Reporting that there is MoFun in MoWind!

It’s a new year and the sun and windsurfing will be coming back to Florida soon.    The Island Style Windsurfing Classic is  Feb 27-28, 2010 in Sarasota at the Ken Thompson park and is hosted by the Sarasota Sailing Squadron. The 25th Calema Mid-Winters on Meritt Island Florida is March 4-7, 2010.     The following weekend there is usually a regatta in Miami.    Hopefully a few MOWINDer’s will make it down and represent the mid-west again.   February and March is Spring time in Florida with lots of good wind days with new weather fronts moving through every couple days.  

But wait,  there is more,  there are other windsurfing events happening in the sunshine state and as things warm up for the Olympics again we’ll see new RS:X action for sure.  

Jan. 16-18 – RS:X North American Champs & Alex Cavigila Regatta in Miami, FL (T293 and RS:X charters available) www.windsurfingtour.com/?p=975
Jan. 15-18 - U.S. Youth Worlds Qualifier in Clearwater, FL (RS:X) www.clwyc.org/racesched.htm
Jan. 20-23 – U.S. Sailing Team Olympic Training Camp in Miami, FL (RS:X)
Jan. 24-30 – Miami Olympic Classes Regatta in Miami, FL (RS:X) http://rmocr.ussailing.org
March 1-4 – Banana River Traning Camp in Cocoa Beach, FL (T293) – contact karen@nbwindsurfing.com
March 5-7 – T293 North American Champs and Youth Olympics Qualifier at the Calema Midwinters in Merritt Island, FL (T293) www.calema.com 

If you haven’t already check the MOWIND calendar page for the preliminary MOWIND 2010 calendar.  If you are a race organizer be sure to check your event information and contact Arnie ASAP if need be. 

#H

Hello Windsurfers,

The high winds finally returned to Worthington Minnesota on Sept 27 and 28; blowing 25 to 35 knots each day. We had a number of sailors participating.

Andrew Anderson flew in from Oakland California, logged a 32.19 knot Best Ten Second Run, and took the lead for the 2009 Midwest Speed Quest on Sunday. Andrew also claimed the $200 Economic Stimulus CASH, by recording the first 30 knot session of the day.Chris Lock was also on the water, and recorded a new Best 10 Second Run for 2009 of 31.63 knots. Both racers were sailing the KA Koncept Sail, and Vector Fins.

On Monday, Arden Anderson had a blazing session. He turned in a Best 10 Second Run of 33.55 knots, and a Max 2 Second Speed of 35.44 knots. These are the highest speeds ever recorded on Lake Okabena.

David Knight recorded his best run of the year at 32.00 knots. Adam Anderson recorded a 29.63 knot run. Both racers were using the KA Koncept Sail, and Vector Fins.

David Knight won the winner of the 2008 Midwest Speed Quest with a 32.52 knot run; and sails the Carbon Art SL60 Slalom Board.

Sessions were also entered by Delbert Carpenter and Wayne Anderson.

The Midwest Speed Quest closes on October 15th. We look forward to a couple more days of great Speed Sailing.October has brought us winds well over 40 mph. Some of the most intense racing of the year has been in these final days.

We continue to offer a $500 CASH to any racer that records a 35 knot run before October 15th!!! This money is in addition to the $2500 in Cash Prizes awarded each year.

Stay tuned for a Year End Report, and visit our web site for the latest rankings and Wind Forecasts:

[url]http://www.midwestspeedquest.com[/url]

Thank you MOWIND for your continuing support of this Event!

Sincerely,

Craig Bergh 

The Midwest Speed Quest

133 Lake Avenue

Worthington, MN 56187

Cell -507-360-4801

Big winds arrived for the 2009 Mille Lacs Crossing, exceeding 30-mph for a good portion of the race. Jeff Hotvet ran away with the win in around 1:03, Steve Johnson finished second in ~1:08, and Randy Johnson finished 3rd in ~1:10. The course consisted of two laps running out to a buoy near the middle of the lake and back, covering about 20 miles total.

More info later.

Winds were inconsistent earlier in the day, so that info, along with a forecast for strong and steady winds tomorrow, helped Fleet 8 decide to hold off on running the Mille Lacs Crossing until tomorrow. But, I’m at the Garrison Inn by Lake Mille Lacs right now (Saturday afternoon), and people are planing on large slalom and formula gear. This is a sign of good things to come. The forecast is for 20-30mph winds, so come over and race in one of the longest running events in the country.

If you are more interested in speed sailing, try out the Midwest Speed Quest in southwest Minnesota (Worthington). They also have a great event and a forecast for big winds. Let’s hope we get more of this all fall.

- Arden Anderson

The 2009 Windpower Championships and Super Crossing successfully kicked off the 2010 MOWIND Race Series last weekend. Details of the Super Crossing can be found here, and event scores are linked below:

A Fleet Results

Sport & Workshop Fleet Results

Super Crossing Results

A quick look at the A Fleet results show how competitive an event it was. Top competitors mixed it up in light shifty winds throughout the weekend, and every extra pump and correctly read puff determined the outcome. Ten races were run, with five different racers taking at least one bullet (interestingly, all winners were either an Anderson or a Gratton…there might be something in the water). Tim Cleary, Don Altmyer, Alex Monroe, and Peter Hartwhich all also posted finishes better than 4th. That’s nine racers competing for the top four spots! It’s nice to see that kind of parity and it shows how competitive the fleet is getting.

Adam Anderson used his nose for the wind and top class upwind speed in the puffs to win the regatta, leading the way with 4 bullets and a total of 152 points. Arden and Andrew Anderson tied only two points back with 150 points, and each of them winning two individual races. The tiebreaker went six levels deep as they each had the same number of 1st’s, 2nd’s, 3rd’s, 4th’s and even 5th place finishes. That covered nine races. Their lowest score finally broke the tie, with Arden’s worst finish a sixth place while Andrew had a seventh place. So even their throwout races mattered in the end results.

Tim Clearly led the pack in the 8.5 Limited class, and finishing a close 4th overall. His ability to read the wind showed several times as positions shifted back and forth throughout each race. Alex Monroe also made a strong showing in the Limited class. His time on the water is paying off and we expect his improvements to continue.

The Sport Fleet results show similar competitiveness with Gary Lovrine winning a tight battle with Steve Willits in the Men’s Division. Kelly Johnson (1st Women’s Division) and Larry Reed (1st Senior’s Division) were also in the mix. We are especially proud of first-time racer, Devon Anderson (Andrew’s wife), who toughed it out for all 10 challenging races to place 2nd in the Women’s Division. She and Andrew win the long-distance award this year, coming all the way from Oakland, CA.

Continuing the theme of close competition, 4 points separated 1st through 3rd place in the Workshop Fleet. Youngin’s Niels Zaunmueller (1st), Austin Hamburger (2nd), and Kylan Johnson (3rd) all looked impressive throughout the weekend and we look forward to seeing more from them.

What a start to the 2010 MOWIND Race Series! Thanks to the birthday boy (Kevin Gratton) and the whole gang associated with Windpower Windsurfing for putting on another great event. The racing was great, the MOWIND Series awards banquet Saturday night was great (a big shoutout to Don Altmeyer for helping with the trophies both financially and with his time), and the bonfire and camping were great.

For even more info on the event, check out the Race Director’s report, complete with some great videos at the bottom of the page, but don’t believe anything they say about the fleet pushing over the line early ; )

- Arden Anderson reporting