2009 Kiteboarding Course Racing World Champions Day 5 - Final Day

One mistake can cost you everything

The competitors today looked happy to be in the final day of competition yet nervous about the tight battles forthcoming. The skies were blue on the beach with a thin strip of fog in the middle of the bay and the Golden Gate Bridge completely engulfed in the fog. The course was set and wind was up in time for a 2:00 start and the gold fleet took to the water for two races.

The first race saw all racers start on Starboard with Jensen leading the field out to the middle of the bay with Farley and Wasson right behind him. Chip Tacked early and took the inside line. the fleet seemed to notice and all tacked behind him. While it looked like Chip made a great tactical move, he hit a hole on his way up on the inside and much of the fleet caught up to him. Farley rounded the windward mark first then Leroy followed by Heineken and then Wasson. At the leeward mark the order remained the same but the riders tightened up a bit. As the racers made their way up to the windward mark it became a race for second with an even heavier battle in the pack behind. Farley rounded first, then Wasson, then Heineken. The tight pack behind came in with Leroy taking 4th, then Hanel then Kafka.

The pack really tightened up in this final day and While the top 3 guys seemed to be pretty dominant, it seemed that the next 10 spots were up for grabs.

The second race saw Chip Wasson getting a great start and Johnny Heineken getting stuffed on the start. Farley was a bit low and Chip got out way ahead. Chip again chose to take the inside line and this time Damien stuck close with him. They opened up a big lead on the rest of the fleet and rounded the mark way ahead of the field. As they sailed around the leeward mark it was still Chip followed by Damien with Farley trailing pretty far behind them. The rest of the fleet was even further behind and it was really a race for the top 3 spots as Chip, Damien and Farley worked their way up the inside. Damien Tacked first and Chip and Farley went almost all the way to the beach before they tacked and found themselves struggling through a hole on the inside. Damien hit the finish line first, then Chip then Farley.

The last day of racing left the racers in these positions going into the Medal Heat where points were doubled:
1. Sean Farley 13
2. Chip Wasson 22
3. Johnny Heineken 36
4. Damien Leroy 43
5. Bruno Sroka 46
6. Jesse Richman 60
7. Bjoern Rune Jensen 67
8. Dirk Hanel 67
9. Sky Solbach 72
10. Michael Gebhardt 76

This left Wasson with the only mathematical shot at beating Farley and taking the World Championship.

On the Women's side it was still Steph Bridges finishing strong in every race (20, 22) 17 overall and Kristin Boese close behind her (23, 26) 26 overall. Setting up a Medal Heat with:

1. Steph Bridges 135
2. Kristin Boese 204
3. Melissa Gill 271
4. Sandy Parker 286
5. Katja Roose 297
6. Paula Sonnenberg 315

The silver fleet took to the course for one more race to settle things between the locals. Chris Brown lead the fleet out with Aguera and Jim (cupcake) Keenan right behind him. They rounded the course in that order with Brown taking a fall and almost giving up his lead and Cupcake taking a fall that almost allowed Geleynse to catch him and steal his coveted 3rd place finish.

The Silver Fleet wrapped up with all locals taking the top 3 spots:

1. Eric Geleynse 116
2. Chris Brown 121
3. Bruce Johnson 127

That lead us into our Women's metal fleet which started with all but Kristin and Sandy over early generating a general recall. In the second (and clean) start, it was Steph breaking out to the early lead on the shortened championship course. Kristin was far behind her but also had a huge lead over the next woman, Melissa Gill. They completed 3 laps and finished in this order.

1. Steph Bridge 137
2. Kristin Boese 208
3. Melissa Gill 278

The winds began to fill in again enough for Leroy to head out first for the mens medal round on a 9m kite with the rest of the field on 11m - 13m kites. In the first start, Gebhardt started incorrectly which generated a general recall. The second start had the field split on starboard and port and saw Wasson and Heineken jump out to the early lead. Heineken rounded the windward mark first, followed by Wasson and then the rest of the pack a ways behind. As the pack came up to the windward mark a second time Heineken was leading he way with Chip right behind him when the first major incident occurred. It was like Heineken ran into a wall and Chip hit it right behind him. The rest of the pack was stuck behind them but Bruon managed to sneak through and around the windward mark and then take off with a huge lead going downwind. While the racers were stacked up on the windward mark Jensen was able to squeek around the mark and Farley dropped below and tacked into a huge lift on port passing the fleet and rounding the mark on his way to chase down the leaders. There was no catching Bruno. He was so far ahead he could cruise to the rest of the race. As he rounded the windward mark the last time he looked back to see the fleet a quarter mile behind him. As he approached the finish line, the crowd looked on in horror and disbelief as he went outside the finish line markers and started heading for the leeward mark. Was he confused or had we all miscounted the laps. The answer was clear when almost a minute later, Bjoern Jensen came across the line and the gun sounded followed by Farley,Richman, Wasson, Solbach, Heineken, Hanel, Sroka, Gebhardt then Leroy.

Final results:

1. Sean Farley 17
2. Chip Wasson 30
3. Johnny Heineken 48
4. Damien LeRoy 63
5. Bruno Sroka 64
6. Jesse Richman 66
7. Bjoern Rune Jensen 69
8. Dirk Hanel 81
9. Sky Solbach 82
10. Michael Gebhardt 92

2009 Kiteboarding Course Racing World Championships Day 4

Friday, Aug 7 2009 Day 4 First round of the Championship series

Friday saw another gorgeous day with clear blue skies and winds building out of the West Southwest. The Fleet had been split into two; gold and silver. Normally the fleet would be split down the middle with the top half going to gold and the bottom half going to silver. But what's an event without a little bit of drama and controversy? The six women in the competition wanted a chance to battle it out against each other. 2 of them (Steph Bridge and Kristin Boese) had earned their way into the Gold fleet finishing overall 17th and 24th respectively. When asked how to score the women, the bubbly yet Burly Brit, Bridge responded, "Score us with the blokes and let us improve. It's not fair to the men or the women to put the ones who didn't earn it into the Gold Fleet." When asked what it would take to get more women competing in the races Bridge responded, "More money I guess but I really don't care. I race against the men."

In all fairness, these women came from all over the world and until there are more participants it only seems fair to include them all in the Championship round to produce a result for the women's top 5.

If anyone thought the first 3 days of racing was exciting, Friday was intense! Every race had tight starts with packs flying around the course with the top 15 guys all in it till the very end. The winds had built to a pretty steady 20 mph and the first race of the day saw Damien Leroy jump out to an early lead but come the last lap at the windward mark he just had to pinch too hard to make it and got passed by Farley. They finished with Farley in first then Leroy followed by Chip Wasson and Bjoern Jensen. A number of folks protested as the racing was tight and there were definitely some fouls with everyone pushing the envelope for the championship round. Redress was awarded to Johhny Heineken (5) Dirk Hanel (6) and Bruno Sroka (5).

Immediately following the first race, Race director John Craig got the gold fleet going again - this time on a slightly different course. At this point in the competition it's really becoming apparent how on top of their game Sean Farley and Chip Wasson are as they get the better of the field on pretty much every start and open up sizable leads. Every once in a while someone will jump into the top spot but for the most part it's Chip and Sean 1 and 2. Really stepping up his game in the Championship round is Dirk Hanel with a 3rd place in the second race, then Sroka, then Jensen.

With 2 races under their belt, the Gold fleet headed in for a quick rest to let the Silver fleet take the field. The Silver Fleet has just as exciting competition within it just at a bit slower of a pace. A mix of local Thursday night series guys at the top of the fleet and some visiting amateurs excited to be competing on such a world class course these guys were battling it out in every heat. At the end of 2 races, locals Eric Geleynse (112), Chris Brown (120) and Bruce Johnson (122) are battling it out for the top 3 spots. Battling to round out the top 5 are Mike Scott (125), Mark Leng (125) and Alex Aguera (137).

After a 45 minute delay due to a high security cargo ship being escorted into the bay, the Gold fleet headed out for the last 2 races of the day. The 3rd race for the Gold Fleet proved to be one of the most exciting of the week as the start line had ebbed out on the pin end and heavily favored port. Those who noticed got off to a huge lead (Heineken, Wasson and S. Richman). Those who didn't were left chasing back up the course. Farley was stuck behind at least 8 or 9 riders but was like a man possessed working his way back up through the pack. Wasson looked the whole time like he has going to hold on for 1st place but was caught by Johnny Heineken who had the finish line laid a bit better. Heineken took 1st, then Wasson, the Shawn Richman, then Farley, Then Hanel again with an impressive improvement.

The last race of the day had another heated start. The starting line had been improved a bit but still favored a good start on Port. Again we had half the fleet challenging the startboard starters on port. Not 15 seconds after the gun the site of Srokas kite looping around that of Alex Smith's alarmed the spectators as it was obvious he would not recover with his 45m lines. Alex was able to recover and finish the race in 27th but later on was given redress in his protest leaving Bruno with a DSQ. Notably in this race, ex-windsurf olympic medalist, Michael Gebhardt got off to a great start and was on Farley's heals the whole race finishing 2nd with Damien Leroy again strogn in 3rd, Wasson in 4th and Jesse Richman in 5th.

An exciting day of racing sets the stage for tomorrows final day where a World Champion will be crowned.

2009 Kiteboarding Course Racing World Championships Day 3

Local boys step it up another notch!

The third day of competition started out with mixed clouds and light but building winds. The race committee was motivated to get the fleets sorted into Gold and Silver by the end of day and they were confident they could get an on time start of 2:00. Jesse Richman fearing the wind may not come up much was out an hour before the competition testing out his kite with 40m lines seemingly reaching for the stratosphere for wind.

Like clockwork though, the wind filled in to the minimum threshold of 14 knots by 2:00 and the first fleet took to the course. It was light, flooding and not what the competitors were used to from the day before but the start was clean and the race progressed at the pace of a chess match with tactical sailing to match. The lighter winds immediately saw Local Dinghy racer John Heineken favored as he just seemed to know exactly how to cover the course. In a slow but very entertaining race, Heineken held off Farley for first place, Jensen took second and Farley third, Dirk Hanel breaking into the top 5 for his first time and then rounded out by Sky Solbach.

The second race had quite a bit more wind and saw Chip Wasson and Bruno Sroka paired up for the first time this week. The fleet had noticed that the inside may have been the place to be due to the heavy flood on the outside and the fleet split the start on starboard and port. Chip, Bruno, Gebhardt, Rista, and J. Richman beat the starboard half of the fleet and were off and locked in towards the windward mark. They stayed in that order the whole race with with the exception of Chip and Bruno who traded places so that Chip could remain consistent with his second place finishes.

Two inbound tankers delayed the races by about 45 minutes and used up a good chunk of solid mid twenties wind.

The third race had Farley coming out of the gates like a man possessed as he did not like being handed his first defeat in the first heat of the day. While Heineken was able to stay on his heals, he could never catch Farley and they finished Farley, Heineken, Solbach, Hanel, Jensen.

The race committee observed the wind coming down a bit towards the end of the third race so they called the blue fleet out when the last competitor from yellow had cleared the leeward mark so that they could start the next race as soon as possible. This last race had the pack starting on starboard and coming way inside off the start. By the time the field tacked out to the middle they were really spread out creating quite the site for the spectators. While some were out ahead, others were higher up. It made it anyones guess who would make it to the windward mark first. When they came around the mark, it was Chip Wasson in first for the first time this week, followed by Bruno. They stayed this way even though Bruno made a couple attempts to catch him Chip was able to protect the course well and hold strong for a first place finish. He was followed by Bruno, then Paolo, then Damien Leroy, then Gebhardt.

The men finished the preliminaries with:
1. Sean Farley (6)
2. Bruno Sroka (8)
3. Chip Wasson (11)
4. John Heineken (13)
5. Sky Solbach (17)
6. Paolo Rista (21)
7. Damien Leroy (22)
8. Jesse Richman (24)
9. Bjoern Rune Jensen (29)
10. Michael Gebhardt (30)

The women have been racing with the men all along and they will be grouped in the Gold fleet so they can continue to all score against each other. Standout Steph Bridge from GBR has been hanging tough beating some of the top men from years past and she currently sits 17 over all. Kristin Boese is the next woman in 28th, followed by Melissa Gill and Sandy Parker who are separated by just a couple points and rounding out the top 5 is Katja Roose from NLD.

Tomorrow the fleets will be split into Gold and Silver and the competition will get that much tougher.

Gabe Brown's Column:
http://www.examiner.com/x-12707-SF-Surfing-Examiner

The 2009 Kiteboard Course Racing World Championships Day 1

Racing got off to an incredible start today with bright blue skies and steady wind in the 20 - 25 mph range. After the 12:00 PST riders meeting the course was set around 2:30 and racers hit the water at 3:00. The 67 entrants were split into two fleets; blue and yellow. Yellow ran first with a clean start marking the beginning of this 5 day event. North kiteboarding's Sky Solbach shot off to an early lead and never looked back. Cabrinha teammates and training partners from France, Bruno Sroka and Paolo Rista battled it out behind him finishing with Bruno is second and Paolo in third. San Francisco locals Rob kindt (Ozone kites) and Frank Wittke (F-1 Kites) rounded out the top 5 respectively. Notably Jesse Richman finished 3rd but due to not coming through the finish line correctly received a DNF for that race.

1. Sky Solbach
2. Bruno Sroka
3. Paolo Rista

Without delay, the Blue fleet took to the water and leading the pack were two racers who have been chasing each other around the bay for the last month, Sean Farley (North Kites, Mexico) and local Kitebaording legend, Chip Wasson (Ozone Kites). Close behind them was Damien Leroy (Florida, Cabrinha Kites) followed by Local Ocean Rodeo rider, Stefaans Viljoen and Danish Cabrinha rider, Bjoern Rune Jensen.

1. Sean Farley
2. Chip Wasson
3. Damien Leroy

After a short delay for an inbound tanker ship, the yellow fleet took to the course for their second and final race of the day. This race proved to be one of the more exciting races of the day with the top 3 riders exchanging leads more than 5 times. With Bruno leading through the entire first lap and Sky and Jesse hot on his tail, he fell and dipped his kite in the water in the beginning of the second laps downwind leg. This allowed Jesse and Sky to catch him and the threesome battled within feet of each other the rest of the way downwind. Jesse used his right of way to take the lead at the leeward mark but somehow Bruno out pointed him on the way back up. Maybe a little jet lagged and confused, Jesse thought he had one more lap to go as they approached the finish line and he started to ease up, preparing to head down wind. This minor slip up allowed Sky to sneak past him and take second with Jesse finishing 3rd, Paolo finishing 4th and Local Ozone kite rider, Geoff Headington rounding out the top 5.

The Blue fleet took the course for the final race of the day and this time most of the fleet got wise and started on port. This put the pack closer together and the top 15 racers rounded the leeward mark inside of 30 seconds of one another. The final race Saw Sean Farley take another 1st place with Chip Wasson getting ever closer with a 2nd place finish again, Local, RRD kites rider John Heineken took 3rd, Damien Leroy took 4th and 5th place went to former olympic windsurfing gold medalist, Michael Gebhardt (Ozone Kites, USA)

The first day of racing could not have gone better with everyone getting a feel for the conditions and course here at Crissy Field in San Francisco. More of the same weather is on tap for tomorrow and when asked what to expect in the upcoming days, local legend and racing pioneer, Chip Wasson responded, "It's a long haul. Anything can happen. You just got to keep on hammering" And that's exactly it. With 4 more days of racing, anything can happen and these competitors only get to throw out one score for the week. Expect to see some tight racing over the next few days.

Overall top 10 for day 1:
1. Sean Farley
2. Bruno Sroka
3. Sky Solbach
4. Chip Wasson
5. Paolo Rista
6. Damien Leroy
7. John Heineken
8. Stefaans Viljoen
9. Frank Wittke
10. Bjoern Rune Jensen