USA 4 Windsurfing Campaign

Monday, April 28, 2008

Regio Cup Round 3: 5 more knots, please....

I missed last w-ends Regio cup in the north of Holland due to some family engagements but I was back again for the 3rd round of the series that was again hosted by the Almere Surf Club on the 27th of April.
The forecast was for 10-13k from the south but as Ive found before- anything can happen in light unstable lake sailing. There were plenty of gust and holes and shifts to make racing frustrating enough that you want to quit but lucky enough to get you right back in the front of the fleet.
With close to 25 Formula sailors on the line it was a tough call- go to the favored side with the fleet or sail in clear air.

I opted for clear air in race 1 where Ned 103 and Ned 113 and I tried to start on port but just at 30 seconds when we began our planning approach to the line the wind died and we watched the starboard fleet cross the line with wind. It took another good 2 minutes to cross the line but at that point most of the fleet had hit the hole on the left side and stopped planning. I managed to keep my head in the game and keep aware of the wind and pulled a 5th from out of nowhere.
The next few races saw all the fleet starting on starboard and heading the corners of the course. In this light stuff youve got to stay aware of whats going on around the course but as Ive said before speed is king in the light stuff.
Ive been still struggling to find my angle and speed in conditions under 10k. It's amazing what 6 years of sailing in an overpowered venue like San Francisco will do to your light air form. In the wound up classic SF conditions I feel so comfortable racing a 10.0 even in 25-30k. You can depower the sail by sitting down in the harness and bringing the rig to windward. In the light stuff, it's just the opposite where you need to let the sail stand you up and give it as much power as possible. This is achieved through a variety of ways:
NED 103 Mark de Jong has found the groove by using a waist harness to keep the rig upright.
Other sailors use the one handed technique of holding the uphaul upwind to keep the rig upright. Either way, the best way to get better is with the proper technique.
Although a decent light air fin helps as well.
Rene Glasz was showing some amazing upwind speed and angle with his new light-air finworks fins. I was impressed but as usualy youve got to put together a entire package if you want ot finish on top. Rene was stuck with a 11.0 where one needed one more size up to keep going strong in the light stuff.
As the wind picked up to 13-14k, I was feeling better angle and speed upwind but made some dumb tactical mistakes that cost me a few places at the end of the day.
Off the breeze- never follow the guy in front of you to where he thinks the layline should be- especially if there's no one close behind. The better option is to gybe early and ride any puffs down- this sailing less distance that they guy in front of you.
Also be aware of where the finish line is.
I made the mistake of sailing on the wrong side and had to tack back upwind to cross the right way- loosing 4 boards in the process- ouch another mistake that could have easily been avoided.
Nonetheless it was good practice in the lightstuff.
Ill be trying some new form in the next week- namely moving my booms higher and trying to inch my mast track back. Hopefully with a car Ill be more mobile now and can start training in other locations with some of the top guys.
A great thanks the the volunteers at the Almere Surf club. They run a first class race program for only 5 euros for a day of racing! Top notch!
Results
Photos

Wednesday, April 16, 2008

Spring Racing 2008

With still a bit a chill in the air, the Dutch Formula Race series began with the Regio Cup this past Sunday at Almere Haven. There were approximately 25 Formula sailors from around the Netherlands and as far as Germany for 3 races in a dying breeze. Towards mid afternoon with just 1 race complete, the wind (or lack there off) got the better of the fleet and crapped out for the day.
Nonetheless, racing in a shifty breeze with massive holes and periods of no planning- are whats to be expected in the upcoming European race session.

Thanks to Tom Voss for the photos
It felt great to get lined up with some fast sailors again as Id been sailing on my own in Almere during the past week. You never can tell if you angle or speed up is up to par unless you have a sparing partner or are racing along side the fleet.
I did manage to sail smart and stay in the breeze on several occasions- even amazing myself as I rounded the top final mark in 3rd after rounding in 7th at the previous mark. Even so, in light air, speed is king! I just didnt feel enough power from my fin to keep in the hunt upwind. Several times I lost out on the small battles that at the end of a leg- you ask yourself- how did I get in this position?

Im going to be fine tuning my equipment this spring to find the right settings.
There are so many variables- especially with new equipment and learning to switch my technique from over power sailing to underpowered sailing.
Ive been experimenting with several different techniques upwind to keep the board and rig powered up. First off railing the board slightly seems to help the new F2 board upwind. The board seems a bit sticky with the mast track at the center of the track so Ive been edging it further back with better results. Boom height also makes a huge difference. My having your booms up high around your nose or eye level you can hang off the rig more when starting to pump onto a plane and even while going through lulls.
Furthermore Ive been trying learn to sail with one hand on the uphaul upwind to keep the rig more upright and powered up. It seems to work but keeping and changing the angle of attack is critical. It's all a fine balance and will come with more time on the water this spring.
In other good news- it looks like the Formula Grand Prix circuit is gaining much momentum this spring and summer in Europe and South America. There are 6 stops planned for the 2008 season: (for more info see the class website at www.formulawindsurfing.org )

GP 1 - Sines, Portugal – 6^th > 10^th May

GP 2 - Sopot, Poland - 4th >7th June

GP 3 - Leba, Poland - 29th July > 3rd August (Europeans)

GP 4 - Rio de Janeiro,Brazil - 15th to 19th October

GP 5 - Sao Paulo,Brazil - 22nd to 26th October

GP 6 - Fortaleza, Brazil -24th to 30th November.

Ill be planing on attending the European events as well as the World Championship this September in Portugal. stay tuned for some exciting race reports in the upcoming months.

Wednesday, March 26, 2008

snow, sleet, hail and sideways rain...a sure sign of spring in Holland

Well as KP stated in his new site- "when God gives you oranges make orange juice."

Its been a crazy past 2 week here with the dutch weather changing every time I stick my head out the window. Snow...sun...clouds...rain....hail...sleet...sun...and more sideways rain!

Ive decided to put the winter storm sailing on hold till it warms up some and have found a old passion in road biking. I thought it would be a good way to keep up my fitness as well as explore some of the dutch country side north of Amsterdam where Im living.

To begin, the dutch are fanatical about biking.
Nearly everybody has a bike here and rides it regularly.
In the city there are bike paths everywhere making it a comfortable experience to to ride in an urban environment. Just when you think you are clipping along at a good pace, a dutch middle aged woman (with legs of steel like Micah Buzianis) with 3 kids on her bike passes you like you were standing still.

Enough with the subtle insults, I think as I change from my city beater bike to my road bike and head to nord-holland where there are less crowds are more room to breath.
Just 5 minutes north of Amsterdam I find myself surrounded by farms and dykes.
I ride for seemingly hours with only the slightest incline when I ride over a bridge.
Holland is as flat as a pancake.

There are some fun surprises with towns like 'Broek in Waterland' and 'Holysloot' to keep a smile on my face.

So far I havent managed to get lost yet with the 'locate me now' button on my iphone.
Yesterdays ride to Marken got cut short in near white out conditions with a 10 minute snow and hail storm. Not to worry through- just 20 minutes later I had my own patch of sunshine near Durerdam.

Wednesday, March 12, 2008

Home again...er back in the Netherlands

Well I finally made it back to Holland again after the last few months of traveling; competing; and working (...yes I still do some of that- in fact 3 houses Ive been the project designer for are under construction- check out the construction photos here)
For the first time in nearly 6 months Ive got all my windsurfing gear in it's new home at the Almere Central windsurfing club just outside Amsterdam- ready for the Dutch and European race season to begin. Believe me- it was no east feat getting 4 boards, 5 booms, 8 sails, 8 mast, 5 bases, 4 unis, 2 harnesses. 3 wesuits and 20 years of windsurfing equipment packed up and sent here- not to mention needing at least 1/2 of it to compete and train with over the past few months around the world!
(Now if I could only find that goldwind 32cm slalom fin and extra set of harness line- I know its here somewhere!)

The windsurfing clubs here are pretty cool with the AlmereCentral club having several shipping containers at the beach side to store your equipment and a small clubhouse next door. It makes it easy to live in a densely populated city like Amsterdam without the luxury of extra storage space or even a parking spot!
I'm still waiting to find the perfect windsurfing van so if you've got any ideas, let me know!

Too bad its still raining sideways here and hovering in the low 40's. With a massive low moving across northern Europe, the last few days have been insanely windy with gust 30-50k.
I got out monday for a wild ride on the ml 90l slalom board and 6.3 north warp- although I only lasted about 30 minutes as my hands turned numb from the near freezing weather!

2008 brings some changes for me. The first is a new board sponsor. Ill be riding the F2 formula and slalom board this year (with the exception of a wicked fast ml slalom on reserve for windy days!) Eduardo Owen for Next Sport in Miami has always been great support to me- letting me ride the F2 boards at events when I didnt have a board but this year I took the plunge and went with the formula F2 board to complete my quiver. I pretty confident after the midwinters that the F2 board will be a great choice for early planning and moderate formula conditions. Ive yet to sail it in over 18k but time will tell.

I switched over from the mikes lab board as I will be competing more and more in lighter wind venues in Europe this season. Whiles Mikes board are probably the most comfortable board to ride out of any of boards Ive tested and works great in the Bay area for wound up racing in steep chop, it was becoming obvious that these strengths also carried some drawbacks. When ever you are designing a board (or anything for that matter) it is always a delicate balance and series of trade offs. Increasing the tail width for better light air performance requires a bigger and more powerful fin- while at the same time makes powered up sailing a bit more uncomfortable. I took into account alot of factors when choosing a new board and decided to take one less variable out of my my racing this season by going with a board I know I can be confident with in the light air.

For 2008 again I will be sailing with North sails. I feel really confident with their r&d program and can rest assured when recommending the mast and sails to the others. Other equipment supports include streamlined and meanline fins.
If you are interested in becoming a sponsor check out my main windsurfing page or contact me directlyat bodnersp@gmail.com

We've got out first slalom race of the year this Saturday at Almere so Ive been slowly getting my slalom quiver back together after having sat dormant for the last few months. The new north warp look amazing and with the 3rd year of input from Bjorn- it should be top notch!

Sunday, March 2, 2008

midwinters recap

With just 4 races completed in the 2008 Formula North American Championships, it's still a bit early to draw conclusions about the new equipment, but one thing is for sure- Gonzalo cleaned up, taking 4 bullets over the reigning world champion Antoin Albeau and the rest of the 52 board formula fleet.

The visiting fleet - from South America and Europe -sailed at the top of their game taking 9 out of the top 10 spots but the overall North American Championship was won by Jimmi Diaz from the US Virgin Islands, followed by Steve Bodner from San Francisco and Fernando Martinez- from Miami.

The 3 day championship was sailed as part of the Calema midwinters windsurfing festival on the Banana river in Cocoa Beach Florida. Other classes included the kona longboard class, hybrid class, formula sport and traditional longboard class.

All 4 races were sailed in a light to marginal breeze. As usual starts were at the utmost importance. Most of the fleet choose 11.8 or 12m2 rigs, 70 cm xs or cut down fins and either the new F2 or starboard formula boards. There were a few gaastra boards making their initial US appearance as well as 2 ML8's form the Bay area. Whatever sailors choose to race with it was important to have their gear tuned up for light air performance.

So far the F2 board looks like the front runner of the 2008 new boards. The kashy fins continue to dominate but the new finworks fins looks like they have plenty of potential with Fernando showing some good results with the hybrid carbon fin. The Melo brothers from Brazil also showed the gaastra sails also have plenty of speed with their great performance. I also learned a few more things about the north formula warp. I sailed the 11.8 in all 4 races with good results and finally finding the golden touch with the right downhaul setting.