Powellin' Around
Windsurf|Issue 390 - October 2019
Lake Powell is the second largest man-made reservoir in the United States, situated on the border between Utah and Arizona… and completely offradar for windsurfing! Kevin Pritchard gets his redneck boots on for a sideways look at its beautiful scenery.
Kevin Pritchard
Powellin' Around

Eight world titles… check. Winning the Aloha Classic in 2000... check. Winning the Aloha Classic in 2017... check. Windsurfing on Lake Powell… never done it, let alone foiling on Lake Powell. I am pretty sure that no one in the world has windsurfs foiled there before and lo and behold I dreamt it, manifested it, wanted to do it, call it whatever you want, but boy did it ever happen.

It all started when my friend Eric Sanford sent me some photos of Lake Powell, and I was like, “Why do you always send me the photos after you go?” It’s been my dream to do a unique foil photo story, so when I saw the photos he sent me, I was on it. I had to foil on this incredible lake. Little did I know it was going to turn into one of the best trips of my life.

NO SWELL

It started out like this; there was no swell on any forecast; what should we do? My photographer friend and I had just wrapped up an epic 10 day trip to Baja and were hungry for more. “Let’s go to Lake Powell and do a photo story,” I suggested. How about checking the forecast? Nah, I heard that you can windsurf foil in no wind, should be fine.

So, we took a quick peek at Google maps and decided to repack my Sprinter van with bikes, boards, camera gear, and a fresh appetite for the unknown. After hearing so many rave reviews of Zion National Park, I figured we could check it out on the way there. That way, if all else failed, we could score some photos and a few bike rides in some sick terrain.

VEGAS!

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