With 200+ windsurfers coming from South America, Israel, France, England, Canada and the US, the midwinter championship was a showcase of the new formula and hybrid classes. The biggest fleet was the Formula fleet with 51 professional and amateur men competing in 5 races over 3 days. In the hybrid class, 23 men and women competed in the new RS-X Olympic class against 11 Prodigy and 3 Open hybrid boards for 7 races over 3 days. The rest of the competition was made up of sport fleet and long board racing.
Most interesting was the new gear for 2006. Both North and Neilpryde showed an improved wind range with their 3rd generation wide sleeve luff race sails. Also noteworthy was the innovation in the formula boards. Last year F2 introduced booster pipes to their formula board. This year 2 manufactures had adjustable plates in their cutouts to give an even greater amount of possibilities for changing your set up. Now sailors are coming in between racing and making changes in their cut outs (3 choices), their fins (stiffness, rake and size), as well as their rigs. Typically sailors used 11.0 and 12.5m2 sails in the light wind races and switched down to 10.0-11.0m2 rigs when it was windier. The hybrid class was limited to a 9.5m2 rig. The RS-X sailors out performed their peers in the Prodigy and Open Hybrid classes
Typical Florida conditions greeted sailors on Friday and Sunday with light to medium breeze on the Indian River, part of the Inter coastal waterway just west of Cape Canaveral, FL. On Saturday, the breeze was up to the high teens for more exciting racing for all fleets. The event was won by Antoine Albeau of France. Results Results and Photos at
http://www.calema.com/index.php?main_page=page_8&zenid=bdb9db308401c4e502fbca6659a97989
http://www.calema.com/gallery/index.php?gallery=./Events/2006%20Calema%20Midwinters
Regatta Report by Steve Bodner at http://stevebodner.com/home.html
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www.stevebodner.com
