CalCup First-timers and Favorable Winds

Only time would tell if the correct location had been chosen and the winds would be kind to those who were participating in the August CalCup race.

By Jane Morson
Published: September, 2006

Only time would tell if the correct location had been chosen and the winds would be kind to those who were participating in the August CalCup race.

On Friday afternoon, Sept. 18, Friendship Park, Marina Bay in Richmond was called as the venue. CalCup’s website and the telephone hotline announced details of Saturday’s competition. Windsurfers, as usual, had only one day’s notice to get it together and get to the location of the next day’s race.

Actually, much of the event had been planned well in advance. Jason Voss, a windsurfer who has been teaching the sport for over 10 years, was holding a free Windsurfing Racing Clinic, with a suggested pot-luck brunch from 10:30AM–12:30PM. There was the skippers meeting, and hopefully, the first race was to start at 1:30PM.

At 1:40PM the postponement flag went up. The boards were running late and were not at the start line. The first race of the day started at 2:14PM.

There were new participants and many battles out on the course between the racers. The best port tack was by Russell Egleston (15 years old). It was his first time on a formula board, first time competing in a windsurfing race and he port tacks his whole fleet!

His brother, Andrew (13 years old) also joined the event for the first time; his first race, too. Their father, John, offered the use of his boat, which was the first time the CalCup boat had not been used in many years. Using a different boat can be a challenge for the race committee as they work to set a good race course. Happily, all went well.

There were a total of 10 races, with the last race at 3:57PM. At the end of the day, race committee pulled the course and headed back to land. The wind had been on our side and the day was well-documented, as a CalCup racer photographed the entire event. We can’t wait for the next race, Sept. 9!

CalCup Race Results from Sat., Aug. 19

Overall

1^st – Steve Bodner

2^nd – Ben Bamer

3^rd – Andreas Macke

4^th – Eric Christianson

5^th – Jean Rathle

1^st – Steve Bodner

1^st – Bryan McDonald

1^st – Russell Egelston