Leaders of the pack: Albeau, Pritchard, Buzianis, Williams and Allen.
Get out of my way!
World Speed Record holder Finian Maynard is also not that bad at Formula.
Mr.Downwindtastic, Antoine Albeau.
"I love coming fourth!" Andrea Cucchi.
Light wind meister: Gonzalo Costa Hoevel
In strong winds, Lucy Horwood has been known to wipe the floor with the Ladies fleet. However Dorota Staszewska was not going to be happy unless she won this event and in Race 1 and Race 2 she did just that. Horwood, looking overpowered, came in second with Allison Shreeve in third but then lost out to Verena Fauster in Race 2 as the Italian took second.
Lucy was now on the right size sail and promptly whooped girly butt and won Race 3 with a flawless performance (other than colliding with Patrice Belbeoch). Dorota had an awful race and finished in fourth behind Allison and Verena.
Therefore in typical Dorota style, she won Race 4 with Lucy in second and Verena in third.
Races 5 and 6 were held in very light winds and this seemed to suit ex-IMCO sailor, Allison Shreeve. Dorota had one go at overtaking her on a downwind leg but this was the Aussie's day and she won both races making her the 2004 PWA World Racing Champion.
Till next year....
|
|
2 days - 6 races
6 days of possible racing and all they managed was 6 races. DAY 2 of the event saw 15-20 knots of wind with four races where the heavy guys, Finian, Kevin, Micah, Steve Allen and Antoine were all loving life.
DAY 3 had 8-12 knots of wind, just above the minimum. The light wind experts headed the pack with Gonzalo Costa Hoevel, Ross Williams, Devon Boulon and Wotjek Brzozowski creaming the rest of the fleet.
The strong wind day!
This was Allen versus Albeau with Kevin Pritchard and Wotjek Brzozowski occasionally getting a look in.
Allen led Race 1 until downwindtastic Albeau got the better of him but Allen then pulled back upwind to win with Wotjek in third. Special mention for Dan Ellis who came 5th on his Slalom board. Andrea Cucchi was in fourth.
Kevin Pritchard wanted some part of the action so took the lead in Race 2. Albeau though, decided for a late comeback and by the time the second lap came around, he was in second and then simply blasted past Kevin to win. Finain Maynard could have won the race but missed a vital layline and fell into third. Andrea Cucchi was fourth.
After lunch, the race officials opted for a square course closer to the beach to please the thousands of spectators. However this meant the wind was incredible gusty on the inside legs so gauging the shify winds did come down to some luck.
However that didn't stop Albeau wiping the floor in Race 3 by leading from the start. Steve Allen was close behind until Wotjek piped him to the post. Andrea Cucchi was in fourth. Notice a pattern emerging yet?
Kevin again made a good attempt to win Race 4 with a cracking start. But Allen took the lead on the second lap only to find Albeau and Wotjek breathing down his neck and forcing him into third. Guess who was fourth? Yep, Italy's Andrea Cucchi.
That was it for the day and Albeau was sitting pretty.
The light wind boys get their chance
Who's this at the front? Where's Steve Allen, where's Finian? Sorry guys but this day was the day of the light wind, tactical monkeys like Ross Williams and Gonzalo Costa Hoevel. It was Costa who lead Race 5 with Ross in second and Devon Boulon in third. However, Mr.Downwind, caught up with the kids and nearly took third from Devon but not quite. So Albeau had to settle for fourth.
After an abandonment and a re start, Race 6 got under way with Gonzalo taking the lead again. However on the downwind leg, Steve Allen took the lead with Kevin Pritchard closing in leaving Gonzalo in third. However come the last upwind leg, Wotjek found speed and overtook the lot of them to win the last race of Day 3 with Gonzalo holding onto second.
And that was that!! No wind on the Thursday and Friday and then a fun slalom race on the Saturday which was won by Devon Boulon whist Antoine cruised into second knowing that he was the 2004 PWA World Racing Champion!
Men's results
1. Antoine Albeau (Neilpryde/AHD)
2. Wotjek Brzozowski (Neilpryde/Starboard)
3. Steve Allen (Neilpryde/Fanatic)
4. Andrea Cucchi (Neilpryde/Starboard)
5. Kevin Pritchard (Gaastra/Starboard)
6. Gonzalo Costa Hoevel (Neilpryde/F2)
7. Ben Van der Steen (Neilpryde/Exocet)
8. Ross Williams (Gaastra/Starboard)
Girlies
Lucy trying her best to overtake Dorota.
Women's results
1. Dorota Staszewska (Gaastra/Starboard)
2. Lucy Horwood (North/Fanatic)
3. Allison Shreeve (F2)
4. Verena Fauster (Gaastra/F2)
2004 PWA Race Rankings
1. Antoine Albeau (France)
2. Steve Allen (Australia)
3. Kevin Pritchard (USA)
4. Micah Buzianis (USA)
5. Ross Williams
(UK)
1. Allison Shreeve (Australia)
2. Lucy Horwood (UK)
3. Dorota Staszewska (Poland)
4. Karen Jaggi (Switzerland)
5. Verena Fauster (Italy)
|
Main
Page 
