Ahh. Kato, I see the problem....
You're in a foreign land up there mate. You need a translator.
Those things the Banana benders call Buoyancy vests, down here we call them Wet Suits! They Keep you afloat if/when you crash after being spanked by a 50 knots squall. Sorry, I don't know the Qld translation for 50kt's. I don't think they know about that that up there either? . Maybe they call it 'Cyclone'? I know they don't know what wet suits are......
We also have a thing called a 'weight vest' You know, that thing we stack lead weight in when it blows 50 knots. If you take the lead out of it, it probably could work as one of those strange buoyancy vest thingies you need to water start those huge sails they use up there because they don't have wet suits.
day 2 photos. - by day 2 winds remained lightish. vando had stamped his authority on the comp with Kelly not too far behind. in the legends division tabor and Geoff were both swapping positions with tabor showing his prowess in the distance category. both Geoff and Tibor are also figuring in the open divisions.
day 3 saw an easing forecast. we decided to make the most of it so headed up to the top of the course and waited long enough to make the call to postpone. those that got out on big gear had a fun session getting mobile for about an hour in the light wind. we loaded up the bbq on the barge and had a beer and spent the afternoon out on the bank.
day 4 started with a light forecast so we put speed sailing on hold and got the scheduled course racing under way. because of the light wind on day 4 we decided to spend all day course racing and set the morning course straight off the beach in clear view of spectators. after lunch the course was moved out to the end leads and set the course in 8-12 knot winds. it was perfect for course racing on the upwind downwind course.
Dennis W and Peter N fought it out with dennis stamping his authority on first place and peter pushing him hard with a handful of second places. the one design state titles was looking good. the afternoon racing was split with a bbq and beer on the barge before heading out for the final race.
John Scott was leading the open raceboard class comfortably and loving mixing it off the start line with the one designs.
Tibor joined the longboard fleet on his slalom gear and showed that skill will match it with the raceboards around the course when the wind is pushing minimum planing speed.
day 5 forecast was looking better. the SE change we had hoped for was on the way. we kicked the day off with the continuation of the one design state titles and course racing setting the course in front of the main beach in a light 5 knot offshore breeze.
lunch time was spent teaching kids and supping.
after lunch speed briefing was held. by 1.30pm I took the hard decision to postpone the speed sailing once again and encouraged a free sailing day. by mid afternoon finally, the wind had kicked in. it was late but we got wind. The majority headed out on the northern run to get some action. the smiles on everyones faces when they came back in as the sun was setting was well worth the wait.
day 6!! love day 6......
3 races held in the Windsurfer OD state titles today bringing the total number of races to 9. the venue here works very well for spectators with racing held straight off the beach and the upwind leg parallel to the shore. competition has been tight on the race course and the guys have had a blast. I went out on the start boat today to grab some shots of the starts.
after lunch we opened the speed course on the northern run and spent the next few hours blasting in dead flat water. I managed to shoot 2 memory cards of images from on the bank and on the water. everyone made the most of the wind. while not pumping it was a blast for the whole group and seemed to put the icing on the cake so far. I kept the course open late to make the most of it and around 5.30 pulled the flags and sent everyone in. we managed to get back just as the sun was setting. a slew of PB's were had today. for some of the guys it was the first time sailing along 2+km of dead flat water.
tonight the windwanderers are putting on a trivia night while some of us are just hanging out talking stuff and having a beer.
i'll post lots of images tomorrow morning. then we are off for the final day of the event prior to the end of event party and presentation.
great day today!!
day 7
we got in a sneaky session today to end the event. wind was almost as good as yesterday but the angle was better. lots of fun today as everyone had let their hair down. I sat out in the middle of the northern run and filled another memory card of happy windfest snaps.
just about to fire up the beer and steaks at speed hq (burrum sands).
Thanks everyone , I had a great time despite the Queensland speedsailing ,made up for it with beer.its a great spot for a holiday . Thanks
I had a great time and good sailing with easy PBs to do in such lovely place. Strongly recommend Burrum Feast for next year to everybody. Also excellent site for whole family holiday.
Then couldn't underestimate social aspect when I could meet all this famous windsurfers and sail along.
Thank you everyone.
Event was good the effort by the club & helpers made the week the wind was light so it was tough sailing not really a speed event but we can blame the wind. Was plenty of time spent drinking & eating time for the family supping etc
Prize night was good for those who stayed on as many left before it stared that was ok as the ones that stayed had there fill.
This big fella is worn out as it was hard in the light wind mainly yesterday I was glad it was called off at 4 although I will probably sail today if the wind comes up latter.
day 8.... the day after the final day party..... ouch my head hurts....
thanks to EVERYONE for coming along and making it an excellent event. biggest windfest to date with 50+ people registering. We expanded the event this year to include raceboards, one designs, freerace and the rashies category and we're really happy with the way that panned out. can't wait to do it all again next year.
yes it was a light wind event this year. still we had comp on every day of the event and most sailed their slalom kit 5 out of 7 days this year. some people sailed 7 days straight. by the time we dropped the flags on the last day a few people were really keen for the break. it says so much about Burrum Heads as a venue that we can go there and get time on the water each year.
one thing about "speed" sailing in lighter air is it levels the playing field so the competition can be very tight. In the 1hr category there was less than .5knot between the top 4 guys.
i'll get the top 3 places in each category as per the presentation party online tonight along with some of the photos from day 7. Over the next day or so i'll get a full result table online and pen some words thanking the sponsors and those that helped out. most of the committee are only getting back home late this afternoon from the event.
the party last night was excellent. best to date because the food was awesome!!!
I would like to thank everybody involved in running and competing in the Burrum wind fest, i had a ball and will be back next year.
Thanks again Justin and the rest of the commity for a most excellent event... First day back at work was difficult when ur used to being a beach bum for so long :)
cheers guys,
hey I also wanted to point out because it became a bit of a tease thing with the Victorian guys.
yes, the rumours are correct, it is true that one of the sandy point guys did a PB at burrum heads
Got home today after another great event.
wind was pretty marginal but i still managed to sail 5 out of 7 days so not too bad if you have the right gear.
It was great to see old faces again and some new ones.
great to see some vics turning up for some QLD speed surfing.
Thanks again to all the organizers see ya all next year