Starboard and Neil Pryde sailor Xavier Ferlet wins 2006 UK Slalom Championship
Dan dominated early rounds
The season started with Dan Ellis (Fanatic-Naish) dominating the Marazion and Hove event with only one dent (caused by myself!!!) in a perfect score card of firsts. Unfortunately, Dan missed the Tenby event as he was at Sylt. The perfect conditions atTenby allowed 17 rounds (!!!) to be run. I took advantage of the varied conditions from light to howling winds to take the lead with 10 wins to 6 for Alan ‘All Action’ Jackson (Maui Sails).
Winning with a small quiver
Slalom 42 made for some very exciting racing. Alan and myself only used 2 boards all season (who said you need loads of kit to win???) Alan was on an F2 105 and a Fanatic 90 and I was on Isonics 125 and 105. In the sail department, the range was just as limited as we only used 3 sails each (7.6, 6.3 & 5.9 for Alan and RS6 9.0, 7.2 & 5.9 for me).
All down to the last round
Although I had a good lead going into the last event, Alan was on fire and won the first 4 rounds at White Air. Dan wasn’t in his usual form and didn’t perform as expected. In the end, it came down to the last round where I just managed to beat Alan by one place and win the championship in the process.
Off to Japan
I’m off to Japan next year working for Honda Formula 1 (Jenson Button is one of the drivers) so my UK rankings will probably be severely disrupted. There is plenty of young talent like Dan Simpson (Tiga-Neil Pryde & 3rd overall in 2006!) to take on the fight so roll on 2007!
Full results are on http://ukwindsurfing.com/results/2006/rankings_sl#top_flight
Xav is sponsored by Starboard, Neil Pryde, Sola & Boardwise
