28 hard core Formula races rocked up to the premier windsurfing spot in NSW for the 7th and final race event of the 2011-12 season. The new “drop” rule that stated that you can only drop the 7th event if you competed had the desired effect with all of the top competitors present to battle it out for the series honors.

Saturday: Brett Morris AUS-8 rigged a small sail anticipating the wind to build and was rewarded win in race 1. Remi Dunoyer sailed a killer race winning race 2 before Sam Parker finally pulled his finger out with 3 bullets in a row.

In the Free Formula division David Howe Aus-688, Roger Lucas AUS-303 and Tim Ford AUS-71 took turns at winning races and along with the likes of David Flanagan AUS-057 had amazing close racing often finishing within meters of each other.

5 races were plenty for one day, so it was time to pack up and head to the new and improved Husky Pub for the traditional Saturday night dinner. It is fair to say that dinner will be remembered for a long time for all the wrong reasons. Our picturesque outdoor setting was a good concept, but torrential wind and rain made it all but a farce.

Sunday: 4 more races in exactly the same conditions with race 6 starting right on the strike of 11am. Brett started the same way as the day before with a win. Remi, not to be out done and just to prove that his win yesterday was no fluke took the next 2 races before Brett finished the day off with a victory. The real battle was the ever changing minor places which were being filled by Byron AUS-747, Nathan Hohnberg AUS-11, Murray Towndrow AUS-720 and the fastest yet most inconsistent guy in the fleet Nathan Bowness AUS-70.

I’m not sure what motivated Tim Ford but the Free Formula fleet was dominated by him with 3 bullets.

Overall it was some of the best racing of the season, even if it did rain constantly. Brett secured a victor from the ever consistent Byron and the rapidly improving Remi in 3rd. Free Formula was convincingly won by Tim ford with David Howe and Roger Lucas 2nd and 3rd respectively.

Huge thanks to our race OD, Nick Nelson who ran a slick event in truly miserable conditions. 9 races in 2 days is enough of a testimony, but Sunday was competed by 1.30pm which allowed ample time to get to the prize giving and enjoy lunch before heading home tired, but extremely satisfied.

Photos are coming shortly, and results can be found here.

We have some excellent gear up for grabs from all of our sponsors over the season – the support we get from you really is appreciated. Windsurfnsnow, The Windsurfing Shed, Ask Huey, Neil Pryde/JP and Dirty Dog have all been great, thanks.

We will be running a SUCCINCT AGM on Saturday. Please come along if you have views on the association. Adrien and I will be making sure this is a quick affair. If you have something to add, think of what you’re going to say in advance!

Bring your dress thongs as we’ll no doubt be heading to Fishos to finish the night off!

There are a number of Top 3 places still to be contested so make sure you join us!

Full results and report can be found here – http://nswwavesailing.org/2012/02/07/competition-report/

Sunday 08Jan12

The final event of the new “Slalom Tour” took place at the new North Kyeemagh car park on Botany Bay, Sydney.  22 hopefuls make the trek to compete in what was a very encouraging 15-20knot NE forecast.

With the wind settling in beautifully down the bay, a simple figure course was set with the fleet divided into 2 heats per round.  Unfortunately the wind never settled at the north end of the bay, but continued to send down spurts of wind, which varied in direction by 20-30degrees – not exactly perfect Slalom conditions!   Anyway after finally getting the 2 seeding heats away and the Silver race, the Gold race was run to complete the Round and give the event a result.  Professional Danish (Now Aussie) racing specialist (Jesper Vesterstrom DEN-111) took the bullet, with Local Frenchman (Remi Dunoyer) using sparkling new Maui sail in 2^nd and Nick Austen (AUS-151) in 3^rd.

No other racing was possible after the final as the wind turned off for the day.

Congratulations to the new NSW Slalom Champion for 2011-12, Brett Morris (AUS-8) who proved that consistency is the key to picking up trophies in the new “series” format.

Some points of interest about the Slalom Series in its debut format/season.

-          A total of 31 competitors competed over the 4 events,

-          There were 7 new competitors to the race circuit.

-          Alex Halank AUS-2001 was the youngest competitor at 10yrs old.

-          The smallest fleet of the series was ironically when it was really windy (30+knot SE).

-          Racing in Heats of 10 people is much generally fairer and more fun.

-          Cancelling an event on the morning is better than running it in sub standard conditions.

A huge thanks to the people who helped get the series off the ground and everyone who embraced the “learn as we go” attitude that was paramount to the enjoyment of the events.

Results are on www.tour-windsurfingnsw.com

Reminder about the BIG event at Hawks Nest in a couple of weeks!  (28Jan-04Feb12).

www.fw-australia.com ,for all the information and on-line entry if you have not done yet.

Results:

Heat 4 Results

Overall Slalom Results 2011-12 (After Heat 4)

Ramsgate Beach, Botany Bay, Sydney

Saturday 10Dec-11

With mid-season upon us, the stakes to the game were lifted with Heat 4 of the NSW Windsurfing Tour and the Formula NSW State Championship all wrapped up into one event. The titles attract the trophy hunters and in true Queensland spirit, Sean O’Brien AUS-120 arrived, fresh from the professional European season with a new Formula board and sails in tow, ready to rip our NSW title from our grasp.

The weather was always going to be the biggest challenge of the weekend with 10knot NE forecast for Saturday and potentially nothing on Sunday. This put the Race Officer (RO) under immense pressure to race whenever the wind was at the championship limit (basically 8+ knots from a stationary boat). The wind filled in at about 3pm to the minimum and we were away for what was always going to be a tough session. Steve Floyd AUS-222 bolted on port to lead at the 1st mark on his 11m, only to be tracked down by Sean, with Sam Parker AUS-3 coming in 3rd. In the Free Formula (the old FE+) Barry Fawkes AUS-2111 continued his winning season beating David Flanagan AUS-057 who was sporting a brand new NP EvoIV 10m. Mick Saunders AUS-149 was 3rd.

With the wind still hovering above the limit another race was set in motion. Brett Morris AUS-8 and Sean decided to take the port start option which resulted in a large lead at the 1st mark, which Sean expanded on to win easily. Brett on the other only received a box seat to watch the new and improved (12kgs lighter) Glen Morrell AUS-83, Mike Nelson AUS-12 and Steve Walsh AUS-55 mow him down on the final downwind for a 5th. Barry dominated the FF, but Roger Lucas AUS-303 proved his light wind potential with a 2nd.

With 3 races required for a championship, little chance of racing on Sunday and the wind dying but swinging to the predicted NE, the RO decided to wait until the last possible minute to get in the decisive last race of the day. This proved to be a wise move with the wind swinging and filling in to the best conditions of the day. Sean made it 3 bullets on the hop (welcome back!!!), with Mike and Steve Floyd having strong finishes for the minor places. Barry Fawkes had the same result in the FF with 3 bullets, but 2nd place when to David Howe AUS-688 who is now consistently in the top 5. Mick Saunders produced his third 3rd for the day. With a 7pm finish there was no socializing (that I know of?), just home to a meal and well earned sleep.

Sunday 11 DEc-11

30+ degrees, and a nicely developing easterly breeze surprised us all, and the course was set for more racing until….the sky turned black and the lightening began. Racing was cancelled for safety reasons as the storm was predicted, with no wind to follow, which is exactly what happened. Congratulations to QLD’s Sean O’Brien on getting bragging rights on NSW for another year and also to Barry Fawkes on winning the FF division, which is growing in participation at every event.

Thanks to Nick Nelson our RO, who produced the best possible result from an almost impossible forecast?

Reminder to pre-register and pay for the biggest event of the 2011-12 season, where we are hoping to attract up to 100 competitors. http://www.fw-australia.com/race-office/registration/

Merry Xmas,

Brett Morris

Final Results can be found here:
NSW Formula State Championships Results

Overall Season Pointscore (After Heat 4):
Season Pointscore

Two 3/4 mast high events down and hopefully two to come.

There’s no doubt that you have either looked at the pictures from the Woopi and Gerroa events and thought “should have been there” or you were one of the 49 (not a typo) who entered and thought “what a comp!!”. Michael Westra’s pic above does it justice!

The season has started well so there is a lot of anticipation going into the third event at Wanda on the 10th/11th December. Neil Pryde have come up with the goods – an amazing amount in fact – that will be available to win. The best competitors will have a lot to choose from – so make sure you take the drive North or South for the competition. Neil Pryde have always been very supportive of NSWWA and we can’t thank them enough.

As usual, sign on is 10-11am; for anyone who hasn’t competed at Wanda, keep an eye out for the tent which will be by the carpark. The Red Bull promo girls should be in attendance at 10am so make sure you’re there on time as they want to give you some energy to make it through a great day of windsurfing! Location of presentation will be announced at the event and will happen on Saturday.

NSWWA hope to see all of you at Wanda and would like to thank all of our 2011-12 sponsors.

Results (pdf):
Heat 3 – Slalom Results

Overall after Heat 3 (xls):
Slalom Series 2011-12

North Kyeemagh, Botany Bay

Saturday 19 Nov 2011

After the cancellation of the 1st event due to no wind, everyone was itching to get the brand new NSW Slalom Series started. There were a few considerations to be taken into account before getting the actual event under way. 1st consideration was to pick the best day of the weekend to conduct racing. Because we only have a 1 day race format, quality of conditions is paramount to the enjoyment of the event. With a 20knot NE predicted for Saturday and nothing substantial for Sunday the decision was made to change date to the “non-preferred” Saturday. Remembering that Sunday is the preferred event day to avoid clashing with club racing.

As predicted a 15-18knot NE seabreeze kicked in at 2pm combined with a scorching 35degrees made it the perfect conditions for Slalom racing. The good news was that approximately 60 windsurfers turned up to the “new” North Kyeemagh car park to enjoy the warm winds, beautiful flat water and watch the spectacular Slalom racing that this venue offers. The new Slalom racing format was very simple with beach starts and out to a distance buoy and back (2 laps taking about 6 mins) and everyone is welcome to join in the fun.

After 3 full rounds, Sam Parker AUS-3 won the open division but only after a few scares from the likes of Tibor AUS-1, Chris Ting AUS-5 and Steve Floyd AUS-222. It was also great to see some new faces in the likes of Craig Parker and Andrew Donavan AUS-1911.
Hopefully the next event, which is scheduled for this weekend (4thDec11) will be blessed with good conditions again. Everyone is welcome to participate in the racing series and first timers are very welcome and encouraged.

p.s. We are now using a bulk email/sms system to provide updates on the day. We notify you about updated registration times and provide early notice for cancellations (save people travelling) if the forecast is unfavourable. If you want to receive updates, please send your name, mobile number to dflanagan@macquarietelecom.

Report, results, photos and Video on www.nswwavesailing.org