Last weekend saw the Edge cup hosted by 4 times World Champ- Steph Bridge. After mostly finishing 3rd, I ended up 4th being beaten by Callum by 0.3 points after he bagged an equal 2nd and got took out in the last race which gave him average points meaning he beat be even though i beat him in 7 out of 11 races. Jammy git! the report from Edge is below- On the friday, Steph and me ran a Race Coaching clinic which was attended by the RYA and 9 of their development squad along with 3 other kitesurfers who are keen to get into kite racing. With around 25knts of breeze we covered the basics of getting into kite racing, including gust management, rules, footwork, upwind/downwind sailing and mark rounding. All learnt lots and I think the RYA were suitably impressed. Lots more to come so stayed tuned for Race Coaching dates at www.pastyadventures.co.uk and www.edgewatersports.com Cheers Lee Edge Race Cup - Report June 23rd and 24th saw the 3rd running of the Edge Race Cup, now established as the premier kitesurf racing event in the UK. The record entry of over 40 kiteracers came expecting great kitesurfing conditions and were not disappointed! Amongst the entries were organiser Steph Bridge 4 times Kiterace World Champion and previous UK National Champions Denzil Williams from Cornwall and Callum Edge from Weymouth. The weekend also saw many 1st time racers get down to Exmouth seafront and join the action. The action began on the Friday with a race clinic run by Lee Harvey and Steph Bridge- 12 kiters joined and learnt up and down wind techniques, directional board footwork, stance, kite position and race strategy. The day also saw the Royal Yachting Association in attendance to learn more about kitesurfing prior to its inclusion at the Olympics in Rio for 2016. Saturday dawned with a good force 5 south westerly wind blowing and an out going tide resulting in challenging sea conditions ensuring the race board fleet were sent out on the water first. 3 races were run in quick succession with fantastic fast racing with the Exmouth Duo of Steph Bridge and her eldest son Oliver Bridge setting the tone for the weekend and dominating the fleet. Oliver Showed amazing speed and control in the rough conditions and came away with 3 first places in the morning session. Then it was time for the amateurs and ladies fleets to get into the action. Stand out performances were seen from Murray Smith from Dartmouth and Mathew Causen from Bristol as well as local teenager Alice shoulder in the ladies fleet. After a brief lunch break the course was moved further out to sea and both pros and amateurs were sent out at the same time. The sea conditions were now a little kinder and it was time to set both fleets off at the same time. It was impressive to see forty racers all starting at the same time and some great racing continued. In the ladies local rider Bel Bailey really came to the party winning a number of races and beating all the amateur men in 2 races but with Alice shoulder right on her tail the overall result was looking very tight. In the men's amateur fleet local doctor Tom Debenham was on fire getting some great results followed closely by another local James Bainbridge. In the pros there was no stopping Olly Bridge with 2 more race wins abruptly ended with a disqualification in the last race for starting too soon. Other pros with good results that afternoon were Callum Edge, Lee Pasty, Denzil Williams and Steve Stubbs, All they had to do was work out how to beat Olly! The Saturday night party was hosted by the River Exe Cafe and despite the rain everyone had a great time with excellent food and wine provided by our sponsor pebblebed wines. The Sunday dawned with light winds and the pro's were sent out to do battle, in these very difficult conditions only 1 race was run won by Steph Bridge proving that experience counts when the going gets tricky. The afternoon gave much better wind and slacker tides so everyone was back on it for the final deciding races. In the ladies fleet it was a battle down to the wire between Alice Shoulder and Bel Bailey, both were super powered and gunning for the win just coming out on top by 2 points was Alice in her first ever race event! In the amateur fleet it was down to a 3 horse race with Murray Smith just edging out Debenham with Bainbridge third. The Race board class continued to be dominated by fourteen year old Olly Bridge winning nine races out of eleven, an amazing performance, second was Steph and third Callum Edge. It was a great weekend of racing and enjoyed by all participants, roll on 2013.
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Callum receiving his prize pasty! Pasty Adventures Racing Saturday 14th August saw the first Pasty Adventures race day at Newlyn, Penzance. With 7 of the country’s top racers coming to kitesurf in Cornwall and a Northerly force 6 blowing, the action was intense. With Lee’s dad acting as race officer along with several helpers on board their fishing boat, a lengthy upwind downwind course was set with the start/finish line half way up the beat acting as a gate. Using 10 & 11 meter kites and the new breed of wide boards from North, speeds were well above 30knts for the guys at the front with some spectacular wipeouts coming from the guys towards the back as they were trying to stay in touch with the top 3. Taking the prize Pasty and continuing his winning ways from the BKSA Barrow event was Callum Edge with 3 firsts and 2 seconds, proving that time on the water and practising with the new wider boards is key to winning races. Denzil Williams was not far behind with a couple of firsts and organiser Lee Harvey snapping at their heels in 3rd but slightly lacking pointing ability upwind. A great success and a valuable training session for the UK’s top racers, Pasty Adventures will be running many more in the run up to the 2011 Course Race Worlds in Tarifa. Big thanks to Mike Harvey for providing the committee boat and setting the course, Adam Harvey for time keeping, Dave Scooby for flags and Joe Cockle for camera and video. Thanks to support and prizes from North Kiteboarding, Westcountry Watersports, Gul, Freeriders surf shop and 9 Bar. Stay tuned to www.pastyadventures.co.uk for all your kitesurf needs, lessons, kite courses and training in Cornwall. The next race day and much more coming up in the autumn, including wave clinics, guiding, surf coaching and adventures. The last round of the BKSA Course race championship was held over weekend 7/8th august way up in Barrow Cumbria.
Having never lost an event in Cumbria back in my sailing days I was pretty hopefull my winning ways on the lakes would transform to the sea. Armed with a new board and the 2011 North Rebels we arrived at midnight after an 11 hour drive in crazy traffic. The 1st 3 races were held in increasing winds on the 14m. The new board flew upwind but I was still having problems on the downwind which I experienced in testing and as the wind and chop piceked up it just got worse. For the next races I switched back to the North board and instantly nailed a 1st now full power on the 11m. In between races while testing offwind speed with callum i totally destroyed a fin box at over 30knts and ad to switch back to the 2010 North board for the remaining 4 races. With all finishes inside the top 3 I ended 3rd with Callum nailing 6 1sts and Denzil 2nd with 1 1st and all the rest inside the top 3 as we were way ahead of the rest with superior downwind speed on the windward leeward course. Big well done to Callum for showing the way and proving all his training has paid off. Gonna get you next time with my new JayFactory tris. If you are interested in Racing come on one of our Race Experience courses- £50 for 2 hours. We are pleased to be supporting and donating prizes for the upcoming Kernow Race Cup at Marazion 14th & 15th August. Being run by Kernow Kitesurf Club, there are classes for Race boards, Twin Tips and Directionals. A bbq and band on saturday night at Mounts Bay Sailing club should be great fun.
Hope to see you there. Over the weekend of 19th & 20th June, 3 times World Champ, Steph Bridge hosted the Edge Race Cup at Exmouth, Devon.
Despite a super light forecast, there were 24 entrants across the 3 classes of, Race board, Directional and Twin Tip. With zero wind on Saturday morning, Stand Up Paddle Races were held. Winning through the heats to the 3 man final were Lee ‘Pasty’, Callum ‘North’ and local boy George. In an increasing tide, Lee used his extra power to take the wind ahead of Callum & George. By mid afternoon, the sea breeze started to fill in at around 8 mph which was just enough to run 2 races for the course boards. A BBQ and Band at the Boat Shed followed with everyone dancing away the night, thank full of an 11am start on Sunday. With a fairly strong northerly wind blowing first thing, there was some doubt in the race crew’s minds that the sea breeze would be enough to run any racing. At around 12.30, with 6 mph of offshore blowing, all of a sudden, the flags turned and it started to blow at 8mph onshore. The course was set and 2 races were run. As the wind picked up to around 12mph, the course was set for the Long Distance race. 2 laps of high speed racing across the wind saw Lee using his added weight to power through to take the win. 1 more course race was then run which in the increased breeze included the TT’s and directionals. The prize giving was then held where Steph thanked all the sponsors, helpers and riders for coming despite the forecast. Denzil took the win despite only winning 1 race which proved how close the action was at the front. Steph only managed to race twice due to her other commitments, but still only took 1 win. In all the real winner again was Kite Racing, proving that you can have fun and competition in under 10 mph of wind. Results- Race Board- 1st Denzil Willaims (Fone) 2nd Ollie Bridge (North) 3rd Callum Edge (North) 4th Lee Harvey (North) Twin Tips- 1st Nigel Haworth Directional- 1st Tom Debenham Long Distance – Lee ‘pasty’ Harvey SUP Race – Lee Pasty Full report – www.edgewatersports.com |
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