Irish Slalom Series Round 1 2013 from David Corkill on Vimeo.

BSA Weymouth results BSA Weymouth results

Name: Ross Williams

Sail No:  GBR 83

Where did you finish?  1st

What kit did you use for most of the weekend?  8.6m Gaastra Vapor and Tabou Manta 81

How were the conditions and how did your equipment work in them? Condition were very changeable but my gear felt great, really easy to hold down in the strong wind as well as having power for the lighter patches.

Best start…. I think I saw Kev have a great start at the pin mark.

Best gybe… not sure, I didnt look behind me. I had a good one to over take Kurosh at the first mark!!!! Maybe that’s worth a mention?

Best over take…. Sam Latham over taking Simon Petitifer

Worst crash…. I think it was simon cofield smashing into Kurosh’s deck and leaving a nice whole!!!

Best victory celebration….. Everyone was very level headed

Worst behaviour on saturday night... All of us for not going out a partying the night away!!!!
All images credit Dave White.

401785_564025846952683_1432423179_n 397783_564025773619357_1698237621_n 935159_564025440286057_1836717219_n 164683_564025370286064_1997755158_n 480906_564025280286073_1052148440_n 923173_564025020286099_523765565_n 420617_564024956952772_339623417_n 407002_564024960286105_1467637414_n 401213_564025096952758_1842247282_n 392452_564026190285982_849654178_n 941556_565034156851852_1103106915_n 946916_565032013518733_1783877619_n 198395_565031720185429_2090647875_n 405903_565031463518788_2120039487_n 601799_565031476852120_1799336638_n 381545_565032090185392_1647765788_n

Name: Kurosh Kiani

Sail No: D13

Where did you finish? 2nd

What kit did you use for most of the weekend? I only used my Simmer SCR 8.6 throughout the whole event. I was using my Fanatic Falcon 132 until it got damaged in the second race and had to race my medium board until I got it repaired and was then back on it again.

How were the conditions and how did your equipment work in them? Flat water and gusty wind (I think the wind wasn’t in its usual direction). The gear was working great in these conditions. I´m really liking my 8.6/132 combo. It has a huge range so you don’t have to mess around too much on changing.

Best start….Kevin Greenslade. He got several of the starts spot on and rolled the rest of us who were seconds late. Nice work !

Best gybe…Ross did a great PWA style gybe on top of Kev which came out in his favor. It was definitely entertaining to watch!

Best over take….Must have been myself overtaking Sam Latham and Simon Pettifer from behind as they were doing some sort of upwind battle while the gybe buoy was way downwind. Had to chuckle a bit for that one.

Worst crash….I´m not sure who it was,, but someone came in at full speed and hit the bottom just in front of the slipway. That one must have hurt in every sense haha.

Best victory celebration…..I saw Sam Latham claiming couple of his battle victories when crossing the line ahead of the competition.

Worst behaviour on saturday night…Hmm, I´m not sure if this is the usual UK standard, but the worst behavior must have been us discussing whether we should have a look down at the pub or not. I guess that one could have gone both ways.

Words from event host, Tris Best: 

“The forecast at the beginning of the week for this event looked ominous, but true to form Weymouth produced the goods yet again! There were some notable omissions from the entry list – Ant Baker being the obvious one (wishing his son a speedy recovery), but with the addition of a couple of PWA stars the standard of sailing in the pro fleet visibly upped the anti for the other fleets as well. 32 entries in the amateur fleet was a great turn-out … and even the people on the tasters we provided throughout the weekend were noticeably inspired! Thanks to Bob and the UKWA team for running such a good event once again.”

BSA slalom action.

Venue

The Hayling Seafront is primarily a shingle beach above the high tide mark, with long stretches of sand below this line. About a third of the beach is protected by groynes. West Beach is Haylings most popular beach, and designated a windsurfing area. At high tide the waters can get deep quickly with the shelving of the beaches, at low tide the waters are usually shallow.

Directions

• From the A27, take the Havant/Hayling exit.
• Head south on the A3023 on to Hayling island.
• At Mill Rythe roundabout (approx 2 miles from bridge ) take right exit.
• At Beachlands roundabout (approx 1 mile) take right exit After approx 1/2 mile, left just west of the bottom of Staunton Avenue.

Parking / Camping

This is a Pay and Display parking area.

Please note:

“Overnight parking is not officially permitted by Havant Borough Council so our advice, as with the National Windsurfing Festival, is to use your own discretion and common sense. Considerate parking and behaviour hasn’t attracted attention here before.”

Hayling Island Tourism tel: 023 9246 7111; or go to havant.gov.uk For campers you can try ‘The Oven’, Manor Road tel 023 9246 4695. Another useful site is haylingisland.net.

Facilities

The action takes place from the ‘INN on the BEACH‘ where the race office will be based. Many thanks to our hosts at the INN! This building is right on the waters edge with a large deck for spectators to watch the racing; also bars and conservatory upstairs, with fantastic views of the Solent.

Tourist Information / Accommodation

Hayling Island Tourism tel: 023 9246 7111 ; or go to havant.gov.uk For campers you can try ‘The Oven’ ,Manor Road tel 023 9246 4695. See also theresort guide, tourist information, and haylingisland.net

Check out the action here and head to the OTC Puravida website for the latest info on further events.

Pre-Season Slalom Training Camp ’13 from The OTC on Vimeo.

First up Boards caught up with one of the Team15 teams to watch out for, The Kielder Kestrels as well as BWA youth competitor looking to mix it up with the amateurs this year,Liam Ellis.

Of course the big news this week is that you can now pre-order the Boards Spring Summer 2013 edition – which will hit shelves, or your doorstep, on the 28th March.

We also had the latest edition of the Freestyle Secrets: part three – remember you can also check out parts one and two in the technique section of the website here.

Victor Fernandez in Shoreham - in the news this week one of the World’s top wave sailors, some say the one man that could take the title from Koester, was on British shores hanging out with Nik Baker.

Hayling Island slalom is starting very soon, a little further afield Fanatic have announced further coaching dates in Lanzarote. Another option if you’re looking to head away is to take the ferry, with routes to Ireland and more Stena Line are a great travel option, particularly as at the moment they are running a kids travel for free package!

Boards also has a new video only section on the homepage – currently located just below the news, all videos will appear in this separate section, so if you’re looking for the latest videos to hit the windsurfing world make sure you continue down past the news! Top videos this week are: Ant Baker showing his slalom style and up and coming racer Tom Wells going full speed ahead.

Until next week….

It’s open to all abilities but with a strong emphasis on the intermediate free-ride sailor with the simple off the beach (beachstart) format and no technical rules. Why not come along and join in all we ask is that first your subscribe to the group and also be a UKWA member for insurances purposes. We run events one eve during the week and weekends…. Its all about like minded enthusiasts coming together to have fun! More info can be found at https://ukwindsurfing.com/slalom/clubs/hayling/

Ross Williams leads Dave Strudwick and Jason Greenslades in a race last year at Hayling.

New video from the weekend, thanks to rising star Sam Latham!

K15 Sam Latham @ OTC Weymouth winter slalom training from Sam Latham K15 on Vimeo.

The start of the competition calendar is quickly approaching and many sailors are getting serious about the pre season training now. Down in Weymouth over the weekend, Si Pettier showed the others exactly how to nail a start! Remember, Ross Williams will be joining the guys in Weymouth very soon for his pre-season training weekend.

Are you thinking of competing in the BSA or any other UKWA competitions this year? Have you started setting some on and off water goals to get you ready? Even sailing with a group and challenging each other could add that vital speed you’ll need to race to the front of the pack. If you’re looking for an active group of windsurfers to join, check out Project Windsurf UK and see what’s coming up in your area!

Ant Baker. Image credit Oisin van Gelderen.

“Defi Wind long distance AWESOME clinic

Sails designed to win PWA slalom races have different requirements in the different sizes:

1. Large sizes need to inflate very easily so that when you sheet in or pump the sails the power comes on instantly for immediate acceleration.

2. The smaller the sail the more focus is set on having the draft locked in (both horizontally and vertically) and the sail not moving around excessively.

NorthSails Warp

Usually sail designers tend to use the same design parameters (twist pattern, aspect ratio, sail foil tension) across the whole sail line. This results in some sizes being much more competitive than others. For example our last years’ 7.8 was perceived as the most competitive on the circuit. On the WARP F2013 Kai went one step further. He and his team checked the best sizes of all competitor sails and then went into individually adjusting the flexibility of each and every size. This we call SIZESPECIFIC.FLEXIBILITY.

In general you can say that the smaller sizes (up to 6.3) have a lower flexibility. This allows for the board and rig to be placed in the optimum trim for top-end speed (locked-in characteristic). You just keep on getting faster and faster the harder you sheet in and the stronger the wind gets.On the other hand the larger sizes have a higher flexibility. This improves the low-end acceleration as the deep profile pulls you onto a plane while the reactive top reacts as a “valve”. This higher flexibility also makes these sails much easier to pump. The outcome is simply amazing. The smaller sizes are even faster now. The biggest improvements though were made on the larger sizes. The 8.6 is the most competitive sail we’ve ever made in this size. It is much more flexible which makes it easier to accelerate and pump, yet the high-end control and v-max is on the same level than last year’s model.

The 9.4 got replaced by a 9.2 and a 9.6. This enabled Kai to individually design this biggest size of your quiver to the rider weights: riders below 90kg should take the 9.2 as their biggest sail as it still has an even better acceleration and low-end power than last year’s 9.4. The new 9.6 is designed for heavy and powerful riders above 90kg. It is the most powerful slalom sail we’ve ever built.

2013 North Warp. Maalaea, Maui; Hawaii. November 2012.

Key Features

[NEW] [01] SIZESPECIFIC.FLEXIBILITY Individually adjusted flexibility for each size to perfectly match the conditions and different rider weights.

[02] PRONOUNCED.PROFILE.DEPTH for advanced camber-rotation, deeper profile and more punch when accelerating, without compromising the handling

[03] Radical weight reduction thanks to the 7.BATTEN.DESIGN makes it the lightest racing film sail on the market

[04] MODERATE.CUTAWAY.CLEW Reduced “blow-out”effect for increased power and direct acceleration

[05] INSTANT.ROTATION Much faster acceleration after shifting through HYPER.CAMS and modified batten profiles

[06] Continued weight reduction due to minimalized MINI.PROTECTOR and super light iROCKET batten tensioners

[07] INDEPENDENT.SHAPING.CONCEPT improves rotation, control and acceleration

[08] TWIN.TRIM.CLEW allows for individual tuning increasing the range of use

Kai Hopf:

“Across the board the sails have become softer. Biggest changes are in 8.6 and bigger with the addition of 9.2. The 9.2 was introduced as some of the team felt for their weight last years’ 9.4 was too big. By the time racing occurs with PWA wind minimums they were already overpowered. Goal with 8.6 and bigger was to drastically reduce the amount of force it would take to inflate the sails. This helps to improve the out-of-jibe performance and getting planing both static and by pumping. I believe we found the right compromise as going too soft makes the draft / center-ofeffort less defined. Key to performance sailing is being able to trim your equipment to the optimum position, having a rig where the center of effort is constantly shifting makes this task difficult. What we have achieved on 8.6 and bigger is that you can pump yourself on the plane in less wind then you can actually keep planing. The smaller sails get more emphasis on the center of effort being completely locked in making it even easier to find that optimum trim and holding it to continuously increase your speed.”

2013 North Warp. Kanaha, Maui; Hawaii. December 2012.

Peter Slate:

“When developing the Warp F2013, we focused on improving the perimeter tension in the smaller sizes (7.8m and down) and softening the bigger sizes (8.6m and up). In the smaller sizes, we achieved the our goal by reducing the luff curve in the top third of the sail, which improved the twist and keeps the fullness focused in the middle and bottom of the sail. In the bigger sails, we reduced the overall luff curve, and increased the negative shaping to double down on softening the sail.

Testing against our 2012 Warps and other competitor brands, we are very happy with the softness and increased ability to pump the bigger sails. The reduced luff curve and new shaping allows for a very stable sail that is fast and light in the hands.

We are very happy with the Warp F2013, and are confident you will be too.”

To find out more about the North Sails Warp check out their website here. 

In this third part we will cover tuning, training and why people compete. 

BSA slalom action.

Tuning and Training

Simon Pettifer: When I go for a sail I try to have some sort of aim, this could be gybing practice. I’ll find two buoys close together (easy in Poole harbour), and gybe a lot, keep going until I cannot gybe any longer, this is the only way to improve – keep doing it! It’s also good to do this exercise with other sailors, if you make the two buoys really close together it makes for some fun sailing.

As for tuning I just try different things, maybe try a couple of different fin combinations to see which is faster; you need someone else to judge your speed against, or a GPS unit where you can go home and download your tracks from the day and see at what points you were going fastest.

It could be the downhaul, try a little more or less see and what happens. Once you find the sail at its best for you try to note where your downhaul is set to, so that next time you sail you can rig it just how you like it. The outhaul is the easiest to play about with, the adjustable outhaul systems let you sail around changing the settings all the time, letting you see where you want your outhaul for the appropriate wind strengths.

Sailing on your own is great for some things but to improve your speeds I think you need to sail with other people. We all know it sucks to be passed by other people so we try harder, if you get passed by your mate, go in pull on an inch of downhaul go back out and see if you can beat him; if doesn’t work try changing your fin – put a smaller one in – it’s all about finding out what makes a difference.

Simon Pettifer

Simon Cofield: Sail – I use a lot of downhaul, this allows you to accelerate in big gusts whilst the sail twists off. It’s important to have an adjustable outhaul. When the wind is up and down I’ll be adjusting my outhaul between heats, so I’m fully powered in the race. Board – You need a good fin, I have my straps as far apart as they go for control, deck plate position as above.

I do a bit of fitness training in the winter, on the water I do some practice racing around some of the marks in Poole harbour with Si Pettifer.

Kev Greenslade: Downhaul I rig dependent on the wind but always enough to get a nice amount of twist in the sail, I use very little outhaul until I get completely stacked but by then probably thinking about changing down. It’s also really important to find the right fin for you, your board and the conditions.

It’s really hard to replicate the conditions whilst racing as you would almost never sail that fast that close to that many people, when it comes to gybing you have wakes going in all directions space to find etc etc. So the best form of practice is to race. There are fun slalom series being run at Hayling, Poole and Weymouth now so get involved, and if they are too far away get your own going, it’s so easy. There is always a buoy to race around and if you do it in pursuit style, kit and ability doesn’t matter, everyone has fun.

Ant Baker. Image credit Dave White.

Ant Baker: As a chubber I like lots of downhaul and not much outhaul, this means I get great twist and a nice full body to hold my board down.

As I have to work pretty much everyday I get very little time to practice, in fact the last year I have only sailed slalom boards at events

James Dinsmore: When it comes to tuning your sail the single most important variable is the amount of downhaul you put on. It is really important to experiment and try to learn to feel what it is like to have too much or too little downhaul. If you have too much downhaul the sail tends to feel heavy and too powerful and when a gust comes you may feel as if you are getting lifted uncontrollably onto your toes. With my current iSonic board and Severne Reflex sails combination I notice that if I am under-downhauled it feels as if the nose of the board is being pushed down into the water. It feels ‘sticky’ and as if it might catch on chop. If I put a small amount of more downhaul (may only need as little as 5mm) the nose rides higher, the stickiness completely disappears and the board feels like it will make it’s way over even the nastiest bit of chop. When you have cranked on too much downhaul the sail starts to feel gutless and has poor acceleration. You may feel yourself over sheeting and the sail tending to drop backwards. Ideally with each of your sails you need to spend a session during which you start with the sail under-downhauled and then incrementally increase the downhaul until the sail is over-downhauled. It is a useful exercise as you will learn to recognise too much or too little downhaul and you will also be able to find the sweet spot of your sail.

If you don’t have one already then do get an adjustable outhaul. They are very easy to use and put at your fingertips the ability to massively increase the wind range of your sail. You will enjoy your sailing much more if you have one. Try to work towards sailing kit big enough that means that you are powered for the lulls rather than the gusts. An adjustable outhaul allows you to sail much closer to your limits. It may be more beneficial to have a very physical 30 minutes session quite over-powered than 90 minutes of cruising. It is a key skill to learn to get round a course while overpowered Make use of any buoys that may be in the water to practice gybing and starts. You will be forced to gybe whatever the water state is like at the mark, which is the same as on the racecourse. Otherwise it is only too easy to choose to gybe where it is flat and you will struggle in competition.

Racing at Weymouth. Image courtesy Dave White.

Why I Compete

Simon Pettifer: I compete because it keeps me keen, always trying to do a bit better than the previous event. The feeling I get when I’ve had a good heat and beaten someone that usually beats me feels great, you can’t get the same feeling from sailing down the park. When you do one slalom heat it may only last about three mins but it’s knackering, so much is packed into three minutes and the whole time I’m fired up, it’s hard to explain, something you’ve got to try.

If you want to try it, get down to your local spot and do some light hearted racing with your friends. Poole have a Poole slalom, Weymouth have the same thing going on, as do Hayling Island, all these places are ready for newcomers to turn up and give it a go, all abilities are welcomed. Any gear can be used, at Poole we do a handicap system where by the person that wins the first race starts last in the next one, the person that finished last starts first and so on, this means that the racing is good for all, there is always someone to catch up with or try to stop passing you.

I would encourage others to give competing a go because it will improve your sailing,  it’s definitely the best way to get better quicker, improve your gybes and go faster. Also you meet great people at events, all with the same thing in mind, windsurfing and maybe a couple of drinks – if there’s no wind of course! I’ve met some of my best friends at windsurfing events over the last 20 years even with a 15 year break in the middle.

Simon Cofield: I enjoy the challenge of racing against the top guys.

Kev Greenslade: I have been very fortunate to have been racing from a very young age, I have travelled the country and some of the World with my best mates doing what we all love. Doing well is just a bonus (a nice one though).

Ant Baker: I love the feeling of winning! The race course is a great place to practice your skills and gain some bragging rights over your mates!

Check out the other parts of the series here:

In more speedy news British slalom champion Ant Baker was showing off his 2013 North Warps this week; and speaking of showing off looks like the girls are having more than a little bit of fun in Maui here! We are sure yet more showing took place in the Liverpool SWA event last weekend too, check out the gallery  and report on the event from Tushingham team rider Jo Wright.

Other big news this week was that it looks like there will be another edition to the PWA calendar in 2013, with Cape Town hosting the final round of the PWA Wave World Tour!

And so we leave you for another week, remember if you ever have any great windsurfing sessions, images, videos or news from your local spot please send through the info to amy@boards.co.uk

Ross Williams in action, how well could he do in Cape Town 2013?

BSA Slalom pro fleet results 2012

The top level slalom fleet in the UK is full of some very impressive names; James Dinsmore, Si Cofield, Kev Greeneslade, and the young Sam Latham all proved themselves as incredible racers again this year, but it Ant Baker was that took the British title in the Pro fleet, counting only first and second places he proved that consistency is key. Boards catches up with Ant to find out more about his successful year:

Ant Baker

Name: Ant Baker

DOB:  09/11/75

Sail number: K77

Years competing: 27

Best previous results:

Top 10 in the world for freestyle, slalom, waves and course racing; British champ lots of times too

Title you have won this year:

British Slalom Association Champion, British Speed Champion.

Why and when did you first start competing?

I was nice when I first competed in the Bic worlds and came second, as my parents owned a windsurfing shop it was pretty easy to think I would make the world tour!

What equipment have you used on the UK tour this year?

Fanatic Falcon Slalom and speed boards with C3 fins powered by North Warp 2012.

Why do you use this equipment? 

Simple, it’s the best!

Ant Baker. Image credit Dave White.

What is it about your set up in particular that you like?

As we have the best control from our kit it makes it easy for me when the conditions change, also I received my 2013 boards before round five, which made a huge difference!

Who else would you recommend a set up like this? 

Our 2103 Falcons are the easiest boards to go fast on, and if you’re not first… your last!

How and where have you trained for the series this year?

Well I don’t get too much time for training as my coaching business, Baker Academy takes most of my time. I teach windsurfing, kitesurfing and paddleboarding, and have now opened a gym called Fitlab, so I will do a lot of my training there

Ant Baker

Have you just trained on the water, or what do you do off the water too?

I only use my race kit at the race events, I didn’t do too much training, but as my kit is so fast and easy to use it all went well!!

What are your plans for winter? Sailing here in the UK? Or heading abroad anywhere?

As I just opened Fitlab I will be taking martial arts and fitness classes most of the winter

What are you aims for competitions in 2013? UK and international events?

I plan on competing for the UK slalom and speed titles again and would love to get back out on the PWA tour again soon. Last year the PWA wouldn’t give me any entries, which seems silly as I was british champ last year also!!

Follow more on the UK slalom and  speed right here on Boards, and for more news and features on Ant Baker click right here!

Check out the other Champions of 2012 features: