Mauritius once more...

Uli in One Eye

Babsy Table Top



Hi!
I arrived here in Mauritius with my friend Babsy Strasser one week ago.
We are sharing a great time here!
Although the swell is not the biggest at the moment we had already good sessions in Manawa, One eye and some jumping on the little reef. Also getting on my kite some more when it is really flat and practising some jumps,- getting in the waves with the kite is not far away anymore..
Some more days to wait and it will get really biiiiig again! Enjoy life!
ULi

Pics Pozo

Hallo !
Finally I got some more pics from the Comp in Pozo, Gran Canaria ( thanks to John Carter) and some days sailing in Fuerteventura! In the meantime I am back home in Austria since one week. Nice weather. Back in the mountains. Mountainbiking, climbing, next week in internship on the surgery departement of an hospital in Linz. For short time serious again.....

Gran Canaria Worldcup is over...

Hallo!

Finally I give you some updates about my contest in Pozo, Gran Canaria. I was quite crestfallen after the results- but now I am finally back on my computer...
This year i only did the wave- comp.
The days before the competition we had really good sailing in Ojos de Garza and also in Pozo. Nice waves and i felt pretty good for the comp. although i did not sail for a long time..
the waveriding started straight away on the first day of competition. Waves were a smaller than the days before, but ok for Pozo.
In my first heat I was against Laure Treboux- the amazing freestyle sailor.
I got a nice wave right at the beginning,rode it and tried to hit the endsection...but too close to the rocks...And up there I was. On the nice slippery pozo rocks, right in the onshore corner of the bay..like a turtle. Not soo nice..I spent 3-4 min there until I made it back on the water after the set. Still had a good forward and a tabletop and another waveride- which I maybe did a little bit on the secure side..Actually I thought it would still be enough to advance as Laure is not the big jumper. But concerning the judges it was not. I was quite broken after that, but tried to keep myself head up for the duoble elimiation to come back!!
then the waiting game began......6 days without any waves. the wind getting stronger and stronger each day- and still flat.
I got a little impatient those days to be honest. Sitting on the beach in that wind killed me- and not geting to sail alot, as the bay was " closed" for the freestyle and slalom sailors..Maybe I lost focus a bit. That´s not really me , as normally i am quite competitive- do not know what happened..maybe still sad about the result in the single.
Finally on the second last day we could conplete the double.
I won my first heat against the Isreal girl: Lee-el Kortsiz, but not with a good performance to be honest. The next heat I was against Junko Nagoshi from Japan. that was a pretty hard seeding right at the beginning of he double. I could have beat her with a relly good perfromance.- But I missed out a second jump. I had a solid forward, but did not find enough steep ramps. Had a crashed backllop, but no safe tabletop....Too bad. Out! Over for me. With a ninth place. How bad!
My worst result since i am doing competitions...
Guess it was a mental problem here. did not figure it out yet...

Now i am a week on fuerteventura. Easy nice wavesailing with 4.7m, a bit of kiting, visiting friends...good for the soul!!

Here some pics- hope I get the new pics from Pozo soon!
ULI

Some memories-Slideshow from Australia

Hi there!

Here in Pozo we did already the first single elimination yesterday....Conditions were "so-so". Windy for my 3.7m, in the morning still some nice waves, getting smaller and smaller when the tide came in. Riding small waves seems not to be my strong suit.....dropped out far too soon. Now I can only give my best in the double elimination and make my way back!!!!
Let´s hope for some waves in the next days to have a fair competition for everybody!!
Today there was only slalom racing for the men. Antoine Albeau still on the TOP!!
In the meantime- getting bored today in the stones here- I sorted out some pics of my trip this winter to Australia...some better waves..Enjoy!

PWA Worldcup in Pozo, Gran Canaria

Hallo!
Finally the first worldcup is starting.
The whole PWa-circuit meets again at the windy island of Gran Canaria for competitions in wave for men and woman, freestyle woman and slalom for men. We are welcome again by strong wind and lots of stones...
I arrived here four days ago. Little late as I had to do some exams at university....
the first two days pozo showed itself in a different light. No wind. Classy swimming conditions. the last two days we found pretty good wave- conditions in the north of the island- "Ojos de Garza". the putside point was working very fine and I had a lot of fun sailing again!!!!
Today we had inscription in Pozo and finally could get on the water here. the wind was strong for my 3.3m, and the whole crowd showed the big jumps...was pretty busy, but nice!
Looks like we are going to start the waves competition tomorrow. I hoped I would have some more days to get used to this conditions again, after a long time not beeing able to sail....But it is like it is- and fortunately we have some waves...it can also be different here!!
So I´ll give my best tomorrow. With the age comes the experience, no?


this is the nice view from the plane to the "inntal " and Innsbruck


the Hintertuxer Glacier


a little spanish football fan with the german flag...????


Material-storage at the Bar "La Ola"


Tall Tine Slabe from Slowenia and small Uli Hölzl from Austria at the Opening ceremony

Selling stuff!!!!

Hallo!

I am cleaning my cellar and I am selling a lot of windsurf ( snowboard) equipment to make some space and some money for my next trips.....
Most interesting for you might be:

Ezzy Sails from 2008, NEW: 4.0m, 4.7m
Ezzy Sails from 2008 used: 3.7m ( nearly new!!), 4.2m, 5.0m
Ezzy Sail from 2007: 3.7m

Dakine Harness T3 Wave, Size S, in great condition!!

LORCH Oxygen Waveboard 75L, from 2007, like NEW!

Wave-Fins , Us BOX ( F2, Maui Fin Company): Size: 19-23cm, NEW and used

Extension, Arrows, 25cm, normal diameter
Extension Arrows, 0 cm, ND

Contact me soon before I am on the Canary islands!!

Have a nice summer!!
ULI

Shorttrip to Marocco

Marocco!!!

This journey was i real last minute decision for me. Three very good friends of mine ( Heidi, Natascha and ULi und Markus) had planned this trip already a lont time ago...( yeah,- they are working doctors and cannot be so spontaneous anymore...)
As I had to wait for some "university dates" I only could decide in the last minute if I could go. And two days before - when the wind- and waveforecast looked incredible good, I also found a very cheap flight.
Nicola Thost- a german friend of the good old snowboarding times- and now also dedicated windsurfer, also joined me. Great - no travelling alone!!
So, two days later we sat in the plane from Munic to Marrakesch. Finally going to the ocean again! I was so much looking forward to it! More than three months I haven´t been on the water.
In Marrakesch we took a local taxi, which drove us directly to the windsurfing capital of Marocco- Moulay. ( 20km near Essaouira).
Heidi had already organised that we could stay with them at a local family´s place in this fishervillage. Simple- but really nice!
So interesting to get to know their culture. The life of these women is definately not the easiest one, but they seem to be happy and it is so nice to see a whole big family living together in peace!!!! Their son- Abderazaq Labdi- is one of the next future pros of Maroc. Real good stylish sailing! There are actually a lot of young guys now in this village who have a great potential. Since some years Fta ( a guy who also helped Boujmaa to travel out of Marocco, and who is having a big nice restaurant now in Moulay) is organising some equipment for them - and they are totally addicted!! A real good thing.- At the moment it is a guys sport only in Marocco. It might take another long long time until the girls have the possibility and the "permission" to practise some sports- watersports, wear swimsuits, neopren.....It is still another world. And I still do not know and somewho it is hard for me to understand what the marrocain girls think when they see us women practising this sport....would they like to try?..or does it just not exist in their heads to have the possibility to move so freely on the beach and on the water??.....Are they jealous??..or do they think that we are just crazy???...doing a men´s thing and acting against our femininity?......MHHH?????
It makes me think a lot!!!!!!!!
So, to keep it short- we had a great week. For four days the wind was howling for my 3.3m and 3.7m ezzy sail and the smallest Lorch Baby- My Oxygen 60L. the waves were about 2 meters every day. The last two days the wind was light and I was kiting....First days in waves. Totally exited about that! I still have noooo control at all, and I had to walk back upwind, dropped the kite in the waves.... - but it is Adrenaline again....
Yeah WE had a GREAT week together!!!
Two more weeks to go - then POZO in GRAN CANARIA.
I know that I did not train at all for this competition...But I still go, will give my best and I am really looking forward to see all the people from the tour again- and to sail !!!