Here is how John Carter managed to gather eight wave sailing world champions to pose for a photo! A task much easier said than done!!!
Lets rewind to the 13th of APRIL 2009…
CHAMPIONS LEAGUE
Together they form a small band of elite athletes who have claimed windsurfing’s ultimate crown…the world wave sailing title. The fact they all reside in distant corners of the windsurfing world and that several have retired from international competition means most of these sailors rarely cross paths. However, April in Maui is photo shoot time and even champions have bills to pay, I knew tickets would be booked and that eight past winners would be on the island at the same time so I set in motion a plan to capture this rare convergence on camera.
After numerous e mails and phone calls, this complex human jigsaw was nearing completion and the shoot was scheduled for 8am on Easter Monday, the 13th of April 2009. The preceding evening I double checked every item of my camera equipment wondering how many, if any, of these windsurfing titans would show. There was a high surf advisory in effect and the lure of a dawn patrol would be hard to compete with. The location was just off the rocks at the pavilion end of Hookipa Beach Park and when I nervously turned up at 7.30am, dark clouds were looming upwind…the omens seemed against me!
The weather forecast was dismal… ‘Totally over cast with the chance of some heavy showers’ according to Glen James the local guru… just my luck, I could cope with clouds but would my champs stand out in the pouring rain for a measly photo…Unlikely…Not unless I splashed out on a champagne buffet, hula dancers and a VIP marquee.
Aside from the weather, there were other issues to deal with. My cast of characters included some of the greatest names in the history of windsurfing and there were certain to be some massive egos floating around. Would there be tantrums or would there be tears? Would the likes of Robby Naish or Bjorn Dunkerbeck spit the dummy if they were not in the centre of the shot or would they end up scrapping anyway about some past feud? What else? What if Jason Polakow’s PA shows up demanding a thousand bucks for him to pose in the shot and even then you wouldn’t get his best side! Would Robby refuse to get out of the truck until a red carpet was laid all the way down to the shoot area and even then… How long would it take him to get down to the ground from the cockpit of his monster wagon and would he need some kind of special ladder and possibly delay the shoot in the process. Would Scottie ‘Gramps’ McKercher require a wheelchair ramp to make it down to the rocks from the upper car park or would he be too drugged from his morning Cappuccinos to remember the shoot was on at all…Would Cisco Goya turn up with him family complete with screaming kids, a picnic and buckets and spades? Would Kevin Pritchard and Bjorn refuse to stand in the same picture unless Starboard cough up a huge photo incentive bonus? What about Josh Angulo, would he decide not to shoot on Easter Monday for religious reasons or would he bring a stack of bibles and start preaching to the masses? As for myself…would I forget to bring batteries, accidentally erase memory cards or would Kauli Seadi’s bright white teeth cause metering problems for my camera. The possibilities of this shoot being a disaster were endless and that’s if the guys even showed up at all!
At 7.45 the first truck spluttered into the car park. Brazilian, triple world champion, Kauli Seadi was first to show in battered rental pick up loaded to the brim with JP twin and quad prototypes. Next through the gates was Robby Naish (professional as always) entering in style with his ridiculous monster truck, complete with chrome wheels, jacked up suspension and fury dice hanging from the front mirror! Gradually one by one the other players rolled in… Josh Angulo, Bjorn, Kevin Pritchard, Scottie McKercher and Francisco Goya, all showing unexpected punctuality. Seven out of eight so far…not too bad but where was Jason Polakow? I desperately needed all eight legends for this shot to really work and if the most influential sailor in the history of wave sailing failed to show the whole project would be ruined. With Pritchard jangling his keys, McKercher running low on coffee and Angulo waxing his longboard, Polakow’s black Toyota finally screeched into the parking lot, just in time to save the day, its owner completely oblivious to the stress he had created.
The pressure was now on for me to take the shot without making any big time blunders. The next few minutes flew past in a whir as the champions posed for the camera while I did my best to capture a worthy shot of this once in a life time gathering. With such a prestigious line up it was a tough call deciding who should stand where in the photograph, so I just let the sailors make the call and decide between themselves their own pecking order. Naish and Pritchard managed to snake their way into centre frame with Josh Angulo and Scottie McKercher propping up the end of line places. It seemed to me the shoot was over within the blink of an eyelid and with no tantrums, camera breakdowns or broken egos the sailors returned to their trucks after the shot was in the can. Moments after the last wagon rolled out of the Hookipa parking lot, the heavens opened and it rained for the rest of the day. If we had scheduled for fifteen minutes later the whole thing would have been a washout and this rare opportunity would have been wasted…phew! So with the picture safely captured on the memory card of my trusty Canon 40d all that was left was to grill the champs with a whole host of questions about the past present and future…
Tomorrow we will post the full interview!
Oh and here is a shot with me and the world champs! 15 years ago!!!
PS: Apologies to Patrice Belbeoch who would of made up the full house of wave world champions at that time! But he was in France unfortunately!