Thursday, October 23, 2008

Summer Camp Finale - Parts 5 & 6

Wah-lah! Here's the finale of the "Summer Camp" video series...parts 5 & 6. Hopefully you're not too sick of it. I had fun putting it all together. Putting it all together from intro to Part 6 is about 30 minutes long...about the length of some other full length windsurfing video releases. Of course, I still have a lot of work to do in terms of bringing my work up to a real professional video and editing look and feel. I think releasing it in chapters made it a bit more watchable and fun. Hopefully, this video series gave you a real good sense of what it's like at San Carlos if you've never been, and a real good sense of wonder of why its taking you so long to get back if you have been there.

Lets face it - I'm married with 3 children and I don't live close to the coast. I'm not going to be a great wavesailor anytime soon. But damn - I sure did have fun at San Carlos. I know I was at the very far end of the spectrum compared to when you watch guys like Wyatt Miller and Kevin McGillivary (Duh!), but it sure felt good out there on those waves.

The problem with San Carlos? Now I'm spoiled. There wasn't any current, there was a nice long swell period, side off wind, no crazy chop or washing machine-like conditions between the waves, no huge shorepound to get through, and long crumbly waves that went forever....a wave riding dream. I would be real lucky to get conditions exactly like those anywhere on the Carolina coast...it just doesn't happen. Either there is a wicked current, major shorepound, the ocean is boiling, or something. I'll just have to suck it up, get out there in our local waves, pay some dues, and enjoy the heck out of it.

I think I'm going back to San Carlos. Who wants to go?

Part 5 - "Summer Camp" - The Dirt

The Windsurfing Crew in San Carlos - The Dirt from Mac Barnhardt on Vimeo.

Part 6 - "Summer Camp" - Finale - Camp Life & Departure

The Windsurfing Crew in San Carlos - Finale - Camp Life & Departure from Mac Barnhardt on Vimeo.

Special thanks to the Solo Sports crew - they were great, kept us laughing, and gave us great tips all week that helped our sailing and gear selection. Kudos go to Kevin Trejo for running a great operation in the middle of freaking nowhere for the past 20+ years and running. And kudos to his compadres Clark Merritt, Rodney, Joey, the local Mexican cooks and maintenance crew, and the local pilots. Thanks also to Wyatt Miller, Kevin McGillivary, Taylor Congdon, and Casey Hauser for providing us the ripping moves and impressive wavesailing...and for being very cool with helpful tips on and off the water. Thanks Kevin for coaxing me onto that nice wave even though you had right of way! Sorry Taylor - I thought I had footage of you wavesailing but the few shots I got of you didn't turn out well....you definitely rip! Thanks also to Taylor for the video tips. And thanks to Josh for being....well, Josh. Always fun to hang out with you and glad you were there for our next big adventure (as you were there for HIHO with us last year). Come back to sail with us in NC!

Special thanks also to my traveling and windsurfing mates - Alain, Alan, Donald, Jim, Rob, Tommy, and Troy. I had a great time with all of you and I'm ready to do it again. I thoroughly enjoyed meeting and getting to know our new friends Ken from Portland, Mike - Sergai - Hugh from San Fran, Mike from Santa Barbara, and John from Cleveland.

May you always have wind in your hair and sand in your shorts.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Mac,

You the man. Thanks for taking the time to film the video and putting it all together. I think you nailed it with the true feel for Solo Sports. Let's start thinking about next time.

Donald

Andy said...

Dude, those windsurfing videos were sweet, but that helmet cam single track mountain biking footage is INSANE!! I almost peed my pants banking around some of those turns, from here behind my computer screen...

Nice job with the vids!

Waterturtle said...

Thanks Andy...the single track there is quite a bit different than the single track I'm used to riding here. The dirt there is very loose with lots of loose rocks, etc. So you have to be careful not to wipe out in the downhill sections and sharp turns...you could see a few of us taking our foot off the pedal in the turns BMX style....as opposed to here where the dirt is usually very hard packed and much easier for handling. But those trails were awesome as you could see...lots of fun and beautiful views.