jasonslezak.com

REAL BVI 2010 Excursion Begins!

// January 15th, 2010 // 1 Comment » // REAL Travel, REAL Watersports

We took off from Cape Hatteras in typical Trip Forman and Jason Slezak style…..fashionably late! The A team consisting of Matt Nuzzo, Amy & Stan Radev flew from Raleigh to Tortola via Miami and met up with Brandon Scheid upon arrival to the Moorings base in Road Town. The B team of, Trip, Bryan Elkus, Sam Bell, and myself flew from Richmond, Va to Aguadilla, Pr via JFK. All of our gear made it and none of us missed our flights (for a change!).

Capt. Sammy and me departing from Richmond, Va

We arrived in PR at 4:30am and were in the water paddling out at Wilderness aka “Wildo” by 6:30am. The four of us were joined by REAL team rider Brian “BCS” Smith plus our good friend, long time REAL client, and Liquid Force kite flyer Mark Brown. The six of us traded off solid overhead waves until almost 11am, at which point we were all exhausted from dehydration and lack of food/sleep from our previous day of travel. During our lunch break we were informed that our customs paperwork was held up and we would not be departing for the BVI’s that evening as originally planned. So, rather than being bummed out about our change of plans, we observed the most important rule of REAL BVI….SESSIONS BEFORE SCHEDULES! We then all took naps (Which counts as a session in all REAL Travel trips!) and went for a beautiful sunset surf at Surfers Beach.

Trip hitting the water at Wildo

Yesterday morning our flight to Tortola turned out to be one of the most interesting and adventurous of my life! We showed up at the private air terminal to meet our pilot, Edwin, to help him load the plane. We even had to put in our own seats!! Edwin took us in to show us the heavy cloud cover and rain that we were going to be flying straight into. We made the decision to push through and go for it. As the little plane took off and we started violently bouncing around heading into the clouds I think that we all were second guessing the decision, but it ended up being all good! The flight was socked in until we got over St. Thomas when we broke through the clouds and it was smooth flying all the way to the Beef Island Airport.

The REAL Crew on our private flight

Matt “Lt. Nik Nuzzitofski, of the USS Triple S Submarine Squadron” Nuzzo greeted us at the airport and we were rolled straight into provisioning. As soon as we finished it was straight to Apple Bay for an evening cool down surf session. The wind was a bit onshore but no one was complaining; warm temps, blue water, and good friends. The session ended with the mandatory Bomba Punch at the Bomba Shack. It is so good to be back in the BVI’s! Our night ended with our opening night briefing for all of the clients, given by Trip Forman at the Mooring Base bar.

Capt. Sammy and the Mountain of Schafer

Nuzzi, Brandon, Bryan, and I woke this morning in the dark and headed back to Apple Bay for one last surf before shoving off the dock. It was a bit onshore but bigger than last night and all of us scored a few fun ones! We are off of the dock in the next few hours and the fun begins.

Stay tuned for more updates in the next few days on jasonslezak.com, and also check;

REALWatersports.com
bryanelkus.com
brandonscheid.com

And for all of you “Tweeters” out there, follow us at;
@jasonslezak
@REALWatersports
@bryanelkus
@brandonscheid

~ Jason

Back in action for 2010

// January 15th, 2010 // 1 Comment » // Liquid Force, Liquid Force Travel, REAL Travel, REAL Watersports

Welcome back to jasonslezak.com for 2010! It has been 6 months since I last posted anything to my site!!! It was not for lack of things going on, if anything I have been almost too busy to keep up. After the LF oahu shoot in June I flew to Hood River, Or to meet up with a bunch of the REAL Team for the Slider Project/2nd WInd Slider Jam and it was a blast! Our crew consisted of Sam Bell, Brandon Scheid, Laura “Lulu” Vromen, Claire Lutz, and photographer/rider Bryan Elkus. We all had an amazing time in the Gorge! It is almost impossible not to….great kiting, killer skate park, summer snowboarding, and all with amazing friends! The REAL Team trip to Hood River is sure to become an annual event!

Post session at the Hood River sand bar

From the Gorge Sammy, Bryan and I flew to NY for the first annual REAL Alumni Retreat. After visiting with a former REAL coach, Steve Speath, and checking out his new business venture, Brooklyn Boulders indoor rock gym, and skating around NYC, we were picked up by Matt Nuzzo in the REAL Mobile Session Unit and headed east to Montauk. For the next 4 days Sam, Bryan, Matt, Trip, myself, and all of the REAL Alumni that attended the event surfed, kited, and partied. At the end of the weekend I met up and grabbed a surf session with a legend and good friend, Jimmy Buffett. We traded off waves and stories from our adventures since we had last surfed together in January in the BVI’s.

Fun longboard session at Ditch Planes

After the REAL Alumni Retreat I headed back to Hatteras to spend the 4th of July with my family and regroup before heading off to Tahiti to meet up with Mauricio Abreu, Josh Mulcoy, & Moe Goold for a Moorings Charter with the amazing visual media duo John and Alexis Bilderback. We embarked on that excursion to film a section for Bilderback Productions upcoming DVD project and also shoot a travel feature for Kiteworld Magazine. The trip was amazing and as a bonus we were able to surf Teahupoo while staying on Tahiti waiting for our boat to be ready. This was my second trip to Tahiti and the beauty of the people and the islands always amaze me! (Check back for a full piece on our Tahiti trip in the near future!)

View from the pearl farm in the Tuamotus

Upon returning from Tahiti on July 20th I barely was able to unpack and unwind before we were gearing up for our first annual REAL Peru trip to Mancora in Northern Peru August 1st through the 10th. The crew for this adventure was; Trip, Sam Bell, Bryan Elkus, Ted Batustia, Mark Brown, me and a handful of other REAL friends. Northern Peru is a goofy footers wet dream for both kiting and surfing! And seeing that I am goofy I was in heaven!!!! We scored great surf and kiting every day that we were there! (Check back for a full travel piece in the 2009 REAL Peru adventure in the near future)

Beach break slash right in front of our place, Samana Chakra, in Mancora.

We returned from Peru to an active Atlantic Ocean hurricane season, which produced plenty of quality surf and kite conditions on Cape Hatteras as well as up and down the east coast. Fall is by far my favorite time to be in Hatteras and this year was no let down! Warm water, picturesque sunsets, uncrowded sessions! What more could you ask for?!?! But as the fall came to a close we started looking again to winter travel destinations, which leads us to where we are today.

Thanksgiving swell, Mirlo beach Rodanthe

It is that time of year again and the REAL BVI 2010 boat trip is only a few days away! Warm blue water, quality caribbean surf, plush Moorings boats, and fantastic kiteboarding and kitesurfing with a epic crew of people. We are on our way south breaking out of the deep freeze that the east coast of the United States is in, in search of the best sessions and best boat drinks that the Caribbean has to offer!

Check jasonslezak.com over the next few weeks for periodic updates from REAL BVI 2010. And for more visual stimulation and stories of the REAL BVI adventures also browse;

REALWatersports.com
bryanelkus.com
brandonscheid.com

And for all of you “Tweeters” out there, follow us at;
@jasonslezak
@REALWatersports
@bryanelkus
@brandonscheid

Thanks for checking in, and I hope that all of you are getting out on the water as much as possible in 2010!

~Jason Slezak

Outside bombs and frontside grinds

// April 16th, 2009 // 1 Comment » // Hatteras, Liquid Force, REAL Watersports

Cape Hatteras Lighthouse Photo: Bryan Elkus

Today was another amazing Hatteras spring day. 30 to 40 knot winds blanketed the island from sun up to sun down. A strong NE wind had been blowing for a few days, sending some sizey windswell down the coast. Sam Bell, Bryan Elkus and I gathered our gear and headed for the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse late in the afternoon.

Launching 8m LF Havoc Photo: Bryan Elkus

The wind was howling and the waves were exploding at the jetty and peeling down the beach. The amount of current was much more than usuall and the outer sand bars were breaking for easily upwords of a mile and a half out to sea.

Sam Bell cruising down the line Photo: Bryan Elkus

Sam rigged his 6m Cult while I broke out a fresh 6m LF Havoc that had arrived the day before. The perfect size kites for the wind at hand. However, with the easily 6 to 10 knot current in the water the small kites were not getting the job done.

Messy wind swell slash on my LF 6'2" EVF Rawson Photo: Bryan Elkus

I tossed up my 8m Havoc and Sam his 9 hoping that the extra pull would help. Although we did have more power it was still not enough to combat the forces of Mother Nature and staying upwind proved to be a difficult task. The outside swell was large and moving fast. I’m not sure what it is about being out in the ocean that makes you feel alive! We both had a few good waves but overall the moving water won and we headed for the beach.

Trying to set the rail on a powered up top turn Photo: Bryan Elkus

Sammy headed home but Bryan, a friend on mine Ed, and I headed to the Buxton Bowl for a sunset stake session. Ed is an amazing skater and is in town building a mini ramp and was in need of some building motivation.

Taking a break in between runs Photo: Bryan Elkus

Ed quickly warmed up and started throwing down endless lip tricks and busting out airs! We had a super fun evening skate. Check out some pics from the session below. For more photos from both the Lighthouse kite session and the Buxton Bowl skate, check out photographer Bryan Elkus’s blog!

Stormchasers reunion tour to Powder Mountain for the 2009 Superfly Open

// March 12th, 2009 // No Comments » // Liquid Force, Liquid Force Travel, REAL Travel, REAL Watersports

Don’t call it a come back, we’ve been here for years . . . Many of the  original crew from the REAL Storm Chasers 2003 snowkite tour is going to be reunited today in the small town of Eden, Ut. Eden is the home of POWDER Mountain. Powder is not only the resort holding the title of the most skiable acreage in North America @ 5,500 acres, it also hosts a heli operation, very reasonable snowcat service, AND is the FIRST ski resort in North America to provide an area, pass, and lift access for snowkiting. What more could you as for as far as a venue to host a progressive snowkite contest? Maybe a bikini contest??? Well they have that too!! The opening night party bikini contest has become legendary and I personally hope that this years proves to be no different.

The Storm Chasers original crew of Gregg “Tekko” Gnecco, Llew Simmonds, Kristy Moller, and myself. Will be joined by one of the newest members of the Liquid Force Family Norwegian snowkite sensation Petter Johnsen, East coast kite wakestyle guru Ted Bautista, photographer Bryan Elkus, LF kite designer and team rider Julien Fillion, and a revolving cast of characters including the rumored appearance of wake and kite icon SHANNON BEST!

Check back here daily for contest updates and freeride photos, and surf over to REALWATERSPORTS.COM Bryans offical REAL posts, contest results, photos, and videos!! 

First production 2009 Liquid Force Influences have landed!

// March 11th, 2009 // 1 Comment » // Hatteras, Liquid Force, REAL Watersports

2009 Liquid Force Influence 138

Pulling the first production Influences out of the box

Can’t seem to wipe the smile off of my face today! I just opened the box that was aired in from the LF factory in Dubai, UEA to unveil the first two 2009 production Influences that I have had the pleasure of laying my hands on. I have been working on this board with legendary LF wakeboard shaper JIMMY REDMON on a conceptual level for over two years, and full on in the prototyping process for almost a year. It is such an amazing feeling to see a project like that go from brainstorming ideas over dinner, to the design files, to protos, to the finished product. And if I must say so myself, the finished product looks damn good!

Well I am looking out the window and I see white caps and kites in the air. I am frantically organizing and packing to leave for Salt Lake City, Ut for this weekends snowkite contest the 2009 Superfly Open, at Powder Mountain with photographer Bryan Elkus Hoping to snag a quick session on the new boards before we hit the road. For more info on the Influence or to add one to your quiver click here!

Warm weather SW, early March in Hatteras

// March 8th, 2009 // No Comments » // Hatteras, REAL Watersports

Sunny day winter surf Photo: bryanelkus.com

Spring has sprung in Hatteras! Even though things looked bleak on March 2^nd when ten of us from the REAL Team surfed the jetties at the Lighthouse for two hours in 32 degree actual temp, 22 degree wind chill, and heavy snow. March has turned around quickly. Many of the coaches and other seasonal REAL employees are arriving back on the island and we just had coaches tryouts that ended today with a group session in the slick with the likes of REAL Head Coach STAN RADEV, Naish and REAL International Team Rider SAM BELL, REAL lesson center director & REAL/Maven team rider LULU VROMAN, returning REAL employee and (new for 2009) REAL coach CLAIRE LUTZ, rising Hatteras kite superstar REAL and Liquid Force team rider BRANDON SHIED, myself and all of the new REAL kite coaches. It was so warm out that you could almost feel the vast shallow expanse of the Pamlico sound warming up throughout the day as we were riding! It is always a great feeling to see the smiling faces on all of the coaches that flock to work at the REAL Lesson center each season.

Cruising the slick with Bryan Elkus

Bryan Elkus and I shared an amazing sunset session in the Slick this evening! It was only made better by having Lulu and Bryan’s girlfriend Mel on the dock cheering us on and taking pictures. It is days like these that remind me how good life is and why I love Hatteras Island so much! Check out BRYAN ELKUS FLICKR for some photos from today.

February in Hatteras

// February 10th, 2009 // No Comments » // Hatteras, REAL Watersports

Back in Cape Hatteras for the month of February recovering from the BVI’s and hoping to enjoy some un-crowded winter kite and surf sessions. It amazes me each year or so how far the advancements in wetsuits have come! I recently acquired an O’neill PSYCOFREAK which is a 3.5mm suit that is both super flexi and warm! My Oneill 4/3mm MUTANT  has become my staple winter Hatteras suit, due to its option of a zip in hood. . . I LOVE being warm!

It is also the time of the year where we put the hammer down on getting all of the details for the upcoming 2009 Triple S Invitational. There is still time for interested riders to get their WILD CARD VIDEO ENTRY submitted and posted. We will be announcing the winners of the three available wild card spots by April, 1 2009. Keep those wild card video entries coming!!

Snow kiting in Hatteras?!?!?!

// January 29th, 2009 // No Comments » // Hatteras, REAL Watersports

BRYAN ELKUS, Dave Rakes, Tommy Kogut, Zack Johnson, and Beth Rowan from the REAL Crew managed to score a snowkite session at the SDA (Salvo Day use Area) in Salvo on 1/21/09. Check out the story and pics!

REAL BVI 2009 week 2

// January 26th, 2009 // No Comments » // REAL Travel, REAL Watersports

Week two of REAL BVI 2009 was another amazing adventure filled with seemingly harmless pirates, rotating happy hours that ended with a crescendo known to all involved as “Happy Hour Triple XL” (That’s X-tra Loud, X-tra Long, and X-tra Legendary!), and so many sessions we lost count (My back hurts!)!!

See for yourself with the REAL BVI WEEK 2 SESSION REPORT!

We ran into a different wind and swell direction than we had ever experienced before in the BVI. The more regular NE trade winds had shifted about 90 degrees clockwise on the compass which put us into a SE pattern. The SE flow provided off shore conditions on some of the typically side shore breaks that we usually kitesurf. This slight change in the weather pattern served up some of the longest waves that I have ever personally experienced in my six consecutive winters of traveling to the BVI’s for both kiting and surfing. It also opened up some new kite spots and exploration downwinders in places that we had yet to explore. We have been working hard in the REAL Media department to compile slideshows from all of the participants from REAL BVI 2009. Check out the links below to see all of the fun!

Week 1 Slideshow

Week 2 Slideshow