Entries Tagged 'General Announcements' ↓

Wow … it’s already getting close to that time of year.  Yes the time of year to make time to plan travel arrangements for a few get-a-way windsurfing days to the sunshine state.   Assuming things are as in the past it should be possible to fly down and charter a KONA for both of these events.   You’ll need to contact the people at Sandy Point Progressive Sports to reserve a KONA.    To get there you could possibly use Allegiant Air which has  flights to St. Pete and then catch Allegiant back again using their Orlando/Sanford location.  One way prices are around $110.

The Island Style Classic / Senior Masters  is posted to be ran Feb 25-26, 2012 in Sarasota Florida.  Hosted at the Sarasota Sailing Squadron club facilities with windsurf rigging and  launching at the adjoining Ken Thompson city park.     This is racing on inter-coastal waters so there is no ocean shore-break to contend with.   The water depth in the much of the usual course area is just a few feet so waves don’t come into play either.   

The Calmea 2012 Mid-Winters is set for  Thursday March 1st through Sunday March 4th.  Thursday is late registration and required check-in day, usually with a huge welcome party and skippers meeting held early evening.     If you have not been there in the past know that Kelly Park where the Calema shop is located is a nice safe site to windsurf from and has rental gear.   Again this is inter-coastal windsurfing so no ocean swells or shore break to contend with.   The March weather can vary greatly from 88 to 58.  I have found that wearing a light wetsuit is good to protect snow white skin from the Florida spring sun.   However surely bring your shorts because if you hit a few warm 82 degree days in a row you’ll need them.

In past years the Banana River Windsurfing resort has hosted a clinic during the break between the two above mentioned races.  BRW also offers some accommodations but you’ll need to check in with them well in advance.   There are plenty of hotels in the area but it’s wise to shop around beforehand to find something that matches your budget.  

The MOWIND classes page  (link also available in right menu)  has been updated for 2011.   The suggested A Fleet class list is now:  KONA, Raceboard, Open Unlmited, 8.5 Limited and Women.    Classes in the Sport and Workshop fleet remain the same.      Warm weather and racing will be here again soon so be sure to check out if these classes are ones you might want to participate in this season.    

MOWIND wants to help the KONA One Design class grow and even suggests this class be given it’s own start when numbers are sufficient.     A successful and windy 2010 KONA Worlds was recently held in Miami.   The boards and rigs used in the Worlds are being sold at reduced prices.    This class uses the 220 liter KONA One longboard with an RAF KONA sail size maximum based on a sailors weight.

•   6.6 sail  64.9 kilos or less
•  7.4 65 to 74.9 kilos
•  8.2 sail 75 to 84.9 kilos
•  9.0 sail  85 kilos and up

see http://www.kona-windsurfing.com/ for informaton on the KONA one design class.

The Raceboard  class has been around for near a decade  internationally and supports modern production longboards and hybrid boards.   It’s gear limits of one hull and two sails per event helps greatly in reducing the cost of competing.   There is also a sail size maximum of 9.5 for men and 8.5 for women and juniors.    
see http://www.raceboard.org/ for information on the Raceboard class rules and approved boards.

The popular MOWIND 8.5 Limited and Open Unlimited classes remain as they are were with no hull limits.

Scott  #H

Update 3/7/2011  .. reports are that the BRWR race was a good one with wind .. see review.

Spring warmth will be coming to Florida soon, the Island Style Classic is on for Feb  26 and 27 in Sarasota Florida.  Kona rentals will be available but you need to contact Marty at Progressive Sports beforehand.     The following week there is a race clinic camp then on the weekend the Kona NA Champs at the Banana River Windsurfing resort in Cocoa Beach.   The Calema Midwinters was canceled for this year    Flights from Toledo to St. Pete can be had for about $220,  leave on a Wed and return Monday.

Plans are being made for Original Windsufer One Design events in Michigan.  Promoter Ted Schweitzer will be announcing dates and information on that later this spring.

The San Francisco Bay Area will also be a hot spot for racing action this summer. The 2011 US Windsurfing National Championships will be hosted by the Berkeley Yacht Club, July 11-16. Registration and other information is available on the web site. The following week, July 17-24, the  2011 Junior, Youth Techno 293  & Raceboard Masters Windsurfing World Championships will be held across the bay in San Francisco.  This event will use official Raceboard Class rules and will be a great event for long board riders. The historic St. Francis Yacht Club (StFYC) will serve as the host, and racing will be on the waters just east of the Golden Gate bridge.

Interested in seeing what goes on at a MOWIND event?   We are happy to report that the MOWIND photo album has pictures from several different 2010 events.    To view the photos use  the link found on the right side of this Web page under the VIP Windsurfing Links  titled  MOWIND Photo Album.       

If you have event photos you would like to share be sure to contact one of the MOWIND Web masters.      If you haven’t made it to a MOWIND event lately we hope after you see all the MOFUN you’ve been missing you will make it out in 2011!

Higgins Lake - racers put the pedal to the metal at the start line

Thanks much to Jim Friske for submitting photos of the Sept 2010 Higgins Lake Regatta.

#H

Wow .. a lot of racing action is scheduled in September.  Be sure to check the MOWIND calendar.   It’s good to contact organizers a few days out to check things are on schedule.

The  notice of race flyer for the Sept 25-26 Fall Wind Power Championships windsurf regatta in Fond du Lac is now available in  PDF format.    Hope to see you there.   This is the 1st race in the 2011 MOWIND point series of races.    Results of the 2010 MOWIND points series will be presented during the Saturday evening dinner at the Sunset Club in Fond du Lac.      On Friday Sept 24 the free Winnebago Supercrossing long distance race takes place so check the flyer out for details on that.   

Also coming up Sept 11-12 is the Higgins Lake Regatta in Roscommon MI.   That event is held at Higgins Lake South State park campground.   General public and non-racers are welcome,  show up and reserve a campspot by the beach for the day, rig and sail.   Join the group for a fun dinner excursion on Sat evening.   Race headquarters  will be located  towards the west end of the campground around lot 350.     As usual the GLWT (Great Lakes Windsurfing Tour) people plan to be there with demo gear and deals on demo equipment.   So if you are a non-windsurfer ..  this is a great opportunity to find out more about windsurfing and make some new friends.

Sept 18 is the date for the 5th race  in the Canadian Ontario Sailing Race Series.   This one day race is held at the Toronto Windsurfing Club facilites.    The following day on Sept 19 the  17km TWC Mammoth Marathon long distance race around the Toronto islands is scheduled.   Several Mowinders  from the Ohio and Michigan have attended these races in recent years.    Toronto is about a 245 mile drive from the Detroit,  295 from Cleveland.