Sponsor's Report by Paul Simmons, Tushingham Sails.
Supported by Tushingham Starboard and Jaffa, in association with the OfficialTest Centre, BSA Slalom touched down at the Weymouth & Portland National Sailing Academy for Round Two of the series.
Following a windless event a few weeks previously at Hayling Island, competitors were itching to begin the season with some hot slalom action. Saturday was hot in terms of temperature and we did see plenty of action in the Master Blaster fleet. The light winds put paid to any chance of racing for pros or amateurs, offering competitors the chance to prepare their smaller kit for Sunday's promised strong winds. Tushingham's Jamie Gibbs made sure everyone had the chance to hit the water by providing plenty of demo kit, including a fleet of Starboard SUP boards, which proved very popular.
With wall-to-wall sunshine and 25 knot winds, Sunday proved to be an absolute classic, with intense racing all day on a 5-gybe downwind course. Race Officer Tessa Ingram ensured competitors were treated to five rounds in the Pro fleet (that's 10 races!) and eight rounds for the amateurs, who were running straight finals. Master Blaster races continued all day with some epic close finishes: competitors running for the flag after ditching their rigs at high speed in the shallows.
Shattered expressions worn by many racers at the prizegiving were testament to the UKWA's hard work, which ensured plenty of races were crammed into the day. It was great to see Olympic hotshot Nick Dempsey pushing Ant Baker hard at the front of the Pro fleet. Equally impressive is the high standard of younger riders like youths Sam Sills, Sam Latham and Tom Squires along with Jamie Ingram and Daniel Skudder, snapping at the heels of their more experienced rivals. With healthy numbers in the Master Blaster and Amateur fleets, providing exciting racing for all levels, BSA Weymouth proved to be a real classic, hopefully the start of another fantastic season of racing.
Roger Turner was on hand to capture the action, with more pictures going live very soon. Thanks also to Tris Best from OTC, whose hard work ensured the event took place at this excellent venue. The OTC is really leading the way for windsurfing tuition and hire in the UK and it's well worth a visit for all windsurfers, from keen novice seeking expert tuition through to experts looking to try the latest gear. www.otc-windsurf.com
Host's Report by Tris Best, OTC.
This was the third BSA event we'd hosted down here in Weymouth, so we're slowly beginning to get the knack of it now.Our efforts were bolstered significantly when Jaffa Oranges (a sponsor of the WPNSA) offered to come on board and encompass the event into a 'mass participation' weekend. "This could be gold!" we thought - a proper open-day event including windsurfing, stand-up paddling and open water swimming taster sessions, a barbeque during the day and a party with a live band and a DJ in the evening, all adding to the back-drop of the first competitive BSA event of the year! How good is that... Just one worry was left in my mind - had we counted all our lucky stars already, leaving us in the doldrums without a breath of wind? The long range forecast at the start of the week certainly seemed to suggest that that was the case...
He upstairs must have looked upon us favourably however (not sure what we'd done in our past lives to deserve it!) and the weather for the weekend could not have been more perfect. Light southerly winds greeted us on Saturday morning allowing for the stream of taster sessions booked in to commence. The really encouraging sign was that we'd promoted the windsurfing and SUP taster sessions equally throughout the region - in the local press, on the radio and through the schools ... but the demand for windsurfing was much more than for SUP.We ran four windsurfing tasters to every SUP taster ... not bad for an 'old-timer' sport against the new kid on the block! 50 tasters down and BBQ burgers consumed courtesy of masterchef Mark Steen of Bustinskin Triathlon Club and the stage was set for The Stomping Goats to set the night alight. By this time though, people were either tired from their exertions in the day, or adopting an air of anticipation for what lay ahead. The forecast for Sunday was all-time!
The atmosphere and tempo of Sunday could not have been more different than Saturday. We arrived down the centre to a vision of people, boards and sails flying around in preparation for a full day of racing. The wind was 18, gusting 25knots and with the sun poking out behind the clouds to illuminate the harbour arena, there could not have been a better setting for the racing. Olympic star Nick Dempsey had arrived on the scene to reinforce the strength of the local contingent ... this was going to be a classic day on the water. We'd like to take our hats off to the UKWA crowd here. They have the all too often thankless task of setting the course and running the heats, only getting a mention when things go wrong. They ran Sunday impeccably and certainly got the most out of the conditions - well done them!
The eventual winner of the Pro fleet was Ant Baker, who just about muscled his way to the top of a very strong fleet to claim the prize money courtesy of Jaffa. The amateurs was hotly contested as well, with Alex Hensher coming out on top, whilst in the NWF on Tour Masterblaster there were a staggering 16 races over the weekend, with Robert Duggan taking the honours. We'd like to thank Jaffa Oranges for helping us host such a fantastic event, WPNSA for their support and Tushingham Sails who went out of their way as always to help promote, support and host what is fast getting the reputation as THE event of the calendar, which always seems to produce!
Quotes:
"Weymouth offers the perfect place for me to get some board speed down the first leg, this year was no exception, I was really nervous before the first race but after the win I was stocked.... I have never won a event as an adult in the UK so I was super happy to take the title!" Ant Baker
"I woke up to the wind in the trees and couldn't resist. I loved every minute of the weekend and can't wait to have another go." Nick Dempsey
"Round 2 at BSA Weymouth - fantastic ... great barbie and party with awesome slalom conditions on Sunday - what more can you ask for, with a perfect course the scene was set for a great event. Everyone has obviously been training hard this winter. Weymouth provides the best first reach on the BSA circuit with everyone at max speed the first gybe is carnage. I was happy to salvage 5th place after forgetting how to turn under pressure! Great event." Kev Greenslade
"That was the best racing I've competed in in the UK by far. Wall to wall sunshine, howling windy, super flat water, and military style organization. I don't know how fast we were going out there but I was stacked on my 6.3 and it felt pretty quick!" Dan Macaulay
The next event is Aberdovey, news for which is coming soon so check out www.windsurf-bsa.com and www.ukwindsurfing.com in the coming weeks.
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