With firing conditions and an all-star cast of competitors, the AWT kicked off with a bang last week on the California coast at Waddell Creek. MauiSails riders’ Camille Juban and Ingrid Larouche sailed strongly during the contest with consistent waves, clean lines, powerful turns, and smooth style, earning them a place at the top of both the men’s expert and women’s division, with Ingrid taking 1st place for the Women and Camille finishing 5th for the expert men.

Waddell proved its ability yet again to deliver world-class conditions suitable for high-level competition. Over a week of steady 4.2-5.0 side/side-on winds and chest-logo high waves allowed riders ample time prior to the contest to get on the water and get everything dialed in. The tides at Waddell are a critical factor to the power, shape, and length of the waves, so it was good to get a few sessions in beforehand and become familiar with the changing setup. A small storm from the south put the contest on hold for Day 1, but the trades raged right back in for Day 2, and along with the arrival of a new south swell, it was game on.

First on the water for Day 2 were the youth and Women’s fleet. The high tide coupled with the midday light wind proved to be optimal conditions for smooth, solid waveriding, with sets coming in easy over-head and breaking clean from Shotguns all the way into the bay. Ingrid went out on her 4.5 GhostXT and easily advanced through her first heat, catching wave after wave, sailing them smartly and smoothly, connecting driving bottom turns into snappy top-turns, linking 2-3 turns in per wave. She took first place in her heat and would have to wait until later in the day for the women’s final to take place.

By early afternoon it was time for the expert division to hit the water. The wind had picked up, and overhead+ sets were consistently reeling in from the horizon. In the fourth heat of the first round of the experts, MauiSails rider’s Camille Juban and Casey Hauser went up against PWA rider Leo Ray and Hookipa standout, Bernd Roediger. Camille opted for his 4.2 Mutant and racked up high scores with long, aggressive, waverides, combined with massive, sick pushloops that allowed him to advance out of the first round. Casey picked up some of the better sets of the heat, but was unable to line up a solid jump, and unfortunately was not able to advance over Bernd, who sailed an incredible competition, eventually ending up in the finals where he would take 4th place.

Camille came out of the gates in his second heat on fire with a massive tweaked pushloop just as the green flag went up. It was the Camille show for the rest of the heat as he lined up wave after wave, firing down the line, nice aerials, solid takas, and with a couple more pushloops and stalled forwards just for kicks, you could tell Camille was just having fun. Though he sailed an incredible semi-final heat, he was unfortunately only a couple points shy from getting the number 2 slot and advancing to the finals, landing him in 5th place after the first round of the single elimination.

Right after the Men’s semi’s the Women headed back out onto the water for the Women’s final. With the windier conditions, Ingrid chose her 4.2 legend and brand new Quattro 72L from Keith and proceeded to annihilate the competition. Linking turns and combining hits with critical timing and finesse like you’d expect from the Men’s expert division, Ingrid wowed the judges and the crowd, easily taking the win for the women’s division in the first round.

On Day 3 the wind and waves were up again, though not as strong and not quite as big. After the singles for amateur, masters, and youth were completed, it was time for the Men’s expert to head back out on the water for the start of the double elimination. Taking his 4.6 Mutant, Casey headed to the water on Day 3 determined to fight his way back up. He found his form and landed a solid backloop, stalled forward, and linked together a few good waves to see him advance along with Leo Ray out of the first round. Both Casey and Camille raved about the performance of the new Mutants in side/side on conditions, it’s agility and maneuverability coupled with controlled power really allows one to get more drive out of mushy waves and attack the lip. Just after Casey’s heat, the wind ramped back up, and most riders went out on 4.2-4.5s for the next few rounds. In Casey’s next heat, he would have to face Francisco Goya, Leo Ray, and Russ Faurot. With the stronger winds, Casey opted for the 4.2 Mutant and headed out. The start of the heat was going strongly for Casey, but unfortunately about 2 minutes into the heat the wind dropped to 5.3 conditions, which is where it would eventually stay for the rest of the day. Not able to get enough power, Casey’s competition came to an end here. Two heats later Camille took to the water in hopes of moving up in the double, and with his 4.5 Legend was able to win his first heat, but ultimately the wind continued to die, and the competition was called off for the rest of the day. Unfortunately, on the last day the call was made to not complete the double due to lacking conditions, leaving Camille in his 5th place spot and a solid finish overall!

Congratulations to Levi Siver, resurrecting himself back onto the competition scene, sailing flawlessly, and without question securing 1st place overall. It was great to see so much energy, excitement, and talent focused around windsurfing on the west coast yet again. Over the years at MauiSails we have strived to stay involved and support windsurfing in the US and on the West Coast, and we want to extend a big thanks and congratulations to the AWT and Sam Bittner for putting the AWT Santa Cruz event together and executing a fantastic event, you can be sure to see the MauiSails team at the rest of the AWT stops throughout the season!

Aloha,
Casey Hauser

Photos : Cliff Hauser and americanwindsurfingtour.com