A Year (Windsurfing) en Provence: First Kona race of 2020

Wednesday, September 2, 2020

First Kona race of 2020

My 48th session of the season was my first Kona race of the year. Toronto Windsurfing Club has just re-opened Wednesday Night racing. It was a gusty 10-20 knot west wind which always feels like a NW in the outer harbour. I didn‘t have a wetsuit in the city and didn‘t need one, it was a very nice warm night, with beautiful views of the city and crazy clouds.

Only 2 Konas and around 10 raceboards were at the start line, it was a bit too gusty for several windsurfers who had already headed back to shore. There were a nice number of beginners out though, under the watch of TWC super instructors Max and Simon.

I got to the start line and heard the horn, figuring that I had 5 minutes. But it was actually the 1 minute horn, so I was far away from the fleet when the flag dropped. I did one lap of the course and got used to holding onto the big board and sail in the gusty winds.

I had a better start on the 2nd race, and made it to the upwind and downwind marks ahead of Bob, our champion Kona racer. I was starting to do the 2nd lap when the Guillotine checkered flag came up. So Bob and I both started heading down to the finish line. I dropped my sail to avoid a beginner and Bob did too, but eventually he overtook me and won again as is usual.

On the 3rd race, I had good start and managed to stay ahead of the other Kona the whole 2 laps. One of my first ever wins against Bob in 4 years?

I did some more nice reaches between heats and after the racing was done. I was trying to see how fast a Kona can go in 20 knots. 33.6 km/h apparently. The 9 metre sail was starting to feel pretty heavy in my hands, considering on Monday I‘d been using a 4.8 lightweight Idol!