Foils win the Lighthouse to Leighton in Crazy Light Wind!
One under him, and one below him, Peter chose two foils to get him through the light winds, reaching the finish line, weaving through downed kites and lost boards in 34 minutes 39 seconds. While Australia's fastest racers came out blazing, they finished up floating in a struggle to relaunch their kites. Last years winner, Olly Bridge couldn't hold his kite in the air, despite being event favourite and record holder, ending the trip to Australia with a DNF (did not finish). At least he kept the race record, a time of 22:07.
Racers started in classic Perth conditions, with winds in the 20 knot region, and blue skies showing no sign of any change. It wasn't until the leaders, way out in front of the main pack, ran straight into a huge wind hole right on the beach. Only meters from the finish line, racers struggled to relaunch their kites, meanwhile, the pack behind was rapidly approaching. As time went on, the hole in the wind filled in, allowing those behind to catch up and cross the line with relative ease. The damage was done however, with 50 of the 115 racers not finishing, or crossing the line without their boards.
Back to those race winning foils however, Peter McKewen rode an Ozone Chrono 11m across the line, with a Spotz 2 hydrofoil and board combo. In previous years the hydrofoils just couldn't keep up with the race boards in the choppy, windy conditions. Weed was also another problem, tripping up the foilers and slowing them down. This year, with the smoother water and better hydrofoils, it was predicted that someone riding a hydrofoil would win. It was close though, third place winner Martin Dolenc from Croatia was riding a formula race board.
In the Womens fleet, Steph Bridge from the UK won for a second year running, choosing a formula race board and finishing 6th overall. She was stoked with the win, saying after she finished: "Anyone can win in an endurance race - it was intense, hard and tactical - the type of race I love. It was a bit of a lottery in the middle with dips in the wind so I'm really happy to win it again this year. It's one of my favourite events to compete in each year."
Next years event has already been scheduled for the 3rd of December 2016, so if you're interested in challenging McKewen, or Bridge for their titles, start training now!
Check out the full list of results, photos and first person reports from the Red Bull Lighthouse to Leighton, right here in the Seabreeze.com.au kiteboarding forums.
North Fremantle, WA
