Maui Race Series - Week 2
Saturday was the second of this year's Maui Race Series and it shaped up to be a grueling, brutal day for most sailors. By 11:00 in the morning, winds were already blowing over 30mph. Recreational sailors were going out on 4.0 and smaller sails. I rigged a flat 5 year old Northwave 3.7 and sailed well powered at Uppers. Many of the racers didn't have race sails small enough to handle the winds. The look on the racer's faces as they came off the water on their 5.2s after the first heat told the story - they were getting seriously spanked. Lots of sheeting out and tail-walking as they approached the marks and crossed the finish line. Some even opted to rig wave sails so that they could go down to a more appropriate-sized sail.
Once again, the morning heats were divided by age group and the Junior and Menehune stole the show. These guys rock. Kids as young as 8 years old racing around a slalom course in 30knots of wind. It's pretty cool to see all those little sails blasting around the course. The determination award has to go to 8 year old Bernd Roediger as he steadily made his way around the course. Despite the beleaguered look on the adult sailor's faces, Bernd showed no sign of fear in yesterday's conditions.
After the kids, the 19 - 39 year olds blasted around the course, led by former PWA standout Anders Bringdal.
The afternoon heats are run by skill level. The pros, including Anders Bringdal and Alex Aguerra battled it out around the course. But the competition is fierce at every level - pro, semi-pro, expert, advanced, sport and wave.
At the end of the day, there was a palpable sense of relief among the racers that the racing was over and they had survived - mostly. Minor injuries were plentiful as the pummeling winds and choppy water produced many spectacular wipe outs. Gauranteed there will be lots of sore bodies today.
Anybody who thinks that Maui is only about wave sailing needs to come here and watch or participate in these races. This is racing at a very high, very competitive level. There's talk of bringing the U.S. Nationals here next summer. The racing community here is very strong and very alive. Even if you don't want to race, it's good fun to watch, both from the beach and from the water. Pretty cool to sail around at Uppers on my 3.7, hanging around the start line watching these guys try to control their bigger sails, sometimes just dropping into the water to hang out for awhile.
The two photos below are from yesterday's events. More photos of yesterday's Maui Race Series on the Maui Windsurfing website.
Once again, the morning heats were divided by age group and the Junior and Menehune stole the show. These guys rock. Kids as young as 8 years old racing around a slalom course in 30knots of wind. It's pretty cool to see all those little sails blasting around the course. The determination award has to go to 8 year old Bernd Roediger as he steadily made his way around the course. Despite the beleaguered look on the adult sailor's faces, Bernd showed no sign of fear in yesterday's conditions.
After the kids, the 19 - 39 year olds blasted around the course, led by former PWA standout Anders Bringdal.
The afternoon heats are run by skill level. The pros, including Anders Bringdal and Alex Aguerra battled it out around the course. But the competition is fierce at every level - pro, semi-pro, expert, advanced, sport and wave.
At the end of the day, there was a palpable sense of relief among the racers that the racing was over and they had survived - mostly. Minor injuries were plentiful as the pummeling winds and choppy water produced many spectacular wipe outs. Gauranteed there will be lots of sore bodies today.
Anybody who thinks that Maui is only about wave sailing needs to come here and watch or participate in these races. This is racing at a very high, very competitive level. There's talk of bringing the U.S. Nationals here next summer. The racing community here is very strong and very alive. Even if you don't want to race, it's good fun to watch, both from the beach and from the water. Pretty cool to sail around at Uppers on my 3.7, hanging around the start line watching these guys try to control their bigger sails, sometimes just dropping into the water to hang out for awhile.
The two photos below are from yesterday's events. More photos of yesterday's Maui Race Series on the Maui Windsurfing website.
posted by Jeff at
9:46 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home