4TH SEPTEMBER 2010
DAY 1
No wind on the first day of competition at the German speed surfing in Orth on the island of Fehmarn. The last of the sailors signed in for what they hoped was going to be an epic battle of speed over a 500m course. All the title contenders to be crowned German Speed Champion have turned up, last year's winner Alexander Lehmann, Thorsten Mallon, Manfred Merle, Michael Naumann and Martyn Ogier travelling form Guernsey to enter his first German event. All together there is a starting line-up of 67 competitors and 16 internationals. On the women’s side we have the current German champion Birgit Höfer and Steffi Whal in the starting list.
Unfortunately the wind was not strong enough for an official race on day 1 however the mid-week forecast is very promising.
In the meantime a solid program of activities is planned to keep the sailors occupied including Stand-up paddling and seminars for everyone keep boredom at bay.
5TH SEPTEMBER 2010
DAY 2
On windless day two of the competition in the morning Wolfgang Lessach held a lecture on the proper use of the Speed Finns and as expected this ended in a controversial discussion, which probably still persists.
In the afternoon as part of the Rip Curl German SUP Challenge a GPS paddle speed competition took place on Naish SUP boards.
The women’s results in the SEA Paddle comp were 1st Caro Weber, 2nd Place Birgit Höfer, 3rd Roswitha Merle.
In the men 1st Andreas Wolter, 2nd Christian Hahn Platz, 3rd Place Andy Mattausch,4th place Manfred Merle.
During the day a lot of visitors turned up to stroll through the rigging area asking questions and checking out the speed equipment being readied for the next day’s optimistic forecast.
6TH SEPTEMBER 2010
DAY 3
The day starts sunny and no wind but with a Forecast that from midday the wind will increase from east with gusts up to 19 knots. A slight uneasiness crept around the competitors as one after the other skippers meeting were put on standby waiting for the wind to increase. At 17.00 the green flag was hoisted for a fun race, the best 5 x 10 second runs to decide the winner.
In the evening a good humoured annual general meeting of the German Speed Tour was held in the tavern "Syrtaki".
7TH SEPTEMBER 2010
DAY 4
Here it is! Southeast winds up to 24 knots. The course is set in the eastern Bay of Orth about 200m away from the rigging area. At 11:00 clock the first race is started. The wind is very gusty with sailors taking between 7 and 8 square meter sails. A 1.5 hour race on starboard tack over a 500m course, the average of your best two runs to count.
Michael Naumann took the win from Uwe-Soren Schmidt second and Gunnar Asmussen third. Martyn Ogier was the first international struggling in the light gusty winds in 8th place.
After three-hour break for the competitors to get some food and the results to be published the second race was started. The wind had swung slightly and increased in the gusts allowing the sailors to change down a sail size.
8TH SEPTEMBER 2010
DAY 5
11:45 No.3 race was started. The course had been re-laid to run on Port tack. The wind had increased again since yesterday allowing most sailors to be on 6.3m sails. This time, Gunnar Asmussen won the day ahead on Michael Naumann, and Armin Höfer. Martyn Ogier top international for the third race in succession placing 9th
13:50 race No. 4, same wind direction but slightly lighter than the mornings race. With the course set out in the middle of a huge natural harbour the wind strength wasn’t making much difference on board speeds at all, it was the sea state that kept speeds down to the mid 30 knots mark. Gunnar Asmussen won yet again confirming his desire to win his first speed competition, second was Uwe-Sören Schmidt and third Michael Naumann. Martyn Ogier kept up his dominance for the international trophy with another win in that category.
17.00 Just as everybody was packing up thinking the day was done race No 5 was announced to start in 30 minutes. Another great race saw Gunnar Asmussen win from Michael Naumann and Uwe-Sören Schmidt third.
9TH SEPTEMBER 2010
DAY 6
The rules for the German Tour are that if one sailor completes at least five runs over 25 knots the day counts. Winds were between 10 – 15 knots. All the competitors on their largest kit (maximum sail size permitted 9m). Gunnar Asmussen won from
Michael Naumann and Uwe-Sören Schmidt third again confirming their rankings in that order for the week. Martyn Ogier won the International fleet and 12th overall in the main event.
10TH SEPTEMBER 2010
DAY 7
On the penultimate day of competition saw the competitors waiting in vain for the wind.
The highlight of the day on the 20-year anniversary of the German Speed Tour was the KA-Sails team raffling off a brand new KA-race sail. Followed by tasty cocktails.
The current ranking for the event sees Gunnar Asmussen (F2/North) 1st, Michael Naumann (The Loft / Exocet) 2nd and Uwe-Sören Schmidt (Surftools) 3rd.
In the woman’s event Steffi Wahl wins ahead of Birgit Höfer and Anja Kruse.
11TH SEPTEMBER 2010
FINAL DAY
Drizzle and no wind meant competitors started packing up ready for the prize giving at 15.00.
The German Speed Championships were sponsored by Nordswell Surfwear , Camp Inn Fehmarn, Windsurfing Journal, Design Lessach and the Tourism Association of Fehmarn.
Results Men
1st Gunnar Asmussen (F2/North)
2nd Michael Naumann (The Loft / Exocet)
3rd Uwe-Sören Schmidt (Surftools)
12th Martyn Ogier (Hot Sails Maui / Starboard / Flying Objects / Black Project Fins)
Results Woman
1st Steffi Wahl
2nd Birgit Höfer
3rd Anja Kruse
Results International sailors
1st Martyn Ogier (Hot Sails Maui / Starboard / Flying Objects / Black Project Fins)
Martyn Ogier receiving the 1st place international sailor prize
Wednesday, September 15, 2010
Sunday, September 5, 2010
German Speed Sailing Championships
What a journey. The German championships have always been an event I wanted to attend, back in the past it was always well attended by the big guns, Maka etc.
Getting here has been a bit of a adventure on its own. Living in a small island like Guernsey getting anywhere can be difficult and costly. The only way I could see of getting to Germany in the quickest time was to ship my van to England without me, pick it up at Southampton airport, drive to the Euro Tunnel and drive up from Calais. All went to plan, the van left on Monday 30th without me and I flew on the red eye on the 2nd.
6am start on the 2nd, picked up my van just after 8am and on the road. 2.5 hrs later and I was in Folkestone ready for the tunnel. Its quite daunting turning up without a clue of where to go or what to do. I was ahead of schedule as I had prebooked the tunnel crossing for 12.30. By now I was in a cue of traffic going through the self checkin, no way of getting out of it but to my great relief when I got to the automated check in, tapped in my booking code, it told me that I could go on the next train.
All going to plan and ahead of schedule. I didn't know how long the train would take but decided to try and have a nap as I would have a 9 hr drive the other side. I just got off dreaming epic speed conditions when the annoucer informed us that we had arrived, 30 mins from leaving. Not much of a nap but well ahead of schedule now.
Sat navs are so great. I know 99% of people will read this and say "yeah so what" but I have never had the need for one until now. I entered the destination "Fehmarn" and off I went. 6 hours driving through France maybe Belgium and Holland, difficult to tell when your following the sat nav and all the names look the same (foriegn) then into Germany and I need to stop. The german motorways don't have as many petrol stations and hotels along the way as in France so finding one took a little longer than expected but find one I did and had a good night sleep and food.
Friday 2nd and I am up early and on the road by 8am with approximately 3 hours to go. It's feels lot easier than driving yesterday evening and before I know it I am at the bridge that takes you over to Fehmarn Island in the Baltic sea.
Fehmarn is approximately 10 miles square. The motorway from mainland Germany runs straight over the connecting bridge and on to Puttgarden on the North East of the island where there is the main ferry port for freight and transport on to Denmark.
We are based on the South West side on Fehmarn in a small village / marina called Orth. It's quite similar in feal to Weymouth, lots of yatchs and small boats pottering about. Lovely cafes and resturants with outside seating, a holiday type of place.
From first arriving the speed sailing potential is obvious. It doesn't matter which direction the wind is, there will be a speed strip to sail.
Most of the competitors have turned up on the Friday however the registration is open on the Saturday morning as well. We are based in a field adjoing two potential speed strips, on to the west and one to the east. Both only 100m away. The rigging area is next to the camping area in the field and it is no surprise given the Germans history of travelling through Europe that they have pitched up in there camper vans.
Getting here has been a bit of a adventure on its own. Living in a small island like Guernsey getting anywhere can be difficult and costly. The only way I could see of getting to Germany in the quickest time was to ship my van to England without me, pick it up at Southampton airport, drive to the Euro Tunnel and drive up from Calais. All went to plan, the van left on Monday 30th without me and I flew on the red eye on the 2nd.
6am start on the 2nd, picked up my van just after 8am and on the road. 2.5 hrs later and I was in Folkestone ready for the tunnel. Its quite daunting turning up without a clue of where to go or what to do. I was ahead of schedule as I had prebooked the tunnel crossing for 12.30. By now I was in a cue of traffic going through the self checkin, no way of getting out of it but to my great relief when I got to the automated check in, tapped in my booking code, it told me that I could go on the next train.
All going to plan and ahead of schedule. I didn't know how long the train would take but decided to try and have a nap as I would have a 9 hr drive the other side. I just got off dreaming epic speed conditions when the annoucer informed us that we had arrived, 30 mins from leaving. Not much of a nap but well ahead of schedule now.
Sat navs are so great. I know 99% of people will read this and say "yeah so what" but I have never had the need for one until now. I entered the destination "Fehmarn" and off I went. 6 hours driving through France maybe Belgium and Holland, difficult to tell when your following the sat nav and all the names look the same (foriegn) then into Germany and I need to stop. The german motorways don't have as many petrol stations and hotels along the way as in France so finding one took a little longer than expected but find one I did and had a good night sleep and food.
Friday 2nd and I am up early and on the road by 8am with approximately 3 hours to go. It's feels lot easier than driving yesterday evening and before I know it I am at the bridge that takes you over to Fehmarn Island in the Baltic sea.
Fehmarn is approximately 10 miles square. The motorway from mainland Germany runs straight over the connecting bridge and on to Puttgarden on the North East of the island where there is the main ferry port for freight and transport on to Denmark.
We are based on the South West side on Fehmarn in a small village / marina called Orth. It's quite similar in feal to Weymouth, lots of yatchs and small boats pottering about. Lovely cafes and resturants with outside seating, a holiday type of place.
From first arriving the speed sailing potential is obvious. It doesn't matter which direction the wind is, there will be a speed strip to sail.
Most of the competitors have turned up on the Friday however the registration is open on the Saturday morning as well. We are based in a field adjoing two potential speed strips, on to the west and one to the east. Both only 100m away. The rigging area is next to the camping area in the field and it is no surprise given the Germans history of travelling through Europe that they have pitched up in there camper vans.
Saturday, August 7, 2010
World Speed Tour
Ok we are off!!
Confirmed dates as follows
German Championships - 4th - 11th September - Fermarn island Germany
Swedish Championships - 2nd-3rd October - Torkelstorp Sweden
British Championships - 18nd - 24th October - Weymouth, England
Worlds Championships - 8th - 14th November - Port St Louis France
Thats how it lines up for the 2010 World Tour and I am really excited!
I have had some great sessions on the new Starboard 58, which is a dream to sail from 8m down to 6.6m. The 2010 Hotsails GPS sails are really quick. New fins from Black Project that hold you in soooooo well.
On top of that I'm feelin great. Bring it on.
It will be the first time I have sailed in Germany and Sweden so I don't know what the course will be like but I am confortable on anything.
I keep you informed.
Confirmed dates as follows
German Championships - 4th - 11th September - Fermarn island Germany
Swedish Championships - 2nd-3rd October - Torkelstorp Sweden
British Championships - 18nd - 24th October - Weymouth, England
Worlds Championships - 8th - 14th November - Port St Louis France
Thats how it lines up for the 2010 World Tour and I am really excited!
I have had some great sessions on the new Starboard 58, which is a dream to sail from 8m down to 6.6m. The 2010 Hotsails GPS sails are really quick. New fins from Black Project that hold you in soooooo well.
On top of that I'm feelin great. Bring it on.
It will be the first time I have sailed in Germany and Sweden so I don't know what the course will be like but I am confortable on anything.
I keep you informed.
Sunday, July 18, 2010
Missed oportunities
First real wind of the summer and Guernsey missed it. The wind blew through the night on Thursday and Friday dying off on both days.
Plenty of sailing but no epic conditions as promised.
Thursday morning I had an hour and half up at Pembroke bay with my 8.8 GPS Hot Sail and Starboard Isonic 101. It was the first time I sailed that combination and it worked great, the board has enough volume to carry the big sail, my Isonic 94 was too small. The tide was too high for great speeds but a good session.
Second session was at Vazon low tide n the 8.8 and 121 Isonic. Lighter winds but faster times, I maxed just under 35 knots which was pleasing on such big kit. Theforecast was for force 6-7, we were lucky to get force 4.
Friday an the wind was slightly stronger. Grande Havre bay with a 7.3 on the 101. Gusty as hell and rough. A good work out but soooooo fustrating! England and Holland are aving cassic conditions and Guernsey has missed it. Friday evening back at Pembroke 8.8 and 121. Low tide and some nice flat water but gusty winds from the West meant it was too broad.
Easy to say I should have made atrip to England but the forcast wasn't conclusive.
Next time!
Load of sailing and good tuning of the big kit, new fins etc.
Plenty of sailing but no epic conditions as promised.
Thursday morning I had an hour and half up at Pembroke bay with my 8.8 GPS Hot Sail and Starboard Isonic 101. It was the first time I sailed that combination and it worked great, the board has enough volume to carry the big sail, my Isonic 94 was too small. The tide was too high for great speeds but a good session.
Second session was at Vazon low tide n the 8.8 and 121 Isonic. Lighter winds but faster times, I maxed just under 35 knots which was pleasing on such big kit. Theforecast was for force 6-7, we were lucky to get force 4.
Friday an the wind was slightly stronger. Grande Havre bay with a 7.3 on the 101. Gusty as hell and rough. A good work out but soooooo fustrating! England and Holland are aving cassic conditions and Guernsey has missed it. Friday evening back at Pembroke 8.8 and 121. Low tide and some nice flat water but gusty winds from the West meant it was too broad.
Easy to say I should have made atrip to England but the forcast wasn't conclusive.
Next time!
Load of sailing and good tuning of the big kit, new fins etc.
Tuesday, June 15, 2010
Fuerteventura OFF!
Fuerteventura has been cancelled.
I don't know where this leaves the Speed Tour. The European Championships are due to be held in France October November time, this should go ahead the French have a huge following. Weymouth will take place, Sweden and Germany are saying they are good to go at the moment.
The economic melt down has reached speed sailing. Doom and Gloom doesn't stop there, we haven't had strong winds in Guernsey all year.
Time to turn it around a bit.
Guernsey has had sailing conditions, mostly 8m and 8.8m on large slalom boards. It's still windsurfing and great to be out.
I had a photo session this morning with Pierre to get some shots of my sails logo'd up with Flying Object stickers. Great conditions, sun out and 15 knots of wind.
I'll keep you posted on the competition news. If contest comes up I'll have to take a trip to Tarifa to get some GPS speeds nailed.
Tuesday, June 1, 2010
Fuerteventura World Championships
Fuerteventura world championships are coming up.
The Speed World Cup has changed its ranking system for 2010 to your best three events to count for the overall title. Something I agree with 100% however in doing this it means that my 2009 ranking would of given me automatic entry into the World Champs easily but now my ranking is based on Karpathos last year and Weymouth where although I placed fourth was judged as a non counting event due to the small number of sailors who sailed fast enough in those conditions.
Other sailors have jumped over me with entering non events in Holland and Belgium and sailing in what must be the smallest event of the year in Ireland.
I'm still inside the the 40 places allocated however that will change if more people enter.
I hope I get in, I've put too much into it to miss out.
The Speed World Cup has changed its ranking system for 2010 to your best three events to count for the overall title. Something I agree with 100% however in doing this it means that my 2009 ranking would of given me automatic entry into the World Champs easily but now my ranking is based on Karpathos last year and Weymouth where although I placed fourth was judged as a non counting event due to the small number of sailors who sailed fast enough in those conditions.
Other sailors have jumped over me with entering non events in Holland and Belgium and sailing in what must be the smallest event of the year in Ireland.
I'm still inside the the 40 places allocated however that will change if more people enter.
I hope I get in, I've put too much into it to miss out.
Pembroke Bay speed session
Good wind angle at Pembroke on Saturday but by the time the wind picked up the tide was way too high. Pembroke has a 25' drop from the car park to the beach level, at low tide you are 350m away fro the wall but at high it could be as close as 10m. When I sailed it was about 25m away and hence a great big wind shadow as you came in close. Pleased with the speeds though, they keep creeping up. This sail will easily do 34knots max and average well over 30 in its correct wind range.
Sail size and predicted speed for each sail listed below
Hotsails GPS 8.8 34 knots
Hotsails GPS 8.0 37 knots
Hotsails GPS 7.3 40 knots
Hotsails GPS 6.6 43 knots
Hotsails GPS 6.0 46 knots
Hotsails GPS 5.5 BALLISTIC KNOTS
These are what I predict for each sail.
Guernsey is a fantastic place to sail and train but for flat out speed we are limited. Pembroke bay is our best spot, a sandy bay measuring 650m from one side to the other. It's only good at low tide in a SE to SW wind direction. You could count the number of SW winds we have had in 2010 on one hand yet it is our prominent wind direction.
Sail size and predicted speed for each sail listed below
Hotsails GPS 8.8 34 knots
Hotsails GPS 8.0 37 knots
Hotsails GPS 7.3 40 knots
Hotsails GPS 6.6 43 knots
Hotsails GPS 6.0 46 knots
Hotsails GPS 5.5 BALLISTIC KNOTS
These are what I predict for each sail.
Guernsey is a fantastic place to sail and train but for flat out speed we are limited. Pembroke bay is our best spot, a sandy bay measuring 650m from one side to the other. It's only good at low tide in a SE to SW wind direction. You could count the number of SW winds we have had in 2010 on one hand yet it is our prominent wind direction.
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