DO IT NOW Magazine: Mauritian victory at Grinnell/Thule Kite Windsurf Cup

WATER SPORTS

Words: Steven Rhodes | Photos: Marele Joubert Strydom, MJPHOTO.co.za

MAURITIAN VICTORY AT GRINNELL/THULE KITE WINDSURF CUP

FOR SOME 30 YEARS, THE LANGEBAAN DOWNWIND DASH HAS BEEN SA’S PREMIER KITE AND WINDSURFING RACE. But with only one race a year, riders were always left wanting more.

So, the windsurfing and kitesurfing associations got together with the Dash organisers and decided to run a week-long event to satisfy everyone’s appetite for more racing.

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MAURITIAN VICTORY AT GRINNELL/THULE KITE WINDSURF CUP

THE CONCEPT WAS SIMPLE; BRING TOGETHER TWO OF THE MOST VIBRANT AND DYNAMIC WATER SPORTS IN THE WORLD, RUN A SERIES OF ADVENTURE RACES THAT ARE FUN FOR THE COMPETITORS AND AN EXPLOSION OF COLOUR AND ACTION FOR SPECTATORS. AND LIKE MAGIC, THE GRINNELL/THULE KITE WINDSURF CUP WAS BORN. 4 • DO IT NOW Magazine | February 2015

Held from 24 to 31 January 2015 in the water-sport paradise of Langebaan and Saldanha Bay, the event challenged riders in five events, on five separate days. Each day’s racing took place in a different part of the contest area, which also allowed riders and spectators to explore the local attractions.

Some 4,000 km away, the annual Mauritius Freeride Challenge has led the way in this style of racing and been popular with the South Africans over the last couple years. However, the Mauritians have tended to dominate their own event. Now it was time for Team Mauritius to battle SA in the cold west coast waters, and the South Africans were sure to take victory at their home event this year. To up the stakes, Team Mauritius even offered a free Mauritian holiday to the winner of the inaugural SA event.

THE FIRST DAY’S RACING KICKED OFF WITH THE KENINGS ISLAND RUN. HELD AT FRIDAY ISLAND GUESTHOUSE AND THE CAPE SPORTS CENTRE IN LANGEBAAN, RIDERS HAD TO RACE TWO 12 KM COURSES AROUND SKAAP ISLAND.

With only 10-15 knots for the day, the lightweight Mauritian kiters of Jerome Bonieux and Jean de Falbaire took the early lead. In the afternoon race, the windsurfers clawed back some ground, but it was still an all-Mauritian affair.

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RESULTS STAGE 1, KENINGS ISLAND RUN RANK

NAME

NAT

CLASS

1st

Jerome Bonieux

MRI

Kite

2nd

Julien Maurel

MRI

Windsurf

3rd

Jean de Falbaire

MRI

Kite

4th

Steven Rhodes

RSA

Windsurf

5th

Christoff Muller

RSA

Kite

THE KENINGS SALDANHA SPRINT HELD ON DAY TWO PROVED TO BE THE MOST PHYSICALLY TESTING OF THE COMPETITION. With 30-40 knots of wind

predicted, the preferred venue was the slightly more sheltered waters off Saldanha Beach Sailing Club. A shallow downwind slalom course was set, around 12 km in length.

Racing got off to an early start, but as the wind increased, the South African’s demonstrated their speed and power in the classic Western Cape conditions. A battle of the five heavyweight windsurfers followed throughout the day, but it was Robocop Robbie Bense who ultimately outclassed the field.

RESULTS STAGE 2, KENINGS SALDANHA SPRINT RANK

NAME

NAT

CLASS

1st

Robbie Bense

RSA

Windsurf

2nd

Mitchell Wagstaff

RSA

Windsurf

3rd

Julien Maurel

MRI

Windsurf

4th

Hennie Bredenkamp RSA

Windsurf

5th

Paul Burger

Windsurf

RSA

THE NEXT DAY, RIDERS WERE STILL LICKING THEIR WOUNDS FROM THE PREVIOUS DAY’S SAILING, BUT ACTION CONTINUED ON DAY THREE WITH A FIGURE-EIGHT COURSE SET OPPOSITE LANGEBAAN YACHT CLUB.

The course would make best use of the lighter winds and test the riders’ skill on a more compact 5 km course. Local heavyweight Robbie Bense surprised all as he flew through the course, but it was once again lightweight kiter Jerome Bonieux who stole victory from the South African.

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MAURITIAN VICTORY AT GRINNELL/THULE KITE WINDSURF CUP

RESULTS STAGE 3, LAGOON DASH RANK

NAME

NAT

CLASS

1st

Jerome Bonieux

MRI

Kite

2nd

Jean de Falbaire

MRI

Kite

3rd

Robbie Bense

RSA

Windsurf

4th

Julien Maurel

MRI

Windsurf

5th

Steven Rhodes

RSA

Windsurf

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WITH INSUFFICIENT WIND, STAGE FOUR COULD NOT BE HELD, GIVING RIDERS THE OPPORTUNITY TO RECOVER AND PREPARE FOR THE MAIN EVENT OF THE WEEK. The Langebaan-

Saldanha Downwind Dash would take place on the Saturday and draw in another 150 sailors. The now world-famous Dash from Langebaan to Saldanha Bay is a 20 km race and a true test of strength, speed, stamina and skill.

The race started in a mild 15-20 knots of wind, with the windsurfers taking the early lead. The 16 year-old Spanish Youth World Champ, Marc Bare, stormed to the front of the fleet and led the way out of Club Mykonos. Coming into Saldanha Bay, riders were faced with a very broad reach and softening winds, allowing the kiters to power their way under the windsurfers. The final 10 km proved devastating for the windsurfers, allowing the kiters to claim all but one spot in the top ten placings, with local champ Oswald Smith claiming the converted victory.

STAGE 5, LANGEBAAN-SALDANHA DASH RANK

NAME

NAT

CLASS

1st

Oswald Smith

RSA

Kite

2nd

Jerome Bonieux

MRI

Kite

3rd

Sabastien Cattelan

FRA

Kite

4th

Oscar Armstrong

RSA

Kite

5th

Jean de Falbaire

MRI

Kite

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MAURITIAN VICTORY AT GRINNELL/THULE KITE WINDSURF CUP

SATURDAY NIGHT’S PRIZE-GIVING AND AFTER-PARTY WAS HELD AT THE FANTASTIC WINDTOWN RESORT, IN CENTRAL LANGEBAAN. THE OVERALL RESULTS PROVED HARD TO PREDICT, BUT CONSISTENCY ALLOWED THE MAURITIANS TO CLAIM THE TOP THREE SPOTS AND TEAM PRIZE. HAVING WON THEIR OWN FREE AIRLINE TICKET, THE MAURITIANS ARE CERTAIN TO BE BACK NEXT YEAR. OVERALL CUP RESULTS RANK

NAME

NAT

CLASS

1st

Jerome Bonieux

MRI

Kite

2nd

Jean de Falbaire

MRI

Kite

3rd

Julien Maurel

MRI

Windsurf

4th

Robbie Bense

RSA

Windsurf

5th

Steven Rhodes

RSA

Windsurf

Top-performing SA rider and Chairman of Windsurfing South Africa (WSA), Robbie Bense, said, “WSA established The Grinnell /Thule Kite Windsurf Cup with the vision of creating a world-class event that ultimately grows the sport of windsurfing and kitesurfing.

“Our young sailors need exposure to foreign competition and the expenses of sailing abroad often stunts the progress of our youth. The partnership between the Mauritius Freeride Challenge and WSA, to encourage similar style events in both Mauritius and Cape Town, has been fantastic. The Mauritian style of racing and timing of the two events in August and January mean they work well together.

“The success in Mauritius and recent success of the Grinnell/Thule Kite Windsurf Cup is proof that the formula is working. I can only thank all our 2015 sponsors, event organisers and assistants for making an incredible effort. The Kite Windsurfing Cup is the seed of success for what will definitely evolve into an iconic future South African event.”

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SPECIAL THANKS GO TO ALL OUR SPONSORS AND SUPPORTERS: • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

Mark Grinnell (Grinnell Security) Richard Downey (Thule) Brian Hartmann (Kenings Car Van and Bakkie Hire) Rob Beamish (Ballistic Eyewear) Olaf Marting (Ion) Jeff Marting (North Kiteboarding) Roderick Barrett (Mobii Systems) Coral Warner (Keynote) Graham Kahn (Baremetal Computer Services) John van der Vyver (Friday Island Guesthouse) Antony (Cape Sports Center) Eureka (Saldanha Beach sailing club) Malcolm (Saldanha Beach sailing club) Owen (Saldanha Beach sailing club) Adrian Ceruti (Langebaan yacht club) Michelle Goldschmidt (Club Mykonos) Pierre Nel (West Coast National Park) André Joubert (Windtown) Grevile (Great-Time) Eric Tollner (Red Earth - Trophies) Christo Tyack (Mauritius Freeride Challenge) Luke McGillewie (SAKA) Dave van der Spuy (SAKA) Matthew Thomas Andrew Rhodes Marele Joubert Strydom (MJPhoto) Chris Klopper Lawrence Brown Richard Ruster

More information For more information about the Grinnell/Thule Kite Windsurf Cup, visit http://www.windsurfingafrica.org/ or follow them on Facebook: KiteWindsurfCup and Twitter: @KiteWindsurfCup •

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