July 5, 2001
2nd Annual 2001 EASTERN CANADIAN FORMULA CHAMPS (Sanctioned by Windsurfing Canada)
PERFECT CONDITIONS END WITH A GALE ON THE SECOND DAY
Gale force winds forced Formula racing to end with 6 races on second day of
wind at Kingston, Ontario, and a spontaneous Freestyle display by the local RC
crew.
Saturday, June 30: SW winds 12-18 knots powered the fleet of 17 Formula racers
through five double-circuit races. Conditions were a replay of last year’s
winds, but with better winds at the first start. After lunch, the 3 races
featured longer courses as anchors of leeward buoys and RC boat drifted in the
chop. Ideal conditions made for a real test of the new wider 90cm and
over Formula boards alongside the narrower older ones.
Sunday, July 1st: a major NW front pushed in Westerly winds
mounting
quickly beyond predictions to gale force (around 30 knots), catching the
four competitors who made it to the start line hanging on to large sails by
the finish of the final 6th race. The RC boat opted to make
sure the last
finisher made it back to shore safely, losing a buoy and anchor down the
St. Lawrence River in the process.
GEOFF MITCHINSON of Barrie ON finished First Overall (and First Master) with
7.25 pts. (3 bullets after missing the first race—one drop)
on a Rogue Wave Formula 8’10”/8.4m2 Pryde RS1/Techtonic Mirage & other fins); narrowly edging out
JAN WROBLEWSKI of Toronto Windsurfing Club (and Second Master, actually a Grandmaster) with 8.5 pts.(2 bullets and 2 second places)
on a Starboard 175 and Pryde 9.4m2/Curtis Race fins. Third Overall was
DANIEL LEFEBVRE (and Third Master) with another close
finish, with 12 pts., on a Bic FVI-2/Pryde 8.4m2/Bic 60cm fin.
Marcus Hooper of Montreal battled his way back up to 4th place
(First Man) with a big win in the 6th race, with 23.75 pts.
on an AHD Diamond 78/Pryde RX1 9.9m2 & VX3 8.3m2/Fins Intnl.& Tectonics fins. Grandmaster “phenom”
Yvon Lefebvre of Quebec City finished 5th with 26 pts., also on a Starboard 175/Pryde foils/Curtis fins. Another Montrealer
Yu-Wei Yang took three 1.5 pt. penalties for not rounding
buoys correctly, to finish 6th with 28.5 pts. on a Mike’s Lab
Z/Pryde RX-1s/Tectonic fins.
7th place (Second Man): Shane Hawkins of Chezzetcook (Halifax
area) NS (37 pts., on a Starboard 155)
8th place (Third Man): Local KBA president John Anderson
racing for the first time surprised the fleet with his showing (48 pts.on a
Starboard 155)
9th place: Toronto Windsurfing Club member Bill Mackenzie (50 pts.on
a Roberts 29”) had some gear problems but pulled off a 5th in the 5th
race.
10th place: Rick Collins of Neapean (Ottawa area, 51 pts. on a
Roberts 28”) started strongly with a 4th place in the first race,
also had gear problems.
11th place (First Youth): Ian Matthews (53 pts. on a Starboard GO)
12th place: Eric Gouin of Lachine, Quebec (58 pts. on a Starboard
175), just getting into Formula and looking forward to returning next year.
13th place: Kevin Julien of Herring Cove (Halifax area) NS (63
pts.on a Starboard GO)
Kingston’s perennial great winds and the Kingston Boardsailing Association RC
crew assured the entire fleet of prime time racing (for the second year in a
row). Though the event was forced off the water by the gale on it’s second
day, an impromptu freestyle occurred off the banks of Richardson Park,
entertainment for all. An unofficial team of judges awarded KBA member ED
MASON as winner of the 2001 Freestyle medallion for his slam-dunk loops.
Notable were Gary Watson’s jumps, and duck gybes and heli-tacks by Glenn
Morton, John Anderson and Jean-Luc Fraiken, among other mostly local shortboarders.
Prizes assembled by Glenn Morton of Wind Addiction included two Chinook booms
and a pile of goodies from Neil Pryde (everyone took home prizes). John Darling of Windsurfing Canada thanked
the Kingston Boardsailing Association for hosting and managing the event,
notably Ed Mason, Jean-Luc Fraiken, and Gary Watson on the RC and mark
boats. The Kingston Yacht Club supplied boats and flags.
The old city of Kingston provided it’s beauty, charm and nightlife, and Queen’s
University residences aplenty supplied nearby cheap room and breakfast for
singles and families to complement the area hotels, B & Bs and motels.
Windsurfing Canada looks forward to participating again in 2002, an event due
to become a “classic” before too long.
John Darling
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2000
Eastern Canadian Formula Windsurfing Championships
Marcus
Hooper, Jul 10 2000 This past weekend saw Kingston hosting the first of an
annual event for Formula Windsurfing.
This new class
is being proposed as an Olympic replacement for the aging IMCO equipment
provided by Mistral. Formula Windsurfing allows each competitor to register one
production shortboard and three production sails per event, thus promoting
accessibility for beginning and younger competitors.
This event
was the first official Formula Windsurfing event in eastern Canada, and as
such, most of the competitors were just starting to understand the equipment
requirements for being competitive. It also acted as a warm-up for the Canadian
Championships, to be held in Quebec City from August 31st-September 4th.
Racing
conditions on Saturday were ideal, with winds ranging from 8-18 knots and clear
skies. John Darling, of Windsurfing Canada, managed a great team of local volunteers
who set an "I" course with a 1 km upwind leg.
The first two
races were held in marginal conditions between 8-10 knots, giving the sailors
with 9.5 + sails a slight advantage. For race three, winds increased to 10-12
knots. Races four and five built to 15-18.
When the dust
cleared, the overall results were:
1. Casey
Treichler,Fanatic Falcon 75, ART Ellipse 10.0 2. Marcus Hooper, AHD Diamond 78
NP VX3 8.3 3. Yvon Lefebvre,F2 Thommen XL NP RX2 4. Shane Mathus, Starboard
Formula NP RX2 10.0 5. Ian Mathews Starboard Go 9.9
Windsurfing
Kingston organized a wonderful event, and the support of companies like Neil
Pryde, North Sails, F2, Trident Performance Sports, Chinook and Dakine Hawaii
helped greatly.
Thanks to all
the organizers and volunteers who made the event possible.