RESULTS: click here for results
Photos: click here
The turnout for the round one of the Crissy Fields Slalom
series on Saturday was even better than on Friday night with over 30 riders.
Crissy fields had not been so busy with windsurfing kits for a long time.
Several people traveled from far away to make it to this event. We saw some old
and new faces including Chip Wasson which made a comeback to windsurfing after
years of Kitting.
Soheil who organized the event with Steve Bodner and Jean
Rathle stated the briefing and race officer Robbie Dean went through the
sailing instructions with the racers.
Surprisingly the wind had dropped off so I decided to take
the biggest kit I had rigged. The first start was quite busy it wasn’t my best start but I was towards the front of the fleet at the first mark. The wind was really light there. Most of us came of the plane. The second reach was really broad so the guys with big kits had an advantaged there. I finished the first race in 3rd behind Sean Kelly and Steve Bodner.
We headed straight to the start line for the second race after the B fleet.
I got stuck in a big lull just before the start of the second race so I was at the back of the fleet.
Somehow I managed to pick my way through the fleet during the first reach.
I had a pretty good Gybe at the first mark. I managed to finish in second place.
I had a reasonable start for race 3 but a power boat crossed the line causing Jean Rathle to crash and the boat slowed down right in front of me so I had to pass behind the boat. At that point half the fleet had gone and the other half was stuck behind the boat.
I managed to keep everything tidy for the rest of the race finishing 3rd behind Steve Bodner and Sean Kelly.
Race 5 - I did a little bit better finishing in second just behind Sean Kelly.
We had a 30 minutes brake the main challenge was to stay warm as the wind was bitterly cold.
The wind picked up quite a bit over the brake. I thought about going out with a smaller board but there was a lull so I carried on with the big board. That was a mistake as the wind picked up again for the race. I was quite a bit over powered so I could only manage 4th position.
At that point I knew it was time to change down so I rushed back to the beach to grab a smaller board and that was the right thing to do as the wind had really picked up. I was lit up on that board for the last race and I managed to win that last race.
Back at the beach the atmosphere was fantastic, a batch of
pizzas arrived and some beers. It was quite a sight to see how fast the stack
of pizzas was going down. With the horde of windsurfers on the job!
Soheil did a great job of the results ceremony.
Big thank you to Soheil, Bodner and Rathle for putting this
event together, all the sponsors and volunteers that made the event possible.