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gbleck wrote:sets a triangle leaving the marks to starboard? Please tell me they are at least setting an offset at mark 1? Remind me what the ISAF decided to go with for kites regarding the zone around a mark?

Do not quote me on this here, but to my knowledge the course at the worldsthis year in Texas (I've heard) will be the traditional windward leeward once or twice arround. An offset mark will be placed at the windward mark to keep the upwind layline clear and marks to port. Start and finish up wind.

AK

Adam, I think that you have been training too hard. Vegas was probably refering to airport closures in Europe due to volcanic dust. Getting kind of jittery down there? I'd love to sacrafice as much, Maui, SF, TX. Oh the pain of it all!

Looking forward to seeing you Saturday in TX. It sounds like you have gotten some good work done. There is no doubt that this event will be the most highly stacked ever. I counted 17 riders that are all world class level. I don't doubt that we will see 5-6 guys winning races if it's windy. Should be tons of fun!

Damo and I have been up late building a few new boards. Finally got out on them a few days ago. I can't wait to see how they go against everyone in TX. My sacrafice was sanding until 3 a.m. last night to get the final touches done on the 3rd board. We are nick naming it the "easy rider".

Kent

Toby wrote:true, looking forward to that world championship.

Bruno was unreachable in Thailand...let's see what the US guys can do.

yes I heard that Bruno have a 45 degrees up wind,19 knots speed in light/medium wind;
Julien Kerneur seems to have similar speed and angle.....

Actually, Bruno is not the highest pointer, but is actually more of a fast footer upwind. He does some serious damage downwind though. You will see several riders going much higher upwind than Bruno, but it is his high average around the course combined with tactics and good starts that keeps him near the top.

I too was also very impressed with Julien. Super cool kid and very fast. I put him in the top 7 at this event. He kills it in light wind.

OK, so here is the rest of my list...
Damo Cabrinha
Adam Ozone
Farley North
Bruno Cabrinha
Jesse Cabrinha
Lago Not sure
Julien Takoon
Heiniken RRD
Bjorn Cabrinha

My goal is top 10, but feel that top 6-7 is obtainable depending on conditions, but unfortunately so is 15 or worse... ERRG


This event will not only be about speed and angle, but also tactics, guts, and rules. I really think that we need to find a way to exonerate ourselves on accepted penalties. 20% is pretty stiff and leads to tons of time in the protest room. No one wants to an extra 10 pts. at the worlds. Given that we are now all racing directional boards a 720 might work again. It could cost you 10 pts., but for good riders with board skills it might only cost a few positions. We should have a discussion about this at the event for the future. We also need to firm up the rules about with respect to simple rules like windward / leeward... what exactly does "the leeward rider SHOULD keep his kite low"? Either he has rights or doesn't, the word SHOULD should never be a part of objective rules.

Here are a few more guesses...

Average size kite that I will race on: 11 (it's been super windy, but when the event comes to town, the norm is that the wind dies! I'm bringing a 16, 13, 11, 9, and 7 though!)

Total number of protests: 9 (with out a way to exonerate, this is unavoidable)

Total number of riders that require stitches: 3 (also unavoidable given current fin configurations. Most will cut themselves on their own fins.)

Total number of kite wraps: 6 (racing will be very close and all of the guys are very good. This number will depend on if we all start at the same time or if there are gold and silver fleets. I'm hoping for 1 start as this will keep things interesting and will also pay huge dividends to riders that win the start!)

I'll be racing with a go pro camera for a portion of the event. I'll toss some video up for everyone to see.

Kent

Welcome to Texas Johnny Heineken and Cameron Biehl.

Conditions are looking a little lighter today. Great day to dial into our medium breeze kite and board setups.

Were going to set the Team Fluid Spider Man leeward mark today! This one actually has a mushroom anchor instead of rocks in a bag. Major training gear upgrade.

Cheers,
Andrew Koch

Looks like I am one of the Europeans who has been shafted by the eruptions.

My Flights back to Europe from the Canaries have been cancelled. I will most likely not make my flight to the US.

Looks like I have wasted a lot of time and money booking and preparing for the Worlds this year.

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Gunnar

GMB, that's a bummer. I have to assume that there are some other options that will work to get you there in time. I hope that this doesn't affect many others. Sorry, good luck.

omg, omg,.... does this mean that if things do not get any better, ....apart from Bruno (who actually is coming from Maui, not from home) ....I'm going to be the only European in the Worlds????

Hey, I'm just a panchito weekend warrior!!!!! Way too much weight on my shoulders, I am afraid.

Cheers,

Andoni

p.s. I'm meeting here (CC, Tx) nicest guys EVER. Period.

This post is being made by someone that will help make the winners possible. In other words I am here preparing to compete. And finishing in the top 40 would be a success. Well, one does need to start somewhere. I do have a racing background in Windsurfing and knowledge from it so that I at least intend to not be a danger to the other racers. I am just nearing my first year of kiting with about 60 hours on the water, 10 of which have been here in Corpus.

Choosing to enter a race of this caliber at this stage in my kiteboarding experience, I know is quite ambitious. Fortunately, I have found the kiters involved in the competition to be amazingly gracious. Special thanks goes out to Sean Farley, Gebi, Adam Koch, Andrew Koch, Nils and Andoni Urrutia. Prior to my arrival I have also been benefited by words of wisdom from Ken Winner, Alex Aguera, Donny Parker, Sandy Parker and Chip Wasson.

While we are all here to compete and many of us are fiercely competitive people. I just want to say it feels like a great honor to be involved in such a cool sport with such friendly people. No matter the place we take, we are all fortunate to be involved.

Don

Just got the news that even my alternative flight on sunday might not be able to take off . If that happens I will 100% not be able to make it on time. I am sure that a lot of other European riders will have the same probs.

Maybe it may be an option to postpone the registration for a day, by then the cloud should have cleared. Just a thought. It would be a shame if the worlds was really just another Nationals.

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Gunnar