Velocity Games/ US Open regatta report

Hey all-

Ive just returned from the 2006 US Open in Corpus Christie, Texas.

The regatta was held in conjunction with the Velocity Games- combining
freestyle skateboarding on ½ pipes, kite-boarding, formula
windsurfing, slalom windsurfing and speed sailing. It was a unique way
to promote our sport- in conjunction with action and excitement of
other 'board sports.' There were several thousand people on the beach
and boardwalk just south of downtown Corpus Christie watching the
different venues throughout the day.

Six sailors from San Francisco attended (Mike Z, Steve S , Mike P,
Ivan, Seth, and myself) with 5 in the top 11 spots in the most
competitive formula fleet-a good showing for our local SF Formula fleet
as well as several other US Sailors taking the top spots! I would guess
there was close to 40-50 sailors in the formula fleet with 7
international professionals attending. There was enough prize money to
keep most of the pros happy and even went into the amateur fleet. We
got 3 races in on Friday and 4 more on Saturday before the weather
became too much on Sunday and the regatta was called.

The formula races were run in the late morning before the breeze picked
up- even then the 10.0 was almost too much to handle in the choppy
Corpus Bay. Steve S. proved sometimes you don't need to go big to win-
making the most of his north 9.0 slalom sail every race to finish 7th
overall. The event was won by professional Jimmy Diaz followed by
Gonzalo Costel-Hovel in 2nd, Devon Boulon in 3rd, Wilhelm Shurman in
4th, Phil McGain in 5th, Seth Besse in 6th, Steve Sylvester in 7th,
Mike Zajicek in 8th, BRA 25 in 9th, Mike Percy in 10th and Steve Bodner
in 11th.

In the mid afternoon on both days we had an hour break before switching
to high wind slalom sailing. The wind was side-onshore so the marks
could be set close to the shore with the finish line off the beach-
making it exciting to watch! Not everyone had slalom equipment but
enough was there on the beach so everyone who wanted to sail could-
thanks to F2 sponsor and importer Eduardo Owen for providing the extra
equipment. Phil McGain went onto win the slalom discipline after 2
days of racing with Jimmy in 2nd, Gonzalo in 3rd, Wilhelm in 4th, Seth
in 5th, and Devon in 6th. There were 6 other locals competing rounding
up the rest of the fleet.

In the early evening, the excitement was moved over the marina where a
speed course was set. All that separated 4-6' gnarly chop with 20-25k
in the outside bay and a smooth speed course inside was a 5'
break-wall- making ideal conditions for a speed venue. You couldn't ask
for anything more! The course was set on beam to broad reach with no
distant limits except the extent of the marina. Arm mounted GPS units
were provided by the organizer and each sailors' top 2 speeds were
averaged for their score. You could take as many runs as you wanted-
the only requirement was to show your speed at the beach and clear the
GPS unit for your next run. Most guys were getting in the 33-38mph on
their first runs on small slalom boards and 6.3-7.6 slalom sails. The
top speed was set by Jimmy Diaz with 40.5 mph. I managed a top speed of
36mph with a few runs but was outpaced by the pros who were hitting 39+
mph on each run.

Overall, it was great event that showed windsurfing is still alive and
healthy and when held in conjunction with several other disciplines can
be a great spectator event as well.

Further race reports and photos can be found on my web page at
www.stevebodner.com and results at the event website at
www.velocitygames.us

Warm winds...
Steve Bodner

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