44 AUGUST 2019
DÉFI GRUISSAN 2019
RACE 2
After race 1 I was absolutely knackered and the thought of doing a second race
was not really something I was looking forward to. However the organizers
were keen (obviously they are not actually windsurfing it, so the torture of
10 km. reaches has no effect on them!), and we patiently waited for the last
finishers to check in. The Défi operates with a sign in, sign out system. This
makes sure there is nobody lost at sea. However after surviving 40 km. of
racing, most people just want to eat, drink, sleep, lie down and recover! The
last thing on their minds is signing out, so things often take a while whilst
they search for the last few names. I can’t really say I was hoping someone
was lost at sea, but I was definitely hoping that someone had packed up and
gone home without signing out! Unfortunately at around 4:30 p.m. the last
remaining rider showed their face and the giant watch on the wall started the
second countdown. This time with only 45 minutes to the start.
The wind now was much lighter. I was already on the biggest gear I
had – a 7.0 and my 114 board, and it quickly became clear it was not
enough. My start was much better this time, finding some space low
down and passing right behind the boat. Unfortunately though, I lacked
power and lacked speed. With a 7.8 I think I would have been flying, but
underpowered on the 7.0 I could not really fight. In the gusts I would
accelerate and start to overtake people, then in the lulls they would all come
flying back past me. Very frustrating. At the end of the 2nd reach I went
into the gybe and suddenly saw Ben Profitt 2 riders ahead. The competitive
side of me kicked in straight away, as there was no way I could let Ben beat
me. I started pushing and driving and after a couple of kilometres I had
overtaken him and left him in my wake. By the next gybe I could barely see
him and I was feeling smugly satisfied inside. The final leg was again tight,
but I kept a pretty good upwind line and was cruising towards the finishing
line. Around half way there is a river mouth, and some sand banks so they
recommend staying out to sea a bit, with some buoys to mark the deep
water. I kept tight to those, but then suddenly out of the corner of my eye
I saw the distinctive yellow of a Simmer. It was around 50-100m upwind
and absolutely flying. I took a second look and to my horror it was Ben. He
had ignored the warnings, and just followed the beach. He was now level
with me, in perfect clean wind, on dead flat water and had a huge upwind
advantage. There was absolutely nothing I could do despite all my best
efforts. I was forced to watch as he blasted ahead, finishing some 10 places
ahead of me. I was gutted.
So that was the end of the day, and as it turned out the end of the racing.
I disappointingly finished 43rd, which after lasts year’s 13th place was a
big anti-climax. I think a large part of that was gear choice and next year I
will definitely bring a 7.8. There was also a much larger PWA slalom fleet
involved this year, with at least 10 of the top 30 riders doing battle that
were not around the year before. Spare a thought for poor Arnon Dagan.
In the second race he had fought through the pain barrier on the last 5 km.
to pass the eventual champion Nicolas Warembourg. He said he was dying,
but kept pushing until the final metres to eventually win the race. Imagine
after all of that, arriving at the beach to see the world celebrating, and then
finding out that he had failed to sign in before the race and was therefore
disqualified completely! That night there was a party, but from my side at
least there was not a lot of energy left. Bjorn was full power and the party was
on fire, but I headed home destroyed!
DAY 2 – FRIDAY 31ST MAY
Not the earliest start! My alarm had gone off early, but my body was having
none of it! Eventually we headed to the event site to put the finishing touches
on the RRD stand. The day before had been windy, so having sails standing
up outside was impossible. Today however was a beautiful beach day, so it
was time to make a show. The Défi is not only about the windsurfing. There
is also a huge brand presence, with everyone showing off their latest toys. On
the RRD stand that meant the new Pocket Rocket foil board and of course
our Compact sails, stood centre stage.
The afternoon was spent rigging sails with Cyril Moussilmani. This event
had come at the perfect time to work on some ideas for next year’s X-Wing
race sail, which was why I had had to carry so many prototypes with me. We
spent the afternoon rigging and checking things and having a look at some
different mast options. All very positive and exciting for 2020.
The sun shone and it was a spectacular day. As the day drew to a close and
the night started, it was clear this was the night to party. Unfortunately
however the old, sensible and mature side of my brain overpowered the
darker side and I went to bed early to avoid being drawn into the carnage. I
had a busy day planned for Saturday and I knew what was in store if I stayed
out! Sure enough the stories the next day were another level. Teddy bear
suits, beer showers, stage diving, people being thrown into the ceiling fans
and of course, Bjorn in the middle of it!DAY 3 – SATURDAY 1ST JUNE
At the same time as the Défi, the PWA were running the Costa Brava foil
event, which is around 2 hours down the coast. I had pencilled in to go
and see what was going on and today was the day. First however we had
a presentation planned on the main stage to show off the best of RRD. At
11 a.m. we took to the stage to talk about the new racing program, and
particularly the new X-Wing race sail, and again the Compact concept of
folding sails and portable rig parts, together with the ultra portable Pocket
Rocket foil board. As with all the presentations, the only reason people
come I think is to get the free goodies at the end and we nearly had fights
break out over the RRD t-shirts that were tossed into the crowd. Eventually
the presenter of the event took to the mike and started up a Zumba dance
contest to decide the winners. Not quite sure how it all happened, but I
made a sharp exit stage left before being dragged into performing a dance
routine in front of the large audience!
As the Zumba music died down, I hit the road straight away and headed
south, back across the border to Costa Brava in the north of Spain. As I
arrived I watched the first ever foil slalom take place, ending in a 16 man
final, which looked thrilling, although at the same time somehow terrifying.
There were a few big crashes on the reaches, but thankfully nobody got in
any trouble, and it looks like this could be the future of light wind slalom.
Exciting times ahead for windsurfing.
The night was topped off with the Champions League final, which I
enjoyed with die hard Tottenham supporter and amateur photographer
John Carter, as well as Liverpool fan Ross Williams. Together with the rest
of the UK PWA event crew we celebrated as poor JC slumped into his chair
in misery. As the 2nd goal went in for Liverpool at 86 minutes, JC stormed
out the room never to be seen again. Happy days!“THE COMPETITIVE SIDE OF ME
KICKED IN STRAIGHT AWAY”
John showing off his creation!
PHOTO Jean Souville.