SF double header

While the Giants and the A's were playing an inner-leagues series on the Bay this w-end, SF racers got a double header with a classic heavy weather survival twilight series at the St. Francis and some lit up calcup racing at Rio Vista on Saturday afternoon.
Conditions have been off the wall all week with 25k+ almost everyday on the city front.
Friday night was no exception. 9.0 was the call if you could hold on. By the5th race- there was just 3 racers left standing. Seth dominated with 5 bullets while I took 2nd with Al and C-Rad battling it out for 3rd and 4th place. US Windsurfing president Jim Mcgrath managed 1 race with his 10.0 and had enough before packing it up and heading home. JK rigged, started but didn't even make it around before coming in and rigging slalom gear. By he looks of it, he was a much happier camper with the small gear.
Soheil tried something new last Friday by racing his course- slalom gear around the course. Despite being off the pace of the formula boards he got around the course. Maybe he's got the right idea. He sure looked more comfortable on a 6.8 and 105l board than most of the formula racers. Last year most of the fleet raced course slalom in Maui at the US Nationals while 5 raced formula. There's was some talk at the US Open 2 weeks ago to promote both formula and slalom at events with a 20k cut off between disciplines. More info at http://www.usa-formulawindsurfing.com

Thanks for Chris for providing the photos on Friday from the race deck- additional photos from Friday nights racing can be found here


Saturday the 1st calcup of the season kicked off in windy and warm Sherman island in the Delta. By 9am when I looked at the iwindsurf sensor, it was already blowing 25-30k. Alan Prussia gave a clinic regarding line and purchase and showed the fleet some good rigging tips. If you haven't already gotten some formula downhaul line from him- do yourself a favor. Its low stretch and works especially well for the high load of Formula downhaul tension. Word is hes got some even stronger more durable stuff in the works.
By the 1:30 start, the wind had died off some but most of the fleet rigged their 9.0's knowing what Rio Vista was capable of. It's not an easy launch from the docks so coming in between races was not an option. I tired out a new set up Saturday with a 70 cm fin and a 9.0. Typically you would fin down as it gets windier but with the wider tail of the ML7, you can get away with a bigger fin. In fact, its becoming necessary. I sailed with a 64cm fin on Friday and my upwind angle really suffered compared to Seth.
Race 1-Boat end extremely favored. Big crowd. Mike Z was able to escape 1/2 way down the line and get clear air. I got bad air and tacked over to avoid trailing the fleet to the left. Meanwhile with clearer air and a more favorable current, I worked my way back to 3rd at the top mark behind Steve and Mike Z. Off the breeze we all had similar speed with positions staying the same. Steve rounded close behind Mike and got bad air and had to foot for speed. That left a hole for me to stick my nose into and climb. This worked a few times throughout the day and I was able to catch Steve at the top mark. We rounded overlaped but he managed to get a smoother leeward mark rounding and beat me to the finsh.
Race 2- OCS but keep going knowing I would get more out of racing than restarting in such a short course. I was gambling here hoping I could take this as my throwout. Another close finish 10 seconds behind Steve in 3rd
Race 3- Same deal- I tacked immediately after the start and worked my way to the right side for clear air and better current- arriving at the top mark in 3rd behind Steve and Mike. This time, Eric and Percy were all breathing down our necks downwind as they caught a nice puff from behind and rounded tight with the top pack. What ever you can do to give yourself clear air while rounding- do it. It was a long battle back upwind and I was able to climb some with a 70 cm fin and get Steve at the top mark and stay lit downwind with Mike Z just ahead in first. Better finish- 2nd place.
Race 4- Breeze was building steadily and the 9.0 felt lit. A few more sailors ventured to the right to get out of the flood but ultimately it was Mike Z, Steve, myself and Eric for the top 4 again.
Race 5: breeze was up to a solid 20-25k now for the final race. I started midline with Ben just above me. I felt him trying to get by upwind and knew he would have better speed with his 200+ lbs . I pinched as to not give him an option and he dove below me going for speed footing to the corner. We tacked at the shore and headed back to the middle together. He has much better speed but I was holding him with better angle. At the top mark Ben rounded in 1st with me close behind in 2nd. Steve was just behind me in 3rd. Downwind Ben sailed too far past the layline and Steve was the first to gybe calling it right. I split their difference and had a good rounding with clear air. Steve and Ben both footed for speed wile I came into the top mark on starboard forcing Steve to slow down and almost hit the mark in the 2k flood. Ben got away clean while Steve and I fought downwind. I had to let up on the trigger a few times I was was getting really over powered back upwind. Another close finish with Ben in 1st, Steve S. in 2nd and me in 3rd. Right behind us was Eric and Mike Z.
Noticeable absent from the top of the fleet was Percy who was preoccupied with racing and race management. Kudos to him and his race crew for setting up great racing for us. Despite a few problems with the boat we got 5 races off and results up the next day. Good show calcup crew! Click here for results.
Additional photos from Friday nights racing can be found here

US Wind and Water Open- Day 3 regatta report

Day 3 of the US Wind and Water Open didn't bring any additional wind and the results stood from Fridays 3- 10 minute races.
Never in the 4 or 5 times Ive races in Corpus have I ever been skunked for that long.
Despite the lack of wind, I did manage to learn a few things from the event about my new sails and better pumping technique. The 70 cm kashy soft fin really has a good grip in the lighter breeze. All you need is some flow to get it going but sometimes the 11.0 just wasn't enough to pump up onto a plane. The top 2 sailors both used 11.8's for more low end grunt to get going and maintain their speed in through the lulls. I managed to hold off Percy and Sylvester but the one time I got lined up with Mike Z he was able to hold a better lane for longer with his new ML 70cm fin.
As we repacked the Hansen Sails van and trailer for the trip home, I began to realize how gear intensive our sport really is. Heres the numbers:
6 west coast racers (Mike Z, Percy, Sylvester, Doug, Steve B and Seth)
7 formula boards
5 slalom boards
18 complete formula rigs
9 complete slalom rigs
25+ fins
+ bases, universals, harnesses, wetsuits, extra rigging, tools, etc...

None of us got the chance to get on anything under our 11.0's and big fins despite being ready for 3 displines and strong winds. Sometimes you can never have enough gear. When in doubt- pack it and take it to the beach!

us open day 2

No wind for the second day of racing. at the US Wind and Water Open
A long day at the beach with only 1 start at 5pm- that was immediatly abandoned.
I got off well again and was the only board planning off the line.
Otherwise results stand as of yesterday.
1.Gonzola ARG 3
2.Wilheim BRA 999
3.Seth USA 64
4.Mike Z ML
5.Phil AUS 3
6.Steve B USA 4
7. Percy US VYV

no throwouts yet.
Tommorows forecast looks dismal.

Steve

day 1 2007 us open- corpus christi texas

Light winds plagued the first day of racing at the 20th US Open windsurfing regatta in Corpus Christi Bay. The kiteboarders never left the beach while the formula fleet barely got around 3 races with one other being abandoned 1/2 through.
The day started off the postponement flag right off the bat. In the meantime slalom heats were set. Nobody rigged till around 1pm as the Texas heat has been known to snap carbon mast left to bake on the beach. The event this year is being run off mcgee beach which makes rigging and derigging a snady experience. In true Texas style everyone drives their pick up down on the beach and rigs on tarps.
With the wind barley up to 8 knots the race director took down the postponement flag and within 5 minutes started race 1. Most of the fleet was still trying to get off the beach at the start. I made up to the line and looked like I would be the only one with a planning start. I took off the the left side where there was just a hint of breeze and building chop. Seth followed a bit behind and it looked like we might take the 1 lap race. A few others got off the line late and headed right and caught a puff coming down. I rounded the top mark in 4th but BRA 999 was able to go a bit deeper and get me downwind. 5th place finish with quite a gap behind me as the rest of the fleet barely planed to the finish.
Race 2: A rain squall was approaching just after the start which killed the wind and the RC abandoned the race after the first downwind.
After a long wait the 2nd race was restarted in marginal winds. I got off the line well in the middle of the line pumping over Steve S and Mike Z on the line. Unfortunately I didn't take it far enough left and tacked back too early and caught a right shift coming back which put me a few boards back. Mike Z rounded just in front at the top mark with Seth a few board lengths ahead in 4th. By the bottom mark the wind was getting really light and I thought I might get Mike Z as we were pumping to make the bottom mark. Seth gybed early and came back to round just in front of us but was able to hold onto 4th with Mike Z in 5th and me in 6th. As I looked back up the course most of the fleet wasnt planing coming downwind. It was an ever longer wait till the 3rd attempt at racing and an ever lighter breeze. It was below the wind minimum but the RC started anyway in 3-6knots. Lots of holes up the course. I got off the line near the pin with Mike Z just below me. I was able to hold my line for the first minute but as it got lighter and we got headed I had to dive through his wake to search for air. I came off a plane and a few other sailors who were still planning came over to the left. Meanwhile most of the fleet got stuck on the line. Back and forth we went reaching across the course with no upwind angle. Most of the race was spent non planning and I managed to finish way deep in the fleet. Back ashore most of the fleet agreed it was too light for racing so I filed a protest which was disallowed. RC has final word.
So 3 marginal races today - 2 decent finishes with 1 horrible race. 1 more race to get a throwout. Tommorows forecast doesnt look any better with slalom and a speed event scheduled.

spring racing on the city front

Despite a mini heat wave in San Francisco this past weekend (that blocked any chance of a strong westerly developing) - there was just enough wind on Sunday to get 4 races off for the Elvstrom Zellerbach regatta at St. Francis Yacht Club. The Formula fleet sat ashore most of the day Saturday while the other fleets raced in choppy, confused conditions in 4-8 knots of breeze. It was frustrating even to watch the 29ers, lasers and Finns work upwind in a 3 knot flood and holy conditions. Boats would just stop while 20 feet away, others were planning by. We finally hit the course late Saturday afternoon but abandoned racing after 1 lap as most of the fleet wasn't planning.Sunday looked the same as the northerly was evident in the am as the heat was building.
Finally around 2:30 we hit the water for some windward leeward courses. Most of the fleet were on their 11.0's and L7's. Quite a few new north sails on the course this yearwith a few new Hansen sails as well. Seth and I got off the line clean with Percy just behind As we worked our way upwind, it was evident the puffs were the place to be-even if it meant sailing much further to get there. Percy was able to stay planning a bit longer as I fell into a hole near shore and he and Seth rounded the top mark. Meanwhile while double tacking the windward mark in non planning conditions, Al came screaming in from the outside and rounded just in front of me. Off the breeze, I stayed in the middle and caught Al as he gybed early and tried to ride a puff back inside. Rounding the bottom mark, I saw Seth and Percy tacked early and were headed back to the pressure outside. No choice but to follow them back to the breeze. Percy was first to tack but I stayed on port tack for another 30 seconds - overstanding so as to be safe. Just like the previous windward mark rounding, it was Percy who got caught on the inside with no wind. Seth saw this happening and tacked back just enough to round 2nd behind me. Off the breeze though he killed me walking away with to the downwind finish 10 seconds in front of me. Percy was a close 3rd with Al and Soheil in the top 5 as well.
Race 2 - much of the same- stay in the breeze. Seth got out in front while Percy and I had battled it out some more. This time neither of us got caught on the inside. We all overstood- me by too much and let Percy get in front of me on the last windward leg and sneak in for 2nd place. Lesson learned- be smart but don't get too greedy.
Race 3- The breeze was filling in on the inside more so we all started on starboard and rode whatever puff we had up to the shore then worked our way out to the middle of the bay. Percy was able to get a bit better angle as we grinded upwind and was able to close the door on me again and rounded just behind Seth at the top mark. Off the breeze though Percy had an outhaul failure and dropped out of the race. I was able to stay in 2nd with Al and Soheil coming in strong just behind. Soheil had an amazing crash at the finish line where he t- boned a laser. Neither saw each other and fortunately nobody was hurt besides Soheils smashed board. Its always a challenge to race on a course with other fleets. I had the pleasure of rounding the windward mark in a pack of 10 Finns. Watching them all luff up and wait as I dropped my rig at the mark was fun as they had no place to go. Then I got my sail up and was surrounded by 10 finns with no room to accelerate- like being in rush hour traffic in a Porsche.
Race 4- I was going for the start- 100% committed. I had just dove below Seth and was driving down the line with full speed. I could feel Seth just above me. 3-2-1- gun the immediately a call of usa 4 and usa 64 over early. The line was small enough to do a quick gybe and head back out on port. Seth had a bit more speed and by the end of the leg he had several board lengths on me and rounded in front. Mike was able to call the layline perfectly and get me again. As we went back downwind and turned the corner, Mike and I sailed to the inside with a just a few board lengths between us. We got to the shore and tacked. I immediacy realized we were about to enter the restricted area of the H beam just west of the club. I bore down and went below the post while Mike- sailed right through the restricted area. Although he stayed in front of me the rest of the race, I got him in points as there wasn't a throwout with only 4 races. If it were a longer series, I think the best thing to do would be protest.
Despite sailing better than me, Percy beat himself out of the race for 2nd with a broken outhaul and not reading the SI's. Its the small things like that- that hopefully you don't have to learn too many times.
Overall- a decent showing in 2nd place. I still think I can get a bit more speed of the 11.0 with more downhaul. The kashy 70 cm fin felt solid. I could actually hold a lane upwind where as earlier this year, I was struggling to hold any angle.
More photos here and here

friday night series at St.FYC

The first friday night series at the St. Francis Yacht Club started of with good breeze (15-24k) with most sailors rigging the 10.0s and mikes lab formula board- the san francisco formula one design. With a strong ebb going out over the course, getting a good start and calling the layline were about the only 2 things you had to nail to finish well.
I headed out to test the course 20 minutes before the first start to get an idea of the wind and current. The ebb was evident especially coming off the bottom mark where you could almost squeeze up and make the finish in 1 tack. This bit of pre race knowledge came in handy as Ben and I rounded close together in race 3 and I was able to go for angle vs his speed to finish in front. See photo below 'tack or cross'

I got a little anxious of most all of the starts and got called back on 3 of them being OCS. While getting the gun is good, being too early negates any attempt of effort at all. The RC had some eagle eyes from the deck of the St Francis Yacht club and called my over earlies as well as one general recall to keep the fleet honest. There was no getting by this experienced RC at all. I came back on 2 of the starts to restart and claw my way back through the fleet. It puts a bit more challenge into the game starting 20 seconds late.



One of the lessons I continue to learn is to take advantage of the tide. With a strong ebb on Friday night , you could tack almost 10 board lengths early for the windward mark and still come out strong. Even if you under tacked, you could pinch up and float around the windward mark. Use the tide to your advantage but not too much that your over early!

Coming back downwind was especially fun and a good opportunity to pass a few boards- being stuck in the middle of the fleet. The inside was bit lighter so it payed to gybe early and stick with the breeze unless there was a localized puff making its way down as you rounded the top mark. As they say, its all in the timing.

Up next is 3 more w-ends of racing with the 2007 Calcup series starting Sat April 28, the Evestrom Zellerbach regatta on May 5-6 and the US Open Velocity games in Corpus Christie Texas on May 11-13. New sails arrive in a few days- just enought time to dial them in!
As usual, there were some good photos captyring the action form Friday's racing nad be found here:
Shawn Davis windsurfing photos
Brian McDonalds windsurfing photos

Windy spring training

With no short supply of breeze, the last 3 weeks have been windier than any spring I can remember. Blame it on global warming if you will , but the unusual weather patterns this year - with a lack of winter and spring storms - have pushed the thermals in earlier this year. Almost every day for the past 2 weeks has been solid slalom conditions at crissy field. On the few days Ive gone out on the formula board to train, I was so lit up, I came in a rigged down to slalom gear!
The new 07 equipment has been slow to arrive but Ive been dialing some newer equipment. First up was a north warp 7.3 from last year. It really has a lot of range and at the bottom end and can handle up to 18-20knots before becoming too much. The biggest difference this year has been the addition of a new wide compact slalom board into the quiver. The f2 sx slalom 105l board is more like a small slalom board at 70cm wide. It really shows its potential in light to medium conditions and doesn't give up too much in the breeze. Although it doesn't gybe as tightly as the smaller skinner slalom board, it does get you out of the transition quicker in lighter conditions.Most of the racers this year are putting together a slalom program for the upcoming nationals in San Francisco in August. As always Billy Weir is showing solid speed early on with David Wells, Soheil, Jean, and Royce all getting some early time on the water this spring on the city front.

I couldn't resist posting the following sequence of Seth on his freestyle gear. Shawn Davis captured the essence of a perfect catapault. Now thats a good huck! The rest of the sequence as well as 300+ photos of spring time San Francisco windsurfing can be found at Shawn Davis' smugmug photo-site.
I just found a good video posted on myhuck.com of David Well's session at fort point on Saturday April 13- some great swell coming in the gate and decent wave riding by David- check out the video here

spring 2007

Welcome to spring 2007- march 21 officially opens the windsurfing season as the first day of spring but tell that to the hordes of windsurfers this past w-end at Crissy field who enjoyed a solid 20-30k of breeze, sunshine, a stiff 4k ebb (+ an extra hour of daylight.) While the Berkeley boys were out testing their 9.0's and new formula gear, it was just too windy and choppy on the city front for the 10.0 while I'm wait for the new north racing quiver to arrive next week. The question remains- how to cross train when it gets too windy for formula?
2-1/2 hours of slalom sailing on a 6.3 will wear you out but how about pulling some freestyle moves like Jean Rathle in the photo above. Who says you cant teach an old dog new tricks?
For more photos of sunday's epic session on the san francisco bay check out shawn davis' photos

University of North

Check out the 2007 north sail in action at the recent 24 hours on the causeway event in Miami last w-end. Local SF sailor, Steve Sylvester came out strong in 3rd with Mathias Penheiro from Brazil in 2nd and ex- SF sailor, Fernando Martinez in 1st. Looks like the F2/north/kashy combo is really working well this year.
Final results and regatta report at: http://www.miamiwindsurfing.com

Day 3 Midwinters

Typical Florida conditions greeted sailors today with a fickle breeze- just enough to get the hybrid, kona and sport fleets racing. Meanwhile the formula fleet stayed ashore waiting for something significant to fill in. Finally around 2pm, the wind steadied out to a 8-12knot breeze- just enough for one race in the formula fleet. more photos of 2007 boards here...
Most sailors had their light air set ups dialed in after 2 days of marginal racing. More or less this event is the first chance of the year for most sailors, including the pros, to test their new sails and boards. For most, its a chance to see what works and what doesn't in a fleet of around 40 boards. I knew from last months event in Miami that the F2 and starboards were really going well in the light air. This event was no exception. Starboard and pyrde sails placed in the top 3 positions. Needless to say it has allot to do with the indian and the arrow but when pros like Micah who arn't sponsored by any formula board company shell out and buy a starboard to race- it must be good!Back to the racing: After a long morning and afternoon wait the formula fleet got off with one general recall. I started mid line in a pack so as to not stand out but didn't jump the gun enough to get off well with a lane and was forced to tack over for clear air after 30 seconds . In the light stuff, clear air is king even if it means banging the corner. While most of the fleet went left to the layline, I lead a group over to the right side and was getting knocked the further I went. Good sign! I tacked back and was in decent position rounding the top mark around 12. Off the breeze I fought hard to stay deep and had to gybe 2x to get to the leeward mark. Once rounding, I was able to hold my lane upwind with the 70 cm fin as the group in front of me battled it out giving each other bad air. I tacked on the layline and gained a few boards who were low.
I rounded the top mark with Sylvester and he went higher for speed while I was able to go deeper with a big powerful sail. He gybed in front of me and I had to avoid the collision. Not a good show on his part. The lesson here- look over your shoulder before you gybe. I held out a few more seconds before I gybed but it really got light at the bottom so I was out of the harness pumping for a good 30 seconds to make the mark. Who says formula sailing isn't an aerobic sport? I was able to round clean but Steve behind me got a nice lift and rounded the top mark just behind me. Meanwhile I was yelling at him to do his circles and lost track of the course . I thought the top mark was the finish and actually slowed down to tell him to do his turns. Meanwhile he and one other sailor went blazing past me on the last reach to the finish. Ahh! What I had just gained I gave up as my thoughts were so focused on getting Steve to do his turns. Big lesson here- stay focused until the finish line! A 17th was good enough to move back up to 3rd place in the men's division as Fernando finished deep behind me and I won on the tie breaker. Not exactly the best performance but Ill take it. Just before the finsh line Steve did his circles- a good sign of sportsmanship on his part. Once ashore we argued about it a bit as our tempers were still hot but eventually let it be and realized what happens on the water should stay there. No need to bring it shore unless it goes to the protest room
In the rest if the fleet, Mike Percy was impressive all weekend on his new Hanson sails and edged out Sylvester for 2nd place in the masters division.Meanwhile up in front of the fleet Jesper got the bullet to secure 2nd overall in front of Micah just behind in 3rd and Jimmi in 4th. The Brazilians took both first in the men's and masters division. In the RSX, Barger- the top US Olympic hopeful just edged out Gebi for a close series.After the races I took out the starboard 161 for a test run against some other sailors. It did feel really good and lively- especially with a 70 cm kashy fin. I think it let me sail better especially in the light stuff where I was struggling on the Mikes Lab. Time will tell and with some more testing it should be evident what set up is the best. I'm looking forward to the challenge and more racing this season.
Here are some more links to photos and scores
2007 formula board photos
Calema photos
results
Until next time- sail fast
Steve Bodner
USA 4