had the worst day of my life by miles today.
wind picked up and could not make the mark,way to deep off the wind.
felt sick and headed for shore.
got driven to hospital and for next one and a bit hours was shaking and vomitting nonstop,with massive headache.
one and a bit hours later i came around.
heard volwater won.
never ever again,ever.
Really sorry to hear it was such a bad experience, I only got a few hundred meters further. Conditions were not easy!
Gee Pete, that's not good
hope your back up and about today. Watching you all heading for the first mark, it looked like the breeze had kicked in, and a huge bunch were in trouble being too far down the course to make the first boat rounding.
Come down to the Mandurah Classic next weekend. You will enjoy that, as its all fun and no huge pressure. Plus its nice and flat with no bloody swell
Pete what were the conditions like ,I Had to work so couldnt go this year ,but every year ive done it the conditions have been to light for me
Geez c'mon Pweet! There were GIRLS in it. Some of them even finished!
HTFU! 
Having said that, it might be that you just got sea sick.
For some reason I start feeling sea sick in about 15 to 20 minutes on a windsurfer in swell.
I don't get sea sick in a boat and I don't get air sick, so I don't now why a windsurfer should be different, but it is. 
never ever again,ever.
conditions 12 to 22 knots guessing.
swell big.
1st mark a bloody joke, it forces you to use bigger board/sail than is needed.
its not a true off the wind race as 1st mark is upwind.
especially for late entrants who have to start further down beach.
i only made 1st mark by a few metres pointing as hard as i could.
using a smaller sail/board, no chance.
they need to reposition 1st mark more downwind.
support/safety crew did a great job. thanks again.
that road to lancellin is soo dangerous, one loss of concentration and you will die, by hitting a tree or oncoming car.
lost count of how many crooses saw on road. real sad to see.
could not wait to get back on freeway heading home.
going to stick to sailing on millpond....where i belong.
mmm dude sounds like you need to Eat some concrete.
You have to be a pretty experienced sailor to even enter.
That event is a world class windsurf n event.
I don't think its a bad day just a learning curve. glad there was a support crew and a hospital close.
I congratulate and show respect the people who finished this is an attribute to the commitment of the sport.
That was my first go this year and I really enjoyed it and finished in the time I was hoping for.
I agree the first mark was way to far upwind especially if like me you were to far north up the beach; I had to skirt down wind of the shallow reef out the front to avoid wrecking my fin and then pinch upwind for the first mark; not good for a fast start.
The rest of the race was challenging but the euphoria of blasting towards the finish makes you forget all the horrible bits quite quickly - cant wait for next year.
Pre-race nerves... anxiety even... I drank beer this year... much easier
Of course, you can just go with the mindset that it is all just fun and not worry winning... or even beating your mates... just finishing...
I made the first mark with my 85L Stone thruster and 5.3 pryde combat, swell not a problem 
Petermac33,
Well done mate, it will make you a better sailor not a bitter one
At least you had the balls to have a go, power on
Cheers GT
Sorry to here you had a bad day!
I sailed on my 98 ltr freestyle board with a 5.8 sail,
I also started at the far end of the beach and decided to go downwind around the reef which looked very shallow!
I think I was one of the furthest downwind at this point. I only just made the first mark after that it was all good.
Dont give up this is the first year I have planed all the way the past 2 years I have wobbled the whole course, previous best time 1hr 20min.
This year 45min!
Pete, the first year i did this race (1995) i got absolutely belted on a Windtech 8'10" and 5.2 race sail. It was blowing very hard. I have also wobbled down the course not planing the whole way but the year that i actually chose the right gear for the wind, i had a ball and finished in 43 mintues (it should have been 33 but that's another story).
The fact is, this race for most ordinary sailors is hard, especially if all you do sail across the wind on flat water. You have to be reasonably fit and get your preparation right for that kind of race. The more you do the race the more you'll get the hang of it
Sorry that you had such a bad day, Pete. Hope all is well now.
5 lucky racers got parking fines for their trouble.
Mine was $40 for facing the oncoming traffic. The fine was issued at 2-50pm. When we were otherwise engaged. I returned to Ledge at 3-30pm to find a total of about 10 cars.
I sent an e-mail to the shire congratulating them on the event (sincerely) and asking whether the fine could be reviewed.
"Parking in such a manner is not a safe practice and can jeopardise your safety and others. I fully support the issue of this notice." was the response.
Followed by "Please forward your payment within 28 days of this e-mail so as to avoid the matter being sent to Fines Enforcement Registry."
You have been warned. Thanks to the ranger who really helped to make 5 people's day! Who else was lucky?
Parking rangers, real estate agents and politicians = bottom feeders of society. Always looking for opportunistic situations to further their own cause.
Enough said.
