News

Well we aint having much luck lately folks. The Harbour Blast 2011 was cancelled, due to lack of decent breeze. We had 39 registered ready to roll, but unfortunately the southerly that was forecast was looking pretty weak for around 11.00am when we were due to start , and it didnt look any better later in the day, so we called it off. Turns out it was a day for coffee in the sun, SUPs and mountain bikes. Thanks to everyone that took the time to register, and to our volunteers in boats and on land who were ready to help out. Next year!

The Freewave returned to Plimmerton for round two of the 2010 series. Conditions were superb and the action was hot. A strong north westerly from the Tasman kindly whipped up good punchy waves for the sailors to launch off and shred to pieces. The sun bore down on those on the shore and an epic round was in the making.

Same format as last round was run. Two expression sessions saw the top eight sailors advance to two semi-finals. Surprise advancer was Merel Rip advancing through to semi with a few sweet waves rides putting her above the guys. Sailing well in the semi she managed to make a very credible 5th equal placing representing the girls with style.

Outstanding performers in the semi one were James Court and Tom Taylor. Taylor fresh from the freestyle nationals was eager to impress in the strong winds that he is so used too. With a myriad of forwards and solid wave rides he secured a place in the final. Court equipped with some slick looking new Neil Pryde Combat sails came out firing throwing big push and forward loops. Really stepping up his wave riding in the onshore conditions he took top spot in the semi and his place in the final.

Semi two saw round one winner and Wellington Wave Champ Clayton Dougan come out pumped. However it was no easy sailing for the on form Dougan pushed hard by Klaas Stijnen. Stijnen kept Dougan honest with an intense aerial display of forward loops. The words “he ain’t no slug” were heard on the beach as Stijnen nailed one of the biggest end over forwards of the day recording plus-plus status on the judges’ card! Dougan impressed yet again with variety in the air sending him through to the final with Stijnen.

Conditions for the final were the best seen for years with primo waves and wind making it all the way to the inside to the delight of both spectators and the judges alike. The fifteen minute final saw the best action of the season so far.

All sailors kicked off proceedings with forward loops with Court taking the early advantage going huge first up. Dougan hit back with a big back loop to bring things back in to perspective for Court. Taylor and Stijnen were going tit for tat with forwards off the back of the wave right in front of the spectators. All sailors were making most of the ample waves connecting backside action with crossed up down the line rides. Stijnen again impressed with outstand onshore wave riding skills managing to get backside air launching right out in front of the wave. Court had himself flicked the onshore wave riding switch connecting the longest wave rides of the day getting into the bowl of some of the more punchy sections. With Dougan charging across the waves into his jumps like a man possessed, Court stepped up his game. First came a nice clean “JC special” push loop. Dougan responded with a “floaty” vulcan off the wave to mix things up and finished with another big back loop. Court still had more to give. Boosting high in a gust he stalled a very stylish tweaked forward. He then followed this up with the cleanest cheese roll ever seen at Plimmerton in recent time.

A hard decision was calculated carefully on the beach and Court was given top honours on the day with Dougan a very close second. Stijnen managed to pip Taylor with superior wave riding to take third. Congratulations James Court!

	ROUND ONE	ROUND TWO	ROUND THREE	SERIES
1st	Clayton Dougan	James Court
2nd	Tom Taylor	Clayton Dougan
3rd	Tim Bamford	Klaas Stijnen
4th	James Court	Tom Taylor

 

 

 

Overall that leaves Dougan on top of the overall standings on 3 points with Court in second with 5 points. Taylor third on 6 points sits above Stijnen in fourth on 10. With the final round set for 6 November 2010 the freewave champ is in the making. The third and final round is to be of the freestyle format. Watch the www.wwa.org.nz and www.deepfried.tv for updates on location and time. Remember it is never too late to enter so get out on the water and we will see you at round 3 of the Wellington Freewave 2010!

Also check out photos from round 2 kindly taken by Anton at: Picassa

The Freewave 2010 kicked off on Saturday in the midst of a storm reported to be the size of Australia. The round was held at Plimmerton. Everyone was on 4.0 with the sun topping off some mint conditions. Two expression sessions were run with the top five going through to the semi finals. Notable advances to the semis were made by Nick Hunn and Dave Houston aka Crash, with some sweet wave rides and forwards/cheese rolls to boot.

The semi finals saw everyone level up! Back loops, push loops and forwards were pumped in both heats. However, the judges were super amped when they saw the sweetest wave ride of the day from one Klaas Stijnen. Making the most of the onshore conditions, Klaas stomped two backside aerials one after the other. The second looked like something from Maui, boosting with some serious air in front of the wave to finish of his ride. But nevertheless, this wasn’t enough for the jetlagged Dutchie.

Tom Taylor's impeccable control in the air saw him nail a lightening quick forward 10m from the beach that blew everyone away! Tim Haxell couldn’t quite make the cut with a couple of sweet back loops - out done by the ever performing Clayton Dougan going bigger and better. Pushing Tom and Clayton was Tim Bamford and James Court. Bamford pulled out a large one handed forward to impress with Court throwing his tailor made push loops with style. Bamford, Court , Dougan and Taylor advance to the final.
 
The final proved challenging with the wind backing off for the 15min session. Action was lacking in comparison to the semis. Bamford sailed well but couldn’t match Taylor and Dougan for tricks in the light conditions. Sailing like he had his own secret stash of wind, Clayton took round one with a big forward, back loop and good backside aerial wave riding. With the session doubling as the Wellington Wave Championship Clayton also walked away with this title for 2010. Congratulations Clayton!

Tom Taylor was a clear second over Tim Bamford with James Court struggling to find any moves in the final's light conditions.

Thanks to all those that competed and supported the event. Particular thanks to those that came and took the time to capture some stunning pictures. Round 2 is scheduled for the 9/10 October, so get on the water and let's hope Wellington provides us with some more good conditions!

	ROUND 1	ROUND 2	ROUND 3	SERIES
1st	Clayton Dougan
2nd	Tom Taylor
3rd	Tim Bamford
4th	James Court

5th=   Nick Hunn, Tim Haxell
7th=   Rob Harrison, Klass Stijnen
9th=   Dave Houston, Troy Purcell
11th= Alastair Packor, Dave O'Donovan, Jase Hall, Colin Doig, Anton Ognev, Magnus Ahlman


Check out more awesome pics of the event at sportshotz and Markg and Picassa thrusterproject and Marvel Media

Lake Ferry and the Palliser coast line was untypically bathed in Sunshine and some light breezes for the WWA Wairapapa weekend on 17-18 April. However the event still attracted one of the largest turn-outs in the last few years although it could have been mistaken for a surfing (and SUPing) club road trip! Although the lake didn't see much action, and the windsurfing shortboards stayed in the car, the big boards saw plenty and the Whatarangi wave down the road was working nicely on both Saturday and Sunday.

We had a great social on Saturday night at the Lake Ferry Hotel and it was so good to see a lot of new members. If you haven’t already you can check out the sessions from Chris, Digby, Myself and Anton’s first SUP at Whatarangi, with more great photos and videos from the weekend posted on sessionlogs.com

In the last three years the Harbour Blast always provides excitement for the rescue craft whatever the wind. This year we had a huge amount of sailors entering, only to be doubled by every kitesurfer and their dog. The one thing we didn’t have was wind. However we did manage to run the race and had 19 finishers. The defending champion James was pipped at the post by Clayton this year.

Despite the lack of wind, the event atmosphere was just great. There was a huge turnout to both the race and the after event social and prize giving.

Thank you to all the people helping on the day, the rescue craft and the extra assistance provided by the Police and Coast Guard picking many bobbing sailors out of the harbour. The results were:


2010 Harbour Blast Results:

This year’s Harbour Blast is less than two weeks away on Sunday 21 March.

This year we would like people to pre-register on-line using the following on-line form. This will save you time on the day and allow you to get text updates. After the event at around 2.30pm, we are having an after event social and prize giving at the Jetty Café on Petone Esplanade. Some nibbles and drinks will be provided.

Course details and more info will be posted on the website later this week

Another successful WWA movie night was held on Friday 5th March at the Super Cafe in Island Bay. We screened the new "Four Dimensions" movie, as well as some classic action from "Windsurfing Downunder" Thanks to Lawrence & also to Tim Haxell for putting together some great local footage. Check it out at this Vimeo Group. Thanks also to everyone that attended.

The Freewave final was held on the 13 February. It was a great days sailing with a relieved WWA crew after a couple of false starts last year.

A close final was made difficult by a few flat patches just when the guys were looking and hoping for a decent wave. Tommy definitely stepped up his performance from the semis and timed his run well to peak in the final.

The overall quality of sailing across the event was probably the highest we've seen in these events. There were plenty of excellent moves from a wide range of competitors in what, at times, were very challenging conditions.

	ROUND 1	ROUND 2	SERIES
1st	Clayton Dougan	Tommy Fahey	Clayton Dougan
2nd	James Court	James Court	James Court
3rd	Troy Purcell	Clayton Dougan	Troy Purcell
4th	Rob Harrison	Klass Stijnen	Rob Harrison

The plate final was made up of four sailors randomly selected from those that didn't progress to the semi finals. This was the first time we've tried this and we think it added more interest to the event. Hans took this out with pushloops, table tops, big air and some snappy wave rides. Colin Hodson was second and Dave O’Donovan third.