WhiteAir

The Isle of White produced the goods for the fourth year running.

During the week that Cornwall was being battered by SE gales, some of the UK’s best slalom and wave sailors were equally getting a good thrashing in logo to mast high waves and winds gusting up to 30 knots. However, this good fortune didn’t arrive until the Monday, which meant the final SCUK Slalom Event of the season held over the first weekend, didn’t get a result. However, the Invitational Slalom and the final Freewave Series Events had perfect conditions to produce the “extreme” action that the public expect at the White Air event.

Freewave Event (28-31Oct): Report by Tanya Saleh
It may have been a small fleet compared to the Tiree Wave Classic a week before; but for the 12 of us who did make the effort, including John Skye, Chris Audsley and Ross Williams, the weather had a treat in store and didn’t play up to it’s usual tricks and disappear on the first day of competition.
There were only two girls in the event, myself and local girl Charlie Connelly.

I had no idea what to expect at Compton after leaving the onshore hell that was Yaverland. But on arrival we were greeted with port tack, logo to mast high, clean waves, 5.0m weather for the girls and 5.5m weather for the boys. Having just mastered port tack after a week’s sailing in Tiree I knew this was going to be a full on learning experience!

In the 30 minute practice session Chris Audsley and John Skye both broke their masts in the mast high dumpers. I was scared!

But in fact I really enjoyed the day as it didn’t feel like a competition, rather us and 10 guys out having fun in really challenging conditions. Ross Williams was ripping and seemed to be loving life away from his Formula kit. He took victory along with Charlie, who was in her element with all her Barbados port tack sailing under her belt. We stayed out as the judges went home, and only a huge thunder storm and torrential rain put a stop to our fun.

But on the Friday it wasn’t so much fun as we returned to find the waves just as big, but breaking everywhere. It was really messy and getting out was a nightmare as high tide meant scrambling down the muddy cliff face straight into a white water cauldron of light wind hell! Charie took victory again but the men’s final was marred in controversy.

Head judge, Julian DaVall tells all:
“Basically, we missed Timo Mullen’s only jump in the heat which effected his overall postion. John Carter could prove this as he had footage of Timo’s loop which was apparently done immediately after Audsley’s big, back loop which we had all been watching. We saw the photo sequence with the time clearly on the picture, and if we had seen it during the heat, it probably would have scored 5 or 6 (out of 10). This would have effected the overall positions of the 4 sailors. The final winner, Chris Audsley, being the nicest man in windsurfing ever, didn’t seem too bothered to run the final again so we did.
However, unfortunately for Chris, Ross Williams won the second final, with him in second. Whilst Timo got absolutely trashed by a set wave which we felt was just deserved!”

Pros                                 Amateurs 

1. Ross Williams              1. Simon Todd
2. Chris Audsley              2. Ash Holmes
3. John Skye                   3. Paul Sibley
4. Timo Mullen
5= Matt Pearch
5= Jamie Hancock
5= Dan Newman
5= Matt Wemms
5= Will Ward                  

Ross Williams looking kind of in control

It's behind you! Wave Slalom!

*After a week of extreme winds, extreme waves, extreme action, extreme burger vans, extreme cups of tea (you get the picture), the Editor has enforced that the word “extreme” is not to be mentioned anywhere in the Boardseeker offices until after Christmas.

Dan Ellis & Lucy Horwood: SCUK Champions 2004

So now you two are the UK Slalom Champions are we going to see an open top bus parading down the streets of Pwhelli with you guys waving to the crowds?

Lucy: Ummm..I don’t think so!

Dan: There’s no way I would do that. It’s cringe worthy.

So what has it meant to you to win this title?

Dan: Ever since I was a kid, I’ve always wanted to win a National Slalom Title. I am mainly a course racer but I think slalom is the more exciting end of the sport. Certainly at the White Air Festival the slalom looked more ‘extreme’ than any of the sports in Britain’s most extreme sportsman event, which included wake boarding and a street luge.

Lucy: Well, there was a severe lack of chicks on the slalom tour this year, so I gauged my success on beating the guys. I came 6th overall and won respect off most of the slalom sailors, which was important to me. My international results do mean much more but for my sponsors it is important that I keep winning the UK events.

So Lucy didn’t have many rivals this year, what about you Dan?

Dan: My main rivals were Aaran Williams and Dave McGuniess. Aaran is one of the best tactical sailors I get to compete with but his fitness does let him down. Dave McGuniess is from New Zealand but has lived in Maui for 4/5 years and done plenty of slalom racing. He was super fast in strong winds and always chasing my tail.

What are you two doing over the winter?

Lucy: We are planning to do the Asian Windsurf Tour at the start of next year which is a slalom racing tour across 5 countries.

Dan: These events get more TV coverage than the PWA World Tour and are in some awesome locations. I think quite a few European sailors will be joining us for some competition practice.

Lucy: Up until Christmas I will be keeping fit and waiting for the Olympic decision to be made. If they do change to a formula style board, that could completely alter my plans next year.

We caught up with Lucy at the UKWA Ball after the decision was made on the new formula style Olympic board:
Lucy: I am going to be the new Olympic Queen for sure. I am going to thrash Bryony. Christine will be good, and I will be very very good. Definitely!

So there you have it!

Main Sponsors of WhiteAir:

"I'm going to fly so high, like a bird in the sky!" said Ross Williams

Skyboy shows off his latest freestyle move.

Ahh...now we see what you were trying to do.

Timo Mullen in the controversial final.

It's Sleigh-lam time!

Invitational Slalom Event sponsored by UK Sailing Academy, (25-29 Oct)

With the late cancellation of the IFCA Slalom Worlds, the White Air Organisers along with Ceri Williams put together a showcase of the best UK Slalom sailors to show the White Air crowds the thrills and spills of slalom in the strong SE winds. The problem was, the winds were so strong and the onshore waves so large that the boats that lay the buoys for the racing couldn’t get out! So Ceri Williams came up with a totally new concept: wave slalom!

This involved a beach start, perform an aerial manoeuver through the waves, around one mark already out on the course, then wave ride back to the beach.

Sailors were scored in three areas: Racing (the first back to the beach), jumping and wave riding.

Most people were using wave kit. Matt Wemms had the highest scoring jump with a stalled forward. Dan Ellis was the first back to the beach in almost every race.

So the final results from the first successful SCUK Tour are:

Windsurf Magazine 2004 SCUK Final
Results (after 5 events)

Pro Fleet
1. Dan Ellis
2. Xavier Ferlet
3. Aaron Williams
4. Keith Atkinson
5. Roger Clark
6. Lucy Horwood
7. Dave McInnies
8. John Mobbs
9. Allan Cross
10. Bob Ingram

Challenge Fleet
1. Mike Gilroy Scott
2. Andy Gilroy Scott
3. Luke Baxter
4. Rupert Silman
5. Simon Langley
6. Trevor Funnell
7. Ian Kraft
8. Ian Jones
9. Dylan Watt
10. Ricky Wooding

Top Youth: Greg King
Top Junior: Richard Jones

Looking cool, Dan, looking cool...

Lucy at the PWA Almanarre Event where she finished second.

Everyone cringed as Dan gave the crowd another rendition of "I won it my way".



Oops!