita. Many keiki showed up and it was good fun to see ear to ear smiles on all their faces!!

My buddy Riggs Napolian and I helped pull this huge manna-ray out of the water with a few locals when the water resided from the tsunami. There was so much more beach and fish on dry land everywhere.
Soon after this the local boys filleted it up and had a tsunami fish, crab and Manna-ray Barbeque!

We all had a fun trip and enjoyed amazing experiences with the Sayulita crew and competitors, I cant wait to come back to Sayulita again next year (I think we will get lucky with waves then!). Now its time for Candice Applebee, Kolaia Jardine, Sean Poynter and I to shoot it up the coast from Punta Sayulita to Santa Cruz for the Steamers Lane Surftech shootout!
ALOHA

Stand Up World Tour Sunset Beach Pro 2011

2011-02-17T06:46:00Z

Aloha,

This year has came off to a very quick start and I know that 2011 is going to have so much great opportunities and experiences to offer!

I had an amazing time and scored some great waves on Oahu where I was competing for the SUWT Sunset Beach Pro. During my stay I was with Ikaika Kalama and his family on the north shore, 5 min away from sunset. It was unreal surfing and cruising with Ikaika while I was on his stomping grounds.

The Sunset beach pro started of with a bang with 10-12 foot (hawaiian style) sets during the trials, and 4-8 foot sets for the main event. I arrived thinking that I would have to make it through the trials but it turned out I got the last wild card into the main event! I was super stoked to be able to compete in the main event with the best of the best, even though I missed the big waves..

I surfed good and made it heat by heat until I finally made it to the finals where I placed 4th, with Peyo Lizarazu, Robin Johnston, and Kai Lenny, all on the podium with me!! I am super stoked on my result but this is just a taster for what the next seven stops on the world tour has in store for me!

To read more about the Stand Up World Tour please visit www.standupworldtour.com . Here you can find results, dates of the next events, photo and video galleries and much more!

Another thing that was an amazing stand out and change for the Stand Up world Tour was the live web cast on www.freecaster.tv, www.standupworldtour.com, and as well on OC16 if you are in Hawaii.. This was an amazing addition to the SUWT because now you can be right at the event with us in the comfort of your own home wheather it be down the street or all the way around the world!

Once again I have had another great trip and am grateful everyday to be able to live life to the fullest. Big mahalos to everyone who helped put the Sunset beach Pro on, some including the waterman league, Tristan and Quipo Boxford, Starboard, and Turtle Bay Resort. Contests like these bring great competitors from around the world together to compete and most importantly have a great time with eachother surfing world class waves!

Aloha and A Hui Hou!

My latest youtube video:
Hanalei and Honolii Stand Up Surfing by ZaneSchweitzer.com

SUWT site:
www.StandUpWorldTour.com

Surf Expo Orlando FL 2011 OutDoor Sports Trade Show

2011-01-20T07:53:00Z

Aloha,

The Surf Expo trade show is something I look forward to going to every year. It is such a great place to go to get your companies name out there and also a great place to market yourself as there are so many companies out there looking for team riders! It is pretty much a Costco sized building with all sorts of outdoor sports industries from Stand Up Paddling to wakeboarding, Skating, Surfing and Dirtbiking.

Volcom had an unreal indoor skate park set up and Maui Jims Sunglasses had a cool indoor pool for SUP lessons put on by myself and my friend Slater Trout and as well as a few SUP races and Tug of war.. It was really a fun time because all I had to do there was pretty much go around talking to people and getting them to come try stand up paddling in the pool, and possibly even win prizes such as Maui Jim sunglasses, Alpine Stars clothing, or even PFD or personal floatation and safety devices for open ocean activities.

The Maui Jim Crew, Slater, and myself!

I stayed with John Dornellas and Starboard Team Rider Iain McFarland at their house 30 minutes away from the Surf Expo and we had a fun time running around the expo collecting free things and meeting new people and companies! They showed me a good time and I was stoked to cruise with them while I was in FL for the EXPO and even got to get out to the shooting range to shoot my first gun with John!

There are even a few cute girls running around in the surf expo..

Check out my most recent video with Stand Up Paddle Surfing clips and as well some nice clips from surf expo! Click on the link below to view my youtube movie:
Hanalei & Honoli'i Stand Up World Tour movie by www.ZaneSchweitzer.com

Until next time! Aloha!

Stand Up World Tour Final event at Honoli'i 2010

2010-12-17T07:07:00Z

Aloha,

Here on the beautiful island of Hawai'i or other known as the big island, for the final event of the Stand up world tour at Honoli'i. The conditions were nothing that we expected with chest high sets maybe, but it was still fun and contestable. I have been having an unreal trip on the big island and have met a lot of new friends from the island of Hawaii, and also from Tahiti, New Zealand, Brazil, and France.

When Sean Poynter and I first got into Hilo last week we knew that there was a great fun event and trip ahead of us. We started of the event with a beautiful and spiritual opening ceremony, where we marched with our country; Hawaii, then Tahiti, then US, then New Zealand and so on, to the park where we all drank kava and had a blessing and Pule or Prayer. It was really special to show everybody from around the world our traditions in Hawaii. The Big island boys showed all of us much Aloha and a great trip!

The event was held off for a few days until there were some small waves that were just enough to catch a few waves to compete in. The Trials got finished of in one whole day and as well the main event finished in one whole day; the top eight of the trials got into the main event and as well the few selected Wild Cards such as Sean Poynter, Shyne Baxter and I. The winner of the Trials was Oahu boy and Starboard team Rider Kolaia Jolle and right behind him in second was young Maui boy Bernd Roddiger.

The main event was held off for a few days for hope that maybe we would get some swell. The waves did not pick up and we held the event in 2 foot waist high waves. It was a fun day and we all were surfing our best for the conditions.

I made it through a few rounds and into the quarterfinals where got 3rd, which put me in 9th overall tied with Peyo.

Carlos Kuhn and I about to go out for a surf at Pohoiki.

We all had a great year and made history together with the first world tour of the sport of Stand Up Paddling!
I look forward to the 2011 SUWT and plan on competing in all 8 events!

Aloha

2010 Ventura Paddle Surfing Championships 1st Place finish in Junior!

2010-10-18T03:19:00Z

Aloha All,

We were blessed with awesome conditions and no better time to hold the 2010 Ventura Paddle Surfing Championships! The Waves were chest to head high through out the event which was awesome, the only drawback for the event was the fog, but besides that it was awesome to be out in the water at C-Street with only four other people in the line up with the unreal long rights.

There was some talent at the event from all around including wave ski riders from all over, since this event is also the national championships for them, people like Tommy Lloy, Sean Poynter, Collin Phillips, who is actually a three time world champion longboarder, and Chuck Paterson were some of the surfers that I loved to be out in the water with.

Having fun in between heats! (ALL PHOTOS BY WARDOG)

I had a blast in the event, in my first heat of the the Open elite division I got 2nd and Chuck got 1st, we both made it through to round two and then I got 1st and went into round 3 where I didnt get a good enough 2nd wave especially when I have Tommy Lloy and Chuck in my heat with me. I was really bummed to have not made it to the final of the open, but overall I got 5th and had epic session at C-Street and great times MCing the event!

As for the Junior division it was just all us good friends catching many waves at C-street! During the final we had 20 minutes so we got to catch a lot of fun waves.

Matt Becker finished 2nd, C.D. finished 3rd, and I finished 1st! Matt and C.D. are both from SoCal and are surfing great!

My good buddy and travel partner, Sean Poynter was here at the event and we had a blast together surfing and also announcing the whole event. Brian and Roy, the event organizers, asked me to be the MC with Sean and we were stoked on the offer, we had everyone laughing the whole time. It was really fun and is something that we will be doing again in the future for sure!

Sean Poynter on the Starboard 7'4" Pod, hacking the lip. Sean finished 3rd in the Open division.

Tommy Lloy, 1st place finisher in the Open division.

Collin Philips, 3 time longboard world champion.

Chuck Patterson 5th place finisher.

Also another great blog to check out is Warren's, he also owns Stand Up Paddle Sports shop, which was a big sponsor of the event.

He has some great photos and also some great captions, below is the link:

Stand Up Paddle Sports Blog site (blog.surfingsports.com)

The STARBOARD STARBOARD team after the end of the competition packing it all up!

Mahalos to everyone who made this event possible!

Sponsors of the 2010 Ventura Paddle Surfing Championships:

Stand up Paddle Sports (www.surfingsports.com)

Starboard SUP (www.star-board-sup.com)

Merkey water Kayaks

Bazooka Coffe

Lola Del Mar Costa Rica Surf Club

Leadbetters and Jalama

2010-10-12T04:04:54Z

Aloha,

I Have had an unreal week in Santa Barbara hanging out with some Maui friends and surfing and SUP at surf spots in Santa Barbara county such as Leadbetters, Sands beach, and Jalama.

Yesterday I met up with Warren the number one Starboard SUP distributer for the US, and he took me and my friend Sean from Maui and his roommate Chris, to Leadbetters and even had demo boards for them to use. We were all having a good time even though it was so small!

Photos by WarDog:

Chris and I caught a wave together and I jumped onto his board.

Randomly on the beach I saw Matt Prichard and his family cruising, I went and talked story with them for a bit, really nice to see him and his family including his 14 month old soon!

This Morning Wardog (Warren) woke me up at 5 AM for a dawn patrol session at Jalama Beach. It was really fun, with some head high waves. I was stoked to get out in the water and surf!

Warren has a unreal website, and blog, here is the link to his blog site:

Surfing Sports.com

& Also:

Ledd%sq243%s Blog entry by Warren

Making it out of Jalama's shore break can be pretty difficult. Once you get out, the waves are really, there are many different right peaks.

Santa Barbara

2010-10-10T03:18:00Z

In Santa Barbara until my next event in C Street, Ventura. C-Street is a long fun right and I have surfed there twice now, once last year and once a few days ago. My first time I was there the waves where shoulder high and it was a blast catching these long right, when I surfed it on Thursday it was knee high on the sets, but still fun.

I am staying in Santa Barbara untill next week thursday, where I will stay in Ventura so I am a little closer to the event site. It has been so clear and nice the last two days, unlike in the beginning of the week when it was pouring rain!

Also a small video I made through my new iPhone 4:

Biking Isla Vista beach on low Tide

Aloha

Battle Of The Paddle 2010 1st place Open Age overall!

2010-10-05T04:12:00Z

ALOHA,
The Battle of the Paddle was held on no better time possible, the weather was beautiful, clear and warm, the waves were big enough to make the races exciting, and today the day after the event, it was 55 degrees and raining all day. The event was amazing, as was last year, and the amount of people was insane. There were over 500 people entered in the event and a lot of great competition, there were also a great turnout of kids, which was really good to see! The 2010 B.O.P was like a trade show on the beach with so many new and old companies with their own booths, and then a battle of stand up paddlers on the water, with over 190 people out on the water at the same time in some divisions.

The race was really exciting especially because we all start off a gunshot from the beach.

My sponsors had a booth at the Battle of the Paddle and they were all really cool! The Starboard tent is where I spent most of my time, resting in between events, testing the new brushed carbon wave boards and 2011 race boards and hanging with my good friends at Starboard including, Declan, Brian, EJ, Ian, Connor, Bart and Anne-Marie. The Waterman's Applied Sunscreen booth is where I would stop by and chat with Macon, and put on the unreal Waterman's sunscreen that kept me protected all day! I take sunscreen very seriously as I just recently got Melanoma skin cancer removed out of my back. The Maui Jim Sunglasses booth was really cool as well, this is where I would come by and hang with the Maui Jims people who were super nice, they would set me up with food and drinks before and after the races and even hooked me up with a new style of glasses called the Maui Catts III, which I love!

Connor Baxter, Ian McFarland, myself, and Gerard Middleton.

I ended up doing very well in the event with a 1st place finish overall out of all the 12'6" in the Open age division, which had a total of 300 entries! I also got 3rd in the Distance in the 12'6" age group, and 36th in the craziness of the Elite! The Starboard "A Team" and I also finished really great in the Team Relay division with a 5th place finish out of over 160 people!! This was one of the most fun divisions because we were able to cheer on our teammates and compete with other companies teams such as SUPco who got first. My team consisted of Dan Gavere, Nikki Gregg, Ian Mcfarland and myself. Dan started first, then Nikki, then Ian, and I was the anchor. This race was even more fun because after racing one lap, each teammate had to come in and run a lap then followed a slap on the hand to the next team mate so they could start.

New video on The BOP Relay Event (click below):
The Battle Of The Paddle 2010 Relay Race Starboard "A Team" by Zane Schweitzer (Large)

Anne-Marie Richman and I.

Paddlers battling it out in the Elite division (I am to the left near the green bouy with the tan visor)

Other videos of BOP (click links below):
California Battle of the paddle Stand up paddle event www.STAR-BOARD-SUP.com

Day Before The BOP STARBOARD Team has their last practice Sesh

Moving on to the Battle of the Paddle from La Reunion

2010-10-02T06:11:48Z

Sum up of the La Reunion Wave Classic Invitational!

TAWET PHOTO

The Wave Classic Series lived up toanother great event in La Reunion Island off the coast of South Africa in late August with epicconditions and a radical group of people having a good times in the water! Thecompetitors flew from all around the world; from France we had Julien Tabulet,Thomas Traversa, JB Caste, Fabrise Beaux and Camille Jabour and from Englandthere were the Umi pictures crew and competitor Jamie Hancock and BrendonPyatt, locals from Reunion Island were Pierre Godet, Steven Pichot, LoicFrappat, and Nico Zabala and finally the Hawaii crew, Francisco Porcella and I!

Weall were staying in a small nice hotel very close to Ravine Blanche, one of theevent sites, where we spent the majority of our time sailing. Ravine Blanche islike the Ho’okipa of Reunion and La Reunion is like the Maui of France! Thissmall French Island was really nice and I felt comfortable here because it reminded me of my home island of Maui. Reunion is loved because of the warm weather, nice waves, consistent wind, volcanic land andmost importantly very giving and friendly locals! Thanks to Pierre and a fewother locals this event was made possible for the second year in a row, (and forthose who don’t know Pierre, he still kills it in the waves!)

Everyday we would wake up around 9 to have our breakfast and skippers meeting tofigure out where we will be sailing for the day. What is so awesome about an event like this Invitational isthat we as sailors choose where we sail, the way we will be judged. We would choose between Etang Sale orRavine Blanche depending on the direction of the wind. Both are port tack breaks, and wewould pray for the straight South wind so we could sail the dream long left ofEtang Sale. Amazingly, for the second year in a row, the wind Gods were withus! We scored the sandy beach andepic waves at Etang Sale two out of the 6 days and it was amazing with masthigh sets and nice 4.0 – 4.7 wind. The other days we sailed Ravine Blanche, anice left that blows consistently and as well has a consistent push of waves.But Ravine Blanche has a gnarly shallow reef that will keep you out on thewater longer than you may wantbecause you are scared to come in and ruin your feet with sea urchin orbreak your equipment! Every day we had a full peanut gallery of specatatorswatching the competitors of the Wave Classic La Reunion Invitational allshowing of their windsurfing talents and charging the epic conditions!!

We also taught an unreal kids clinic where we had a few locals come down and learn to sail! We had all of the competitors of the event attend this and it was great to see some big smiles on their faces as most of them tried windsurfing for their first time.

TAWET PHOTO

We had an amazing trip with the exception of a stack full ofbroken equipment from the waves and reef, and a series of injuries due to thechallenging big waves. Our small“handicapped team” consisted of Francisco Porcella who dislocated shoulder,Jamie Hancock with a tweaked wrist, and me with a sprained foot from going overthe falls in the footstrap andhurt shoulder from trying to hold on to my equipment while going over thefalls, but that is part of being an extreme athlete and we were all pushing ourlimits charge in the water! We allhad a great time and we will all be back again next year!

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________

On my way to the Battle of the Paddle!

After a great three week break back home on the island of Maui where I spent some time recovering from recent injuries and even getting a taste for the beginning of the Winter swells surfing and of course some SUP coast runs on the West side of Maui to prepare for the BOP in Dana Point!

I arrived to Dana Point yesterday where I met with the Starboard SUP team and had a good paddle before the race this weekend.

Here is a link to my YOUTUBE channel where you can view videos that I have made on the La Reunion trip and as well videos on the BOP 2010.

YOUTUBE CHANNEL CLICK HERE

BOP VIDEO CLICK HERE

Until tomorrow!!

Aloha and Mahalo,

Zane Kekoa Schweitzer

www.zaneschweitzer.com
blog.zaneschweitzer.com

zaniac1@gmail.com

mobile. +1(808) 205-0918

Surfing and last days of sailing

2010-09-05T14:22:54Z

On the fourth day of competition I hurt my foot and was out of the event until the finals, where I got third with an injured foot!

We had a really fun party for the last day of competing at Pierre Godets house and it was really fun with Steven's live band jamming! Thanks for such a great party and good grinds Pierre and Mounira Godet! After that we had a late night dancing at the disco tech.

For the finals we actually got some decent conditions with logo high waves and not as windy as previous days.

My foot has been feeling much better and I was stoked to be able to go out in the finals. The wind has died down to nothing and the waves have been really fun, we have been surfing and exploring the island, relaxing in another paradise!

During the finals!

Push loop from a few days ago.

More surfing pictures to come!

Beach Cleanup at Ravine Blanche

2010-08-29T15:34:14Z

Aloha All!

The Wave Classic group and I have been having a blast sailing, exploring and meeting locals.

Yesterday we did a beach clean up at one of the event sites, Ravine Blanche, and we had a big group of people supporting it and having fun while cleaning up their local spot! Ravine Blanche is like the Ho'okipa of La Reunion, not in the fact of conditions, but because it is where all the sailers meet everyday for a session and its their "home break".

The island of La Reunion is so beautiful and it is a pity to see trash such as plastic, bottles, cans and tires on the beach, blowing into the ocean. This is a sort of time capsule to see what can happen to a beautiful place if you can not malama "take care" and throw away your trash. But with the help of some friends and good organization from the Wave Classic and Pierre Godet, a local of Reunion island, we managed to clean up the beach!

But with the help of some friends and good organization from the Wave Classic, Blue ocean association and Pierre Godet, a local of Reunion island, we managed to clean up the beach!

Some kids who are stoked with some cloths I gave out along with some hats and slippers from Orange company.

Francisco Porcella and I crossing paths!

La Reunion Wave Classic Invitational 2010 Competition day 1

2010-08-27T03:55:00Z

The teams were decided last night and they are very fair and filed with talent! My team consists of Local to Reunion, Steven, and Thomas Traversa. There are three other teams all with the same amount of people.

The first day of competing was epic! We scored some unreal conditions with 20 knot winds and waves up to 7 feet measured from the back! We all were having a blast and we all are stoked to be apart of this wave classic!

The island of Reunion reminds me so much of home, as the island is volcanic and has a lot of the same dirt, reef, and rocks. The mountains are green and high and there is much agriculture like sugar cane, papaya, and tobacco. Just as Maui the islands number one cash crop is Sugar Cane, so the sight when you look into the mountains is the same as in Maui with fields and small forests.

The La Reunion Wave Classic 2010 Crew!

Me in my first heat of the day.

La Reunion Wave Classic Invitational 2010

2010-08-26T03:00:00Z

Aloha!

After a great summer back and forth from Maui to Morocco, Italy, and Oregon I am on my way to France for the La Reunion Wave classic invitational 2010! Morocco was my first Wave Classic series event and I am very excited for this next event in France. This time the crew is a little smaller with 8 competitors, but I’m sure all of us will be having just as much fun and scoring bigger better waves!

La Reunion is a French island off of Africa with great waves and wind conditions. After 45 hours of traveling I am completely relieved to be on the island, and it will be even more worth while once we get our first session in!

Pailolo Channel crossing SUP Race 27mi

2010-07-29T09:09:00Z

Aloha,

Back on home base Maui and right away into the program with a 27 mile SUP race from Honolua bay on the west side of Maui, 27 miles across the channel to Kaunakakai on the island of Moloka'i. The race was really hard and long, especially after not training much and just traveling the last month!

I finished the race in 5 hours and 49 minutes and got second in the Junior 19 and under division, and 25 overall out of about 80.

Really fun race! Mahalos to Handsom Buggas Productions!

The start of the race took place at Honolua bay, my home break! The morning up the race I picked up Ekolu Kalama and took him to Honolua to the start where we signed in and had a pule (prayer) with everyone to keep all the competitors safe!

The finish of the race was at Kaunakakai, Moloka'i.

Wind Festival Hood River 6/26 - 6/27 Windsurf and Stand Up competition, and Kids Clinic put on by Zane Schweitzer

2010-06-30T23:48:00Z

The Wind Fest is a event where water-sport companies such as Starboard, Dakine, and North Sails come down to Hood river and put up a booth where people can come by and demo equipment and buy products. There is also a windsurf event called the Blow out that is conjoined with the wind fest, it is a 17 mile downwinder that ends at the event site! There was also a Stand up Paddle competition that was 7 miles finishing at the event site. Katie Crafts the president of the CGWA (Columbia River Gorge Windsurf Association) put on the Wind Festival and asked me to put on an all age kids clinic for Windsurfing and Stand Up Paddling and I was stoked to do this!

Big Mahalos to Starboard, North Sails, Dakine, and Severne for donating equipment for the kids to learn on and for me to use while I taught!

Noah and Lukas towing behind me on a Starboard SUP!

For the kids that could not get up, they jumped on my board and had a blast!

Land Lesson for rigging.

(from left to right) Zane Schweitzer, Andy Crafts, ?, Ben Izac, ?

Sean Williams and I.

Jay Watermeyer and I practicing some jibes on the Gemini Tandem board by Starboard.

Aaron Cardwell and Jay Watermeyer having a good time on the Gemini!

Some light wind long board freestyle.

Jake Miller

Me at the Hatchery with Jake Miller, Tyson Poor, Whitt Poor, Bryan Metcalf-Perez, Jay Watermeyer and Sean Williams

Tyson Poore

Sam Neal flippin'

Back loop

Huge Mahalos to Ali Stone for providing all photos!

Hood River Madness

2010-06-28T01:46:46Z

Aloha,

After a great event in Pistol, we are settled in with a big group of people in Hood River Oregon. I love coming to Hood because there are so many fun and extreme sports all around. For the last 5 days that we have been in the water and in the mountains everyday. Just two days ago we woke up at 6 and went snowboarding on Mt. Hood, finished around 1 then headed to the Hatchery for a windsurf, and then after that we hit up the mountain bike trails at Post Canyon!

Jay Watermeyer grabbing rail off a big quarter pipe!

Kelly and Jay heading back to the lifts.

Bryan Metcalf-Perez doing a Spok at the Hatchery

Jay Watermeyer

Kelly Watermeyer

Bryan Metcalf-Perez

Me up in Post Canyon with Jay Watermeyer, Sean Williams, and Dale Cook!

Dale

Jay

Three different Sports and three different elements, thats a perfect day in my book!

Mahalos to Ali Stone for the photos!

Competing In Pistol River

2010-06-20T06:13:00Z

The waves were great for the first two days then dropped the third day, the wind was really strong everyday besides the second day.

Everyone was going off and going big, Kevin and Francisco were both landing double forwards and it was really exciting to watch them compete against each other in the final!

The results of the Pistol River Wave Bash are as follows: