There will be an excellent long distance down wind / reach event coming up at the end of Feb. The event will start in Cocoa Beach and end in Vero (about 60 miles). There will be a half way stopping point for those that don't want to grind the whole thing out at Sebastian.

I did the event last year and the conditions were extreme at points, mainly around the inlets! We saw conditions to nearly double overhead in points with winds ranging between 18-25 mph.

This event is normally a kite event and will see around 60 competitors this year. If there is any interest from the windsurfing community to give it a go i can discuss with the organizer to put in a windsurfing division. I'd suggest that for most 30 miles would suffice, but I'm sure that someone with a good slalom board could rip the 60 miles and maybe win overall.

I was just at the La Ventana Classic last week which features a main event that is a 12 mile crossing with kites and windsurfers. Windsurfers had won the 3 previous years, but this year the top windsurfer finished 12th-13th. In my brief testing i think that the speeds are pretty close and that the top windsurfers in La Ventana probably didn't either have the right gear (boards) or that they rode a bit high at the start and got hurt in the broad section of the course.

At any rate, for racing we should start to combine these fleets as the infrastructure is the same so adding another class is pretty easy. Let me know.

Kent

60 miles is a really long way, at least on a formula board. I've done a couple of LD cruises like 4 hrs before I return to my launching spot. Would yours be a one way or round trip? Would it be mostly reaching or up and down wind? Somehow I don't think a single reach on any windsurfer is possible due to fatigue and not switching sides of your body to rest the opposing muscles. My feeling, though I might be totally wrong is that sailing a kite loads all parts of your body much more evenly so a one way LD seems possible. I'd like to hear your thoughts on this.

Dave

Howdy Dave,

Thanks for the response. The even is usually a broad reach. I personally think that a windsurfer is about the same with respect to fatigue. I know that the speeds are similar, but I'm guessing that the windsurfers may have a hard time working around the large waves where the kites will simply "hop" over them.

60 miles will generally run about 2hrs. 10mins. I'd guess that we will run in 20+ and that most kites will run 12 meters in this. The tool for a windsurfer will no doubt be a medium slalom board and something in the mid 7 meter range.

The long water line of a slalom board is far better than the short line of kite boards.

In short, yep, it's tough on the body. Many people will finish at the mid point of 30 miles. At the mid point is actually where the awards will be. I talked to the organizer and he is totally open to having windsurfers as well. The fee is $40 bucks and an event like this would be good to expose windsurfers to miles of coastline. I hope someone does it!

PS. Keep in mind that it's broad and therefore you aren't hammering on your back leg the entire way. This is workable for a windsurfer and it one could win it would be pretty cool and would set the stage for competitive show-downs in the future.

but... if you are a flat water formula bay guy, this event is not for you. riders must have experience in wave conditions to double over head and large shore break. it is serious stuff, but there are several windsurfers that could rock it.

ps. this is a shot just after the start of a practice run that I did a few weeks before the official event. winds were gusting to over 30 and sea conditions in the inlets ran as high as 12-15 ft. this foto is just after the start in average sea conditions. keep in mind that you are riding in the troughs most of the time.


the second photo is an aerial view of the start. seas were far smaller than my first run, but the wind was good.


aerial pic of two racers...


so... it would work on a windsurfer, we just need a fast sl guy with wave experience (and strong legs).

ps. i called Ron out on Formula on the weekend and he kicked my butt. good job Ron, i'll get you next time.

Hey Kent,
From the first photo, I'd say I'd attempt to go out in those waves but only on real wave gear, like 85l JP FSW and a 5.9 or 5.0 depending on the wind

Ron is probably one of the best non pros at sailing the ocean on formula gear that I know. That's interesting that he "kicked your but" and this gives me hope. I used to rock formula out in the Chesapeake Bay even when it was pretty big but I never took that stuff in the ocean. I stopped taking race sails in the ocean back in the early 90's when first came out with tube/rod battens. I'm showing my age, but hey I'm still riding NP!

I'm sure pretty sure that the boards will not run down wind in the surf zone like you guys seem to be doing in each of the photos, so it wont be quite as spectacular to folks on the beach.

My body will not be ready to do your event, it may not even be ready for mid-winters, but I'll be there anyway so maybe I'll see you there and we can talk about how it went. I hope you find a couple of good windsurfers who will do the event with you guys

Dave

The organizer just posted that a "windsurfing" club asked if they could ride. This is good news! I think that it's good to open the formats a bit to draw some different riders into the arena.

I will say that sometimes the races turns to a reach and in this case the windsurfers will kill it. I agree with the shore break thing. The issue on a windsurfer is that you can't hop the waves when sailing broad. I'd bet that just offshore is still pretty good for the longer boards though. The event is just around the corner. Who's in? I know tons of people check this site, i can't imagine that no one would respond to this.

I'm wondering if there is another site up the coast with more ocean / wave types of riders. I have to bet that Ft. Pierce or Stuart has a few guys that would do it. Maybe we can get Fast Ed Owen out for the DW! I'll give him a buzz.