There’s just something about April in Brisbane, March is windy, reliable Southerlies and occasional North Easters. But Come the first of April – BOOM, doldrums. Nothing but the lightest breezes grace Easter weekend for the annual Sail Brisbane event at the Royal Queensland Yacht Squadron in Manly.

Luckily the kiteracers all know how to ride in 6 to 8 knots, with 19m kites being launched, a strong fleet of 15 racers got down to business over the long weekend, with the eventual (and predicted) winner being Marvin Baumeister, over Jalen Andreatta and Ric Black who tied second place.

Unfortunately (or fortunately, depending on how you look at it) Lisa Hickman was the only female entrant, so rather than race around on her own, Lisa mixed it with the guys and showed a few how kite racing should be done. She came in 8th overall, with a healthy rack of scores including a 5th place in the final race.

Down on last years entries, (2013 had 26 racers) racers are hoping that the organizers will keep the kiteboarding class in the regatta. Although with a couple of racers bringing hydrofoils to the event this year, they certainly drew some attention from the sailors! You won’t find a more exciting form of sailing than hydrofoil kiteboarding in sub 10 knots.

Check out the list of results below, and stay tuned for the next big race event, up north in Townsville for the KiteFoil Gold Cup on the 25th September 2014.

1st: Marvin Beaumeister
2nd: Jalen Andreatta
3rd: Ric Black
4th: James Neeson
5th: Jordan Girdis
6th: Ben Turner
7th: Max Max
8th: Lisa Hickman
9th: Jason Cane
10th: Tom Brewer

For the full list of results, click here.

 

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