Waterz Marathon 2011 – Report

The 2011 Waterz Downwind Race took place once again in Hvide Sande, on the west coast of Denmark. Waterz is a big international watersports contest with competitions in windsurfing, kitesurfing, SUP and cable wakeboarding taking place over the weekend; the highlight being the big downwind marathon for windsurfers and kitesurfers taking place on the Saturday with a prize pool of 75,000 DKK (10,000 euros) up for grabs. Australian Sean O´Brien sent us an report, how he and his teammates Jesper and Brian made it there.

My Starboard Dream Team members Jesper Vesterstrøm, Brian Røgild and myself made the trip up to Hvide Sande, Denmark to compete in the marathon as well as the Danish Slalom Championships taking place over the weekend as well.

With fairly light winds around 11-13 knots on the Ringkobing Fjord during the race and over 250 competitors on the startline it was a battle just to get off the line in clear wind! Ross Williams (Tabou/Gaastra)  took the marathon win with Jesper Vesterstrom (Starboard/NorthSails) finishing in 2^nd, Nicolai Kruppa (Starboard/NeilPryde) in 3rd, Brian Rogild (Starboard/NeilPryde) in 4^th, Kurosh Kiani (Angulo/Simmer) in 5th  and myself (Starboard/Point-7) in 6^th. The setups of myself and my teammates were as following:

 

Jesper:
137 iSonic (2011), 10m North Warp, 46cm Kashy fin.

Brian:
127 iSonic (2012), 9.5m NP Evo III, 46cm Z fin.

Sean:
127 iSonic (2011), 8.6m P7 AC-1, 46cm Birdi fin.

Jesper Vesterstrom said about the event: “Waterz was a super event! I wish we could have more of these types of events over the year. My setup on the big board felt great; maybe the 127 could have been a bit nicer, but overall I’m happy with my speed. There were so many people on the startline – so great to have this volume of competitors racing here in DK. Can’t wait to get on my new iSonics shortly! Cheers”.

Brian Rogild: “My first time on the new 2012 boards and I only have good things to say. I had great speed on the 127 ,but my arms were a little tired after the first 2 legs so I let a few places go. Overall I’m happy with how the race went and how well the event was put together. See you again next year at Waterz”.

 

Sean O´Brien: “I came last year to Waterz and had so much fun I knew I’d be here again. Long distance slalom races aren’t usually my forte as being a little lighter I’m not usually as quick in a straight line as some of the bigger guys. That being said I had a KILLER start with Ross and we were so far ahead a few minutes in to the race it took quite some time for Jesper, Brian and the guys to pass me. Managed to hold on for 6^th, which I’m fairly happy with as I was on a pretty tiny sail compared to the rest of the fleet! So good to do some more relaxed events with big participation and lot’s of smiling faces on the beach; these kind of events are the future! You’ll see me back again next year!”.

 

The final Top 10 results for the downwind race at the 2011 Waterz

1. Ross Williams
2. Jesper Vesterstrøm
3 . Nicolai Kruppa
4. Brian Røgild
5. Kurosh Kiani
6. Sean O’Brien
7. Martin Funch
8. Vincent Langer
9. Kasper Juul Larsen
10. Andrea Cucchi

Check more about Sean O´Brien on his blog or all the action about the event on www.waterz.dk

© continentseven.com 2011, waterz.dk, Sean O´Brien

 

Waterz Marathon 2011 - Report, 10.0 out of 10 based on 1 rating