It was a pleasure to watch Marvin destroy the racing field in Townsville with ease as his speed around the coarse was breathtaking and he easily won every race he didn't crash in - he looks like a pro racer as he is 100% powered every moment on the race coarse. As the racing progressed over the 5 days Dave & Ric who were 2nd and 3rd overall started to reel in Marvin but his consistency thought 90% of the 18 races over the 5 days was to strong for them. Dave was very fast around the whole coarse & Ric is fast & very strong up wind and consistent. The next group of Jordon, Jayden, Lachy & Jason were getting closer to Dave and Ric by day 3/4 & 5 but they all made mistakes that cost them places big time. They were all vary fast but took big risks and all blew up at times that cost them points. In the next group was Chris Argent & I who were usually swapping either 6,7,8 or 9 th position each race depending who dropped more tacks or fell off down wind - I was faster over the coarse but Chris was better up wind and far more consistent. Chris and I day 1&2 were slow in speed and hundreds of metres behind the front pack, but by day 4&5 we had learned a few race tricks and our speed and upwind had improved 100% so now at times we were racing with the lead pack with the same speed and similar up wind but we both lacked clear races as we were still falling off on tacks and suffered heavily as a result. The next pack was Seam M from Perth who was up and down like a yoyo but got a 4th place in 1 race and just needs more practice to stop falling off his race-board and then we had the amazing Lisa who battled the guys with warrior like & determination aggression - most guys around her racing got a mouth full from her at some stage during the days racing. Graeme Simpson ( shark boy) the man who alters his strap set up more than any other racer on Mother Earth & loves racing with a passion and next in the pack was the unassuming Big Ben from Melbourne who probably improved the most out of any rider over the series and was getting very fast by day 5 - these pro yachties turned kite racers seem to get fast very quickly - & Max from Melbourne who smashed away in all conditions, these 4 had some epic battles. At times Lisa was up with Chris and I. I think Benny from Papua New Guinea was in the mix around here somewhere having a blast and I remember seeing him in 1 race locked and loaded flying upwind and looking very very fast, bIt I think Benny had some BIG crashes. On 1 start I remember he was just upwind of me and Marvin and he was heavily powered next to the start boat and he blew up big time and all I remember is his Pepsi sponsored kite down looping into the pack down wind and into my face that knocked me off my board and when I got back control of my kite all I could see was Benny in the water with his BIG smile looking totally stocked - to cool. The next group of racers lads from Townsville and Sydney were just cutting there teeth in racing and completed most racers. We completed 2 racers most mornings with another 2 in the arvo with conditions from 10/15 knots, 15/20 and the last day a solid scary 20/27 + knots.
So Marvin B is easily the fastest kite racer in Australia today.
To much fun.
Sorry if I have missed anyone as my brain is a bit fried by the beautiful Townsville sun.
cheers for the sum up Jonno.
Good to see that a lot of the aussie racer are improving heaps!
For me it was great to see especially Chris A and Jason Cane that improved a lot!
Also Jonno got better and better with every race getting into his groove and we know he is bloody fast as the current l2l champ. I reckon he is also a top contender in the Grand Masters at worlds.
Stand outs for me were also Lisa and Ric who got chances on podium at worlds i reckon if he keeps racing like he did in Townsville.
Bennie with only 5 days on raceboard prior to event showed how much talent the young PNG gun has.
Overall everybody did very well and it was lots of fun in perfect conditions.
Here is some photos from regatta:
www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.559114127481710.1073741840.170810432978750&type=1
www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.559515144108275.1073741841.170810432978750&type=1
fantastic write up, wish i was there. now that benny has had a taste he will be training hard to push you aussies hard next time. if we are lucky we might field a bigger PNG squad next year!
