RYA Ranker Event Weymouth 22-23 September 2012

The first RYA Olympic classes’ event to include Kitesurfing was run as a test event with no points counting towards ranking points. For the race committee and the riders it was the first time for everyone to test out courses and the new rules which come into play now that Kitesurfing is an Olympic sport.

With 20 entrants in total we were the biggest fleet out of all the classes and included 4 women. At the briefing it was explained that the starts and courses would be changed throughout the day and that it would be run to standard ISAF rules including all the flags.

With the wind blowing at around 15knts and due to increase over the weekend the first challenge for the riders was which 3 kits to register which we were not used to in the UK. Some made the wrong choice and chose to change anyway to make the most of the event in prep for the Worlds while the others learnt that you have to protest if you think someone is on a non registered kite.

3 races were run in the morning and another 3 after a quick break with the start line being changed slightly each time allowing the race crew to find out which works best to get the fleet away cleanly. The course was windward leeward with a spacer at the windward mark. One thing that we were not used to was the course being moved after each race to account for the 15 min 1st finisher target time and any wind changes.

On the water the big surprise was how well Tom Squires and Sam Sills, former RSX Squad windsurfers were going as they were right up with the usual front runners of Olly Bridge, Callum Edge, Steph Bridge and me. During racing we had 5 ribs on the water which allowed us to take a break sitting on the boat and having a drink. During this time all of the RYA Crew were asking loads of questions and were super impressed by the standard of racing, our angles and speed on the water.

After racing we met at the WPNSA for a debrief and talked about the courses, start lines and how we can make it better in October to finalise things for Sail for Gold in 2013.

On Sunday with the wind blowing at 27 gusting 34knts racing was abandoned for all fleets and we had the prize giving.

End results after Callum retired from 3rd due to ineligible kites were-

Men- 1st Tom Squires, 2nd Olly Bridge, 3rd Lee Harvey

 Women- 1st Steph Bridge, 2nd Alice Shoulder, 3rd Izzy Hamilton

The outcome from the event was extremely positive with the RYA and the riders learning valuable lessons before the upcoming Europeans & Worlds and we look forward to many more great Kite racing events being run in at the Olympic venue in Weymouth.

Thanks

Lee ‘Pasty’Harvey

Sponsored by- North, Ion, Freeriders, Pasty Adventures

For Kitesurf Coaching and Lessons visit my school www.pastyadventures.co.uk

I am super pleased with my riding at One Eye this year finishing in 9th place only losing to event winner Patri in the non elimination Round 1 and then narrowly missing out to 3rd place finisher Sebastian in Round 5.
The highlights for me were beating local trials winner Jerome in round 2 as he absolutely kills it at his home spot and then beating 2 x World Champ Abel Lago in round 3.
The Barrel session on Saturday was also epic. By far the best hour i've ever had in the water doing any sport!
Out of the 2 weeks I was there we only had 2 days without wind and on these days the surf was epic. We found an amazing right on the south coast which was 8-10ft heaving barrels and the other day we surfed One eye for some amazing left hand barrels with only my friends.
On the water I used the 2013 North Rebels in sizes 6,7 & 9 and i can safely say these new kites are amazing. For boards on the smaller days I used the 2013 North Pro 6'2 and on the bigger days I used my Resin8 Shotgun 6'0 which i designed with Carl Welton specifically for One Eye after last year and it worked super well!
Surfing i used the North Pro, Resin8 Tokoro 6'3 and my trusty Ultimate Style 6'6.

Big congrats to all the winners especially Patri & Ninja for killing it and standing out from the other competitors every time they went on the water and a big up to Barrel Master Mauricio for taking out the Barrel comp. So pleased one of our crew won it ;)

Big thanks to North Kiteboarding for getting me there and to my other sponsors for their continued support- Ion, Freeriders, Resin8, Pasty Adventures.
Also thanks to the organizers for such a great event and the local crew at Club Mistral for being so friendly and helping our little crew out with anything we needed. You guys are awesome and make it such a great place to spend time ;) 

Also I'd like to thank my family and friends for all the support they give my
me both when I'm away and at home. 
I couldn't do it without you.

Loads of epic pics and vid coming soon.

Peace
Lee

I am through to Round 3 here in Muaritius after some nice waves in round 2 scoring a 5 & 6.17 against local trails winner Jerome Bonieux. I was riding the 2013 Rebel 6m as it was super windy and big around 12ft with some huge sets of up to 20ft faces. In the morning for round 1 it was super choppy and I couldn't find any decent waves in the 3 man heat which left me in 2nd with Patri advancing to round 4. 
Today i am up against 2 x World Champ Abel Lago, but feeling confident. Sun is shining  and its looking good for some epic waves. Should be on around 2.30 which is 11.30 uk time.
Had some epic surfs here so far, will post pics and more tales from the tour up soon. got to go get Mauricio and Juan up now and have a session at One Eye before the comp starts.
Big thanks to my sponsors, North Kiteboarding for helping me out and making such a good kite. The 2013 Rebel is rocking.
Happy waves
Lee

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