The wind came through for us in a big way today. Arriving at the beach early this morning, the whitecaps were filled in on the North side of the causeway which was a great sign. By the time the windward leeward course was set, the wind had clocked around and was pretty steady in the 12-14 knot range on Biscayne Bay.
The assembled sailors were looking very unsure of what to rig, as it was a bit difficult to judge from the beach just what was happening a quarter mile out in the Bay. The instruction from the race director as to the schedule for the days’ racing also had them looking a bit frazzled. Five, two lap races were to be run back to back before a lunch break, followed by 3 one lap races.
The fleet made their sail choice for the day, most sailors going on 11 meter sails, and they hit the water for a first start at 11:15. The wind still had a few holes, but the gusts were coming through just as often. Everyone was looking plenty powered throughout the day.
The most consistent sailor of the day was former US National Champion Ron Kern, who posted most of the first place finishes today. Up and coming sailor Cullen Ahearn was also up there with lots of top 3 finishes, as well as yesterdays winner Fernando Martinez. Britt Viehmann also kept himself in the running with some extremely consistent finishes.
Racing all day was extremely close as the course was not extremely long, and the wind was brisk. The top sailors were finishing the two laps in 8 to 9 minutes and the bottom of the fleet was only about 4 minutes behind. The final 3 races were very short with the winner arriving in only 5 or 6 minutes.
At the end of the day the winner of the event was Mr. Consistent Ron Kern. The event was a big success thanks to the sailors who attended, and all those who volunteered their help: Ovidio and crew from Sailboards Miami, Paul and Mike and their boys on the race boat, Myles Borash, the Sambazon team, John Cerchio on the scoring computer, and Rick “Maui Malone” Randall on the race committee. The biggest thanks goes out to Alex Morales for having the energy to push for the events in Miami. Special thanks to Simona Madan for all the incredibly hard work organizing the happenings on the beach. Hours and hours before and after the races she is there making sure the sailors have plenty of good stuff to eat and drink and have a comfortable place to relax between races.
Please be sure to always support your local events wherever you sail. Even if you don’t like the competitive side of the sport, it is a lot of fun to watch and nobody likes to party like a racer after it is all over, so join in on the fun! See you out on the water soon at the next great event in Miami.
Report by: Maui Malone Check back often to find out the latest here at www.windsurfingtour.com
Women Formula Sailors at the Miami Pro Am 2010
This weekends’ event highlighted the performance of some great women sailors as well. Karen Marriott (director of US Windsurfing), Solvig Sayre (daughter of legend Nevin) and Beverly Gomez of Jamaica were all out there battling not only themselves, but the men in the fleet as well. With one start for the entire fleet, they were given no special favors and had to fend for themselves. All three of them showed they had plenty of speed, stamina and tactical knowledge to compete at a top level.
The three ladies are all multiple class competitors: Karen just finished up the Kona World’s with great results, Solvig shines on Kona, RSX and Formula, and Beverly is the Olympic Class representative from Jamaica.
These ladies are a force to be reckoned with and there are plenty of men in the fleet who can learn from them!
Be sure to support your Olympic athletes in their quest for a medal in the next Games.
