Vass slalom

Jay Haysey of Globalshots reports on a clean sweep from Niko (WildWind) that sees him take the win at ClubVass’s opening round of Whippy’s Wednesday Slalom.

From the outset it looked like the major players meant business. As the wind switched from the characteristic light onshore breeze to the potent afternoon cross shore named Eric, it was time for the opening round of Whippy’s Wednesday ClubVass Slalom competition.

As the skippers meeting was called, around 25 competitors were recklessly rigging their brand new 2011 JP and NP slalom gear and the wind was reaching gusts of up to 30 knots,

The race saw the return of Niko from Wildwind who, having played second fiddle to Colin Dixon last year, proved that it was his time to shine. Sending it into the first gybe mark it was the Juggernaut of Niko who had built up a health lead followed by Ollie Scott who demonstrated a perfectly timed gybe to cut in front of Dixon. It was then Andy Barnes (Flying Fish) and Mark (CV Guest) battling it out hard for 4th position.

Entering gybe marks 2 and 3 close to the spectators stand, the wind had dropped off slightly and made for a very tactical end to the first race of the season. Niko had built up a big enough lead to not be worried while Dixon managed to squeeze past Scott who unfortunately dropped his gybe at the final marker.

The next slalom race is scheduled for Wednesday 8th June – Stay tuned!

You can check out the website at www.clubvass.com for more Slalom information and the latest offers

Vass Slalom

Winners Words: Niko – Wildwind

“It was very exciting and tough race today. I forgot how much fun the ClubVass slalom was. It was my first time on my new NP slalom sails and they worked for me perfectly. I am happy to win but best of all I beat the ClubVass guys (hahaha). I know for sure next week Colin and Ollie will be out to beat me and its going to be hard to keep in front of them. The conditions today suited me perfectly”

1st – Niko – Wildwind

2nd – Colin Dixon – Club Vass

3rd – Ollie Scott – Club Vass

4th – Andy Barnes – Flying Fish

5th – Mark – Club Vass Guest

Vass Slalom

Fanatic Falcon Speed 45

Two supersonic speed shapes round off the 2011 Fanatic Falcon range. The all-new 51 and 45 wide rockets sit beside the smallest Falcon 85 Slalom race board that doubles as a marginal wind option for fast runs at gusty spots. Unlike slalom boards that hardly sail smooth water, and demand glide and float for manoeuvers, the dedicated 45 and 51 have specific bottom shapes and volume distribution for max control for either flat or choppy conditions.

The 51’s minimal wetted area can handle a 7.0 on a speed course and its extra tucked rails, recessed deck, and straight outline, slice chop and keep rig flow steady for momentum over longer runs.

The 45 is for the days you dream of. Straight planshape, smart ‘Rail Grab’ foot contours and double concave bottom deliver ultimate release and power control so your focus goes to pushing the limits.

Fanatic Team and Top GPS ranking Rider, Peter De Wit: “Bearing-off for a top-speed run on the 2012 Falcon feels like a predator’s final swoop for its prey. The Deck Recess and Foot Contours are amazing. It’s like wearing a sprint shoe while the rig stays so static. That resistance free, razor-sharp acceleration means full control so your concentration’s only on the run ahead. There’s nothing more addictive than that moment!”

Key Features: - Extra Deep Deck Recess for Rig Stability - S-Shape Volume Flow - All New Feet Grab Rail Shape for Max Foot Comfort - 70° Pintail for Clean Water Release/Reduced Drag Area - V into Double Concave Speed Control Bottom - Slight Tail Rocker for Maximum Free Speed Experience - CAD Designed Speed Curves - Straight Outlines

Technology: Biax Carbon Sandwich Light

System: Tuttle Box

Falcon Speed 45 – Volume: 54L / Width: 45cm / Length: 228cm

Falcon Speed 51 – Volume: 65L / Width: 51cm / Length: 230cm

More at www.fanatic.com

DefiWind Poster

Freezing cold, rain showers, and squally 20-30knt winds… it sounds like a contest in the UK but it felt pretty far from the BSA when 1000 slalom competitors all hit the start line together for the first 40km race of 2010 Defi Wind contest in Guissan earlier this afternoon.

I’m out here with Tris Best and Roger Clark as part of Team OTC for the 10th anniversary of the world’s largest slalom race. Suffice to say, it’s been absolutely firing on all cylinders since the word go. The wind today was only forecast to be eight to nine knots and it was howling. The organizers are predicting sunshine and over forty knots of wind for the weekend so the chances are that it’s going to be one hell of a contest with record levels of Ibuprofen consumption.

Sail sizes today ranged from 5.5 to 8.0 metres. We were all on 7.0′s and totally stacked. The atmosphere on the water was absolutely amazing with competitors having travelled from the four corners of the world to take part. It’s was also pretty intimidating and disorientating with so many sails on the water. The start line was over a mile long and they still only barely fitted everyone in.

The main upset today was the wind direction. With most of the pros usually starting at the pin end, a wind shift around to the west left over half the feet having to tack to make the first mark. After that though it was business as usual with most competitors sailing as close to the beach as possible in order to take advantage of the super flat water. The speeds that some guys were reaching on the water were absolutely ridiculous and I saw quite a few guys dismantle their kit into the component parts when their fins got too close to the sand banks.

We’re not sure of today’s final results yet but there’s plenty of big names here in the pack including Anders Bringdal, Patrice Belbeoch, Andrea Cucchi, and Julian Quintel. I’m pretty sure that they were all in around the front somewhere (a long way from me).

Off to bed now for a very early night. Think it’s going to be a long contest… www.otc-windsurf.com

And here’s the official press release…

DEFI WIND 2010

Défi Wind : 1 000 windsurfers on a unique event in the world

The first start of this tenth edition of the Defi Wind has been given today in exceptional windy conditions. At 15:25, under a 20 to 25 knots tramontane (local North West wind) 1 000 competitors have crossed the starting line of the first round. The winner today is Pierre Mortefon, a young French rider from Fanatic/North who made his first steps into the PWA World Cup last year, who managed to undertake this incredible nautical marathon of 40 miles in less than 40 minutes.

A very windy leg

After two very quiet editions with no wind, the Tramontane has finally accepted to honour Gruissan and its windsurfers, with more than 25 knots today. Pierre Mortefon, attending his ninth Défi Wind, signed today his best performance ever on the event. Back to the beach, Pierre explained: “The race went really fast. It was very windy and it picked-up really quickly! It is incredible to be on the water with 999 other windsurfers. Once jibing, when you look at this amazing amount of sails, you realize the situation! I was quite fast on the final round and managed to overtake Bieuzy (Mauffret) who was in the lead from the start!” Bieuzy, who finished second, confided:“I’m a bit disappointed as I was in first position during three quarters of the leg. I was worried about the wind to rise as I had quite big equipment compared to the others. Then Pierre overtook me but I am still very satisfied with my race!” Julien Quentel logically completed this first podium.

An outstanding equipment to follow the race live

Pierre, Bieuzy, Anders Bringdal and 97 other windsurfers are lucky as they are equipped with a tiny jewel of technology: a ‘tracker’ allowing us to know their position and speed in real time through a community platform of geo-localization: MyGeoLive. Thanks to the participation of Microsoft and Dot Vision, the entire world can follow 100 challengers on the website (www.defiwind.com) and on social networks. David Boulanger, co-founder of Dot Vision explains how this extraordinary tool operates and tells us more about the possibilities it offers on such an event. “MyGeoLive is a geo-localization interface working in real time. A GPS module sends data like riders’ position and speed instantly on the web. This year, 100 “trackers” are distributed to several categories of windsurfers: professionals, amateurs, young and elders. Then the replay on the website allows the competitors to compare their ways and speeds.” For sure tonight, many will connect to the Défi Wind website to analyze their course and then challenge the pros during next rounds.

First leg podium :
1° Pierre Mortefon
2° Bieuzy Mauffret
3° Julien Quentel
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1^st women : Valérie Ghibaudo

For more information:
www.defiwind.com
www.facebook.com/LeDefi

Finian Maynard and his X-Fire

The 2010 X-Fire V2 slalom board range is a selection of no-compromise racing machines designed with one purpose in mind – winning. A strong development effort between the RRD team in Italy and Vice-Slalom World Champion / Speed World Champion Finian Maynard and his testing partner Tine Slabe has yielded clear improvements from the 09 / V1 generation in every size. More than 15 years of racing experience is directly incorporated into this new range keeping every aspect in mind in terms of creating a complete product. These boards will please even the most critical customer through their ease-of-use, stability, acceleration and blistering top-end speed. With all new designs for the 80, 102, 120 and 135, alongside improved versions of the already very successful 90 and 112, they will be the market leading brand for the upcoming season in the high-performance category. You must try and then you will believe from their performance on the water. RRD is once again ready to challenge for the top rankings.

Features
Each board has a different sizing template: Wide and short outline on the 135 and narrower and longer on the 90 and 80. Proportionally related scooprocker lines in order to create a perfect balanced racing machine and a new vee-to-flat release concept makes this new shape faster and in more control than the 09 generation. Real thoroughbred racing machines for the experts and great high-performance boards for the advanced-intermediate sailors.

One of the fastest, smoothest, easiest to gybe and most stable Slalom / Race boards out on the water! Check out this months test on the 112. More details on www.robertoriccidesigns.com and check out www.seaspritesports.com for your list of retailers.