Greetings from Atlantic City!
By Ally Latham. Photos by Chris Cowan (drone), Ally Latham, Jimmy Rivera
The second event of the New Jersey Windsurfer LT tour, the Extreme Windsurfing Windsurfer LT Challenge, was a great success! After last week’s event in Highland Lakes, we were once again granted big, howling winds on day 1 and very light winds on day 2. Enough variety to test everyone’s skills! The fleet included a range of some who haven’t raced in years to very experienced sailors who traveled from NJ, NY, PA, CT, VA, MD & FL.
If you’re wondering what a Windsurfer LT even is, think of a modern version of the Original Windsurfer born in the 60’s. The resurgence in this design is intended to reverse the trending decline in the sport of windsurfing. COBRA, the famous Thailand-based board manufacturer, took on the challenge to take windsurfing back to its roots with a do-it-all board for everyone. The one-design package of a single board and soft sail rig allows performance to come down to the skill of the sailor, not by the cost of the sailor’s equipment quiver or their ability to hold down the biggest sail. The Windsurfer Class is all about introducing more people to the sport and keeping people involved, and we really got to witness this spirit come through in these back-to-back events.
The hosting venue that Jim Karabasz has at Extreme Windsurfing in West Atlantic City, NJ faces southwest out to Lakes Bay which is a real rarity at the Jersey Shore. Lakes Bay has over a square mile that we were able to set a course on. On day 1 we went for distance in the SSW 17-20+ mph winds with fleets of LT’s, Kona’s, and Foilers. Following a rabbit start, sailors pinched upwind to the first mark, had a broad reach to the second mark, and finally had a mile-long beam reach to the other side of the bay before finishing. Foilers started separately following the same course and had a blast on the incoming tide. By the third race of the day, competitors were bowing out due to the building wind. In the afternoon, we decided to cease racing as the winds were gusting up to 25mph+.
Day two called for a reversed wind direction with a light NE breeze of 8-10 mph, so we opted for a ‘Le Mans’ beach start for the LT fleet. It was a classic 3-buoy course out of the IWCA playbook: 1, 2, 3, 1, 3, finish, but with a downwind start. It was a great day of classic LT light wind sailing!
Final Results: Lightweight Division (120-155lbs) – 1st Peter Jacobsen, 2nd Lianne Dunbar, 3rd Michael Pinto. Heavyweight Division (155-195lbs) – 1st Mark Powell, 2nd Craig Rial, 3rd Tom Latham. Kona-One Division – 1st Steve Gottlieb, 2nd Cody Steward, 3rd Daphne Lathouras. Foil Class – 1st Didoy Francisco, 2nd Steve Jankowski, 3rd Ed DeHart.
We hope to keep spreading the spirit of the LT and keep the sport of windsurfing growing. Check out uswindsurferclass.com for upcoming events in the fall, and this photo album for more awesome pictures from the event.
Many thanks to Jim at Extreme Windsurfing for hosting, Tom Latham for organizing the event, the many volunteers, the US Windsurfer Class Association, and the amazing Steve & Cody of Sandy Point Progressive for providing our charters. And special thanks to our raffle sponsors: Extreme Windsurfing, Sandy Point Progressive Sports, Naish Sails, Ezzy Sails, DaKine, & Kialoa Paddles.