NAVMAN MAUI SPEED CHALLENGE – LAST ROUND

Maui, Hawaii (USA) – The 6th and final round of the Navman Maui Speed
Challenge Series may have lacked strong winds and series leader  Anders
Bringdal. But the blue skies and party atmosphere at the new location,
Kanaha Canoe Halau, made for a great day on and off the water. In the Open
class, with Anders out of action, there was a new face in the top spot, Matt
Daniels. Matt’s fastest speed of 32.7kts may not have been enough to win him
any records, but it was enough to beat Alex Aguera (32.2kts) and Erik Beale
(31.4kts), the two men battling for the runners-up position on the series
podium with Anders. As noticeable as the absence of a bedridden Anders was
the increase in the number of competitors in the Kite and Fun divisions.
These included young kiters Shawn and Jesse Richman, who notched up top
speeds of 31.9kts and 30.4kts respectively. The brothers showed no mercy
against series leader Dave Dorn, whose sub-30kts put him in third place this
round.

Out for some Fun – or was it the thought of the free food and drink at the
final party? – were a few new faces and some welcome returnees. Series
leader Carl Grundy got the top speed with 27.60kts, but he lost the round to
newcomer Sven Zedlick, whose average of 26.95kts just pipped Carl’s
26.90kts. Carl was demoted to second place this time, with third going to
Niels Van Wessem (26.40kts average). If only Sven, who lives in Germany much
of the year, had been here for the previous five rounds, he may well have
given Carl a speed run for his money.

Another latecomer who no doubt regrets missing the earlier rounds is Ashley
Baxter, winner of the Women’s division for the third time in a row. Her top
speed of 25.8kts was more than 2kts faster than second-placed Paulina Pease
(23.6kts), but Paulina still sails away with the overall title thanks to her
consistent results. Finishing third this round was Kristen Orth, with a top
speed of 20.9kts. And making her debut was Kanza Stott, the youngest in her
class, who came in fourth with 19.8kts. 

Sticking with the young guns, the Menehune division saw the usual battle
between Jake Golm and Baker Grant. It was Jake’s turn to take first place –
and the overall series title – with a top speed of 26.4kts against Baker’s
25.5kts.  Not too far behind those two was Zane Schweitzer (22.4kts) and the
series’ youngest competitor, Bernd Roediger (16.9kts), who turns nine on
October 7.

In the Junior division, lone Skyler Haywood raced against himself  once
again. But with a top speed of 28.2kts, he proved he’ll be up there with the
good guys by the time he’s 18!

At the opposite end of the age spectrum, the Masters division also saw just
one sailor on the water. Even so, Jeff Fagerholm’s top speed of 30.6kts was
fifth fastest out of all the divisions, a befitting result for the Masters
series winner.

For once, Marc Lefebvre had competition in the Men’s class. But, with an
average speed of 28.3kts, he proved he is worthy of his championship prize
by beating Elon Wong (27.6kts) and latecomer Ken Orth (23.6kts).

Place Sailor Division Heat 1 Heat 2 Heat
3 Top Avg Points
1 Matt Daniels Open 32.7 32.2 32.4 32.7
32.55 38
2 Alex Aguera Open 32.2 31.7 32.2 32.2
32.20 37
3 Erik Beale Open 31.4 29.6 30.2 31.4
30.80 35
4 Jace Panebianco Open 28.70 26.80 28.8 28.8
28.75 31
1 Shawn Richman Kite 30.1 31.4 31.9 31.9
31.65 36
2 Jesse Richman Kite 30.4 28.7 28.1 30.4
29.55 33
3 Dave Dorn Kite 29.0 29.2 26.1 29.2
29.10 32
3 Karl Rohlfing Kite 27.5 26.5 26.1 27.5
27.00 27
1 Marc Lefebvre Men 28.0 28.3 28.3 28.3
28.30 30
2 Elon Wong Men 25.6 25.5 29.6 29.6
27.60 28
3 Ken Orth Men 23.80 22.70 23.5 23.8
23.65 18
1 Ashley Baxter Women 23.7 25.8 23.3 25.8
24.75 20
2 Paulina Pease Women 23.3 23.6 22.6 23.6
23.45 17
3 Kristen Orth Women 20.6 20.9 19.7 20.9
20.75 15
4 Kanza Stott Women 19.40 19.80 19.2 19.8
19.60 14
1 Jeff Fagerholm Masters 30.6 29.5 29.9 30.6
30.25 34
1 Skyler Haywood Junior 28.2 27.5 25.0 28.2
27.85 29
1 Sven Zedlick Fun 26.40 26.30 27.50
27.50 26.95 26
2 Carl Grundy Fun 27.6 25.1 26.20
27.60 26.90 25
3 Niels Van Wessem Fun 26.3 26.5 15.40
26.50 26.40 24
4 Stephan Boeker Fun 16.20 24.40 26.80
26.80 25.60 22
5 Norm Roediger Fun 24.5 24.9 18.90 24.9
24.70 19
6 Will Vasquez Fun 25.50 0.00 13.20 25.5
19.35 13
1 Jake Golm Menehune 26.3 26.4 24.0 26.4
26.35 23
2 Baker Grant Menehune 25.5 25.0 23.2 25.5
25.25 21
3 Zane Schweitzer Menehune 21.5 22.4 20.2 22.4
21.95 16
4 Bernd Roediger Menehune 16.9 16.6 13.3 16.9
16.75 12
5 Connor Baxter Menehune 21.6 0.0 0.0 21.6
10.80 11

OFFICIAL EVENT WEBSITE: www.mauispeed.com

ORIGINAL RELEASE: http://www.mauispeed.com/releases/PressRelease20051002.pdf

PHOTOS:  Photos available on the website.

EVENT INFORMATION:
Dates for the Navman Maui Speed Challenge Series are July 17 and 24, August
7 and 21, and September 11 and 25, to be held from Maui’s Kite Beach, near
Kanaha Beach Park. Each competitor will be provided with a Sport.Tool M300
GPS unit, provided by main sponsor Navman. The competition is open to the
following categories: Open Class (in which those with specialized speed
sailing equipment will compete), Men, Women, Masters, Juniors, Menehune, Fun
and Kite.

For more information on the Navman Sport.Tool M300, visit www.navmanusa.com
and www.sport-tool.com.

EVENT SPONSORS: Navman, Hot Sails Maui, Fred Haywood Realty,
WindsurfingClassifieds.Com, Kanaha Kai, Freestyle, Ray Masters, Waki Jaki
and THE POINT, WestGroup Marketing Communications, Maui Custom Kats, Ocean
7, Maui Sports Net, Sign Solutions, and David and Debbie Blyth.