With 2019 drawing to a close its time to look back at some of the highlights. An awesome winter was topped off with Storm Gareth in march with the above shot of Lee at Porthleven, taken by Mike Newman featuring as a half page in THE TIMES newspaper. The first comp of the year was The Edge Cup , British Kitefoil Championships in Exmouth. Lee won the Masters division and the Silver Fleet (Inflatable Kites) for full report click here https://www.edgewatersports.com/10th-annual-edge-race-cup-2019/ A great summer ensued where we decided to focus more on coaching rather than beginner lessons. This worked really well with a lot of people coming for Foil coaching on lighter days, improving jumps and tricks when it was windy and getting in the waves on surfboards when it was wavey. We also ran numerous Windsurf Intro to Wave Sailing private coaching sessions. For 2020 we are going to continue to focus on Coaching as feel this is an area where many Kitesurfers and Windsurfers can greatly benefit from our knowledge and expertise to not only gain better skills but safety knowledge as well which could lead to saving lives. We will be updating the website over the coming months. The next comp was the British Kitesports Wavemasters which was held in Brandon Bay, Ireland at the start of October. Lee came away with the win in the Pro Mens fleet for the 7th year in a row. For the full report click here https://www.britishkitesports.org/news/bksa-wavemasters-2019-brandon-bay-what-a-week/ After Ireland we went straight to Scotland for the British Windsurf Championships Round 1 - The Tiree Wave Classic. After a great week Lee cam away with 2nd in the Masters Fleet. It was then home to Cornwall and Round 2 - The Cornwall Wave Classic. Crazy stormy weather with 70mph winds in the morning slowly died off towards the final of the Masters fleet, however Lee managed to sail to 3rd place, winning the 2019 British Wavesailing Masters Title to complete the hat trick of British Champion in 3 different windsport disciplines - Kitefoil, Kitewave, Windsurf! For report from the British Wavesailing Accociation click here - https://britishwavesailingassociation.com/ -
Thanks to my sponsors for the continued support and making the best gear that allows me to do what I do- https://www.duotonesports.com/ https://www.ion-products.com/ https://www.fanatic.com/windsurf and the goodies from my supporters that make my life more comfortable on and off the water- https://www.lip-sunglasses.com/ https://dryrobe.com/ https://soliteboots.eu/ https://www.fuwax.co.uk/ We wish you all a windy, wavey and safe 2020 :) Results 2019- Lee 'Pasty' Harvey British Kitesurf Pro Mens Champion British Kitefoil Masters Champion British Windsurfing Masters Champion
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Riders Battle It Out In The 10th EDGE Race Cup The weekend of the 25th-26st of May saw the 10th annual Edge Race Cup, sponsored by Grenadier Estates take place in Exmouth, Devon. Over 30 riders registered for the event with one international riders arriving from USA. The striking fact is that the standard of riding on their hydrofoils has risen appreciably across the board in both fleets, both in terms of speeds achieved and success rate of tacks and gybes, notoriously hard manoeuvres to master. This year in the Gold fleet there were 5 women ‘Kite for Gold’ riders who hadn’t foiled at all last September and the top riders in that fleet weren’t lapping the slower ones as had been the case last year. Whilst the racing took place some way off shore, the colourful flags and tents at the beach race site were situated where the new Watersports Centre will be constructed within the next 12 months. It is an enviable location, with both extensive sandy beach and waters upon which to kitesurf. Visiting competitors were very complimentary about Exmouth as a venue and the initiative to make it a Centre of Excellence is fully justified. Representatives from different Kite manufacturers attended with demonstrations of gear and coaching available. Many members of public enquired about the event and were keen to find out more about the sport. Competitors were very appreciative of the benefit of free parking generously provided by East Devon District Council who are in the midst of rerouting the road in preparation of full site development. Saturday saw Champagne sailing conditions, sunny waters and winds of 8-12 knots, perfect for the hydrofoilers with 5 races for each fleet being successfully completed. These craft are so incredibly efficient, that the leading riders are able to sustain speeds in excess of 30 knots in such wind strength. The wind dropped on two occasions, necessitating some rescues by the attentive support boat crews. On Sunday, the forecast rain and drizzle held off, but so sadly did the stronger stable wind that was anticipated. The race team did well to set a course and worked hard to get the racing completed. Initially due to a drop in wind causing an abandoned start, the decision was made to initially race only with Gold Fleet because their ‘foil’ kites require less wind to be effective than the inflatable ‘tube’ kites being used by those in Silver fleet. This is the only distinction between the two fleets, although since the faster riders generally were in the Gold Fleet, they sailed an extra lap per race compared to their counterparts in Silver. After 2 Gold fleet Races, the Silver Fleet joined them to complete three races. With the wind finally stable and strong, the grins of racers were biggest when they returned from the final race. Racing was tight in Gold fleet with Connor Bainbridge and Guy Bridge having a battle royal and trading first and second places. They consistently opened a substantial gap from the others lead by Ellie Aldridge, Josh Carey, Lance Olner, Jemima Crathorne and Maddy Anderson with close racing within the whole fleet. A notable mention goes to Dane Wilson who scored five 3rd places on Saturday before having to return to his 49er Olympic campaign for his native USA. There were battles throughout Silver Fleet, notably for top spot with 15 year old Angus Fellows vying neck and neck with Lee ‘Pasty’ Harvey a Master with a long heritage of Kite Racing. Fellow Junior Mattia Maini had a strong Sunday to finish Third, behind Angus in Second and Pasty winning the chocolates. Chunk of Devon provided racers on both days with a choice of their delicious steak and vegetarian pasties between races. Following the racing on Saturday, racers were able to enjoy free beer at the Exmouth Festival generously donated by Crossed Anchors Brewing and discounted food from The Little Tavern whilst seeing the live Music on stage. . Edge Water Sports would like to thank all their sponsors who contributed to this year’s Edge Race Cup Grenadier Estates Chunk of Devon Crossed Anchors Brewing Salcombe Gin F-One kiteboarding UK Olly bars British kitesports Duotone kiteboarding UK FATFACE The Beach House Flysurfer Ozone kites Mystic Red Bull ION Da Kine , Maxtrack and Levitaz Final Results Gold Fleet: 1st – Guy Bridge 2nd – Connor Bainbridge 3rd – Ellie Aldridge Silver Fleet 1st – Lee ‘Pasty’ Harvey 2nd – Angus Fellows 3rd – Mattia Maini Women 1st – Ellie Aldridge 2nd – Maddy Anderson 3rd – Jemima Crathorne Masters 1st - Lee ‘Pasty’ Harvey 2nd – Ian Savage 3rd – Nick Ajderian Youth (U19) 1st - Angus Fellows 2nd -Mattia Maini 3rd – Francesca Maini Junior (U17) 1st - Angus Fellows 2nd -Mattia Maini 3rd – Sandy Bailey To find out more about EDGE Water Sports please visit: http://www.edgewatersports.com/ Wow what a winter we had for kitesurfing in Cornwall. Before Christmas we had an amazing run of conditions and Lee managed to get pictures published in the big three kitesurf magazines in February- After a great 6 week trip to Cape Town, we then returned to a run of storm after storm with Lee getting a great picture in The TIMES kitesurfing during Storm Gareth- See all the shots below The TIMES - 14th MarchIKSurfmag - FebKiteworld Magazine - FebThe Kitemag - Feb |
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