2005 kicked off with the usual 6 hour jaunt to Marazion at the very tip of the country. Clyde Waite reports from a conveniently placed beer garden...
The start of the racing season always brings a buzz. There is loads of new equipment, designs and plenty of technology, plus regular, new faces and seasoned campaigners putting their winter practice (or lack of it) to show.
This season witnesses the beginning of many changes. One of them is the change from the long bit of rubbery plastic, also known as the Aloha that served well as the Junior One Design board to the more recent Bic Techno 293 D (Click for a Boardseeker Review of this board).
The other exciting prospect will be the challenge from the Olympic Team, in the form of Nick Dempsey, Leo Maccallin and Bryony Shaw as they turn their hand to Formula in search of skills needed for the new Olympic Board.
What Happened Then...
Not a lot on Saturday or Sunday, but Friday saw 5 races completed in winds ranging from 10 - 20knots and moderate seas. Perhaps the biggest surprise of the day, and so early in the season, was the form of Nick Dempsey. We all knew that he had been training a lot, very much in the way he trained for his Olympic campaign. Still it was quite a surprise that he beat off seasoned campaigners in the forms of Keith Atkinson and Dan Ellis. The latter were desperate for more racing so they could put right these wrongs and stamp their heels in. But it was not to be and they will have to wait till later in the season. The Ladies was again won by the ever consistent Lucy Horwood, but Bryony Shaw was not to far behind. It could set the stage for a good battle!
Dan Ellis: Nick's really up there flying and we have also had a come back from Kevin Greenslade. In the first race he was up there in the top five. It is good to see the old guys coming back. The conditions today were fairly strong and I was powered up on a 11.0 metre sail - perfect racing conditions. Nick Dempsey is winning, I think I am in fourth because I have a couple of bad races. I have been sailing my slalom board a lot over the winter and need to get a bit more tuned in with my Formula kit.
Bryony Shaw: Today has been pretty good. Started off very light this morning and then got up to 17knots, so it was an excellent day all round. I am finding the Formula board good and I was proud to hang on to my 10metre all day. On Formula there is about 40 entrants at this level and it is much faster and more stable than the Olympic board.
Nick Dempsey on his first British Formula Event:
It went really well actually. I wasn't going as fast as a couple of them in training, so it was a real surprise to me today to go out and be pretty much the quickest on the water. The transition from the Olympic board is not too bad, it is different, but the basics are all the same. I was using an 11.0 metre for the first three races and then a 10.0 for the last. It was pretty windy and quite a lot of swell. I would say that today, Keith (Atkinson) was probably the only other person on pace. Xavier (Ferlet) was quite fast but not quite there.
Raceboard Fleet
The Raceboard Fleet now comprises of the MJOD (Mistral Junior One Design) which is essentially the IMCO with the 6.6 rig and also the standard Raceboard with 11.0m sails. This fleet was largely dominated by our youth sailors including the all round talent of Joe O'Callahan, Elliot Carney, Kim Jiskoot, Chris Higham, Anthony Scales and Peter Fey. Kim is really picking up his pace in stronger winds and Peter has the work rate of a hammer drill. These names will be the ones to keep an eye on. Still up there though and keeping the old guard happy were Simon Kent in the Masters and Jerry Solven in the Veterans. We are still wondering when Joe will transfer his skills to the freewave fleet.
Under 15's
This was the first big meeting for the under 15's on the new Bic Techno One Design, and by all accounts it went really well with all enjoying the faster style of racing.
It seems to me that it will be an excellent platform for formula sailing and 'planing sailing' in general. Although I gather from Redmond Scales and Alex Smith that it is a bit of an acquired upwind technique.
The fleet was won by David Woods with a convincing amount of firsts!
Results
Formula Men:
1. Nick Dempsey
2. Keith Atkinson
3. Xavier Ferlet
Formula Women:
1. Lucy Horwood
2. Bryony Shaw
3. Amy Carter
Raceboard:
1. Joe O'Callaghan
2. Elliot Carney
3. Robert Kent
Under 15's Techno One Design:
1. David Woods
2. Ed Strange
3. Ali Masters
Free Formula:
1. Liam Round
2. Mike Bass
3. Dave Cole.
For full results go to ukwindsurfing.com
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Nick on great form
The MJOD fleet
Yachts rounding the downwind mark
Paul Sibley Cruising
Fin, Fin, watch out for the fin
 Dempsey v Greenslade mimicking the England - N. Ireland game.
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