The first day of the Windsurf n Snow Wanda event was looking good with above logo high sets, clean peeling lefts and a promising forecast. First heats were ready to go at 1pm but the wind wasn’t quite there and the heavy relentless walls of water were making it almost impossible to get out for all but the lightest and most persistent sailors. While a few managed to break through the lines most could not and so formal heats remained on hold right through until 5pm when the call was made to end the day with a 45 minute expression session (with no points counting toward overall rankings because it was too light). Our most decorated legend, The Wazza, was designated judge of the ES, the waves backed off just enough and the wind was there just enough for about half the competitors to get out and so the action began! World Cup legend Luke Hargreaves came out of retirement to crack a few big moves on his light wind wave sup board but he was the only heavyweight to make a good showing because the day went resoundingly to the lighter end of the fleet. Results of the big session were kept a tight secret until the presentation at the mega Hawaiian party that evening at Mike’s waterfront paradise pad down the road where INXS ruled the night. In full costume the crowd gathered around in not so hushed tones to hear the news… third place went to the incredibly dedicated styling moves of Tim Williams who once again travelled all the way from SA to be with the crew. Second place went to one of the sports true legends, Jessica Crisp, who was throwing herself into highly critical sections in very tough conditions and making it look very pro. But the champion of the day was without a doubt Francois Pioloux who once again showed that his light wind skills and absolute obsession with time on the water are paying big dividends in higher and higher performance. A big thank you to Mike for hosting the Hawaiian party and to Elana for once again helping make the food delicious! The forecast today is for smaller surf with a nor’easter so we’re up for a potentially great day on the water and at the beach “
