Lancelin Ocean Classic 2012 – Event

Peter Volwater finished the Marathon in first (Pic: John Carter).

Day One saw Jaeger Stone winning the Wave Sailing discipline

In the elite men and women’s divisions, 35 sailors took to the waves to out-manoeuvre each other with the highest aerials and radical wave sailing.  Jaeger Stone took out first place in the mens division, with Scott McKercher as runner up. Geraldton resident Jaeger Stone also won last year and made it on the podium at the PWA event in Tenerife in 2011. Third and fourth place went to British wave sailing champion Ben Proffitt and WA local Ben Severne respectively.

Jaeger Stone rules in the wave elite at Lancelin (Pic: John Carter).

Jaeger Stone said, “The forecast we had was pretty poor, so to finish and get a result in the Elite wave division was really good. It was a great event – really well organised and I’m grateful to all the volunteers and organisers. It’s always a really good event to do, because all the best wave riders in Australia come to do it and even sailors from the world tour come to compete. I was really happy to win because those guys are the best in the country so it feels good.”  

Laure Treboux of Switzerland won the womens wave sailing event and started with a victory in the 2012 season. Treboux is currently the number two Freestyle in the world, but also trains hard in waves while spending her wintermonths in Western Australia.

Laure Treboux made it in first in the wave competition (Pic: John Carter).

The Marathon Event 2012

Conditions were better than forecast for the main Marathon event on Saturday. Peter Volwater took out the race, with Jesper Orth from Denmark, who lives and works in Perth, WA  taking out second place. Patrik Diethelm came in third. Karin Jaggi was the first woman across the finish line, 5,54 min behind Peter  and 13th overall.

Volwater said after the race: “After the shocker I had last year, I was really pleased to come in first this year. Thanks to all the people, who made the event possible. It’s great to see everyone – it’s the highlight of my summer!”

Event organiser Greg Erskine from GEM Events said there were 159 competitors, who lined up for the 26km race event, all hoping to win a share of the $25,000 prize pool. The Lancelin Ocean Classic wrapped up on Sunday with the high-speed Slalom events. Presented by KineticIT, The Lancelin Ocean Classic has been held since 1986 and is Australia’s longest running windsurfing event. It is made possible thanks to the enthusiastic support of the Lancelin community, Eventscorp, KineticIT, Shire of Gingin and Bendigo Bank. Lancelin’s population of 800 can swell to 4000 over the four day event, with competitors, spectators, media and supporters descending on the crayfishing town, which boasts long stretches of white beaches ideal for all forms of watersports. 

The top 20 in the Marathon 2012 (Source:http://www.lancelinoceanclassic.com.au/).

©www.lancelinoceanclassic.com.au, John Carter