This weekend 20-21Feb10.
Ramsgate Beach, Botany Bay, Sydney.
After such a successful FW Nationals, it is time to concentrate on the local series again.
Anyone interested in racing is welcome to attend and can race in the FE+ divison.
Youths are welcome also as the BIC Techno Youth boards will be supplied on Sunday free of charge. Don't miss out....
www.storm-riders.com.au
5 sweet races today in 20-27 knots by the late afternoon.
1st race was even won by a girl :-/
Everything returned to normal after that.
Allison AUS-911, she sailed a great race... She is always up there in the lighter conditions... Go Allison....
Another blessed weekend. 2 days of hot and windy conditions. 7 races in perfect NE winds. Sean O'Brien AUS-120 dominated with 6wins.
John Bear AUS-135 won the FE+ from new dad Tim Ford AUS-71.
Results etc will be on www.storm-riders.com.au asap...
As a total racing noob, I had sooo much fun out there on my first racing weekend. A great crowd, and a well organised event. Looking forward to more of the same.
I would encourage anyone thinking about formula to come down and watch a race or two. You might just get the bug...
Congrats Timmay!!
Bandwidth Limit Exceeded
The server is temporarily unable to service your request due to the site owner reaching his/her bandwidth limit. Please try again later.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Apache/1.3.41 Server at www.storm-riders.com.au Port 80
yes james, not sure what is going on with the site....this is the message i get.
Sadly this is a symptom of success. It appears that the traffic on the Aussie formula sites has been significant since the oceanics. We have exceeded the bandwidth limits that was bought.
Just a case of paying more cash to have more bandwidth, but I understand it may take a couple of days to get arranged.
Jb
Increased traffic to Aussie formula sites......thinking aloud...how do (we all) translate this in to more numbers at the starting line?...or is it simply the same 40 -50 people surfing the sites?....got some ideas JB
Good question Ben... i believe the site had 2000 unique hits last week. I don't have the exact demographics, but a large portion was from Australia.
I guess there are allot of people interested in racing, but not participating?
So the challenge is how to engage more people into the club scene, which ultimately increases the numbers at the state and national events.
the sport is definitely growing, but we need to keep the momentum.....
Most of the direct traffic is from Seabreeze actually ...
Anyhow, while we get the site back up, results have been posted on www.windsurfingnsw.com.
Direct link is here:
www.windsurfingnsw.com/wp-content/2010/02/Heat-6-Ramsgate-Final-Results-2010.xls
I must admit Im one of them too!!
I reckon most of us that dont do formula know a fair few of the racers in both classes and have an interest in it. I used to race slalom and like to compete so would be keen to try it next season??
I think that Crash Landing may be on to something here. There is a lot of interest in trying out Formula gear / racing. Ive noticed that a few people have asked on seabreeze or storm-riders about how they go about trying it?
Perhaps it might be a good idea to develop/invest in a small hire/demo fleet of formula boards/sails? Probably doesn't need to be more than 1 or 2 sets and doesn't need to be the latest and greatest? That way people that are interested in trying to sail a formula board can have a go with relatively ease? Perhaps the manufacturers / importers can help out here?
In conjunction with the demo/hire fleet perhaps we could also have Formula Tryout Days? Get a bunch of regular sailors down at Ramsgate / Kyeemagh on a weekend to provide basic instruction, a few sets of gear for newbies to try, rescue boat on hand if required. Make it open and friendly with a bbq at the end of the day. ??
Having tried formula for the first time recently, I would definitely recommend giving it a go.
I was astounded by how many people were willing to offer/lend gear in order to let an interested outsider give it a crack (bad choice of words)... Give it a try.
Coming from a wave sailing background I was a little dubious at first as to what all the fuss was about.
Number one smile maker/deal breaker for me was that I could get planning in 8 - 10 knots... for someone closing in on the triple weight wise, this was simply unheard of to me.
The boards have a surprising turn of speed and the ability to 'race off' against anyone else sailing with you is pretty addictive. And you don't have to be in an official event/race.
Now I wont be rushing out and offloading my wave sailing gear... BUT I will need to find some more space in the garage so I can get a Formula set up.
Best of both worlds... especially here in NSW where we have experienced one of the WORST wind seasons EVER.
When the wind and waves are on, I'll be grabbing the wave kit... when those conditions fail to eventuate the Formal Experience is pretty bloody awesome (and hard to beat).
The cherry on top.... I reckon my all round sailing (fitness/ability/dexterity) has improved as a result of the Formula gear.
Took my 6.2 wave sail out for a blast recently and could not believe how small it felt !
Get involved, give it a go... you wont be disappointed.
Standard operating procedure for any gear borrowed/used of course... you break it, you buy it.
Kev
Liar liar
James
Cheers Sean. As Daryl Kerrigan once said, "this ones going straight to the pool room" :) Havent had many 0.75 scores in my sailing history!
James your alzheimers is getting worse - for the record round one - overall fe winner, round two heat winner....
Yeah well done James, Tim & John(Chris doesn't count!) good stuff. I'll get ya all one day soon fellas?
I'm seeing Sam Parker at ECB today. I'll mention this tread/gear issue to him & see what he reckons? He's always been more than accommodating to the FE+ guys & gals. The more the merrier I reckon for sure. And as I think I've stated before, it makes it so much more interesting on the start line for all you Open/Master class guys!
I'd be happy to help as well in any capacity too. Ive only been sailing FE+ for a year now and have been very impressed with the organisation and fun that you can have racing. The top guys are always very approachable for tips and assistance if needed.
Just wondering - is there a limit in sail and board size with FE+ division? Could you get away with one sail and one board?
Definitely can get away with 1 sail / 1 board. I sailed just about all season with 1 sail.
Out of interest can somebody give a run down on the cost for a full set up.
Cheers
Hey Mango,
I recently bought a full kit: Board, 2 sails, 2 masts, 3 fins, extensions - the lot for $2500. It was gear from 2006, so it's not cutting edge, but the gear is still infinitely better than my skills.
The good side about buying 2nd hand race gear is that many top guys will update their gear annually, so there's a lot of kit for sale. (Boards will start to come up every 2nd year from now I guess)
The down side of 2nd hand race gear is (the perception?) that it's built super light, so it'll only last one race season. My gear looks like it was really well cared for and is in it's 5th season and still going strong though - YMMV.
