Last week Britain’s Ross Williams was crowned Formula Windsurfing world champion, now Boards catches up with the man himself to find out more about the ups and downs of the event, equipment and what’s next…
“We had a whole range of conditions at the event, from light and gusty 12.5m weather to full on 10m days – we haven’t had that much wind and that much variety at a competition for a long time.
“The racing was in a harbour and was sometimes really tactical, especially on the lighter days. You really had to play the gusts and the shifts. Although I hadn’t done much formula training over he past year I went to the event site 2 weeks early, which allowed me to get really dialled into the area. For sure this helped me massively during the competition, I understood what to do and when.
“It was really close between Steve (Allen) and I, and right from the start it was clear it was going to be a three horse race between us two and Gonzo (Costa Hoevel). It came right down to the wire with Steve, but I felt confident going into the final day. I knew there would either be no wind or that it would be light, which are my favoured conditions anyway.
“I registered 12.5, 11 and 10m GA Vapors, whilst Steve registered 11.5, 10.5 and 9.5m due to the strong winds forecast. This played to our strengths yet further, giving Steve an advantage in the stronger winds and myself on the lighter days. There are pros and cons to whatever you register, but it was absolutely fair racing throughout so I’m really stoked to have won.
“Unfortunately I cannot make it to the BWA Wales and Ireland events, I just have too much going on and places to be. I wish there were 2 or 3 of me, so I could do everything!”
