Ozone Kitesurf News June 2010
- Ozone Edge 2010 designer video
- Tamatoa Gillot: Teahupoo wave session
- Ozone Team Racing with the Formula Windsurfer Class in San Francisco
Ozone Edge 2010 designer video
Hi everyone,
check out this video with designer Rob Whittall explaining a bit about the new Edge.
We could give you the long sales blurb, but already the Edge has proven itself with world champion results and rider testimonials.
If you need more information on the Edge it can be found HERE
Tamatoa Gillot: Teahupoo wave session
Hi Friends Iaorana..
Its good to send you some news from the hot islands….
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One week ago, the forecasts announced that a 4m swell south and south east wind moderate would arrive.
So I put it on my facebook and the counter was engaged. Besides if I want to have a chance to kitesurf at Teahupoo this is a good opportunity.
The Day arrived as predicted. Sunny and the waves very clean, that morning there were no surfers at the line up yet.
No one but Tim Mckenna waiting in the channel like a “spectator looking at the bull (the wave) in the arena and waiting for a matador to enter”…..
For big waves surfers, the use of a friend on a jetski to take the waves is necessary… (sorry but the truth)
For big waves kitesurfers they are independent to catch the waves…(sorry but the truth)
I was chasing that huge wave with my kite low so we both take-off and share the moment. It was awesome going with the sea doing its magic at The Spot. The wave rotating on itself raçing and rolling fast, it looks like it is unreal.
Kitesurfing Teahupoo felt like the wave were much bigger and faster than in the photos.
Sometimes I could see the roof of water over my head and when the lip covers me entirely, it feels like time is slowing down…
It is difficult for me to explain where to put the kite when surfing that special wave, all I can say is, “you want the wave not to touch your lines”….
The reason I chose the RX is just because I know it flies on the edge of the window and it is very important out there. For The C4 I know it would have ripped over there as well!!! next time…
Teahupoo is not fake, it is hard rock…..My friend Julien Sudrat got too deep that day, tore his knee and had to stop.
But at the end it was a fun day, and new big waves on the horizon for future kitesurfing…Thanks Robbie and Team Ozone…..this one is for you
!!!!!Say it “MANUIA” in Tahitian.
Aloha
Tamatoa Gillot
All pictures HERE
Ozone Team Racing with the Formula Windsurfer Class in San Francisco
Kiteboard Vs. Formula Windsurfer Who Is King Of The Course?
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That used to be hard to answer as most races were long distance races that were not held on the traditional Olympic style sailing course with both upwind and downwind legs. Over the years a conventional wisdom developed, and subsequent race results have proven, that Kiteboards were faster downwind and Formula Boards were faster upwind. But what would happen when the race involves both upwind and downwind legs? In sail boat racing it has long been said that the first to the windward mark is usually going to win the race.
The “Formula” in Formula Windsurfing is actually a rule developed and maintained by the sanctioning body of Formula Windsurfing. The rule limits board width at 100cm, f in length at 70cm, and limits competitors to only 3 sails amongst its major rules. These rules are structured to try to ensure that race results reflect the better sailor, not the one with the deepest wallet, and newest equipment. While the windsurfing equipment itself hasn’t radically changed in the last couple of years it is by no means a one design class where equipment is identical for each competitor.
While stringent rules bound the Formula Windsurfer, Kitesurfing is basically unregulated with regards to equipment requirements. With no rules to stifle development kiteboard racing gear has been undergoing rapid change. Has all this change allowed the kiteboard to catch up to the Windsurfer on the course? This past Saturday May 15th 2010 it was made clear the answer is “Yes”.
On that Saturday, in Berkeley California, another group of innovative & inclusive pioneers, the Cal Cup Formula Racing Series, decided to invite a select group of top Kiteboarders to race on the same course, and start from the same starting line as the Formula boards. Leading the contingent of Kiteboarders was Ultra Nectars /Ozone Kites Chip Wasson, who placed 2nd at the 2009 Kiteboard Course Racing World Championships. Joining Wasson was Andrew Koch, the younger brother of current Course Racing World Champion Adam Koch, and top local racer Kevin Richards. For safety reasons the Kiteboarders are a handpicked crew who have demonstrated mastery of their gear and are vetted by committee before being allowed to race.
The Cal Cup Series features a traditional 2 lap windward-leeward course that has a mandatory gate on the opposite side of the starting line boat. Sailors must pass through this gate on their return trip to the windward mark. 5 Races were held in near perfect conditions of between of 15-23 mph of wind and relatively flat water. The Cal Cup Formula Fleet features some of the top Formula racers in the country so this was not going to be any picnic for the kiteboards. Past Formula US National Champion Steve Bodner, multiple-time divisional US National Champion Steve Sylvester, top local sailors Eric Christianson and Soheil Zahedi, and traveling top sailors like Xavier Ferlet were all there to ensure any Kiteboard result was going to be contested fiercely.
The starting line was to be a tricky place for Wasson, Koch, and Richards. With Formula boards all around them they needed to show particular care not to foul any of the boards. With 75 ft or more of kite lines between kite and board this is no easy task and fouling someone could be dangerous to both gear and rider alike. Fully tension loaded lines on these kites can cut like a knife and must be handled with extreme care. All three kiteboarder’s played it on the safe side on the starting line and in general started a bit back of the fleet off the line. Given the fact they fly their kites well above the windsurfer’s mast height this is not such disadvantage as the kites are still sailing in clean air. Wasson was pressing a bit more than Richards and Koch given his years of experience not only with his kiteboarding set-up but also his familiarity with the Cal Cup crew of regulars with whom he used to compete against when he raced windsurfers at the series in the past. As the day progressed Wasson began starting a bit more aggressively.
Right from first race Wasson’s performance demonstrated the improved speed and angle his gear was giving him as he pressed the Formula boards towards the windward mark. Scoring a third place in the first race served notice that Kiteboards have indeed significantly improved their performance in the last two years.
The formula boards continued to have an advantage upwind but it was nowhere near the gap of years past. And off the wind was the same old story with Wasson absolutely blazing downwind; going deeper and faster than the formula boards. There was still no doubt that the modern Kiteboard racing gear is faster downwind and that was more than making up for its under-performance upwind on the course.
“I was in a position to win a couple of times but mistakes made me fall short” said Wasson. Steve Bodner, who won second place on the day, noted that the kiteboards did seem to have some trouble negotiating the traffic but other than that seemed to have leveled the playing field on the course. Bodner himself fell victim to Wasson in Race 3 when Chip turned in his best score of the day, a second place, with only Xavier Ferlet between himself and total victory.
Wasson’s final scoring line in the 5 races held, 3-5-2-4-3, was good enough for 3rd place overall on the day while Richards and Koch were a bit deeper in the pack at 9th and 11th respectively. Wasson also entertained the fleet in between races by boosting massive aerials that demonstrated the versatility of his racing set up. It is noted there was no official overall combined score as kites were scored in a separate “k” division in order to maintain the Cal Cup Season Series scoring integrity.
While these results prove the gap has significantly closed between the Kiteboard and the Formula Windsurfer windsurfers can still be said to have the advantage on the traditional sailing course. Xavier Ferlet won all 5 races on the day on his Formula gear. In addition Wasson represents the absolute upper echelon of Kiteboard Racing talent, while the Cal Cup fleet is still a level below the top Formula Windsurfing Professionals of the likes of an Antoine Albeau or a Steve Allen. That said the difference has become incredibly small and with the coming years may disappear completely.
As mentioned development in the area of Fins is one of the major areas for change in Kiteboard racing. While most top sailors currently use 4 fin set-ups, like the ones pictured above , rumors are swirling that next year’s boards will move towards a three fin set up featuring a larger center fin and perhaps another notch of performance will be gained.
But it’s not just fins that are evolving as the kites themselves are now being designed and built specifically for racing. The 2010 Edge Race Kite by Ozone was purpose built to win races on the race course. With a modified planform that increases the lifting area and reduces drag at the tips integrated with a higher aspect ratio, and a new aerofoil section these kites generate more power while maintaining stability and control. Summary; they are faster and easier to sail than ever before.
As Kiteboards, Kites, and Kiteboard Fins continue to evolve quickly in a boundary-less environment the Formula Windsurfers box rule effectively rules out radical changes. While this is good for costs, and for helping to maintain some parity at a fleet level, it may also leave the Formula Board chasing the Kiteboard around the course in the very near future. So the King of the Course remains with the Formula Windsurfer for now. “I will get them next time…….” said Wasson.
More pictures HERE
