... this year's PWA Rookie of the Year Xenia Kessler.  At 20 yrs old she is traveling the world competing, and training while going to school for a degree in journalism, working as a waitress, and sometimes cutting hair in her free time.  Having known all of that this year and having known her for 2 yrs. now I still made the mistake of underestimating her abilities.  

It all started rather innocently when her like so many people this year told me they wanted to cut my hair...after thinking about it I told her she could cut my hair if she had 7 alcoholic drinks in one night.  Having known her and seen her drink, I believed her limit to be 4 after which she usually falls asleep with her head on the table.  But after a few weeks she still had not taken me up on that deal, so while having dinner with the Jibe City staff and friends Arrianne Aukes brought up our deal, and along with Pete DeKay turned our deal into a competition.  Joining in were Arrianne Aukes, Irene Drexhage, Gilbert Van Dijk.  Both Arrianne and Irene had to drink 14 drinks, while Gilbert had to drink 25 Polar.  

Feeling pretty confident that Gilbert was not going to drink beer, and that the other girls would not be able to drink 14, I was going to sit back and watch the show as Xenia fell asleep and everyone else got hammered.  This time there was a scheduled date and time, 7 o'clock you could start drinking and you had until the end of the Jibe City Full Moon Sailing party to finish your drinks and cut my hair.

Not wanting to help them motivate for a good finish I left it to them to get to work by themselves.  Gilbert Like a true Dutchman got his party started drinking almareto and cola before 7, Xenia started off with almaretto and Chocomel [Chocomel is a chocolate milk in a can, with a a caramel taste], Irene started off with White wine, Arrianne with rum and cokes.  As the party progressed the drinking slowed down for the girls, while Gilbert kept drinking Almareto and coke.  Sitting at the bar and talking to Xenia I found out she had 5 drinks and suggested that she have a double of something and just get it done.  Arrianne also sitting next to me added that she was to far away to be able to finish, and started motivating her, and with a little bit of help from Pete Dekay and the rest she agreed.  

So I ordered a Triple Malibu and chocomel.  Upon the first sip she proclaimed that the drink was TOO good! after which she proceeded to drain the whole whole glass through her straw without stopping for air! 

Gilbert would end up rounding up the bottom after having finished a whole bottle of Almaretto, to then only remember he needed to drink 25 polar.  Coming in third was  Irene who had pretty much given up on the and only had 6.  While Arianne had had 9 coming in second right behind Xenia.  The one person that I was least afraid of ended up winning showing me why this year she was the PWA rookie of the year.

Being too nice with my hair at first and frustrating everyone around watching by only cutting a little bit of my hair off.  She came clean that she had only had 4 drinks before I got her the “double” and felt really bad and did not want to cut anymore.  But having known this already I too came clean informing her that she did not drink a double but a Triple. Upon finding this out she took me back in the light and cut twice as much off as before!

WHO DO YOU THINK I LOOK LIKE WITH MY NEW CUT?

So having set my goals for 2011 I was planning on having a bit more water time in Bonaire then I did this year.  Last year I arrived in Bonaire unable to bring my gear and at around 185 plus lbs.  So this year having flown in just after the embargo with my own gear and, at under 175lbs I thought I was primed for a great 2 plus months.  But this years wind turned out to be less then stellar, even though I will end up leaving bonaire with more completed moves then last year I swear at a heavier weight, I sailed more days on smaller gear last year then I did this year on my big sail.  Not that I ever kept track of total days on the water, or hrs I have sailed before to base that assumption on anything.  This year I have tried to keep a record of hrs I sailed when I landed a new move when I tried a new move.  Some of the times I do really well and other times not so much.  So far with 3 days left of the first quarter of 2011 I have logged 43.5 hrs on my 5.3, 21.5 hrs on my 4.9 and 10 hrs on my 4.5.  Giving me a 39 day total of 75-hrs most of which came from the one week I stayed in Bonaire while the rest of the crew went to Aruba.  [I did not count the number of days I went out and practiced in light wind]

But then again this place is simply unbeatable, 75hrs on the water here might as well be a 150 in California.  Back home I would have to waterstart after most of my crashes, I would have colder choppy, to almost swell like water and very few people sailing around me to watch, or learn from.  But here in Bonaire with 3 of the top 5 PWA sailors living here and a bunch of soon to be big names training here, to watch and talk to simply incomparable.  Its like I tell everyone else the only day in Bonaire your not really happy, or excited is the day you leave.  With 3 more days left before the end of the first Quarter  I am on track having now learned 5 new moves and one new skill and am slightly ahead of schedule. But am behind in what I had wanted to accomplish before March 30th by 3 moves.

But then again when I wrote these goals out, March 30th would have been around the date that I first showed up at Worldwinds, in Texas.  As it turns out though I will be staying in Bonaire for another 3 weeks, so I still have time to accomplish what I had wanted too before going on to Texas.  Today waking up to my first bonus morning session sailing alone in the harbor, a local boy sailed down and followed me around.  They call him Scrappy [a reference to a character from Scooby Doo], who is the younger brother of Bjorn Saragoza [pg. 36 in Winsdsports 2011 Buyers Guide; Issue 127]   Watching me crash on my flakas he would do one so I could see it then give me a tip.  Then he asked if I did shove its, or switch stance.  I told him I have tried both but can't get the last piece.  So he asks what happens when I go switch, I tell him I get pulled over the front a lot going for the back strap.....then he lays out what he does, but goes on to say when your trying to learn its better to do it slightly differently.  Following me around for a few runs telling me to go downwind more, or not that far downwind trying for the first time on port I got in the straps switch once, and on starboard 3 times.  Who would have thought the son of a former world class racer, brother to a PWA soon to be big name, thinking he to would be a pro would spend the time with me out on the water helping me learn.  Only in windsurfing and really it seems to me to be only in Bonaire! that you would have this type of atmosphere  and friendship!  Which I believe to be the true seceret to why bonaire is such an amazing place to visit, to windsurf, and to learn!

Below is the chart of the numbers assigned to the moves I am trying to learn, with the name and date of the ones that I have accomplished.

Some Random shots taken of me while sailing in the amazing waters of Bonaire!

(Note: If you haven't read Parts 1 & 2 of Tragedy on Flight 662 then simply scroll down this page a few posts and you'll find them!)

So after mailing away my claim I had a few weeks left of great internet, hot showers, and big city living before heading off to Bonaire. Having secured a board from a local Team Rider Jason Voss, I was off to Bonaire. Living right on the beach at Jibe City, I could wake up put on a shirt and walk to the water..[one hand flaka pic behined one of my students I had taught that very day]...usually never leaving the beach until the sun was well past set.  I had almost totally forgotten about my board when I received a message from the motherland, via my Mom that US Airways had sent something back. I sat for a few minutes thinking if I really wanted to know what they said, and if they had said no what I could do about it from Bonaire.

But  I asked her to send it along anyway. Of all the stuff I had read on the internet about airlines taking care of damaged surfboards I had not had much hope.  But the one thing that I had going on for me was the belief that I was somehow different then the others and that my board was completely destroyed.  The damage to my RRD TwinTip was not just a crack, dent, ding, scratch...but was a complete and total devastation of what had once been a great board. [claim letter pic]

So after receiving this letter I was sure of what I had first believed.  If you board has a crack or a dent you will probably have to suck it up and take the fact your baby now has a scar. But if they totally destroy your board then you have options. All in all it was a big pain in my behind dealing with this claim, but ultimately everything worked out better then I could have expected. As it turns out US Airways turned out to be a stand up organization, taking care of my board and I. So when your flying hopefully your board arrives without a scratch, but if it is damaged hopefully they run it over with the plane in which case you get a shinny new one, or in mine a used one from Jason Voss.  [The other thing is if your lucky like I was they break your board in half after your done using it, and not before you plan too!]