http://www.pwaworldtour.com/index.php?id=35&tx_ttnews%5Btt_news%5D=2110&tx_ttnews%5BbackPid%5D=29&tx_ttnews%5BsViewPointer%5D=1&cHash=5a18bcc9d0

I've forgotten what strong wind is like! Doldrums here at the moment.

Sean what gear were you on? Bjorn overpowered on his 6.2!

How good is the live PWA feed, with our own Sean O'Brien doing the commentary.
It is really addictive....Good job Sean, although I imagine you would prefer to be racing in a few more heats instead huh?

I'm on 5.6m and 90L iSonic with a 32cm fin which I actually snapped 10 secs in to my last heat yesterday! Wasn't expecting it to be that windy so probably would have been nicer to register the 80L !!!

It doesn't show it on the live-stream but the chop is super, super close together and steep; almost impossible to gybe on the outside marks.

The conditions are definitely tough as you can see:

Well done on the commentary Sean, I reckon you sounded like you had been doin it for years.

One of the guys commentating last night didn't even know the sailors names and kept on referring to "The Turkish Guy"...

SeanAUS120 said...

Got in to my first winner's final today!! wooooO!! Then capped off the event by coming last in my next heat :-) haha.

Awesome effort Sean! 6th place in a winners final. Huge!

Did Isaac's foot not hold up?
Well done to Steve and Jesper too.

evlPanda said...

I appreciate the female form as much as, perhaps more than... hubba hubba hubba, but SOME OF US ARE SUPPOSED TO BE WORKING

Working? What is that!?!

can you imagine the feminist uproar in australia if we were to use pics like that in promotion for our events here...

are the guys allowed to wear weight jackets?

GazMan said...

How windy is it here?



I've been following the PWA tour via Seabreeze links closely for at least a few years but I can't remember a time when the racing was this exciting and interesting, is it just me or has the competition in PWA slalom racing so far this year stepped up a few notches?

Antoine isn't as dominant as he once was having Dunky breathing down his neck along with a few other guys capable of winning makes it more interesting than having one guy winning everything all the time ala Tiger.

GazMan said...

How windy is it here?

Antoine quoted it was almost 40knots in his interview which looks about right in that photo. Still even more amazing was they were using 6.2 to 5.5 sails. That's a lot of power to control.

It's the first video on the home page www.pwaworldtour.com/index.php?id=920
The video of the 10th Elimination winner's final has a big get off from Micah at the start.

PS - Sean does add a better commentary style to previous events.

I know Bjorn has come close in previous years and Antoine has had some luck help him to the title, this year is no different. Antoine had a big catapult like last year.

Antoine looks like he has SOOOOO MUCH CONTROL in his races and is so consistent in his starts. Other guys boards are bucking all over the place, Antoines has stable trim. Even looking at leach twist in the rough water, most sailors leaches are flapping all over the place and working overtime, Antoines is more stable and breathing gently. Might have been the particular final but only he and a few others seemed comfortable when it really hit.

my bad : 42.....

K Dog said...
What photoshop filter did you use on this pic? Texture looks pretty cool.

That's a John Carter pic, not mine. I don't know what he's used but I know he uses Adobe Lightroom only, so maybe its some kind of HDR plugin for Lightroom?

choco said...

are the guys allowed to wear weight jackets?

We are not. Speedsailing in a weight jacket is ok but trying to race in one is another story altogether!

GazMan said...

How windy is it here?

I've been following the PWA tour via Seabreeze links closely for at least a few years but I can't remember a time when the racing was this exciting and interesting, is it just me or has the competition in PWA slalom racing so far this year stepped up a few notches?

The strongest recorded gust I saw on that day was 48 knots. Most of the racing that day it was +40 knots and it doesn't quite look it in the photos but the chop is super close together, steep and nasty and then you have a slow rolling swell of around 1m that goes in the direction you are sailing; perpendicular to the wind chop, so it's pretty hard to sail in a straight line even!

I think the level in slalom has gone up in the last 2 years. Maybe its still the Antoine and Bjorn show overall but if you look through the results of the whole Top 16 the places are changing dramatically every event and there is a ton of guys who can win winner's finals now. None of this 'Antoine winning 7 out of 8 eliminations' like it was 3-4 years ago!

stringer said...

can you imagine the feminist uproar in australia if we were to use pics like that in promotion for our events here...

Some girls have no taste..they look bleeding uncomfortable!

Kimba said...

choco said...

Kimba said...

I know Bjorn has come close in previous years and Antoine has had some luck help him to the title, this year is no different. Antoine had a big catapult like last year.

Antoine looks like he has SOOOOO MUCH CONTROL in his races and is so consistent in his starts. Other guys boards are bucking all over the place, Antoines has stable trim. Even looking at leach twist in the rough water, most sailors leaches are flapping all over the place and working overtime, Antoines is more stable and breathing gently. Might have been the particular final but only he and a few others seemed comfortable when it really hit.

and this coming from a NP rider Antoine would win on any kit! last few years no one could get close to him, the field has caught up!

They sure have caught up - the competition can now reach the same leg of the race to actually see him go over the finish!

would you still be an Antoine groupie if he changed brands? think not