UKWA Stena Line Cup Championships  - Event 3 Mumbles Sat 30 June/Sun 1 July 2012
A forecast for shedloads of wind proved to be pretty accurate, and we all know how windy it can be at Mumbles! In the lee of the headland it was deceptively calm and it was actually quite difficult to get off the shore but once the wind hit there was no mistaking that it was going to be a very lively day's windsurfing.......( more )

A very strong fleet of over 30 raceboard sailors fought it out last weekend in the final Cup event of the year.

For the 2^nd time this year we had special guest appearances from our Olympic squad in the form of Jamie Ingram and Ali Masters and this time they brought along a few of their friends!

In addition we saw the return of Mark Carney sailing the new Kona Elite (Follows on from the Exocet warp-X)

The weather forecast for the weekend was continuously changing with everything from now wind to a force-8 possible.

In the end Saturday turned out to be warm and sunny with a fairly gentle southerly wind making for some very tactical racing as the wind bent round both sides of Portland bill on the way into the harbour.

Race-1  - Saw Jamie, Ali and James Bullied at the front of the fleet up the 1^st beat followed  Rob Kent, Dave Hackford and Mark Carney – The 2^nd beat saw Rob Kent play the shifts well and pass the 3 front sailors close to windward Mark. Much to his own surprise Rob Kent managed to out plane the 2 RSX sailors down wind to finish 1^st ahead of Jamie, Ali and James.

Race-2 - again saw the 2 RSX sailors again at the front of the fleet but this time Mark Carney demonstrating the impressive upwind performance of the Kona was able to split the 2 RSX sailors finishing 2^nd after Jamie.

Race-3 - With the wind now dropping and beginning to shift this became a very tactical race with a big wind bend on the start line. James Bulleid seemed to read the situation perfectly and disappeared whole leg ahead of the rest of the fleet. Ali lead the rest of the fleet home followed by Mark Kay and Jamie.

Sunday started early as people were woken by the driving rain and 40 knot gusts rattling passed their camper vans. With the forecast set to moderate the race officer decided to postpone for a couple of hours giving the fleet the opportunity to demonstrate their free style skills in the flat water along Chesil beach.

The wind indeed swung west and dropped to around around 15-18 Knots and the fleet headed out for the Final 2 races. Jamie proved dominant in these windier conditions and won both races. Dave Hackford had a much better day banging in two 3^rd places for with 2^nd place going to James Bullied in Race-4 and Mark Kay in race-5   

Overall this has to be this year’s most exciting and unpredictable events with the size and the strength of the fleet continuing to grow I think we can look forward to some amazing close racing in the final few events of the year.

So the final results left Jamie and Ali clearly in 1^st and 2^nd (Although it has to be noted they did not have it all their own way) followed by a close group of Mark Kay, John White, James Bulleid and Rob Kent. Mark Carney came a creditable 7^th place on his 1^st outing with the new Kona Elite.

Annette Kent was 1^st Lady.

For the masters Marc Carney was 3^rd, Rob Kent 2^nd and Mark Kay 1^st

In the overall Cup series Mark Kay (Starboard Phantom + Demon) took a well deserved Victory Followed by Rob Kent, Dave Hackford and John White (All on Starboard Phantom’s + Tushingham XR)

Mark is also leading the inland series but Rob Kent, Jon White and Chris Gibson will be looking for revenge at the final Rutland event later this month.

After the previous event at Christchurch we are now building up to the grand finale of this year's Cup series. Mark Kay now leads the series by 2 points from Rob Kent who is only 2 points ahead of Dave Hackford. Weymouth is a non discardable event so anything could happen.

• Will guy Cribb show up and beat everyone for a 2nd time !
• Will it blow or won't it both the Mumbles and Christchurch suited the heavy weights. So far this week the forecast has varied from a force-1 to a force-6 !!

Christchurch saw the return of James Bulleid to the racing scene. Completing his 1st regatta for a number of years in an impressive 6th place inspite of using borrowed equipment and having to super-glue his blisters back together on Sunday. He is now on the entry list for Weymouth with his hands healed and now used to the new equipment then James could be the wild card for a victory at this event.

See all there at the weekend. 

Rumour has it we will see a special guest star appearance from Guy Crib - See you there.

The 2^nd of this year's raceboard training sessions will be held at Notts County Sailing Club (NCSC) on the 21^st of July. Coaching will be provided by former olympian and top raceboarder Dave Hackford. The training will cover kit tuning, sailing technique, starting and race practise. Dave will be onsite from 3pm, if you can't make this time then simply join in when you can. This coaching will be provided free of charge but there may be a nominal charge for visitors to NCSC. If you have any questions then please contact Robert.v.Kent@googlemail.com or david.eberlin@btinternet.com

Last weekend saw the 3rd of this year's Inland series at Rutland water. As always this event also included the famous Rutland marathon. This years event also marked a new experience for me at Rutland in the form of warm and sunny weather all weekend. Racing kicked off on Saturday with light and shifty northerly winds leading to extremely tactical racing amoung the experienced fleet of 28 raceboarders.

Race-1 saw Chris Gibson followed by Rob Kent take a flyer on the left side of the course to pull clear of the fleet on the last lap.

Race-2 saw Paul Leone and Mark Kay pull clear of the rest of the fleet with 1st race winner Chris down in 14th place re-enforcing the shiftyness of the conditions

Race-3 saw another last beat flyer this Time from Andy Mexome and Tom Naylor.

The final Race of the day was the Marathon, a race covering almost the full perimeter of Rutland water. This race saw some additional guest appearances on Raceboards in the form of Keith Atkinson and Tim Gibson (more comonly seen sitting on the beach waiting for the start of Formula racing). The raceboard fleet dominated the marathon taking all of the top 10 placings with Paul Leone and Bob  Warren leading the fleet home.

Saturday evening saw another excellent social including the England v US match and Rutland's own human table football contest. Sadly the raceboard fleet proved a huge disappointment to their team captain in this event with half the team failing to make it to the pitch in time with excuses from "I'm still eating my pasta '' through to ''my gin and tonic proved far too appealing''.

 Sunday saw three more races in a light but slightly more predictable SW wind. With Paul Leone ill and Andy Mexome missing, assumed hung over after a party in Birmingham, the event was wide open with 6 or 7 sailors in with a shot at victory. Race-1 saw Dave Richard's demonstrating good board speed and tactics to take the lead only to be reeled in by Bob Warren and Rob Kent on the last run. Race-2 saw Mark Kay pull away to take a clear victory over Dave Richards. The last race with the event still un-decided  saw Rob Kent take the lead pursued by Mark Kay and Chris Gibson with Mark Kay finally pulling away up the last beat followed by Rob and Chris.

Overall, proving by far the most consistent, Mark Kay took victory followed by Rob Kent and Chris Gibson. The ladies prize was again taken by Annette Kent.

This weekend also saw Rob and Annette's youngest daughter Rebecca taking victory in the Techno 3.5 class national championships.

The next event is the 3rd of the Cup Series at Bridlington. My form book tips for this event :

                - Dave Hackford racing for the 1st time since Weymouth - Can he repeat his success ?

                - John White - after an unusually bad weekend at Rutland will be out for Revenge at Brid

                - Rob Kent and Mark Kay - looking to take a clear lead at the top of the rankings

The UK Raceboard team are arranging a series of training sessions around the country. The 1st of these will be at Farmoor reservoir on Tues 13th of July. The session will start at 5pm and include Kit tuning, Sailing Technique, Starting practice and Race tactics followed by a debriefing session in the club house where food and drink will be on sale. The coaches for the evening will be Rob Kent and Chris Gibson both currently close to the top of the National raceboard rankings and with over 50 years of race experience between them. Members of the team will be available at the club from 4pm and any late comers will be welcome to join part way through. The coaching will be free of charge but there may be a request for a nominal donation to Farmoor SC for non club members. For new comers to raceboard there is the option to borrow kit for the evening, if this is required then please email Robert.Kent@Tridentmicro.com before the event.

As always, it is a challenging journey to reach the race site on a Bank Holiday Friday and it was no exception this time. Those who had arrived at the race site early had the opportunity of parking in the most scenic positions overlooking the sea and shelving shingle beach. Some had taken advantage of the sunny conditions to rig and experience the sea conditions early. Mark Kay with shiny new camper van had resisted the continuation of the van bonding, to ride the swell with the tall Demon prototype and knew that with the strong tide and confused sea state that this was going to be a truly challenging event.

As well as the normal Cup series event Saturday and Sunday saw the addition of sailors from across the channel swelling the Raceboard entry list to a credible 33 sailors from France, Belgium, Holland and the UK. 

Race day dawned somewhat grey and not the warmest but with plenty of cross shore wind gusting 15 to 20 knots. The first race was a non standard upwind downwind with a start only some 300 m off the beach. The race board fleet soon found the conditions not particular to their liking  and some decided to revaluate  the race from the shore where they considered whether they suffered from thalassophobia. However the front of the fleet were in total command and right from the start  Mark Kay tacked off, with tide taking him to the windward mark in front of the chasing pack to take a strong lead and race 1 bullet for an advantage that he was not to relinquish all weekend despite the very best efforts of John , Chris and Rob.  John Ellis gave it his best shot but ran out of energy before the finish but made a great beach landing in the ever increasing shore dump. A combination of wind shifts, and drifting marks becoming  stuck fast in a underwater rock bed made this a very tough and frustrating day for the race crew who despite their very best efforts were unable to relay the course and worked until late at night to recover the marks ready for the next day.  Those front sailors returning from a nearby bay where they had been waiting, suffered shore dump damage with Rob catapulting through his tushingham race sail meaning that he would be down to a 9.4 lighting the following day.

Following a great display of Hythe Sailing club hospitality for the racers and visitors from across the Channel Saturday night,  Sunday dawned with warmer conditions and greater fleet determination. Wisely the race Officer took the fleet much further out for the day,  about a mile, to avoid the rock bed and this ensured greater wind consistency and less tide. However despite the encouraging wind readings of up to 17 knots as the fleet left the shore, these  were not realised on the course and those who went out with smaller sails than 9.5 were frustrated in the inability to punch through the confused water and some only  just managed to get back and out with the right sail to get the start line, albeit late.  Jon White was sailing really well and pushing Mark Kay at the front whilst Rob was frustrated at the underpowered 9.4 lighting and Richard Homewood coming back after a long lay off was sailing fantastically and giving Chris Gibson a real challenge. The wind dropped for race 3 of the day and with the tide at full flood it was a tough upwind beat and Mark Page making his debut race for the event sailed well to gain a very creditable 6th.  The small course and the need for multiple laps did leave some confused and a short cut to the finish line left Andy Mexome, comfortably in the lead at the time, the loss of a well deserved bullet in race 4 of the day. Whilst some retired to the beer tent in the sunshine to watch the stalwarts battle for the last race of the day and wish some debutants the chance to get their kit wet, in the event the last race was a walkover for Rob.

Chris Gibson managed to severely hole his phantom coming ashore and the evening was spent gathering the last rays of the sun to suck out the moisture and use up large quantities of the famous Dr Ding  to make a creditable repair.

Monday was a windy affair in the morning and with the need for a early finish to extract the rescue boats from the water only 2 races were held for race board . Rob back on his well taped Tushingham race sail and Jon White had great ding dong battle but could not touch the flying Mark Kay who convincingly won the overall title.  The next event is at Rutland where we expect a huge race board  turnout in the flatter conditions  - see you there

The North Sea cup event was won by Mark Kay followed by John White - 1st Lady Annette Kent

The Cup Event again saw Mark Kay as the winner with Rob Kent 2nd and John White very close behind in 3rd place. First lady was again Annette Kent 

Last weekend saw the 3rd of this years London Region events at Fisher Green

At the sharp end of the fleet Rob Kent and Chris Gibson were having their usual battle royal, with occasional interference from James Moon and Andy Lacy. Rob, Chris and James finished 1.2.3 in the first two races. the second one of which suffered a catastrophic wind failure which caused the Race Officer to pull the plug after one lap. So we all went in for lunch in the hope that things could only get better for the afternoon’s races.

In the 3rd race Chris shot off the line into an unassailable lead, and although Rob tried his best to close the gap it was a task too far, so he took second place to Andy Lacy’s third. The final race started with the usual contenders at the front with Rob in 1st and Chris 2nd. At the end of the 1st lap Chris dropped out to help is daughter leaving James and Rob to battle for 1st place.

So overall Rob finished 1st closely followed by Chris and then James. Annette Kent finished 5th and 1st lady. In the Junior Fleet Emily & Rebecca Kent and Millie Gibson did very well to get round in these very difficuly conditions with Emily as 1st 4.5 and Rebecca as 1st 3.5 followed by Millie. 

Last weekend saw the 1st of this years UK Cup Series at portland sailing academy. As always this turned out to be one of the most strongly contested events of the year. With the ever increasing strength and depth of the fleet there were at least 10 sailors capable of winning races and with winds forecast to vary from 5-25 knots then predicting the result was almost impossible.  

Day-1 - With the wind varying between 7-11 knots it was important that the lighter sailors take full advantage of these conditions before the stronger winds arrived later in the weekend. Race-1 kicked off with Mark Carney demonstrating his usual skills on the start line, shooting away from the fleet followed closely by the currently on form Chris Gibson with rest of the fleet trailing some distant behind. As the race evolved the gap was slowly closed and much to Chris's frustration, taking full advantage of his lighter weight, Rob Kent pumped past on the last reach to grab 2nd place with Mark remaining clear ahead in 1st place. Race-2 saw Rob Kent leading the way closely pursued by Chris Gibson in 2nd and Andy Mexome 3rd. Race-3 saw John White appear at the front, obviously now getting used to his new Phantom, followed by Rob Kent and Pierre Buren (making a guest appearance from France - Maybe checking out the form book before the up coming north sea cup at Folkstone). Rob Kent eventually managed to reel in John on the last downwind leg to finish 1st with John 2nd and Pierre 3rd. Race-4 saw the guest appearance of light wind specialist Paul Leone, who taking advantage of a wind shift on the start line showed the fleet a clean pair of heels and was never caught Andy Mexome took 2nd place with Rob Kent 3rd.

Day-2 - Dawned grey and cold but still with light winds. Everyone new the wind was going to kick in but no-one was quite sure when. Race-1 started light but even as the race developed the wind quickly built from 5 knots to around 14 knots. After a fairly modest showing on Saturday Dave Hackford sprung into life taking 1st place (was this a sign of things to come ?) followed Mark Kay and John White. As the fleet waited for race-2 the wind built and built and by the start had already risen above 20knots. This played firmly into the hands of those with the best adjustable downhaul and outhaul systems. Mark Kay and Rob Kent took clear positions at the front as the fleet fought their way through the now 28 knot gusts. As the race evolved, taking full advantage of her 8.5m sail, Annette Kent pulled her way through the fleet finishing just behind Mark and Rob (rumour has it she could have finished 2nd but didn't want to cause a major marital rift). After an exhausting morning the fleet decided caution was the better part valour with the majority of sailors changing down to smaller sails. Dave Hackford showed the fleet the way home in both race-3 and race-4 using his new lightning 8.5 followed in 2nd by Rob Kent with Marc Carney and Chris Gibson in 3rd and 4th. So at the end of Day-2 1st place was now closely contested between Rob and Dave with 3rd and 4th place a battle between Mark C, Mark K and Chris.

Day-3 - Possibly even colder than Sunday but with a solid 14-18knot NE blowing. Seeing possible victory on the Horizon, taking full advantage of his height and weight, Dave Hackford moved up a gear showing the whole fleet a clean pair of heals in all 4 races. Tom Naylor after some un-characteristic problems on Saturday and Sunday found his form to finish 2nd in 2 of the races Leaving Mark Kay, Rob Kent and Mark Carney to fight over the third and fourth places.

So after a 12 race epic battle Dave Hackford finally took victory followed by Rob Kent, Mark Carney and Mark Kay. Annette Kent sailed well all weekend winning the ladies prize in a very respectable 9th overall.

For full results try the following link http://82.152.157.14/E1WPNSA2010.html

27 Sailors turned out for the 2nd London region event at Brogborough. Brogborough has a reputation for providing good hospitatility and good wind. Although perhaps not as windy as on previous occasions the sunshine and hospitality were there in plentiful supply. Obviously tempted out by the warmer whether Paul Leone put in his 1st appearance of the season alongside a special guest visitor from sheffield in the form of Tim Gibson. Race-1 kicked off with Chris Gibson again showing impressive form in the light and shifty winds followed by Paul Leone. Race-2 saw a complete change of fortunes with Rob Kent leading the way home followed Russ Canning and Alan Jackson with Chris Gibson and Paul Leone in 7th and 8th have an interesting debate on who's fault it was that they had had a bad start. Race-3 and 4 fell in to more of a pattern with Paul Leone in 1st and Rob Kent in 2nd. Overall Paul finished 1st with Rob Kent 2nd and Chris Gibson 3rd. Annette Kent finished 6th overall and 1st lady.

In a complete contrast to the recent round hayling marathon the weather forecast for Pitsford was for warm sunny weather but sadly with very little wind. Saturday lived up to expectation with lots of sunbathing kit maintenance catching up after the long cold winter but sadly no racing. Much to everyone's surprise sunday dawned not only sunny but with a gentle if rather shifty N.E. breeze. Chris Gibson, obviously benefiting from saturday's tuning session with his long time mentor Mike Playle, played the shifts excellently to take 1st place from Mark Kay (was this to be a day of dominance for the Demon sailors ?). Race 2 and 3 were held in even lighter and more shifty conditions making the start line and tactics even more crucial. It would seem that years as a keen IMCO sailor paid off for Jon White who after a mediocre result in the 1st race suddenly found his form to take a 1st and 2nd place in race 2 and 3 using an XR-Race on his Equipe-2. Race-3 saw a return to form for Rob Kent taking 1st place with Mark Kay in 3rd. Annette Kent using her 8.5m sail demonstrated good form in all 3 races (including two 4th places) to take the ladies prize and 6th overall. So in shake up of last years form book Jon White took overall victory with Chris Gibson in 2nd and Mark Kay 3rd. Full results can be found at http://82.152.157.14/Pitsford2010.html

This years round hayling took place last weekend with an entry list of close to 150 windserfers and paddle boarders. The weather forecast had been predicting extremely challenging conditions all week and on the day it did not disappoint. As the start approached the wind built to an overage of over 32 knots and gusts well over 40. Inspite of this a small group of sailors completed the course, perhaps to the surprise of some less well informed members of the windsurfing community ,longboard Raceboards finished in 2nd (Rob Kent), 4th (Nick Kid). Overall 1st place went to Guy Cribb who in a very generous gesture passed his prize (a holiday for 2 to club vass) to the last place to complete the entire course. 1st Lady was Annette Kent on her raceboard with her standard 8.5m sail (half a metre bigger than Guy's !!)

Hollowell Saturday 20^th March

Hollowell Sailing club traditionally hosts the first MWA event of the season. Too many times we have been greeted with a warm welcome but a freezing cold day. Fortunately this year the temperature matched the welcome and 23 competitors enjoyed five races in about 8 knots of shifty wind. The race officer set an inspired course, two triangles giving too good beats, and using the majority of the lake. The raceboard fleet was extremely competitive, with the lead changing many times in each of the five races. The outcome however was somewhat predictable, Mike Playle on his home water and only using his trusty 7.5m sail in the raceboard open class, yet again took top honours from Tom Naylor. World Techno 6.8 Champion Kieran Martin won the Techno class now on his 7.8 rig and the region was extremely pleased to welcome 3.5 local sailor Robin McAllister to his first MWA event.

Next event Barnt Green Sailing Club Saturday 10^th April

Starboard and Tushingham Sails are helping the UKWA by offering the association two complete Raceboard sets to racers wishing to compete on their circuit. Dave Hackford, marketing director of Tushingham explains why.......( more )

A rather ominous forecast of a Force Four to Five around midday and a whole bunch of grey clouds and drizzle - such a contrast from last year's Bough Beech event......( more )