NAVMAN MAUI SPEED CHALLENGE SERIES

Maui, Hawaii (USA) — Words are not enough to describe the furious wind and
water conditions at Race-4 of the Navman Maui Speed Challenge Series.  After
a two week hiatus due to weak trade winds caused by a hurricane passing by
offshore, the winds returned with a vengeance, with gusts breaking 30kts and
wave and chop running close to waste high. Race 4 also brought about some
new faces from the international windsurfing community including Ross
Williams, Ben Van Der Steen, and Peter Bijl, who all clocked in some amazing
knots in near-impossible conditions.

Jacques Pauvert threw down the gauntlet early on in heat 1 with 38.8 kts but
when it came down to the wire, it was Anders Bringdal who once again pulled
together a perfect run posting an event record of 39kts, edging ever closer
to the 40kt barrier in the radical conditions.  Hopes were running high in
breaking 40kts this day but it was not to be with the steep chop and waves,
although many of the top contenders felt that one good puff near the “bone
yards” would have put them over the edge.  Alex Aguera, sporting around
15lbs in his weight jacket pushed Anders as well, clocking a top speed of
38.6kts. The increasing wind conditions were a boon for some, posting
personal bests in the 37kt range while for some pushed them to the limits.
Spectacular wipe outs could be seen from the beach as sailors battled the
elements.  In all cases the Navman units once again withstood the physical
abuse thrown at them.

In the Kite Division, David Dorn really put the pedal to the metal and
posted an event best for the kite division with a speed of 35.2kts, passing
the previous record of 33.4kts by Shawn Richman.  “The key to speedy times
were in picking your line.  If you found yourself on the peaks you were in
trouble, if you stayed in the troughs and carved to maintain your line it
was smooth and good speed resulted.” said Dorn. 

In the Men’s Division, Marc Lefebvre matched his personal best of 30.7kts,
finding his goal of 33kts elusive.  “I felt like I had the right gear, the
right setup for better speeds but I think the fear factor was the limiting
factor for me.” said Lefebvre.

In the Women’s Division, event newcomer Ashley Baxter, who is 14 years old,
took on Paulina Pease, Linda Cherry and Kristin Orth, posting a personal
best of 26.9kts for her first Speed contest.

In the Master’s Division, Mike Yasak found some really smooth water on port
tack on the upper side of kite beach and posted some blazing speeds of
34.7kts.  “Inside of the Bone Yards was my secret spot on Port and found my
fastest times there”, said Yasak.  Hot on his heals was Jeff Fagerholm, of
Vector Fins fame, posted fast times of 32.2kts.

Skylar Haywood, although the only Junior Division competitor, posted times
that surpassed many in the Men, Open and Masters Divisions with a top speed
of 32.5kts.  It is obvious the apple does not fall far from the tree.

In the Fun Division, Carl Grundy handled the crazy conditions on his classic
plastic Tiga 257, and found a top speed of 30.1kts.  That board surely
helped keep things under control when the chop got out of hand.

Last but not least, the Menehune Division saw some scary speeds and fierce
competition. In the end it was Jake Golm who once again dominated with a top
speed of 29.5kts. Hot on his heals was Baker Grant with a top speed of
27.7kts, and Connor Baxter who went the fastest ever in his life on his new
Starboard Speed Board and ended up third with a top speed 26.1kts. 

Place Sailor Division Heat 1 Heat 2
Heat3 Heat 4 Top Avg Points
1 Anders Bringdal Open 38.10 37.60
37.50 39.00 39.00 38.23 39
2 Alex Aguera Open 36.90 37.00 38.60
38.20 38.60 37.93 38
3 Jacques Pauvert Open 38.80 35.70 38.10
36.70 38.80 37.87 37
4 Peter Bijl Open 35.30 35.00 37.50
38.20 38.20 37.00 36
5 Ross Williams Open 37.90 35.70 35.10
37.00 37.90 36.87 35
6 Ben Van Der Steen Open 35.90 36.10 37.10
35.80 37.10 36.37 34
7 Steve Murphy Open 34.50 33.90 35.10
34.00 35.10 34.53 32
8 Dave Weeks Open 34.30 33.40 33.70
35.30 35.30 34.43 31
9 Matt Daniels Open 33.90 34.90 33.90
34.40 34.90 34.40 30
10 Geof Pease Open 31.90 31.40 31.40
29.80 31.90 31.57 26
11 Tom Hammerton Open 31.70 30.70 31.40 31.10
31.70 31.40 23
12 Victor Janssen Open 32.70 30.80 00.00
00.00 32.70 21.17 13
1 Dave Dorn Kite 33.80 31.90 35.20
35.00 35.20 34.67 33
1 Marc Lefebvre Men 29.90 29.90 30.20
30.70 30.70 30.27 22
1 Ashley Baxter Women 23.90 25.60 26.90 26.00
26.90 26.17 17
2 Paulina Pease Women 26.00 25.00 23.90 25.80
26.00 25.60 16
3 Kristen Orth Women 20.00 20.80 20.30 20.00
20.80 20.37 12
4 Linda Cherry Women 26.40 26.60 00.00 00.00
26.60 17.67 11
1 Mike Yasak Masters 33.90 32.80 34.50
34.70 34.70 34.37 29
2 Jeff Fagerholm Masters 31.50 31.60 29.90
32.20 32.20 31.77 28
3 Michael Warmuth Masters 31.40 31.60 30.80
31.80 31.80 31.60 27
4 Greg Thomas Masters 31.50 29.70 31.60
31.10 31.60 31.40 24
1 Skyler Haywood Junior 30.50 32.50 31.60
30.10 32.50 31.53 25
1 Carl Grundy Fun 29.30 29.60 30.10
29.90 30.10 29.87 21
2 Brian Thomson Fun 30.10 28.90 29.30
28.50 30.10 29.43 20
1 Jake Golm Menehune 28.40 29.50 29.00
29.00 29.50 29.17 19
2 Baker Grant Menehune 27.20 27.10 27.60
27.70 27.70 27.50 18
3 Connor Baxter Menehune 26.10 00.00 24.50
25.10 26.10 25.23 15
4 Zane Schweitzer Menehune 23.00 24.70 24.20
25.70 25.70 24.87 14

OFFICIAL EVENT WEBSITE: www.mauispeed.com