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St Barths Fun Cup – Final Report

Editor — Fri, 08 Feb 2013 10:18:13 +0000

Event organiser and event winner Antoine Questel is obviously super happy with his performance and the event outcome itself. Finishing ahead of the likes of Bjorn Dunkerbeck and Taty Frans, he showed an outstanding level of windsurfing and will certainly be one to watch out for this season. Check out his words below.

Antoine Questel:

From the 1st until the 3rd of February, St.Barth saw its second edition of the Fun Cup in the magnificent spot Saint-Jean Bay, with ideal conditions. A steady twelve to eighteen knots allowed us to race five races altogether.

Just like the previous year, I organized the event but since this was its second initeration, everything went a lot smoother, allowing me to focus on my racing. A big “thank you” to all the volunteers who handled the registrations and made sure I could compete 100%.

Very thorough preparations made it possible for me to stand up to a very high field of competitors, with three other PWA heavyweights in the mix. Consistent speeds ensured me four out of five victories in the end, so when the dust settled, I had conquered both Taty and Björn (41 world champion titles!), showing me that my wintertraining has paid of and I am all ready to charge at the 2013 season.

I’d like to mention at this point that I am very satisfied with the organisation of the St.Barth Fun Cup, allowing me to promote the sport i love to both locals and a bigger audience worldwide. Ultimately, I’d like to give this event that legendary “season kick-of” status where the International windsurfing circus comes out in full force. We’re well on our way because the 3rd edition has already been announced for January 2014!

Roberto ‘Clinic’ Hofmann joins Starboard

Editor — Thu, 07 Feb 2013 10:26:17 +0000

Roberto Hofmann is probably the voice of windsurfing at the moment. He not only teaches hundreds of new and upcoming talents each year but he also finds himself commentating to hundreds of thousands each year as he hits the road with the PWA World Tour. However, of late, Roberto has also been hitting up the racing scene, read all about it in the press release from Starboard below.

ROBERTO HOFMANN:

“Windsurfing has determined my life since I was 15 years old. I grew up on one of the big Northern Italian Lakes (Lake Maggiore), and so I could improve my skills pretty fast. I moved to Sardinia after school with 18 years and started competing very early. I always loved the adrenaline while racing, but discovered that I was a competent teacher as well.”

“A few years later I opened my own windsurfing school on lake Maggiore, and started working with big windsurfing brands, because of my communication skills. Somewhere in 2000 I realized that almost every windsurfer needs some advice to improve their windsurfing faster. Normally people only have a few weeks a year for windsurfing, so I started to organize some clinics and classes in Italy so people could improve faster with the little time they had.”

“I just want to point out, that not every good windsurfer is good in teaching. I have the big advantage that I speak four languages perfectly and so I can teach almost anything to anybody. Whether I bring people to Egypt, Morocco, Cabo Verde or the Canaries, there’s a solid base to fall back on, plus I also do clinics in Italy:”

Downunder Pro Round Up

Editor — Tue, 05 Feb 2013 18:10:19 +0000

The Downunder Pro recently came to its conclusion and on top was three times World Champion Steve Allen. He was actually so far ahead that it wasn’t necessary for him to sail the last race, here is the report from Starboard themselves.

Photo courtesy of Rob Plim

No valid races on the last day of the 2013 Qantas Downunder Pro – Formula Windsurfing Championships with 50 knot squalls battering the event for the entire day leaving the total at 5 races over the regatta.The 2013 Qantas Downunder Pro – Oceanic and Australian Formula Windsurfing Championships concluded on Saturday with an action packed 5 races taking place over the four-day regatta at picturesque Jimmy’s Beach, Hawks Nest. The strong 46 competitors, including 3-time World Champion from Australia, Steve Allen (Starboard/Severne) who had a relaxing day today with enough lead to not actually have to sail the first race if it was started today as it would not affect his winning position.

Steve Allen took the event win as well as the Oceanic & Australian Title ahead of Jesper Vesterstrøm from Denmark, and Wilhelm Schurmann from Brasil. It was the first time Allen had won the Australian title since winning in 2008 in Brisbane again ahead of Vesterstrøm who has competed in Australia for many years. Allen said about the event after taking home the first prize of a return-ticket airfare from event sponsors Qantas Airlines:

“Stoked to be back in Australia starting the year on such a roll. My new gear is working insane, I literally rigged up new sails and won straight on them. This is the first time I’ve raced in Hawks Nest and the one day we had was really amazing; beautiful location.”

Defending Australian champion Sean O’Brien (Starboard/Severne) was the next Australian over the line and finished only 1 point from the podium behind Schurmann after a OCS (disqualified for an early start) cost him a 3rd place against Wilhelm’s 4th in Race 3. O’Brien said about the event:

“Despite not getting a chance to pick at Wilhelm today, I’m pretty happy with the result. I’m on some new sails which I literally rolled new out of the plastic at the event and was instantly on the pace. In all the years Wilhelm has raced here thats the first time I’ve managed to consistently be able to beat him around the course so that was a really cool feeling. Really love racing at this place – bring on 2014!”

Downunder Pro 2013 – Final Standings:
1. Steve Allen (Severne/Starboard)
2. Jesper Vesterstrøm (Gaastra/Gaastra)
3. Wilhelm Schurmann (Neilpryde/Starboard)
4. Sean O’Brien (Severne/Starboard)
5. Christian Justesen (Neilpryde/JP)

Racing Rules to Change

Editor — Fri, 25 Jan 2013 08:37:20 +0000

For windsurfers interested in racing you may or may not have heard of the latest changes to the rules which will take effect between 2013-2016. Have a little read on below to find out more.

For example, to define board tack we had to look at the board side, but according to new definition we have to look at the competitor’s hand. So, which hand – in normal position – is closer to mast: that is the board’s tack.

In all windsurfing races – expect Slalom races – the B2-16.3 rule has changed. A right-of-way board can’t change course during the last minute, instead of the previous 30 seconds of the former rule.

In the B2-24.3, the old line said that the sail must be out of the water when a board is approaching the starting line to start, which means an unclear period of time. Now, this rule defines the period as one minute, before the starting signal.

A critical change has effect in the B3-31 rule. Now, the windsurf board can touch a mark and can hold on to the mark. This means that windsurfers may hold on to the starting vessel and wait for the start, unless it is forbidden by sailing instructions.

Protests based on hearsay are no longer valid and the race committee may give oral instructions, not only on the water, but also on ashore.