Events AOT KONA WINDSURFING WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS 2006 28th Nov - 3rd Dec 2006 North Point, Wong-Amat Beach , Pattaya Day 4, December 3rd. - Navin Singsart and Ricardo Giordano are the 2006 Kona Champs. The predicted North Easterly Monsoon winds kicked in at 7 in the morning, and everything looked promising - until it all died down when a local low pressure built up and disturbed the patterns. Consequently the results from day 3 are final. It was unfortunate, as we hoped for some exciting high wind races on the final day. Although the Kona rules allow for racing in all conditions, it was too shifty for the race committee to set a proper course, with 2 to 3 knots of wind constantly changing direction by 30 to 50 degrees. Rudolf Steiner, Race Manager; “It was light throughout the event, but if this would have been a championship in any other class we would not have been able to run the minimum of three races necessary to complete a championship. Instead we managed to do six, and they were all fair and compelling.” Still, there were no waiting time,- but Freestyle time. The Kona is ideal for classical Freestyle, and we were entertained by some impressive moves and transitions that brought back a lot of memories to the many veterans taking part in these championships. The event was historical in many ways, as we had competitors from 12 to 62 years of age – from 41 to 105 kilo – from professional PWA racers to fresh youngsters, all in one class. We had the first ever windsurfing World Champion from 1973, several veterans from the original Windsurfer class, the current Raceboard World Champion, an ex PWA wave champion, and three former Olympians competing along side upcoming young talents. It was the first International Kona one design event, and it was hosted in honor of the Thai king,- the worlds longest reigning monarch. Navin Singsart, over-all winner; "This was a great event for me. I did not start off that good, but as soon as tuned in, I improved a lot - and managed to finish off with a 2nd. and 1st. All the races were close and very exciting. This class is great – as it is easy and fair for all – but still challenging. Without pumping, everybody has a chance to win, and for the first time I was really enjoying light wind sailing." Our sincere thanks goes to the sponsors, Eastern Windsurfing Club and Thai Windsurfing Association for a perfectly organized event, as well as to all the competitors taking part in this memorable championship. See you next year. Exocet staff. Results: Over All Light weight Heavy weight Day 3. December 2nd. It was another day with light westerly winds, but the Kona class rules allow racing in all conditions and both races today in 3 to 4 knots, proved that it is both possible as well as interesting. In combination with the "no pumping" rule - lightwind sailing becomes extremely tactical. In the first race Ricardo Giordano did no mistakes and collected his 2nd. bullet, followed by Navin Singsart. The duo did it again in the second race, but this time with Navin crossing the line first. This moved him up in the lead over-all, closely followed by the consistant Prapart Sang-ngern and Ricardo Giordano. Ricardo has a pending protest against him, and with a dsq from the 4th. race, he may risk loosing his lead in the heavy weight division. The top five positions are still unchanged after 6 races, but tomorrow may change things, as 15 to 20 knots north easterly winds are predicted from early morning. Stay tuned. Results: Over All Light weight Heavy weight Day 2. December 1st. The westerly winds kicked in at 13.30, allowing for two races today. Again it was light, but gusting to 10 knots in the last race. Piyawat Panbuddee, another young Thai sailor had a perfect day with two very impressive wins. Especially considering the tricky conditions with 10 to 15 degrees shift and a 3 knots current. Piyawat broke loose early in both starts and secured his leads with excellet tactical sailing. Despite light wind adevantage and local knowledge, the level of the Thai youth sailors is impressively high, and came as a surprise to most foreign competitors. Songkram Singsart is still leading over-all, followed by Praporn Sung-Ngerm and Ricardo Giordano from Italy. After four races and one discard, it is double Italy in the heavy weight division, - with Giovanni Di Stefano in 2nd. and Patrik Pollak from Slovakia moving down to 3rd. Bjorn Holm from Sweden moved up to 5th. after discarding an OSC from yesterday. We hope for good winds and three races tomorrow. Results: Over All Light weight Heavy weight Day 1. November 30th. The first day of the Kona Worlds saw some very competitive racing in light shifty winds from 4 to 6 knots. Despite these sub planning conditions, - all the competitors were respecting the “no pumping” rule, which is unique for the class. Tor Bakke – Class representative; “Racing becomes much more tactical and fair. Instead of pumping your brains out – you actually start thinking strategy and tactics. It was amazing to watch this big fleet battling it out without a sound. Instead of the familiar noise of flapping Mylar cloth, it was total silence – and a beautiful sight of intense, tight racing. We thought we took a big risk implementing this rule, but the competitors behaved well, and it seems they all appreciated it – as it opens up for clean tactical sailing, rather than “air rowing” that has been a pest to this sport much too long.” Two races were sailed today, and the light weights naturally enjoyed the conditions. The local competitors put on an impressive display, and proved they are definitely at a high international level, although not competing much outside of Thailand. Young Songkram Singsart and the veteran Teera Sudpumkaew are 1st. and 2nd. over all followed by one of the favorites – Ricardo Giordano from Italy. (Heavy weight) Songkram is considered a big talent among those who know him, and he certainly demonstrated his skills with two 2nds. on the opening day. Although the light weights dominated in today’s conditions, Patrik Pollak, Slovakia and Kriangkrai Sakulfak, Thailand are place 6th. and 9th. respectively and consequently 2nd. and 3rd. in their weight group, - behind Ricardo Giordano. Slightly more wind is expected tomorrow, and we look forward to another day of close racing. Results: Over All Light weight Heavy weight Pattaya, Thailand - November 29th. Registration day. The Kona Worlds is on. The registration day is soon over, and we have 57 competitors from 11 nations and 3 continents signed up for the very first Kona Worlds. Some of the favorites are Ben van der Steen from Holland, the Raceboard World Champion Patrik Pollak from Slovakia, the vice World champion – Ricardo Giordano from Italy, ex Olympian Bjorn Holm from Sweden, this years French Kona champion Vincent Gourtay from France and the first ever windsurfing champion Bruce Matlack from USA. We are looking forward to a very interesting race - and for the first time in almost 20 years – it will be racing without wind limit, and pumping is restricted to 30 seconds after the start only. Definitely a challenge for the organizers, but perhaps a big step forward – or should we say back to fair sailing. The atmosphere is great, and light to moderate winds are predicted for tomorrow. Stay tuned. Copyright © 2006 STARTLINE.ORG. All Rights Reserved.