Entries Tagged 'Ohio' ↓

We are sorry to inform mid-west windsurfers and our Canadian friends the Toledo Windsurfing Championships NRT race will not be held in 2010.   After a 20 year run the TABA (Toledo Area BoardSailing Association) membership decided to retire from hosting it.  But don’t be sad for long because some good news is that there are two new MOWIND Point series events in Ohio this summer along with the May Alum Creek event.    We also have the Michigan based Grosse Pointe and Higgins Lake races so in total that is 5 events spread nicely across the water sports season in the two states of Ohio and Michigan.

A totally new windsurfing event  named the  Reservoir Rendezvous will be held in July at the New London Ohio Reservoir and Campground.    New London Ohio is between Toledo and Cleveland.   Phil Sage along with some BONC members (Boardheads of the North Coast) is  organizing this event.   This is an accommodating venue with a campground right on the water at the event site.  So get your tents and camping trailers ready to roll.

The second event is held around the first weekend of August and is one several TABA members have been competing in for a few years now.   The event is one of the larger regatta held on Lake Erie and is called the I-LYA Bay Week Regatta.   Organized by the I-LYA (Inter-Lake Yachting Association) the Bay Week event is held on South Bass Island and hosted by the Put-In-Bay Yacht Club.   South Bass Island is located 45 miles east of Toledo about 5 miles offshore.   Windsurfers  race on the centerboard fleet course where Hobies, Interlakes, Sunfish and other smaller size sailboats also compete.   This is a fun exciting venue with a first rate professional RC,  course setting and party activities.     Online Registration for the event is now open.  See the MOWIND event page  for help on the registration.

Scott #H

The 2009 Toledo Windsurifng Championships a NRT and Mowind point series race had great 5 to 20 side shore winds on Saturday.    Five races were ran and most competitors were totally exhausted by the end of the day after battling gusts that sometimes lasted 5 minutes.   A simple 2 mark upwind and downwind course was ran with 3 Formula racers starting first followed by a combined A and Sport fleet start that numbered 37 on the line.   A fleet did twice around while Sport fleeters did once around.  The Saturday evening party was held at Lucky’s Bar and Grille where the race was to empty the keg.   Sunday morning arrived with a nice light breeze that quickly dwindled down to 1 to 3 knot conditions.   One race was ran and then the fleet waited for about 30 minutes before racing was called.  By noon the water surface was like glass with sunny skies which made for a pleasant lunchtime.    Awards were presented and the winners are smiling below with their new trophies.   The Canadian and Michigan contingent walked away with the lions share of hardware this year.

Toledo 2009 Fleet Results pdf     

 Toledo 2009 Results by Division  pdf

Toledo 2009 Prodigy Overall pdf

Photo Album

Below women’s A fleeter Andre Gauthier who place 3rd overall in A-Fleet rigs up.  Andre was one of several Canadians that made the trip down to the states again for the Toledo race.   Those old IMCO sails are still fast in the right hands.

 

The Mistral Prodigy One Design group which races in the Hybrid Division always has a strong turnout at Toledo and at the upcoming Michigan Grosse Point Windsurfing Club regatta in June and the September Higgins lake regatta.    This year 14 Prodigy One Design entries split evenly into Prodigy Mens and Prodigy 55+ Masters divisions.   I also believe there were two other Hybrid boards in attendance an RSX and a Pacer but their skippers raced in the Mens class opting to use big sails if need be.   First placer in the Prodigy Mens division was Nat Sidall from Michigan.  Nat was able to make his Prodigy seemingly fly upwind in heavy air by bearing off several degrees in the big gusts and got so much speed up he planed through the lulls.    Competition in the middle of the Prodigy pack was tight.  During the fifth race on Saturday afternoon in heavy winds on the 2nd upwind leg 5 of us Prodigy sailors reach the windward mark just a few yards apart.    In the Prodigy Masters division local Toledoan Chris Berry took the honors using his tactical skills in the shifting wind conditions.    Below Jim Donahue owner operator of Sailboardalley.com and Prodigy promoter rigs up in a sea of Prodigies.

This being the 20th year of this event was definitely a milestone for TABA ( Toledo Area Boardsailing Association ).  It’s been the same group of just 8 to 10 people for two decades now that do all the planning and work at the event.  This year Perrysburg Boat Club graciously supplied a great committee boat.    Thanks to everyone including all the competitors that often come great distances to race on Lake Erie at Maumee Bay State Park.  

Scott Haas -  #H

Seven races were ran on Saturday in pleasant sunny conditions followed by good eats at Buffalo Wild Wings Saturday evening.  Sunday morning the sun came back again but the winds were too light to race in so after lunch trophies were presented.     Saturdays racing was in shifting winds making for several lead changes during the racing.    The racing was a great warm up for the Toledo regatta coming up on May 30th and 31st.   Blue skies make for a great back drop as racers head upwind to the finish line.

 

Results were:
A-Fleet:   1st Phil Sage, 2nd Scott Haas, 3rd  Brad Petro, 4th  Joe Belhobec
Sport Fleet: 1st Brad Segro, 2nd Matt Sage, 3rd Joe Centa, 4th  Joel Smancheck

Below some of the top finishers pose with their new trophies.

The turnout was light due mainly we believe to TABAs, COWs, BONCs and GPWCs having trips to Hatteras the previous two weekends beforehand.   So thoughts are for 2010 to move the Alum Creek event date back to it’s old traditional date used in the 80’s of the weekend before Memorial Day.  That should give regional windsurfers at least a two week break after spring Hatteras trips along with better chances of summer like weather.     Below Alum Creek organizer Paul Sandstrom heads for the finish line.

Alum Creek State Park is located just north of Columbus Ohio along US 23.

See the Mowind calendar for contact information or the Alum Creek Regatta Web site.   

 The  Alum Creek Ohio State Park marina just north of Columbus Ohio is the location for the first windsurf race event of the 2009 calendar year in the Midwest.     First time racers and spectators are welcome,  registration early Saturday morning around 9, racing starts around 11:30 on Sat and 10:30 on Sunday.    If you windsurf but have not raced because you don’t have the equipment to do so, stop by and demo ride a big board.

Below you can see the Alum Creek marina offices and restaurant in the background.  This picture was taken during the 2008 event.   You can see the trees are already green in mid-Ohio the first weekend of May. 

Below some of the group hangs out during lunch enjoying the warm afternoon May sunshine.

Alum Creek Lake is a great safe location to sail at.   The course is right next to the launch area, a perfect location for beginner windsurfers to experience their first race event.    Hope to see you there.  

Yes,

 May Regatta’s are just around the corner!

The Midwest Speed Quest is now OPEN for business and touts some $5000.00 in prize money to the fastest sailors in the midwest.

Alum Creek, Saylorville Dam Jam, and the Walleye Regatta are just a few days away and need your support to be a continued success!

All Ages and Skills from beginners through experts are encouraged to attend. These events have a structured tiered racing level that allows you to race against others in your skill level and learn, while having a blast sailing with so many other friends!

Check out the event Notice of Race (NOR) on the event section(s) of this website.

Don’t forget to purchase raffle tickets for a chance to win some really cool gear at the end of he season!

See you on the water!