Course Racing World Cup in Puerta Vallarta

[experienced1]

Total scores thru 6 races don't look right...looks like Farley should have 20 not 15. So if you assume that the top racers will do better in the 7th race than their current worst score, going into race 7, the scores will look like (one throwout):

Farley 11
Adam 13
Bruno 12
Damien 20
Heineken 24
Julien 24
Gebhardt 25

steve

[kent]

It was a good day today for team Cabrinha! Damo took bullets in all three races while Bruno got a 2-2-3. I actually did pretty well too, taking a 4-5-7. I even got Farley in two races!

We started the day on 13's with the first race getting pretty breezy in the end. I actually ended up in the water on the first race due to a protest situation. I tacked off quickly and rounded in the top 4. I blasted pretty fast down wind and had a great race.

The next two races we were on 11's. The wind was hammering off the wind and we saw a few spills. Damo hung on for a big win in these conditions. Gebi and I had a pretty close race that saw some explosions off the wind. I made up two positions on the last beat to the finish, taking out Gebi and Chip Wasson.

The last race of the day, was a no look back for Damo. Raced strong and finished fast in a dieing wind. I was looking pretty good, but had to double tack the weather mark causing me to loose places.

In all, i've done better every and am pretty stoked on my recent performance. Damo put himself back in the race and is only 2 points behind Adam and Bruno who are tied for first. We will see what tomorrow brings.

[Josh]

Congrats Damo!! Triple bullets!

Keep us posted Kent. Looking forward to you guys tearing it up today.

[ricki]

Great job guys, keep kicking butt out there Damo. Nice reporting and riding too Kent. Have fun down there, keep it coming.

[kent]

When we awoke, the weather looked different with haze and low cloud cover. This place only works when the desert to the East gets hot. When the clouds reach the land, it keeps the wind machine from working.

Last night, the call was made to postpone the first possible start until 1. Generally the wind starts to fill around noon, but it's been a bit late recently. The wind filled and the AP flag was dropped, 15 minutes to the first start. The winds were light so this would be a great day for the Cabrinha team and one that would likely leave the others begging for better big kites.

Every day it 's been a gamble of sorts trying to determine whether or not to take the big kite in the A.M. before the thermal winds kick in. Bruno grabbed his 16 with long lines while Damo took the 13. I finally decided to use the 16 for the first time, but was worried about getting blown out if the breeze filled. The Ozone guys took 17's, but new they would have problems in the light wind. On a power spectrum, the Cabrinha Crossbow 13 has a bit more power than the Ozone 17, but also seems to handle the wind a bit better if it comes up. Today, when the Cab guys grabbed 16's, this left the Ozone guys out a bit.

The stage was set. Adam and Bruno were tied for 1st, but Adam has one more first, thus owning the tie breaker. After Damo's stellar day the day before with all firsts, he was only 2 points behind the leaders. Due to the fact that we get our second throw out after 10 races, this benefits Damo big time. If we do one more race and even if Bruno wins and Damo takes top 3, Damo would move to first. Damo will toss a 9, Bruno a 5, and Adam a 7. Therefore, Damo makes points on the throw out alone so he is really hoping to complete a race.

We get a start off for a course D which is a windward, leeward, windward, leeward, windward finish. I was pretty lite on the 16 as was Damo on the 13. We got off a clean start and it was clear to see that the Cabs would pull to the front. Around the top it was Damo, Bruno, Koch, and Farley, followed by myself and Julien. On the down wind leg, Damo was way underpowered and was struggling to hold off Bruno, while Koch fell back a bit. Farley was still in the mix. Damo made a tactical error and jibed off, not staying between his competitors and the mark and lost 2 -3 spots by the bottom. I rounded the leeward mark in a close 5th behind Farley.

It got very tricky going up wind. Damo was running 3rd, but the wind was shifting by 20 degrees back and forth. Bruno rounded the top mark with a commanding lead, but Damo had made back ground over the Ozone and North riders. Down wind, Bruno rocked, but Damo held his own. Around the bottom Bruno found a serious lull in the wind and dropped his kite leaving Damo open for the win. By this point, it was Damo 1st, Bruno in the water 2nd, Farley 3rd, Julien 4th, and I had finally overtaken Koch up wind and was running down wind in 5th. Damo had all the stars lining up, but the wind gods frowned and he it a hole causing his kite to hit the water along with Bruno. Next to swim was Farley. Adam and myself made it back to the beach with our hair dry, but the race was abandon.

Team Cabrinha needs another race tomorrow to take the top spot or two. Pretty much it's a winner-take-all for the racing tomorrow. If Damo wins, he'll take first. If Adam wins, it's his. Although Bruno is currently tied for first, he actually needs two races to take the top spot due to Damo's throw out. Farley would be a stretch to win unless we could get in 3 races whereby he takes bullets.

More tomorrow!