We finished the Formula Windsurfing South Americans yesterday. The event was in Ilha Bela, a beaultiful island in the coast of Sao Paulo. The forecast was really good before the event. We had one day with medium winds 10-14 knots (I was using the TR-4xt 11.0 this day), and the other two days the wind was strong 18-24 knots (I was using my TR-4 10.0).
After a long time without competing in big FW events I could see that my speed is very good but I need to be better in the tactics. The guys at home did a lot of FW competitions this year. But I had good speed and did some nice races in 2nd and 3rd place, many times in first place at the first buoy. In the end I finished in 3rd place open and 1st place Youth. That was good training for me for the Brazilian Nnationals and the Grand Prix here in Fortaleza in November. Also it was good because people here in Brazil had the first look at the TR-4 XT, they could see how the sails are fast in FW too.
The final results :
1. Gonzalo Costa Hoevel
2. Paulo dos Reis
3. Gabriel Browne ( 1st youth )
4. Fabio Melo
5. Wilhelm Shurmann ( 1st light )
6. Mathias Pinheiro ( 1st master)
Now I will come back for the Slalom South Americans and Slalom Nationals are coming in three weeks.
Best regards,
Gabriel
