UKWA FOUR NATIONS CUP, RHOSNEIGR – FINAL REPORT
Competition for all fleets at the Rhosneigr leg of the UKWA Four Nations Wavesailing Cup.
A great weekend was had by all as the Rhosneigr wind machine delivered head high waves and wind enough for 5.2m sails for the second round of the UKWA Four Nations Cup. The wind was more than forecast, which meant that those sailors that stayed away due to the poor forecast missed out on some close competition in all fleets.
The Junior and youth fleets saw a healthy entry list with some new faces. The Junior fleet was won by the waveriding talents of Aleksy Gayda with Dave Woods in 2nd and Finlay Forester -Davies in 3rd.
Competition in the youths was a close run affair with Graham Woods winning just ahead of Rich Jones in 2nd and Sam Neal in 3rd. These guys are really pushing each other in terms of ability and competition performances and it is expected that they will be fighting for ranking points right up to the final event in Tiree in October.
The Ladies was won by local looping sensation Janine Guest with Louise Emery in 2nd and Ruth Elliott in 3rd.
The Masters was won by the legend that is Sav, who could be seen testing out his home made wakeboard winch in the lighter winds of day one. Sav is like a dreadlocked Duracell Bunny!
The pro fleet saw some close fought battles with Ben Proffitt and Andy King literally split by fractions of a point. In the end though it was Proffitt that snatched the top spot from King who had to settle for second place. Third place was taken by John Hibbard who was given a real run for his money by Steve Thorpe in 4th
Everything is still to play for in all fleets and with two events left to go it’s going to be a real test of skill and tactics. The next Four Nations Cup is in Bigbury in September followed by the Tiree Wave Classic in October. The next freewave event is in Bridlington over the Whitsun Bank Holiday. Freewave events are perfect “first time” events to attend for less experienced competitors, as the fleets can be smaller and with no pros attending the other fleets get maximum time on the water. Check out www.ukwindsurfing.com for more details.
Thanks to the team at Funsport in Rhosneigr for organising the event and making it such a success. Thanks also to the event’s other sponsors: Fat Face, O’Neill Wetsuits, O’Shea, Circle One and Ultrasport.
