SMACKFEST 2004 – DAY 1

Tasmania, 15 November 2004.

There was a clearing away of rain clouds which had kept the wind gusty over the past two days. The west south west breeze had kicked in sufficiently by 11AM for seriuous competition to begin. 20 – 25 knots of wind provided the fuel for the competitors to launch large forward loops, pushloops and aerial smacks on the waves..

Round one started with great conditions and all top sailors pushing the limits with huge smacks and large jumps. WA’s Jane Seaman going up against the best Australian mens contenders knocked out Canadian Hudson Godfrey. Moving into round 2 she defeated New Zealands’ Clayton Dougan, but in one of the closest heats of the day was knocked out in the 3rd round by Newcastles Brendon Peterson. Brendon got one of the highest scores of the day with his huge forward loops and great wave smacks. He defeated Seman by one point. Local sailor James Atkinson scored a bye in round one and went straight into the second round where he defeated Matt Cudmore of Merimbula. In the 3rd round he came up against contest organiser Quentin Bye. Unfortunately the wind got flukey with rain squalls. This did not stop Atkinson as he defeated Bye with a total 41 points, the highest score of the day.
Contest is on stand by for good conditions for the quater finals.

Check out the link below for daily updates and pics…