Hear Ye, Hear Ye…the SF Bay Classic & Ultra Nectar Challenge coming up July 12 & 13

For those of you not familiar with this race, it’s pretty nuts. Last year very few people completed it because the upwind leg can be impossible on light winds. This two races in one event is fun and challenging. The SF Bay Challenge leg of the race goes from a start line parallel to the St. Francis Yacht Club, upwind to the Golden Gate Bridge, then downwind to Berkeley. From Berkeley back up to Crissy Field is the Ultra Nectar Challenge. This race requires a bit more endurance than the RONSTAN Bay Challenge, but can be equally fun. This race will also include Formula racers.

Sorry, I can’t explain what happened to item 9 below.

Here are the details from the freshly released Notice of Race (which you can also directly access here):

SF Bay Classic & UN Challenge
St. Francis Yacht Club
July 12-13, 2008
NOTICE OF RACE

1.0 RULES
1.1 The regatta will be governed by the rules as defined in The Racing Rules of Sailing (RRS), except as any of these are altered by the Sailing Instructions.
1.2 RRS 40.1 will be changed as follows: Competitors are required to wear a wetsuit at all times while racing.
1.3 Competitors in the Formula class must display sail numbers on both sides of all sails.
1.4 Competitors in the Kite class must wear a numbered jersey.

2.0 ELIGIBILITY AND ENTRY
2.1 The following classes are invited to participate: Formula and Kite.
2.2 Eligible boats may enter by completing the online entry form. Entries must be completed by July 9, 2008 to avoid late fee.

3.0 FEES
3.1 Entry fee is $85, less $5 with proof of current USSA or USWA membership, if received by July 9.
3.2 Entry fee is $95, less $5 with proof of current USSA or USWA membership, if received after July 9.

4.0 SCHEDULE
4.1 Late Registration: Saturday, July 12 from 1000 hours to 1030 hours.
4.2 Racing will be held on Saturday, July 12 and Sunday, July 13.
4.3 The scheduled time of the Warning Signal for the first race on Saturday is 1130 hours. A Sailors’ Meeting will be held at 1030 hours on Saturday, July 12.
4.4 The scheduled time of the Warning Signal for the first race on Sunday is 1200 hours. A Sailors’ Meeting will be held at 1100 hours on Sunday, July 13.
4.5 Sailors and their guests are invited to attend a social hosted by on Saturday evening and a trophy ceremony following the conclusion of racing on Sunday.

5.0 SAILING INSTRUCTIONS
The Sailing Instructions will be available at the check-in before the Sailors’ Meeting, while an unofficial copy may be found at www.stfyc.com.

6.0 RACING AREA
The intended course racing area will be set on the City Front utilizing inflatable marks. The intended area for the distance race will be from the City Front to the Berkeley Pier and back.

7.0 SCORING
7.1 One race shall constitute a series.
7.2 Kite and Formula classes will sail two distance races on Saturday, and three course races on Sunday. The distance races will be scored separately from the course racing. All course races will count towards a boats final course racing score.

8.0 DISCLAIMER OF LIABILITY
Competitors participate in the regatta entirely at their own risk. See rule 4, decision to race. The organizing authority will not accept any liability for material damage or personal injury or death sustained in conjunction with or prior to, during, or after the regatta.

10. FURTHER INFORMATION
For further information please contact the St Francis Yacht Club race office at 415.563.6363, email raceoffice@stfyc.com , or visit www.stfyc.com.

Loscoco Captures the Essence of the 2008 Kiteboarding Champiosnhips

Erin Loscoco, one our local Bay area kiteboarders who also participated in the early days of the Nationals, is also a gifted photographer. He spent the latter part of the week snapping some great shots which really capture the mood and intensity of this year’s event. You can check out his site here. He also set-up a “BEST OF” page which has fewer pics but still conveys the mood, here.

2008 Kiteboarding Nationals: Final Standings…the Pros take over

Well, another great week of kiteboarding course racing comes to an end here at Crissy Field with many of the pros taking over the top spots. Where last year, amateurs Anthony Chavez (Naish) and Jeff Kafka (Cabrinha) from the SF Bay area were able to secure the top rankings, this year, many of the well known freestyle names, riders like Damien LeRoy (Cabrinha) and Sky Solbach (North), roared into the event taking no prisoners. Even 16 year young pro rider, Jon Van Malsen (North), managed to come away with 6th place after some great racing on Saturday.

What made this year more competitive is that now that the PKRA has picked up on course racing, many of the pro riders are more exposed to this form of the sport and are evolving the style and the technology. Tech played a big role, though everyone, pros and amateurs alike, are still experimenting. Here is a look at some of these new custom board designs:

It was great to see the spirit of sportsmanship alive and well here in these races, as many of the competitors would frequently trade boards between races, if only to get a feel for what the new designs had to offer. Some designs were amazing upwind machines, but were less effective on the downwind legs of the event. Different board styles suited styles of different riders, but it was nice for them to be able to do head-to-head comparisons between boards and between each other on the race course.

Here are the final standings for the week long event, with Damien LeRoy (Cabrinha) taking 1st place after dominating most of the week, Sean Farley (North) in 2nd place, and Sky Solbach (North) sealing up 3rd place. Three of the Bay area’s finest managed to lock in top 10 performances, among these were Anthony Chavez (Naish), 2007 Kiteboarding Nationals champion, working his way back up the standings to 5th place; recent Maui transplant, Shawn Richman (Waiman Kites) with a 7th place overall finish; and Jeff Kafka (Cabrinha), of Wind Over Water fame, finishing up in 9th position.

Here are the overall standings:

2008 US Kiteboarding National Championship Preliminary Results – Championship Series

	Jersey #	Name	QR #1	QR #2	QR #3	QR #4	QR #5	QR #6	QR #7	QR #8	QR #9	QR #10	QR #11	QR #12	CR #1	CR #2	CR #3	CR #4	CR #5	CR #6	CR #7	CR #8	CR #9	TOTAL
			Y v R	W v B	R v W	B v Y	Y v W	R v B	Y v R	W v B	R v W	B v Y	Y v W	R v B
1	Blue 8	Damien LeRoy		2*		1		2		2		1		1	2	2	1	1	3*	2	2	2	2	21
2	White 3	Sean Farley		5*	2		1			3	5		1		1	1	2	12*	5	1	1	1	1	25
3	Blue 11	Sky Solbach		1		2		1		1		3*		2	4	3	3	3	1	3	6*	4	3	31
4	Yellow 10	Jon Modica	5			8*	5		6			2	2		9	5	8	10	6	5	13*	5	4	72
5	Yellow 3	Anthony Chavez	2			3	2		8*			4	3		9	11	6	5	11	13*	3	11	8	78
6	Yellow 12	Jon Van Malsen	9*			5	4		4			5	5		10	9	18*	8	4	8	12	3	6	83
7	Red 12	Shawn Richman	7*		1			3	1		1			3	DNS*	10	4	2	2	4	8	OCS	5	87
8	Blue 9	Kent Marinkovic		3		4*		4		4		4		4	6	8	9	6	10	9	11	10	12*	88
9	Red 6	Jeff Kafka	8*		7			5	2		2			7	16*	6	7	4	7	15	7	9	11	89
10	Blue 12	Ken Winner		4		DSQ*		12		8		6		5	8	12	14*	9	8	7	5	8	9	101
11	Red 4	Michael Gebhardt	1		5			9	10*		8			6	14	17*	13	14	9	12	4	7	7	109
12	Yellow 5	John Gomes	4			7	7		5			DNF*	7		3	4	11	13	14	22*	18	6	15	114
13	Red 11	Marc Ramseier	3		4			7	7		6			8*	7	DNF*	5	15	15	11	16	13	14	123
14	Yellow 6	Geoff Headington	DNS*			6	6		3			8	14		13	13	10	11	17*	10	9	12	10	125
15	White 11	Nils Stolzlechner		6*	3		3			6	3		6		12	DNF*	12	7	12	42	10	14	16	146
16	White 13	Chip Wasson		18	11		9			7	7		DSQ*		5	7	15	19	13	14	15	23*	23	163
17	Red 9	Donny Parker	16*		6			8	11		10			9	24*	14	17	17	20	15	14	16	13	170
18	Yellow 7	Clarissa Hempel	6			10	13*		9			7	8		18	15	16	20	22	17	24*	17	17	182
19	Blue 1	Kristin Boese		9		9		15*		10		9		10	15	18	19	21*	18	19	17	20	18	191
20	White 10	Marcelo Segura		10	8		10			13	14*		12		19	25*	23	18	16	20	21	15	19	204
21	Red 13	Frank Wittke	12		10			12	13		12			15*	11	16	20	DNS*	25	18	20	18	24	211
22	Blue 4	Eric Due		11		14*		10		9		10		11	23	21	24	16	16	16	25*	24	21	212
23	White 4	Melissa Gil		8	9		11			12	13*		11		22	20	21	25	19	21	22	21	27*	222
24	Yellow 2	Christopher Brown	17*			13	8		12			12	8		25	19	22	24	26	26	31*	26	20	241
25	Yellow 13	Arnaud Vuillermet	18			12	14		DNS*			11	10		17	22	25*	22	24	24	23	19	25	241
26	Red 5	Steve Gibson	15*		14			11	15		9			14	21	27	30	29	28	31*	19	22	26	265
27	Yellow 8	Bret Herscher	11			16	16		14			14	DNS*		31*	23	27	27	23	28	26	28	29	282
28	Red 10	Sandy Parker	10		12			18*	17		15			13	27	26	29	32*	30	30	28	25	22	284
29	Blue 5	Eric Geleynse		14		15		17*		14		13		12	26	24	26	28	29	29	34	DNS*	DNS	307
30	White 5	Mo Hart		DNS*	DNS		15			11	11		13		20	OCS*	DNS	23	21	25	29	DNS	DNS	325
31	Blue 13	Kris Youngberg		15		13		19*		15		15		16	DNF*	DNS	DNS	26	31	27	30	29	30	333
32	Yellow 9	Bruce Johnson	19			17	18		18			16	DNS*		32	DNF*	DNS	DNF	27	23	27	27	28	338
33	White 6	Ella Johnson		DNF	DNS*		19			16	16		DNS		28	28	DNS*	31	33	34	32	30	31	354
34	White 2	Dave Broome		7	13*		12			5	4		4		DNS*	DNS	DNS	DNS	DNS	DNS	DNS	DNS	DNS	376
35	Red 1	Vladimir Belinsky	DNF		DNS*			14	20		DSQ			DNS	30	DNS*	DNS	33	32	32	33	31	32	384
36	Red 14	Vlad Morozz	DNS*		DNF			16	DNS		DNS			DNS	29	29	28	30	34	DNS*	35	DNS	33	389
37	Red 3	Caroline Freitas	13		15			13	16		DNS*			DNS	DNS*	DNS	DNS	DNS	DNS	DNS	DNS	DNS	DNS	429
38	Yellow 11	Brendan Richards	14			11	17		DNS*			DNS	DNS		DNS*	DNS	DNS	DNS	DNS	DNS	DNS	DNS	DNS	442
39	White 14	Peter Schiebel		13	DNF		DNS*			DNS	DNS		DNS		DNS*	DNS	DNS	DNS	DNS	DNS	DNS	DNS	DNS	469
40	Yellow 4	James Donaldson	DNS*			DNS	DNS		19			27	27		DNS*	DNS	DNS	DNS	DNS	DNS	DNS	DNS	DNS	473
41	Blue 3	Raymond Deiter		DNS*		DNS		DNF		DNS		DNS		DNS	DNS*	DNS	DNS	34	DNS	DNS	DNS	DNS	DNS	475
42	White 7	Erin Loscocco		DNS*	DNS		20			DNS	DNS		DNS		DNS*	DNS	DNS	DNS	DNS	DNS	DNS	DNS	DNS	476
43	Blue 14	Shawn Murray		DNS*		DNS		DNS		DNS		DNS		DNS	DNS*	DNS	DNS	DNS	DNS	DNS	DNS	DNS	DNS	484
44	Blue 10	Michael Scott		DNS*		DNS		DNS		DNS		DNS		DNS	DNS*	DNS	DNS	DNS	DNS	DNS	DNS	DNS	DNS	484
45	Blue 2	Steph Bridge		DNS*		DNS		DNS		DNS		DNS		DNS	DNS*	DNS	DNS	DNS	DNS	DNS	DNS	DNS	DNS	484
46	Blue 6	Bobby Hall		DNS*		DNS		DNS		DNS		DNS		DNS	DNS*	DNS	DNS	DNS	DNS	DNS	DNS	DNS	DNS	484
47	Blue 7	Lance Larivee		DNS*		DNS		DNS		DNS		DNS		DNS	DNS*	DNS	DNS	DNS	DNS	DNS	DNS	DNS	DNS	484
48	Red 15	Ryan Lamb	DNS*		DNS			DNS	DNS		DNS			DNS	DNS*	DNS	DNS	DNS	DNS	DNS	DNS	DNS	DNS	484
49	Red 2	Shawn Ewing	DNS*		DNS			DNS	DNS		DNS			DNS	DNS*	DNS	DNS	DNS	DNS	DNS	DNS	DNS	DNS	484
50	Red 7	Jeffrey Klein	DNS*		DNS			DNS	DNS		DNS			DNS	DNS*	DNS	DNS	DNS	DNS	DNS	DNS	DNS	DNS	484
51	White 1	Darren Bass		DNS*	DNS		DNS			DNS	DNS		DNS		DNS*	DNS	DNS	DNS	DNS	DNS	DNS	DNS	DNS	484
52	White 12	Jason Trupkin		DNS*	DNS		DNS			DNS	DNS		DNS		DNS*	DNS	DNS	DNS	DNS	DNS	DNS	DNS	DNS	484
53	White 8	Jeffrey Ruoss		DNS*	DNS		DNS			DNS	DNS		DNS		DNS*	DNS	DNS	DNS	DNS	DNS	DNS	DNS	DNS	484

It’s All Smiles at the 2008 Kiteboarding Nationals – San Francisco Bay

As most seasoned kiters know, keeping a serious face during anything to do with kitesurfing is down right near impossible to do. Even on game day, when the racing stakes are up, every kiters you talk to can’t help but beam a smile. Spent Saturday walking around talking to racers after their finish and with few exceptions, it was happy all around regardless of where they placed. Couldn’t resist sharing these shots here…

(Row 1: Steve Gibson, John Gomes (race organizer), Sandy Parker (Kitopia); Row 2: John Van Malsen, Clarissa Hempel, Eric Due; Row 3: Anthony Chavez (2007 Nationals Champion), Donny Parker (Kitopia), Jeff Kafka (WindOverWater); Row 4: Chip Wasson (Ultra Nectar), Shawn Richman/John Modica/Sky Solbach/Damien LeRoy/Kent Marinkovic, Shawn Richman)

Even the spectators couldn’t help but get into the smiling trend…

(Spectator Row: Bill Tai (KiteVC), Kathy Smith/Chad Nicols, Pete Cabrinha (Cabrinha Kites)/Austin

It was great to see all of this happiness bundle up in one place :)

The Marin Independent Journal covers our kiteboarding passion

Several of us Marin riders were recently interviewed by Andrew Pentis of the Marin Independent Journal (marinij.com). His feature just came out today, and portrays the sickness that we’re all bound by. The article is titled, “CEOs loosen ties, surf their kites at national championship on the bay”, where he humorously states:

“If horse racing is the sport of kings, kiteboarding is becoming that of corporate executives – at least in the Bay Area. But Marin residents taking part in the birth of a water sport don’t sit in the stands. When it’s time to shed the suit and tie, they fly a kite on the San Francisco Bay – with an attached surfboard under their feet, powered by the offshore winds. That provides the thrill.”

It’s very cool to have the opportunity to help spread the addiction around the Bay Area :)

U.S. Kiteboarding National Championship – Day 2!!!

My good buddy Gabe Brown was kind enough to share some of people shots he got today at the Nationals taking place at Crissy Field…

(Damien LeRoy) (Clarissa Hempel and Chip Wasson)

(Shawn Richman) (Chip Wasson)

Noteworthy in today’s standings is that Florida boy, Damien LeRoy (Cabrinha) is and Sky Solbach (North) (who has come out from Australia and Oregon to participate in a few of the Thursday Night Cabrinha Kite Race Series events), are tied for first in leading the points race with St. Francis Yacht Club flag bearer, Shawn Richman (Waiman Kites) close at hand in 3rd place. Sky Solbach (North), who has come out from Australia and Oregon to participate in a few of the Thursday Night Cabrinha Kite Race Series events, is holding on to the number 2 spot. Here are the standings as they stand after two days:

2008 US Kiteboarding National Championship Preliminary Results – Qualification Series

	Jersey #	Name	QR #1	QR #2	QR #3	QR #4	QR #5	QR #6	QR #7	QR #8	QR #9	QR #10	QR #11	QR #12	Total Score
			Y v R	W v B	R v W	B v Y	Y v W	R v B	Y v R	W v B	R v W	B v Y	Y v W	R v B
1	Blue 8	Damien LeRoy		2*		1		2		2		1		1	7
2	Blue 11	Sky Solbach		1		2		1		1		3*		2	7
3	Red 12	Shawn Richman	7*		1			3	1		1			3	9
4	White 3	Sean Farley		5*	2		1			3	5		1		12
5	Yellow 3	Anthony Chavez	2			3	2		8*			4	3		14
6	Blue 9	Kent Marinkovic		3		4		4		4		DNS*		4	19
7	Yellow 10	Jon Modica	5			8*	5		6			2	2		20
8	White 11	Nils Stolzlechner		6*	3		3			6	3		6		21
9	Red 6	Jeff Kafka	8*		7			5	2		2			7	23
10	Yellow 12	Jon Van Malsen	9*			5	4		4			5	5		23
11	Red 11	Marc Ramseier	3		4			7	7		6			8*	27
12	Red 4	Michael Gebhardt	1		5			9*	9		8			6	29
13	Yellow 5	John Gomes	4			7	7		5			DNS*	7		30
14	White 2	Dave Broome		7	13*		12			5	4		4		32
15	Yellow 6	Geoff Headington	DNS*			6	6		3			8	14		37
16	Red 9	Donny Parker	16*		6			8	10		10			9	43
17	White 13	Chip Wasson		18*	11		9			7	7		9		43
18	Blue 1	Kristin Boese		9		9		15*		10		9		10	47
19	White 4	Melissa Gil		8	9		11			12	13*		11		51
20	Blue 4	Eric Due		11		14*		10		9		10		11	51
21	Blue 12	Ken Winner		4		DSQ*		6		8		6		DNS	52
22	Yellow 2	Christopher Brown	17*			13	8		11			12	8		52
23	White 10	Marcelo Segura		10	8		10			13	14*		12		53
24	Red 13	Frank Wittke	12		10			12	12		12			15*	58
25	Red 5	Steve Gibson	15*		14			11	14		9			14	62
26	Yellow 7	Clarissa Hempel	6			10	13		DNS*			7	DNS		64
27	Red 10	Sandy Parker	10		12			18*	16		15			13	66
28	Blue 5	Eric Geleynse		14		15		17*		14		13		12	68
29	Yellow 8	Bret Herscher	11			16	16		13			14	DNS*		70
30	Blue 13	Kris Youngberg		15		13		19*		15		11		16	70
31	White 5	Mo Hart		DNS*	DNS		15			11	11		13		78
32	Yellow 13	Arnaud Vuillermet	18			12	14		DNS*			DNS	10		82
33	Red 3	Caroline Freitas	13		15			13	15		DNS*			DNS	84
34	Yellow 9	Bruce Johnson	19			17	18		17			16	DNS*		87
35	Yellow 11	Brendan Richards	14			11	17		DNS*			DNS	DNS		98
36	White 6	Ella Johnson		DNF	DNS*		19			16	16		DNS		107
37	Blue 14	Shawn Murray		DNS*		DNS		DNS		DNS		DNS		5	117
38	Red 1	Vladimir Belinsky	DNF		DNS*			14	19		DNF			DNS	117
39	White 14	Peter Schiebel		13	DNF		DNS*			DNS	DNS		DNS		125
40	Red 14	Vlad Morozz	DNS*		DNF			16	DNS		DNS			DNS	128
41	Yellow 4	James Donaldson	DNS*			DNS	DNS		18			DNS	DNS		130
42	White 7	Erin Loscocco		DNS*	DNS		20			DNS	DNS		DNS		132
43	Blue 10	Michael Scott		DNS*		DNS		DNS		DNS		DNS		DNS	140
44	Blue 2	Steph Bridge		DNS*		DNS		DNS		DNS		DNS		DNS	140
45	Blue 3	Raymond Deiter		DNS*		DNS		DNS		DNS		DNS		DNS	140
46	Blue 6	Bobby Hall		DNS*		DNS		DNS		DNS		DNS		DNS	140
47	Blue 7	Lance Larivee		DNS*		DNS		DNS		DNS		DNS		DNS	140
48	Red 15	Ryan Lamb	DNS*		DNS			DNS	DNS		DNS			DNS	140
49	Red 2	Shawn Ewing	DNS*		DNS			DNS	DNS		DNS			DNS	140
50	Red 7	Jeffrey Klein	DNS*		DNS			DNS	DNS		DNS			DNS	140
51	White 1	Darren Bass		DNS*	DNS		DNS			DNS	DNS		DNS		140
52	White 12	Jason Trupkin		DNS*	DNS		DNS			DNS	DNS		DNS		140
53	White 8	Jeffrey Ruoss		DNS*	DNS		DNS			DNS	DNS		DNS		140

Of our Bay Area past top place finishers, Anthony Chavez (Naish) currently sits in 5th place, Jeff Kafka (Cabrinha) is in 9th place, and Chip Wasson (Ozone) is in a very surprising 17th place due to having missed a race as a result of some equipment changes he had to make.

Kiteboarding Nationals 2008 – “Let’s get it on!”

Some good coverage and shots of the start of the U.S. Kiteboarding Nationals on the SFGate site today. Unlike last year, it really looks like the weather is cooperating right from the get-go, as you’ll see from the pictures in the SF Gate article, the sun and win are ON!

Good to see some of the local kiters, like Chip Wasson, Jeff Kafka, and race organizer John Gomes, get mentioned in the article. John Gomes deserves special kudos as the driving force behind this event. Fortunately, he put together an excellent support committee to help him pull all of this off. It’s great when a plan comes together :)

Conceptual Kite Driven Watercraft

A friend just pointed me to this new concept watercraft…

You can check out more pictures of this kite driven watercraft here.

After looking at all the pictures and understanding more or less how it works, I’m in a bit of a quandary trying to figure out where the fun part is.  OK, so the kite is pulling me at speed, say 15-25 kts and I dive the watercraft below the surface which then automatically resurfaces.  All this while sitting on it like a high speed motorcycle.  It’s clear that I’m missing something because I just don’t get it.  I’d rather be kiting.  If getting submerged is the fun part, that’s pretty easy to pull off with a body drag.  Buying what will surely be an expensive toy to get the sensation I can get without that just doesn’t seem to make sense to me.  Oh well.  My bigger question is how does the kite get relaunched if it falls from the sky?  That should be interesting.

This seems like a craft better left in the conceptual stage.

RONSTAN Bay Challenge – Kite Class: A good time had by all

The Kite Class of the RONSTAN Bay Challenge was very exciting. There’s also a Formula Windsurfing Class, but as a participant in the kitesurfing race, it’s tough to keep up with the windsurfing action since they start the race 5 minutes before us and go much faster. Special thanks shout out to both the St. Francis Yacht Club race committee for managing this event and all of the volunteers who participated in the effort. Also, thanks to RONSTAN for their long time support of such a great event.

The event is broken down into two days, with the first being the long distance race which goes from Crissy Field, west towards the Golden Gate Bridge approximately a half mile to a windward mark, then back down wind (east) all the way to Berkeley for the leeward mark, then back up the St. Francis Yacht Club for the finish. The weather was very uncooperative with light winds under 20 kts for the down wind leg, and foggy skies the whole race. The upwind leg showed signs of life with winds ranging up to the low 20 kts.

There were lots of choices to be made in terms of how best to reach Berkeley and the different strategies paid off in different ways. The top three racers split at Alcatraz with one of the favorites, Shawn Richman, staying close to Angel Island the whole way down, while Chip Wasson and Anthony Chavez stayed on the city front side. Shawn’s down wind strategy paid off in spades giving him what seemed like an early 1 to 2 mile lead by the time he crossed the Berkeley marker. Nils Stolzlechner and John Gomes like Shawn, also went down on the north side of Alcatraz and were eventually joined by Chip and Anthony rounding the leeward mark. At this point, Shawn’s board became a hindrance and Chip, Nils and John were all able to catch him on the up wind leg between Berkeley and the St. Francis Yacht Club finish line to claim 1st, 2nd and 3rd place ahead of Shawn’s 4th place and Anthony’s close 5th place finish. The standings for Saturday’s race are as follows:

Overall
Position Skipper Finish Time
1. Chip Wasson 14:22:32.0
2. Nils Stolzlechner 14:25:24.0
3. John Gomes 14:27:07.0
4. Shawn Richman 14:30:57.0
5. Anthony Chavez 14:32:34.0
6. Chris Brown 14:37:29.0
7. Pierre Wolff (me) 14:41:00.0
8. Bret Herscher 14:45:03.0
9. Steve Gibson 14:45:14.0
10. Gabe Brown 14:56:41.0
11. Vlad Moroz 15:06:47.0
12. Tim Jackson 15:21:23.0
DNF Bill Kiriakis
DNS Raymond Dieter

Start Time was 13:10:00.0
DNF = Did Not Finish
DNS = Did Not Start

Bill Kiriakis who got a DNF had actually passed both Chris Brown and I on the upwind leg but suffered a fallen kite incident from which he could not recover as we passed by him. Sadly, he was only 4 reaches away from the finish line. Also noteworthy is that the top 3 finishers were all using boards designed and built by Nils.

While I had been advised that we might get strong winds on the way back up wind, I still elected to ride the Eclipse 14m Thruster and didn’t regret it one bit. It was nicely powered on the way back only requiring me to sheet in 1/3 of the way a couple of times, and provided plenty of kick on the down wind leg to even pass a couple of the racers around me.

Sunday brought the course racing legs of the RONSTAN Bay Challenge. This consisted of three races encompassing two laps each with markers that went from Crissy Field to approximately a quarter mile from the Golden Gate Bridge. Starting position is key to doing well in this race and it’s very tricky timing. This is similar to the Thursday Night Cabrinha Race Series most of us also participate in, so the riders were all experienced racers.

This event was dominated by the three favorites, Shawn Richman (19 year old kitesurfing prodigy who moved from Maui to attend U.C. Santa Cruz), Anthony Chavez and Chip Wasson. These three riders took turns at coming in 1st, 2nd or 3rd, with Shawn getting two wins and a 2nd place to win the overall event, Anthony taking 2nd, 3rd and 1st place finishes, while Chip took in 3rd, 2nd and 3rd place finishes. It certainly seemed like Shawn was riding with a mission after having been caught from behind in the previous day’s long distance event.

The Standings for Sunday’s course races were as follows:

Overall
Position Skipper Race 1 | Race 2 | Race 3
1. Shawn Richman 1 | 1 | 2
2. Anthony Chavez 2 | 3 | 1
3. Chip Wasson 3 | 2 | 3
4. John Gomes 6 | 5 | 4
5. Nils Stolzlechner 4 | 6 | 7
6. Bill Kiriakis 5 | 7 | 5
7. Pierre Wolff (me) 10 | 4 | 6
8. Bret Herscher 9 | 8 | 9
9. Steve Gibson 8 | 9 | 10
10. Geoff Headington 7 | DNF | 8
11. Tim Jackson 12 | 10 | 11
12. Raymond Dieter 11 | 11 | 12

The winds were howling at 25-27 kts accompanied by an ebb tide which made for perfect racing conditions. General strategy on where to make jibes played a major role in these races as well as the impact of small mistakes like falling off one’s board during a jibe, or spacing out and missing the location of the finish line altogether, as happened to me in the first race in what led to my 10th place finish…d’oh! Where some riders dominated on the up wind legs, others had a clear advantage on the down wind legs. When all is said and done, everyone had an enjoyable time racing under sunny skies.

For this race, I tried to go with the Eclipse 12m Thruster, but the winds were just too overpowering and since my 10m has yet to arrive, I settled into my 10m Best Bularoo which worked like a charm in what was sometimes very gusty conditions. Something about the nice long throw on the Bularoo bar which really opens up the range of this kite.

After the races, Bill our other friend Charlie, who unfortunately couldn’t race due to an arm injury that he’s allowing himself to heal from, and I went out under the Golden Gate Bridge to catch shoulder high swell. Steady rollers going from the top of the south tower down to the east side of the north tower. Amazingly well shaped swell. We lasted about 45 minutes before yelling “uncle” as our legs were mush from close to two hours of racing followed by this surfing session. Nice way to end the weekend :)

*** Update 6/2/08 @ 9:05am: There was a photographer on the start boat named Sergei Zavarin who took a bunch of pictures of the event. Unfortunately, because they’re for sale I can’t link to them, but you can view them for free on his SmugMug page at http://ultimate-yachtshots.smugmug.com/?preview=1.