Photo Courtesy of Marcos from Seaelement
Today one marked the first day of the premiere IFCA Slalom Event on Bonaire. Windguru, our official weather site predicted winds of about 15 and they were right on. A healthy dose of Caribbean trades kept the sailors happy. Most trained early in the day on 8.0 and higher sails. At the 11 AM skipper’s meeting, all eyes were on Bruno de Wannemaeker, the event director from IFCA. He introduced the international jury of judges and his fellow committee members. Bruno outlined the race format, explained the flag sequences and the course details. As of this morning 84 participants registered with 14 representing an international mix of masters sailors.
Heats ran from 12:45 past 4 PM. Eric Kling from IFCA kept score under the judging tower. Sailors were quite pleased overall with the course and wind strength. Some complained of lighter winds at the start but by the second and third marks the trades blew down the wind tunnel from the channel to the base of the bay. Some of the leading sailors dominating so far include Luigi Romano, a hot shot 15 year old from Italy. Markus Poultenstein from Austria is a name to watch during this event. One cool sight was the black sail owned by Malta Reuscher from Italy. His new Point 7 black sail was visible throughout the race. Very cool brand. Argentinian Sergio Mehl just arrived from Aruba Hi Winds and was ready to compete. He is a clear talent with years of windsurfing experience behind him. Morane Demont, a talented 16 year old from Martinique kept up with her male counterparts in her heats scoring very well. She was on a 7.5 meter Severne sail and a 111 Starboard. Morane hopes to continue to progress in her heats.
Countries represented at the Bonaire event include Turkey, Italy, Germany, the UK, Argentina, USA, France, The ABC islands, Venezuela, Austria, Denmark and The Netherlands.
Elvis Martinue and his team of all volunteers really made it happen in true Bonaire fashion. Each night Sorobon is the site for music and food. DJ Explosion pumps music after the event into the dark.
Travel Bliss 