The only thing I love more than dialing in a wave on a new boat, or a friends boat, or any darn boat, is seeing the result be better than the previous and sharing it with friends. The Z3 has giving me this opportunity twice this season. The first time without the new Convex VX and then the second time after adding it on. Once dialed it is always great to test and video and just have fun with our growing crew. Since we have had the only working Convex VX that is color matched to the boat Tige asked us to help do a photo shoot with Chase Hazen on Discovery Bay, CA. That was a blast to be a part of because its rare to get a chance to spend 3 days with Chase like this. He was given the opportunity to just surf and get used to the boat and his new board until he was dialed into it. Most photo shoots I have been a part of a rider is just thrown out and some pictures are taken. Chase was doing great but on the first two days he was still getting used to a brand new version of his board he had just received and while we were there he made several fin adjustments until he got it nailed on the last day, and then we all just got the popcorn and watched. Tige has finally released some video of that day and in the video you can see him do his Passion Pop from close up, its a great shot.
[ You can find the video out there, and it has some great vid of Chase riding and the Pop, but probably better not to post here... ]
And here is a picture I haven't shared yet of Chase getting the biggest air I have ever seen in my life.
Chase_Tige_Disco_0544 by
wake9, on Flickr
I was still pretty pumped when we got home and over those 3 days with Chase RJ and I really felt like we found the perfect weight setup for the Convex VX and I wanted to try one more off season challenge with the Z3 since the weather was still gorgeous and the lake would be empty. Someone posted this video on Wake9 back in June and I thought it was VERY cool.
[video]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=On-jxl_Jnzg[/video]
If you notice in the video, they get three people going at once but have to go in a circle to make it work. Not trying to take away from what they did, it was VERY cool and gave me the idea, but I felt like we could do it going straight with the Z3 and the long clean wake of the Convex VX. So I got my crew together and we headed out with the chase boat to document it and we made another great memory. It was a ton of fun and the weather and conditions were beautiful. I have already posted pictures from this day but left out the three ride attempt until I finished this video. Here it is.
[video]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VWJKBa1maV8[/video]
I tried to document the attempt enough so that it was clear we are going straight, no tricks and we definitely held it for a good minute. Everyone rode normal performance wakesurf boards that matched their size and ability, no long boards or anything to help you ride in the back. RJ was riding the TWP 4'9" Bomb Pop because he damaged his 4'8" Soulcraft Fangtail in an earlier attempt.
I got some great pics also. Here is one of the attempt on the regular side, we wanted to do both sides.
IMG_9360 by
wake9, on Flickr
We couldn't get it done because RJ just wasn't comfortable enough on his backside. If we had one more good regular rider, we would have nailed it on both sides. We did get Mitch and Rob going together pretty easily and that was fun. We definitely learned what we needed to do on the goofy side.
IMG_9841 by
wake9, on Flickr
Dennis spent time on the dock before we headed out and got the ropes setup perfect.
IMG_9968 by
wake9, on Flickr
They did it! Janelle did such a great job of holding up front. It was a lot harder than it looks and she got serious Jelly Leg.
IMG_0172 by
wake9, on Flickr
Great picture from Rob standing on the back of the boat with his phone.
IMAG0690 by
wake9, on Flickr
This was my favorite moment. Maddie kept struggling to stay right behind Janelle, its a bit scary and she is not a good pumper. We got everyone going but wanted to hold for a good minute and Maddie was falling back. RJ had enough power back there to not only surf but actually push her forward and keep going, you can see it pretty clear in the video also.
IMG_0203 by
wake9, on Flickr
That was fun. You can see all of the pics here:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/wake9/s...th/8282145254/
Here are the rest of the pictures from that same day that I posted before.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/wake9/s...7632072996785/
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